In the previous chapter we were introduced to Saul. In this chapter, the first verse is that Saul approved of killing Stephen. Not only does he approve, but he makes it his mission to destroy the church. Forget door to door sales, this man is doing door to door citizens arrest. Man or woman, it doesn't matter, if they loved Jesus it was off to jail. As such, the early church scattered. Though unfortunate for them, it ended up being a good thing for the places they ran to. Those who were scattered, preached wherever they went. They didn't just hide. They might have run away but they were still in full recruit mode.
Philip went to Samaria and preached the gospel there. It was surprisingly we received. Much like current events, the Jews and Samarians didn't get along. Samaria would have been located in modern day Palestine. So it's pretty monumental that they were receptive to Philip. And it was with good reason, as Philip didn't just preach; he healed, exorcised evil spirits, and brought joy to their city. Rumors spread, and as a result, they sent in the big guns (John and Peter) to join Philip in Samaria.
Now there was a man named Simon, who was a sorcerer. I don't know if he was actually tapping into something supernatural or if he was like a modern day magician. Anyways, he had a bunch of followers, or fans, and was called 'the great power of god'. Regardless, he witnessed the miracles Philip preformed and was amazed and started following him around (now he's the fan). Simon, was one of the people that heard the gospel, believed, and was baptized.
Now, different from Philip, who was preaching and performing miracles with the power of the holy spirit, Peter and John came to baptize people with the spirit, who were previously only baptized with water. This caught the attention of Simon and Simon was ambitious. He offered Peter and John money, not just for the abilities but also for the ability to pass it on to others. And then he promptly got his butt handed to him by Peter, who gave him a severe tongue lashing.
I low-key feel bad for this guy. Like Peter, I'm pretty sure that this was coming from a place of sin, most likely greed. However, I partially think he just didn't understand the difference between the Holy Spirit and whatever he was doing before. He mostly likely thought that this was just an improved version of what he had been doing. So even though I understand the reprimand, I still pity him. Simon even asked Peter to pray to God so Peter's words about him wouldn't come true. At the end of the day, the disciples are also just people. Perhaps this wasn't the best way to handle the situation but honestly, only God knows. I hope that Simon came to understand what Peter meant and that he grew in his faith instead of walking away from it.
Now this last portion is super exciting for me, and anyone who's a sci-fi fan will probably agree. An angel came and told Philip to go to a specific road heading to Gaza. Lo and behold, he meets a eunuch on the path who is struggling to understand the scripture he is reading. He invites Philip on to the carriage to help him understand the scripture. Philip explains not only that passage, but also about Jesus. He must have explained real well, because they pull up to a body of water and the man gets baptized. Right after the baptismal, the Holy spirit teleports Philip to Azotus and he just continues on his way, preaching. So cool! That precious eunuch was literally gifted a God moment. God told Philip where to go to meet him, and then just spirited him away when the job was done! God didn't even make him walk. He was like, 'okay, now I need you here', plop! Oh man, this chapter is so great.
Author Notes
8 And Saul approved of their killing him.
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Philip in Samaria
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, 'This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.' 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
24 Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."
25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Philip and the Ethiopian
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road-the desert road-that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means 'queen of the Ethiopians'). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.
34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized" [37] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
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