Acts 8:1-25
Good morning, everyone! Today,
we are starting chapter 8 in our series on the book of Acts. As a reminder, the
last two weeks have largely focused on Stephen. At the beginning of chapter 6,
we see that the physical needs of the Jewish widows were being handled
unequally. The widows from lands outside Judea and Galilee were being
overlooked while those from the Jewish homeland were being helped.
In order to deal with
this ministry, the apostles gathered all the disciples saying it was not best
for them to neglect the ministry of the word of God to carry out this
additional necessary ministry. Therefore, seven disciples should be selected
who are full of the Spirit and wisdom. These seven would be given the
responsibility for this ministry of meeting the physical needs of believers who
needed help.
The disciples chose
Stephen and Philip and five others. All these had Greek names. It was really a
unique moment of the early church. There was a chance for the church to be
weakened and in conflict with one another. Instead, the church was strengthened
and continued to grow as a result of this allocation of leadership.
Shortly after this,
opposition to the believers arose. Jewish men of a particular synagogue of
Greek Jews began to argue with Stephen. They were no match for Stephen’s wisdom
or the Spirit within him. Since they could not defeat Stephen with their
arguments, they brought false accusations against him.
They brought Stephen to
the Sanhedrin, the leading council of the Judea, along with false witnesses who
said that Stephen had blasphemed Moses and God. Stephen then gave an amazing
address to the Sanhedrin, rebuking these leaders with testimony from the Old
Testament, from Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and the Tabernacle.
Stephen concluded with a
judgment against all his listeners, how they also refused to listen, resisted
the Holy Spirit, killed those who foretold Jesus, and then killed Jesus
Himself. While they received the Law from Moses, they have not obeyed it. Those
listening were furious. When Stephen explained that he could see the glory of
God and Jesus and heaven opened, they covered their ears, yelled at the top of
their voices, and rushed at Stephen, dragging him out of the city. There, they
stoned Stephen to death.
Even in the moment of his
death, Stephen desired forgiveness for his attackers saying, “Lord, do not hold
this sin against them.”
With that introduction,
let’s pray and pick up the story there at the beginning of Acts chapter 8.
Lord God, teach us from
Your word. Help us to see truth and apply it in our lives. In all things,
whether good or hardship, may You be glorified. We pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
And Saul approved of
their killing him [Stephen]. On that day a great persecution broke out against
the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout
Judea and Samaria. – Acts 8:1
Saul is the Saul who is
going to become Paul. The conversion of Paul happens in Acts chapter 9. Paul
would write later in I Corinthians 15:9, “I am the least of the apostles and do
not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God.”
Saul was not the only
persecutor though. It was a great persecution there in Jerusalem. It was so
intense that everyone except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and
Samaria. This is a surprising fulfillment of Acts 1:8 where Jesus foretold that
the believers would be His witnesses in Jerusalem first, then in Judea and
Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth.
Godly men buried
Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going
from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those
who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. – Acts 8:2-4
One commentary wondered
at the burial of Stephen whether it was carried out not by Christians but
rather by godly men who belonged to the council but had not participated in the
stoning. If you remember, Gamaliel had addressed the Sanhedrin in Acts 5 (v. 34-40),
successfully convincing them to release Peter and John by saying that the
movement would fail if it was not from God, and if it was from God, they would
not be able to stop them.
Other translations say
that Saul ravaged the church. It was not possible for him to actually or
completely destroy the church, but he was able to carry out severe
persecutions. Taking women to prison was rare at that time. He was extremely
thorough in his search for believers, going door to door. It is easy to
understand why so many believers left Jerusalem. There was truly no place to
find refuge.
You might think that this
persecution would cause the people to be reluctant to share the truth of Jesus
for fear of what might happen to them. However, the exact opposite occurred. They
not only shared their faith, they “preached the word wherever they went.”
Philip, one of the seven
who had been chosen along with Stephen, was one of those who was scattered.
Philip went down to a
city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip
and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For
with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or
lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. – Acts 8:5-8
When Philip proclaimed
the Messiah, crowds gathered to listen. The people were eager to hear the good
news. In addition, Philip performed miracles. The message and the signs
together transitioned the people from curiosity to attentive listening.
Philip carries on the
work that Stephen began in much the same way. Acts 6:8 tells us Stephen “did
great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” What was the effect of
the gospel and the miracles? There was great joy in that city. These people
were taken from hopelessness and darkness and they had been shown the path of
life, the way to be reconciled to God, to have a relationship with Him.
When I was in Japan over
the last week and a half, I saw a lot of things I never saw before. It was a
pretty memorable trip. But out of all of the things that I saw, there was one
that impacted me more than any other, and it is about joy.
In Japan, there are lots
of sidewalks and train stations. Many of the sidewalks and all of the train
stations have these yellow lines embedded in them. They aren’t just lines
painted. They are raised up with ridges that run continuously and then they
have dots on them when there is a turn or a spot to wait like before crossing a
street. The street crossings also all have audible signals in addition to the
typical red/green crosswalk signs.
The second night we were
in Japan, we were walking through Shinagawa station in Tokyo. That station is
not quite as crazy as Tokyo station itself, but it is a busy one. I took the
picture on the left at 8 pm a few nights later. There are always people moving
through the station.
On that second night of
our trip, our hosts were telling us where we would meet in the morning which
was adjacent to this clock that you can see in the picture on the right. While
we were standing there, a woman comes along with arms outstretched protecting a
young girl about 8 years old. The girl was obviously blind, her eyes were
mostly closed and did not look normal. Even though we weren’t much in the way,
one of our hosts jumped to make sure none of us got in the way. It made me
smile to see Kimura-san protecting this little girl who he had never seen
before nor ever would see again.
The little girl was
walking right down that line with little steps barely more than the length of
her foot. But her face was not a face of fear or worry or even effort or
striving, her expression was pure joy. She looked positively delighted to be
walking on that path.
Sometimes, I think we
forget what joy there is in walking the way of God. We forget what peace there
is in knowing Him. We forget what anxiety people have who are walking in
darkness. If you aren’t filled with joy as you follow Jesus, may God answer
David’s prayer in Psalm 51 (v. 12) and “Restore to you the joy of the Lord’s
salvation.” As you walk in the light, may you see the opportunity to express
and convey the joy of knowing the Lord to those around you.
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, and all the people, both high
and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the
Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long
time with his sorcery. 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. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed
Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. – Acts 8:9-13
The proper description
for Simon would be to say he’s got the big head. He was willing to be called
the Great Power of God. That’s certainly not a humble attitude. We don’t know
what kind of sorcery Simon did, but it was evidently nothing close the real
miracles that resulted from Philip’s ministry. The people turned away from
following Simon and his sorcery to follow Jesus as did Simon himself.
When the apostles in
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and
John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there
that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet
come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Spirit. – Acts 8:14-17
I’ve heard lots of
different explanations about the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Multiple passages
confirm that the Holy Spirit indwells a believer from the moment of spiritual
birth. (Matthew 28:19; John 3:5-7; 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14; Romans 8:9-16, 26; I
Corinthians 2:12; 6:19; 12:3,13; II Corinthians 1:22; Galatians 4:6-7;
Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; Titus 3:5-6)
So, what’s going on here
where we see an apparent separation between the moment of belief and the
arrival of the Holy Spirit? Well, to start with full disclosure, I don’t
exactly know. We aren’t given a full explanation, but we do see something
somewhat similar even between Jesus and the Twelve. In John 20:22, Jesus
breathes on the Twelve and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit, but then in
Acts 2, we see the Spirit arrive at Pentecost, 50 days later.
Paul wrote in Ephesians
5:18 telling believers to be filled with the Spirit. So, there is some
difference between having the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit. There is
also a possibility to displace the Spirit with other things. The example in
Ephesians is drinking to drunkenness. Don’t do that, rather be filled with the
Spirit.
So, if you believe in
Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit inside you. I Corinthians 6:19, “Your bodies
are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God.”
Being filled with the Spirit is something God wants for us and something we
should seek. Luke 11:13 says that we, though far from perfect, know how to give
good gifts to our children, so “how much more will your Father in heaven give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
When Simon saw that
the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them
money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my
hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May
your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God
with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is
not right before God. 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. For I see
that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Then Simon answered,
“Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” 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. – Acts 8:18-25
Perhaps another hint
about the work of the Holy Spirit in Samaria: since Simon wanted the gift to be
able to give the Holy Spirit, it seems likely the apostles laying on of hands
enabled the new Samaritan believers to perform miracles, too. That way Simon
would gain some recognition or honor if he had the ability.
We don’t know for sure
what’s going on with Simon. Did he get saved, or did he just intellectually
agree without believing? His desire to buy the ability to bestow the Holy
Spirit is clearly wrong. Then, Peter’s direction to Simon is not clearly taken.
Peter told him to repent and pray for forgiveness. However, Luke doesn’t tell
us that Simon repented and prayed. Instead, Simon asked Peter to pray for him. So,
we have a concern here that Simon may not have taken that step. Keep in mind
that if we have sinned, we return to a right relationship with God by repenting
of our sin, praying and asking forgiveness.
We end today’s passage
with the continuing multiplication of the church. Remember, all those who left
Jerusalem preached the word of God including Philip. Now, Peter and John
further proclaim the word and testify about Jesus in Samaria and they continue
preaching the gospel through many Samaritan villages on their way back to
Jerusalem. Next week, we will get to see the gospel begin its journey to the
ends of the earth.
Now, we will have a time
of communion to remember what our Lord has done for us. How He has brought us
to new life in Him and placed His life-giving Spirit in us. Let us remember Him
taking the bread as His body, broken for us, and the juice as His blood shed
for us. In this way, we proclaim Christ until He returns.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, I pray that
each one hearing Your word today will be filled with Your Spirit. Thank You for
Your sacrifice. Thank You for giving Your body and blood to save us. We worship
You, Jesus. Amen.
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