Act 8:1 And Saul was consenting to the doing away of him. And in that day a great persecution took place on the assembly which was in Jerusalem; and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Act 8:2 And devout men together carried Stephen and made a great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3 But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering house by house, dragging both men and women, he delivered them to prison.
Act 8:4 Then, indeed, the ones who being scattered passed through, preaching the gospel, the Word.
Act 8:5 And going down to a city of Samaria, Philip proclaimed Christ to them.
Act 8:6 And with one passion the crowds heeded that being said by Philip when they heard and saw the many miraculous signs which he did.
Act 8:7 For many of the ones having unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, they came out. And many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.
Act 8:8 And great joy was in that city.
Act 8:9 But a certain man named Simon had long been conjuring in the city and amazing the nation of Samaria, claiming himself to be some great one.
Act 8:10 All were paying attention to him, from small to great, saying, This one is the power of God, which is great.
Act 8:11 And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his conjuring.
Act 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the gospel, the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Act 8:13 And Simon himself also believed, and being baptized was continuing steadfastly with Philip. And seeing miraculous signs and mighty works happening, he was amazed.
Act 8:14 And the apostles in Jerusalem hearing that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,
Act 8:15 who going down prayed concerning them so that they may receive the Holy Spirit.
Act 8:16 For He had not yet fallen on any one of them, but they were only being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 8:17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Act 8:18 But Simon having seen that the Holy Spirit is given through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, he offered them money,
Act 8:19 saying, Give to me also this authority that to whomever I may lay on the hands he may receive the Holy Spirit.
Act 8:20 But Peter said to him, May your silver be with you into perdition, because you thought to get the gift of God through money.
Act 8:21 There is neither part nor lot to you in this matter, for your heart is not upright before the face of God.
Act 8:22 Repent, then, from this wickedness of yours, and petition God if perhaps you will be forgiven the thought of your heart.
Act 8:23 For I see you being in the gall of bitterness and a bundle of unrighteousness.
Act 8:24 And answering Simon said, You petition to the Lord for me, so that nothing of which you have spoken may come on me.
Act 8:25 Then indeed having earnestly testified and having spoken the Word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, even having preached the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
Act 8:26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go along south on the highway going down to Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a deserted place.
Act 8:27 And rising up he went. And, behold, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, a potentate with Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship!
Act 8:28 And he was returning. And sitting on his chariot he read the prophet Isaiah.
Act 8:29 And the Spirit said to Philip, Go near and join yourself to this chariot.
Act 8:30 And running near Philip heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, Indeed, do you know what you are reading?
Act 8:31 But he said, How should I be able except someone shall guide me? And he called Philip near, to come up to sit with him.
Act 8:32 And the content of the Scripture which he was reading was this: "He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb voiceless before the one shearing it, so He does not open His mouth.
Act 8:33 In His humiliation His judgment was taken away. And who will recount His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth." Isa. 53:7, 8
Act 8:34 And answering the eunuch said to Philip, I ask you, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself, or about some other one?
Act 8:35 And opening his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, Philip announced the gospel to him, Jesus.
Act 8:36 And as they were going along the highway they came on some water. And the eunuch said, Behold, water! What prevents me to be baptized?
Act 8:37 And Philip said, If you believe from all the heart, it is lawful. And answering he said, I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.
Act 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
Act 8:39 But when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. And the eunuch did not see him any more; for he went his way rejoicing.
Act 8:40 And Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through he preached the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.
PERSECUTION
Verses 4-8: Those who are persecuted scatter and teach the gospel in more places. Philip preaches in Samaria successfully. Many are converted. They are convinced by both word and deed (miracles).
3. What good came from the persecution of the church? The spread of the gospel. As is typically the case with resisting God, be careful what you ask for. Jerusalem may have become a dangerous place for Christians, so now we see its power move outward into the world.
a. Describe the mood in Samaria. 6-
Joy- G5479 χαρά charakhar-ah' From G5463; cheerfulness, that is, calm delight: - gladness, X greatly, (X be exceeding) joy (-ful, -fully, -fulness, -ous).
There is a feeling of well being and cheer among the people!
Verses 9-13: A respected conjurer (sorcery) is baptised after many others in the city were converted. He had been amazing people in the city for some time with his work.
4. What does Simon do? Conjure: G3096 μαγεύω mageuō mag-yoo'-o From G3097; to practice magic: - use sorcery.
Simon is a magician.
a. Does he take selfish advantage of his ability? His magic had amazed many and he was credited with having the power of God. He claimed himself to be great. Whether or not he made money from these endeavors is unknown. The fact remains that he was not of God, nor did he have that kind of power.
5. Why is it important that Simon believed in the preaching and miracles of Philip? He was important and popular to the culture. Here is a man that amazed so many with his tricks and he is being amazed by what he sees and hears. His conversion held weight.
Verses 14-25: The apostles hear that Samaria has received the gospel. They send Peter and John so they may pray with them to receive the Holy Spirit. They go and do that and some receive the Holy Spirit. Simon sees this and wants the Holy Spirit too. He offers money to be able to give the Holy Spirit to others. Peter rebukes Simon and tells him he has no part of this because his heart is not right.
Act 8:23 For I see you being in the gall of bitterness and a bundle of unrighteousness. -
He tells Simon to repent and petition God for forgiveness. Simon asks Peter to petition God on his behalf.
6. How did Peter and John
“transfer” the Holy Spirit to others?
The purpose of laying on of hands is simply to reveal authority of the speaker.
7. Why was Peter upset
with Simon? Peter recognized Simon's motivation. Simon was popular for his magic tricks and he was regarded as one from God, or one who possessed the power of God. Now, before all the people are individuals that clearly possess (or have access to) the power of God and he wants it.
Remember, Simon is in a saved position before God. He has heard the gospel and has been baptized. This was his first test. It may seem that he failed but his answer seems fitting for someone who believes. Once he learned that his heart put him outside God's sphere, he asks Peter to petition God for him He sees his sin and inadequacy of heart.
It's important to see the bigger picture in that for Simon, he may never receive the Holy Spirit as some of these did because of his past.
The fact that only some of the people received the Spirit in this way also reveals that this was a special circumstance need. How could the gospel be taught without knowledge? Some had to have this gift, not all.
8. What do you think of Simon’s reaction in verse 24? It is appropriate and promising. After being chided by Peter he feels inadequate to even pray on his own behalf. He is truly fearful in this text. Whether or not he grows from this is unknown.
9. Are there people who try to use the gospel for personal gain living today? Of course. There are too many doctrines that promise physical wealth or physical healing today. The gospel does not promise any of that. The greed of false gospels are typically manifest by offering a "blessing" with every donation. These religions address physical wants almost to the exclusion of issues of the heart (faith).
a. How can we tell? When the message focuses on material/physical wealth/wellbeing. When these promises can be had for a monetary "gift."
Additional:
How can we know the Holy
Spirit was working from verse 4? Evil, in the form of persecution, backfires. Instead of hindering the gospel, it just spreads it further.
How does the Holy Spirit
manifest itself today? In every instance, the Holy Spirit's mission is simply to reveal God through an understanding of the gospel (Jesus). The instance of a miracle was not to bring glory to the one performing the miracle. It was simply an indication that the teacher was speaking God's word. The question of "do miracles happen today" is answered by the understanding of why they were needed before.
Before, authentication of authority of God's word was through miracles.
Today, if we want to know if someone is speaking God's word, we look it up for ourselves.
THE ETHIOPIAN
Verses 26-31: An angel tells Philip to go to a place. He does. He sees an Ethiopian on a chariot. He is an official of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was in Jerusalem to worship God. The angel tells Philip to join the chariot. Philip runs to catch up to the chariot. He hears the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. Philip asks "do you know what you are reading?" The Ethiopian indicates that he needs help to understand and invites Philip to join him.
10. What official status did the Ethiopian hold? He is the treasurer for Candace the queen of Ethiopia.
a. How might this intimidate Philip? The reading does not indicate any apprehension. However, it does indicate that his willingness to approach the chariot required a specific mindset. Philip understands that whoever is in the chariot has a soul and needs the gospel. "God is no respecter of persons."
Having the truth, and a genuine concern for others is (or should be) standard for the Christian.
11. How was Philip guided in this incident? An angel of the Lord told him where to go and the spirit directed him to approach the chariot.
a. How do angels and the spirit “speak” to
us today? The word. There are many who believe that the Spirit leads them, or God is leading them, or has led them without them knowing. That is something that cannot be empirically proven. However, neither can it be wholly discounted.
The issues become manifest when rogue members (preachers, teachers, anyone else) start noting being led when in reality they are simply doing God's bidding from knowledge. The word.
If what we do is good, it is of God. We know this from the scriptures. James 1:17 ... every act of good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights...
In that sense, we can attribute anything good we do to God. We have made His will our own.
That is not what happened with Philip.
Verses 32-35: The Ethiopian reads and Philip asks the Ethiopian "is the text about the writer or someone else?"
12. What scripture was the Ethiopian reading? Is 53:7,8
13. How could Philip teach about Jesus from the Old Testament? This is a messianic prophecy. Jesus is the Messiah. The initial belief was the messiah would restore Israel as a great nation. Israel had been restored as a nation. They were not happy being a vassal state but that did not preclude God's promise. Jesus' mission was too big for any one nation. He addressed all souls of every nation.
Verses 36-38: As they travel, they come upon some water. The Ethiopian declares the wants to be baptized. Philip says if you believe with all your heart, ok. So, he baptizes the Ethiopian.
14. Describe the mood of the Ethiopian. Excited. He sees the water and is not willing to wait any longer. He feels the need for this immediately. It is a moment of urgency that cannot (or should not) be ignored.
NOTE: The requirement "if you believe with all your heart" parallels the "greatest law" that Jesus notes. (Love God with all your heart mind and soul).
15. What needed to happen before Philip would baptize the Ethiopian? The Ethiopian asked, then professed his belief that Jesus is the son of God. This is a petition to God.
Verses 39-40: Coming out of the water, Philip is whisked away by the spirit. The Ethiopian goes his away rejoicing.
16. What happened to Philip? He simply disappeared.
17. Why did the Ethiopian rejoice? He was now in a "saved" condition before God.
Additional: How can we use this to teach the urgency of baptism? In literally every instance so far (and all after), when we see baptisms, it is matter of urgency and need. There is no waiting for anything. The Ethiopian did not ask to be baptized out of ignorance. Apparently, Philip included it in his teaching and the need for it was strong enough that the Ethiopian demanded it for his life. Why would anyone think it a trite thing that can be put off?
Check secular references for Christian Ethiopian churches. What do we find?
Oral tradition cites this incident as the foundation for the beginning of the Christian church in Ethiopia. In more traditional writings, the Ethiopian Christian church is noted as the second oldest worldwide.
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