Acts 8:1-25
And Saul approved of their killing him.
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.
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.
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.
Philips
Acts 8 opens with the persecution of the Church. Stephen was just murdered, and Saul is going door to door, dragging Christians away to prison. Note: prisons in antiquity are notoriously terrible places—torture and disease were common as they waited in overcrowded spaces for their sentencing.
This was not a happy time for the Church; they fled for their lives, yet despite the danger, “those who had been scattered preached the Gospel wherever they went.”
These believers couldn’t help but speak of Jesus.
It’s hard to imagine that anybody would want to listen to these disciples’ stories of being chased out of town by a murderous, religious zealot and be remotely interested in following Jesus.
If I was in their shoes, starting my life over as a refugee, I would be sorely tempted to keep my mouth shut.
But these disciples can’t stay quiet.
I wonder if the choice to go to Samaria is a strategic play—it’s place that any good Pharisee would actively avoid. Whether it was strategic or coincidental, Philip showed up and his ministry in Samaria looked a lot like Jesus’ ministry: deliverance, healing, and joy (Luke 4:17-21).
The good news spreads as the disciples see and address the needs around them.
The rest of the story about Simon the Sorcerer is fascinating—I imagine him following Philip around like a puppy, being a hype man, loudly shouting “Yoooo,” every time somebody is healed after Philip prays for them. And while that story is interesting, I can’t move past that one line: “…so there was great joy in the city.”
In my younger days, I always thought Philip’s story was so cool—keeping pace with chariots, baptizing royal eunuchs, teleporting wherever the Spirit took him (like some kind of Nightcrawler for Jesus), throwing down with sorcerers (and leaving them speechless), and healing people. When Jesus says it’s good that he leaves because we will do great things (John 14:12), Philip and his miracles come to mind.
But lately, when I look at Philip, I think joy, rather than miracles, is the greatest thing that characterized his ministry.
As first century political refugees, these disciples were familiar with suffering. They crossed every kind of social barrier and went out of their religious comfort zones (think spending your entire eating Kosher, and suddenly none of that matters anymore). They watched their friends die, sometimes brutally. They left their homes and families and moved to Samaria—a place that no good Jew went (because the Samaritans were practically considered apostates). They were beaten, stoned, left for dead or imprisoned. They experienced true hardship—and yet everywhere they went, their ministry was marked with joy.
When people think of Christians today—joy probably isn’t the first description that comes to mind. It’s probably not even top ten.
I want to be the kind of person, who—like Philip and his friends—makes a place better: more healing, more deliverance, more joy.
Reflection:
What characterizes your ministry? Deliverance? Healing? Joy? How do others talk about the effect you have on them?
Are you sharing Jesus with those around you? Why or why not?
Author Bio
Eric Crow is the Communications Manager for The Alliance Canada national office. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Emily, and their three boys. He loves coffee, running, and gardening.
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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