The Church Is Started in the City of Samaria, 8:4-13.
[4] The early Christians knew the value of preaching the Word of God. They were very zealous. Though they had been driven out of Jerusalem, they were not discouraged.
[5] We are told about Philip’s work as an example of what many other Christians were doing. This Philip was one of the seven men noted in Acts 6:5. Samaria was located to the north of Judea. The gospel was to spread to the whole world, and this was the first step outside of Jerusalem and Judea (Acts 1:8). This was important. It took the gospel to a tribe of people whom the Jews hated. Samaritans were a mixed race. The Jews did not consider them to be worthy people. You can read about Jesus’ discussion with a Samaritan woman in John 4.
[6-8] The people listened to Philip’s preaching. They saw signs to confirm his words. Apparently, he had received power to perform miracles through the laying on of the hands of the apostles (Acts 6:6). See also Acts 8:18 where it is clear that it was the laying on of the apostles’ hands which gave these gifts.
[9-13] Both Jews and Samaritans believed in many spirits. Many times they turned to sorcerers or diviners. They were warned not to practise sorcery (Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Leviticus 19:31; Isaiah 8:19-20; 2 Kings 21:6-11; Isaiah 28). Simon had practised sorcery and had deceived many people.
There was a great difference between the deception of sorcery and the true miracles seen in the first century. Simon recognized the great power which Philip had. He knew that it was different from his deceptions. Simon joined many others who believed, and they were baptized. Philip’s preaching was accepted just as Peter’s was on Pentecost. The logical step following this belief was immersion, which we see in every instance where people are saved. As Jesus Himself had said, “The person who believes it and is immersed will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
Peter and John Are Sent to Samaria, 8:14-17.
14 The apostles were still in Jerusalem. They heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message. So, the apostles sent Peter and John to the people in Samaria. 15 When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for the Samaritan believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 (These people had been immersed by the authority of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not yet come down on any of them.) 17 The two apostles put their hands on the people. Then the people received the Holy Spirit.
[14-17] Some additional information about the Holy Spirit is noted here. What was the situation in Samaria? The Samaritans had believed and had been immersed. This clearly made them Christians. Because of this, they must have received the gift of the Holy Spirit as was promised in Acts 2:38-39.
Peter and John came to Samaria for a special purpose. They came to give the Spirit to the new Christians there. Before they arrived, the Spirit had not “fallen” on any of the Samaritans. After the arrival of Peter and John, the new Christians did receive the Spirit. They received the Spirit through the laying on of the apostles’ hands.
Acts 8:18-30
18 Simon saw that the gifts of the Spirit were given to people when the apostles put their hands on them. So, Simon offered the apostles some money. 19 Simon said, “Give me this power so that when I put my hands on a person, he will receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 Peter said to Simon, “You and your money should both be destroyed! You thought you could buy God’s gift with money. 21 Your heart is not right before God. You cannot have a part with us or a share in this work. 22 Change your heart! Turn away from this evil thing which you have done. Pray to the Lord God. Perhaps He will forgive you for thinking this in your heart. 23 I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and bound by sin.” 24 Simon answered, “Both of you pray to the Lord God for me! Pray that the things you have said will not happen to me!” 25 Then the two apostles told the people the things which they had seen Jesus do. The apostles preached the message of the Lord. Then they went back to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through many Samaritan villages and preached the Good News to the people. 26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. The angel said, “Get ready and go south. Go to the road which leads down to the town of Gaza from Jerusalem – the road that isn’t used much now.” 27 So Philip got ready and went. On the road he saw a man from the country of Ethiopia. This man was an important officer in the service of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was responsible for taking care of all her money. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship. 28 Now he was on his way home. He was sitting in his chariot and reading from the book of Isaiah, the prophet. 29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 So Philip ran toward it, and he heard the man reading aloud. He was reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
Two things should be remembered here. First, every Christian receives the Spirit. He dwells in the body of the Christian. Second, under special circumstances, some Christians in the first century received the Spirit through the laying on of the apostles’ hands. This second fact must be related to the miracles associated with the gifts of the Spirit.
Apparently, the apostles had the special gift of laying on of hands. Through this gift, they could give the Spirit to others. Another instance of this act is noted in Acts 19:1-7. There, certain followers spoke in tongues and prophesied after Paul had put his hands on them. If the special gifts of the Spirit were given only through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, as the evidence seems to indicate, then when all the apostles were dead, the miracles performed through the gifts of the Spirit also ceased.
Simon’s Evil Proposal, 8:18-24.
[18] Simon was amazed at the power of the apostles. Obviously, the apostles had special powers. If not, why did Philip, who had converted the Samaritans, not give them the Holy Spirit? Apparently, Philip had power to perform miracles. But he did not have the power to give the Spirit to others.
[19-24] Simon wanted to buy this special power that the apostles had. Perhaps he had not completely left his former way of life. He may have been tempted to secure this power to use in sorcery. Peter rebuked him for thinking he could buy the gift of God. His heart was not right.
Peter demanded that Simon turn away from such wicked thinking. Here we see outlined the way for a Christian who has fallen back into sin to return to God. He must turn away from his sin. He must pray to God. The prayer of a penitent heart will bring forgiveness. The story of the Prodigal Son teaches this truth (Luke 15:11-32).
Simon realized the greatness of his sin. He asked Peter to pray for him. Praying for one another can be of great help (James 5:16; 1 John 5:14-16).
Philip Converts the Ethiopian, 8:25-40.
[25-26] Peter and John had accomplished their mission to Samaria. On their return to Jerusalem, they stopped to preach in many villages. Even today we must preach in every village.
The Spirit worked in many ways during the beginning of the church. An angel brought a message to Philip. Angels were God’s messengers (Acts 5:19; 12:7; 27:23-24). Philip was told to go to a particular place. The Lord knows the movements of men. He sent Philip to the very place where he would meet a man who was obviously searching for the truth.
[27-28] At the place where God sent him, Philip met the Ethiopian. This man held a very important job as minister of the Queen. He was very religious. He had travelled many hundreds of miles to visit the holy city of Jerusalem. Even as Philip met him, he was reading his Bible.
Acts 8:31-40
31 The man answered. “How can I understand? I have no one to explain it to me!” Then he invited Philip to climb in and sit with him. 32 He was reading this part of Scripture: “He was like a sheep when it is taken away to be killed. He was like a lamb which makes no sound when someone cuts off its wool. 33 He was shamed; all his rights were taken away. His life on earth was ended. There will be no story about his descendants.” Isaiah 53:7-8 34 The officer asked Philip, “Please, tell me, who is the prophet talking about? Is he talking about himself or about someone else?” 35 Philip began to speak. He started with this same Scripture and told the man the Good News about Jesus. 36 While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The officer said, Look! Here is water! What is stopping me from being immersed?” 37 38 Then the officer gave a command for the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the officer went down into the water, and Philip immersed him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; the officer did not see him. The officer continued on his way home. He was very happy. 40 Philip appeared in a town called Azotus. He was preaching the Good News about Jesus in all the towns along the way from Azotus to Caesarea.
[29-34] The place where he was reading told about sheep being killed, but he did not understand the meaning.
[35-38] Isaiah prophesied about Christ. Philip began immediately to tell the Ethiopian about Christ. Christ was the Lamb of God. He was slain to take away our sins (John 1:29). Obviously, Philip taught the same message as Peter did on Pentecost. The Ethiopian believed the message and wanted to be immersed immediately.
The information here is very important. It shows that baptism was in water. While men today teach many different doctrines about baptism, here it is clear that water was used. It is also clear that the Ethiopian was immersed in water. They stopped the chariot. They both went down into the water. After the baptism they came up out of the water. We could not ask for a clearer example of baptism. In spite of the fact that many people teach that baptism can be by sprinkling a little water on the head, it is clear that the Ethiopian was immersed. There is no example of sprinkling for baptism in the New Testament. Some late manuscripts have verse thirty-seven: “And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ “
[39-40] Philip was still under the special guidance of the Spirit. After completing his work with the Ethiopian, he was carried away in some miraculous way to another city. Azotus was located west of Jerusalem.
Acts 9:1-9
9 1 In Jerusalem Saul was still trying to scare the followers of the Lord Jesus, threatening to kill them. So, he went to the high priest. 2 Saul asked him to write letters to the Jews of the synagogues in the city of Damascus. Saul wanted the authority to find people in Damascus who were followers of The Way. If he found any believers there, men or women, he would tie them up and bring them back to Jerusalem. 3 So, Saul went to Damascus. When he came near the city, a bright light from the sky suddenly shined all around him. 4 Saul fell to the ground. He heard a voice saying to him: “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 Saul asked “Who are you, Lord?” The voice answered, “I am Jesus. I am the one you are persecuting. 6 Get up now and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there. They said nothing. The men heard the voice, but they saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground. He opened his eyes, but he couldn’t see anything. So, the men with Saul held his hand and led him into Damascus. 9 For three days, Saul could not see; he didn’t eat or drink.