Acts Chapter Eight
Let me start out with an apology to those who looked for information on chapter seven on Sunday. I had it all written on Saturday and then forgot to post it till late on Sunday afternoon. Sorry about that.
Chapter eight starts out with what could be the last verse of chapter seven. In the context of telling of Stephen’s death, it says that Saul was giving his approval to the death. Stephen is the first martyr. This opened up the door for the first widespread and intense persecution of the church. Believers from Jerusalem were scattered all over Judea and Samaria. Christians were dragged from their homes and put in prison.
One of the results of persecution down through the centuries has been the increased spread of the Gospel. Philip went in the dispersion to Samara where he preached Jesus to the people. There were many miraculous signs and wonders. Through his ministry he brought great joy to the city. Great joy is a common result of the power and presence of God being felt in an area. God does His supernatural work and lives are changed.
We know that there were evil forces working in the area. Simon the Sorcerer was practicing his evil and amazing the people. Philip’s preaching brought many to the Lord, including Simon. Again, the way to overcome the power of evil is through the power of God. God will save anyone who repents. Simon was baptized. V. 13 says that he followed Philip wherever he preached and was very interested in the miraculous. He was probably still attracted to the supernatural and still needing to mature spiritually.
Peter and John came to Samaria to join in the move of God. As they ministered to the new converts they prayed for them, laying hands on them. As they prayed the people were baptized in the Holy Spirit. The revival continued.
It is here we see the fleshly nature that was still evident in Simon. He was excited at the prospect of drawing crowds with this ability and offered money if he could have the same gift in praying for people. Peter harshly responded that he should perish at the thought of being able to buy the gifts of God. Simon quickly repented and asked Peter that none of the evil things he said would come to pass.
The kind of thing we are observing in Simon is what has been seen in the modern church in the last part of the last century. There was a great drawing to the large and flamboyant ministries that flourished as TV was used more and more. People began to flock to the flashiest shows. Much emphasis was put on bigger and better and more expensive. Many of those have faded or been shown to bring disgrace to the Kingdom of God. We always want to be careful that the genuine power of God is being displayed and not just something that will bring praise to a person.
There is nothing wrong with large. 3,000 people were saved on the Day of Pentecost. But, there is a problem with focusing on drawing a crowd through showmanship. Peter quickly jumped on Simon when he sensed that motivation in his request for the power to see people filled with the Spirit. As a genuine move of the Spirit happens, more will be accomplished than could ever be done through manmade manipulation.
After this time Philip was directed by God to go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. There he met an Ethiopian leader who was reading the Scriptures. He asked him if he was understanding what he was reading. This opened the opportunity for Philip to explain to the Ethiopian the prophet who had written about the coming Messiah. He explained that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy.
The Ethiopian was ready to receive and believed. He even stopped to be baptized. He then went on his way rejoicing at what God had done for him. This is an interesting illustration that we must always be ready to both listen to the directions that God gives and also respond when an opportunity arises to share the love of Jesus with someone. We don’t know if they are ready to receive Jesus or the spiritual seed we plant will help them along in the process. In any case, Philip was willing and ready and the gospel went to new areas because of his faithfulness.
Chapter eight started out with Saul. Chapter nine will introduce him in a big way.
