DAY 8
Acts 8:1-40
Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.
Persecution Scatters the Believers
A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2 (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) 3 But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4 But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. 5 Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. 6 Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. 7 Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
9 A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. 10 Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One—the Power of God.” 11 They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.
12 But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. 19 “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”
20 But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! 21 You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. 22 Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, 23 for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”
24 “Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”
25 After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
26 As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.
And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
33 He was humiliated and received no justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.
1. After Stephen was killed for his faith (as one of the first martyrs of the Christian church), persecution led to a spread of the gospel throughout the lands. This created the first true missionary efforts of the early church to spread the gospel. In modern society, we tend to view persecution through an incorrect lens, assuming that any hint of societal secularism is the same as physical persecution. How does the martyrdom of Stephen change your view on what consitutes Christian persecution? What do you make of the idea that persecution leads to the faster spread of Christianity? Why do you think that is?
2. This chapter shows us one of the first big pushes of evangelism in the world as the church spread through all areas as a response to the death of Stephen. What is your own responsibility for evangelizing to others and how does that play out in your life? What does it mean to share the Good News with others?
3. On the subject of evangelism, we tend to see a few different approaches, both evidenced thus far in the missional efforts of the early church. This included both corporate evangelism (sharing the gospel with large groups) and personal evangelism (one-on-one sharing). Today, we may equate the extremes of these models ranging from standing on the street corner yelling about poor souls who will go to hell without Jesus, to uber-relational evangelism models that focus on of hoping people see Jesus through the actions of our own lives without ever truly sharing the Good News. These may represent the two furthest extremes of evangelism models, but which is the most effective to you? Why? Which one do you practice in your own life? Is there room for multiple approaches to tell people about Jesus?
4. There is some question on what the status of Simon’s faith really was. On one hand, he seems to have been converted to the cause of Christ, but on another, there are some indications that his faith may have been formed from the sheer desire to become more powerful after seeing what Philip was capable of through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is an important question to ponder in our own spiritual development, and even Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 13:5, saying, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” When is the last time that you examined yourself and your faith? Have you seen evidence of the fruits of the spirit develop in your own life? (see Galatians 5:22-23)
Thank you God for the genuine faith of those who followed you through persecution and turmoil, and at their own personal risk. As I look at my own faith, I ask for a courage and boldness to share my faith with others; to truly be a witness to the good news of Jesus and to be willing to tell others about the transformation and salvation you give. Give me the courage of Stephen, and the faith of Philip. Search my heart, just as the Psalmist wrote, and find where there is any wickedness in my own life that needs your transformation. Search me for genuine faith, and show me areas that I may be lacking. Fill me with your spirit as I go about my day, and make my heart sensitive to the movement of your Spirit in the ordinary moments. Amen.
LIFE IS NOT MEANT TO BE LIVED ALONE. YOU WERE CREATED TO EXPERIENCE LIFE WITH OTHER PEOPLE.