Act of the Apostles: From Persecution to Proclamation (Ep 136)

Introduction and Overview

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Jason: Thank you for listening and welcome to the podcast. I'm your host, Jason McConnell. Today we're gonna step into Acts chapter eight. Now, this is a pivotal chapter one where the church faces its first great wave of persecution, and instead of shutting down the gospel explodes outward. We'll talk about Philip preaching with power in Samaria, Simon, the sorcerer, trying to manipulate God's spirit for his own gain and a divine encounter on a desert road with an Ethiopian official.

That brings the good news of Jesus to the edge of Africa. This chapter is absolutely bursting with drama, tension and the unstoppable hand of God moving through his people. And here's the heartbeat of it all. No matter what opposition arises, the word of God cannot be chained.

The Persecution Begins

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Jason: So the church was growing so fast that seven men were chosen to help serve the community, freeing the apostles to focus on preaching and prayer.

Now, Stephen was one of these guys and he was full of grace and power, but his bold preaching drew the attention of the Sanhedrin and and he was brought before the council. Now, when they couldn't stand up against the spirit of wisdom, they turned to lies and rage. In Acts chapter seven, Stephen delivered a powerful sermon recounting Israel's history of rejecting God's messengers and pointing to Jesus as the righteous one.

That they had crucified and the crowd snapped. And Stephen became the first real Christian martyr as he was stoned to death. We ended our last episode with Acts eight verse one, and Saul approved of their killing him a name that's definitely gonna come up again. So remember that name, Saul. But that's where we begin our journey in Acts chapter eight at at this tipping point where persecution intensifies scattering the church.

And I want you to remember this though, what the enemy does to harm us, God will use to spread his kingdom. So let's get started with Acts chapter eight, verses one through three. 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.

Godly man buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. Saul began to destroy the church going from house to house. He dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. So we see the church is in mourning. They're, they're deeply grieving. The loss of Steven yet doing this publicly was a bit dangerous.

It was an act of defiance basically. Yet their grief was, was very real, and I'm sure it was raw and very honest. Unfortunately, Stephen's death was just the beginning. Persecution broke out against the ch, the Christians and Saul was. But one of many, I mean, prior to this, the apostles were the ones who were being arrested and beaten for following Jesus.

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Uh, these were men who were, who were married, they had children, and it was, it was a tragic loss for their families. But one of the wives, this Elizabeth Elliot, she wrote two books in particular that the Lord has used and continues to use through the gates of splendor is one. And shadow of the Almighty, the life and testament of Jim Elliot.

Now, a lot of people have been moved by these books and it is a reminder that God will use these terrible tragedies for the kingdom if, if we let him. But here comes our antagonist, Saul taking the center stage, and he's not just casually attacking the church. He is actively trying to destroy it. The way, the way Luke writes, it reminds me of this animal tearing apart prey and, and I can only imagine the fear that he inspired believers are being dragged from their homes, men and women alike, and being put in prison.

But this grief, this loss and rejection becomes a very soil where God begins planting something completely new. The believers are scattering and Christ's message is going with them. Now Saul's persecution was vision. Terrible, uh, but in the end it worked towards the glory of God because the persecution served to just spread the message.

Acts one, verse eight was Jesus's roadmap. Right? You'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judean Sumerian to the ends of the earth.

Philip's Ministry in Samaria

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Jason: And if you listen to my intro episode, you, you may remember that Acts eight is where the Book of Acts transitions from Jerusalem. To that Judean Samaria, and we see this starting in Acts eight, verses four through eight.

Those who had been scattered, preached the word wherever they went. 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, 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. Let's backtrack. Who was Philip, if you remember? He was one of the seven chosen alongside Stephen back in Acts chapter six. He wasn't an apostle. He was one of the deacons, but God uses him mightily here. And this tells us that ministry isn't reserved for a chosen few.

God calls and equips every believer to share the gospel and be Christ's witnesses, and scripture tells us he preached the word. This is a little bit misleading. The word preach here comes from the Greek word Zo, which more accurately represents bringing the good news or to announce Glad tidings you and I, we can do this too.

We just have to share the good news of what Jesus has done in our lives. It doesn't require a PhD in biblical studies. And remember, when we witness, we're just telling others about our own experiences and what what's happened in our lives. But also understand Samaria was unlike any mission field. Jews and Samaritans had centuries of hostility between them, religious, cultural, even racial tension.

James and John and the other disciples once thought that the Samaritans were only good for being destroyed by fire. Called down from heaven in Luke nine verses 51 through 56. Yet here, Philip goes right into Samaria preaches Christ, and miracles begin to happen. Demons flee the paralyzed walk and the city explodes with joy.

The barriers of prejudice and division are being torn down by the power of Christ. The Jews rejected Christ's message. So God is extending salvation in Jesus to others. Starting with the Samaritans here. So I want you to consider who is or where is your Samaria? That that is at that place or, or those people that you try to avoid, yet God is calling you to bring his light there.

It's our job to make sure that the gospels cross every line we draw or, or even others draw for us.

Simon the Sorcerer

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Jason: And then we have kind of an interesting and dramatic situation play out in Samaria with this guy. Scripture refers to as Simon the sorcerer. I mean, you can imagine his name probably doesn't bode well. I mean, biblical sorcery is associated with a cult and, and magical practices.

But this all the Simon, the Sorcerer, it all starts in Acts eight verse nine through 13. Now, for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city in amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great. 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 so long 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, 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.

So Simon was a bit of a celebrity in Samaria, and the people called him the great power of God, right? He thrived on influence, on mystique, and on the crowd's admiration. Now, if Simon had actually any powers, they certainly weren't give given to him by God, if he catch my drift. But Philip shows up preaching Christ, performing miracles by God's power, not parlor tricks.

And, and this Simon. Is astonished and so convinced that he declares his own belief. So he gets baptized and and begins to follow Philip around. And it's possible that Simon's conversion was genuine. There's nothing in scripture to suggest that he was being deceitful, but Satan does hate it when he loses one of his servants.

And I'm gonna circle back to that in a moment. But something very interesting happens here. Something that even today causes some controversy. Let's read in Acts eight, verses 14 through 17, 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. So Jesus.

Gave Peter and the other apostles the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 16 verse 19. So it, it kind of makes sense that Peter and John went down to Samaria to officially welcome the converts, uh, the converted Samaritans into God's kingdom. Now, for some reason, the Samaritan believers didn't actually receive the spirit when they converted and were baptized.

So there was son of a kind of a subsequent experience with the Holy Spirit, but Peter and John. Went out there and laid hands on these new believers, and then they received the spirit. Right? Well, the controversy comes in because these new Christians had to have some subsequent experience to their salvation, and, and there's several explanations offered for this in various commentaries.

I mean, some will argue that they tr weren't truly born again under Philip's preaching. And when Peter and John arrived, the Samaritans converted truly and trusted in Jesus and received the spirit. Okay. Some argue that receiving the Holy Spirit in, in a subsequent experience is a, is a pattern that believers follow.

Even today, you get converted, you baptized, and then sometime later the spirit arrives. Maybe one argument suggests that they were truly converted, but God withheld the gift of the Holy Spirit until Peter and John could bestowed upon them to ensure continuity between the church in Jerusalem and what happened with the outpouring of the Spirit and this new church in Samaria to guard against any sort of perceived division.

Possible. I guess number four is probably the one that I'm most aligned with, and it says that they were truly converted and did receive the spirit at the time of their conversion, but were given special gifts and graces of the spirit at the laying of hands by Peter and John. I mean, I'll let you read it for yourself and, and pray for the wisdom and clarity on this topic.

Uh, but like I said, I, I personally like to think that last option is what happened, and it's, it's something that will happen to all of us as well at some point. If we, if we follow the faith, we convert, we are filled with the spirit and later are given special gifts and graces as we mature into that faith.

But anyways, I promise to circle back to Simon and his relationship with Satan. So in Acts eight verses 18 to 19, we see Simon slip back into focusing on himself instead of God. When Simon saw that the spirit was given at the laying of hands of the apostles, he offered them money and said, give me also this ability so that everyone whom I lay my hands on may receive the spirit.

So Simon noticed that when Peter and Sean put their hands on people, something happened. I mean, clearly he was impressed with whatever this was, and he wanted that power so badly that he offered money for it. He reduced the miracle of God's salvation. As something that could be bought and sold. And he wanted to control the workings of the spirit.

He regarded the spirit as an object he wanted to use instead of a person who ruled his life. And because of this, the word simony is actually a word used for the sin of buying and selling church offices or privileges because it's done in the same spirit as Simon here. Something I didn't know, but so sometimes this is even done today, right?

So how does Peter respond to Simon? Well, let's see what happens in Acts eight verses 20 through 23. Peter answered, may your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money. You have no part to 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 thoughts in your heart.

For, I see that you are full of bitterness and captivated by sin. Ooh, that was rough. Understand the gifts of God are bestowed upon us freely by him through faith. We see this way back in Isaiah 55 verse one, come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters and you who have no money. Come buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

Peter wasn't happy and he rebuked Simon harshly, telling him, may your money perish with you, which is basically saying to hell with you and your money. I imagine this was difficult to watch or at least awkward. I mean, understand. He was willing to tell Simon the truth in love, even though it must have been a difficult conversation.

And by all accounts, Simon was a true Christian. I mean, he expressed his belief in Philip's preaching and was received as a follower in Acts eight 13. He must have attended meetings as he was there for the laying on hands in Acts eight, verse 18. I'm sure Philip regarded him as a follower of Jesus and he baptized him.

But if you ask me, a true believer wouldn't be vulnerable to the temptations of Satan. At least not that deeply vulnerable, but that's just, that's just my thoughts on it. Now, what's interesting is that Peter uses the phrase, you have no part or share in this ministry. That's similar to the words Jesus spoke to Peter in the upper room when he refused Jesus' offer to wash his feet in John 13, eight.

But how does Simon answer this? How does he respond to this? In Acts 8 24, then Simon answered, pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me. So instead of humbling himself before God. Simon asked Peter to pray that he would be spared the consequences of his sin. I mean, clearly there was power and conviction in the Holy Spirit, but he just couldn't find that humility.

Simon wants someone else to do the work for him. Peter gave him an out in Acts 8 22. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hopes that he may forgive you for having such thoughts in your heart. But Simon asked Peter to do this for him. Look, nobody can humble me or you before God. We have to choose that for ourselves.

We have to repent for our own behavior. Preachers can pray for us. Our friends and family can pray for us, but we have to make the decision to kneel before Jesus and humbly accept his salvation. Unfortunately, we never really find out what actually happens to Simon. It's possible he got his heart right with God.

Some church traditions suggests that he went a bit nuts and became a dangerous false teacher. But regardless, with the exception of Simon, Peter and John had a great success in some area along with Philip, but they returned to Jerusalem in Acts 8 24. Instead of reaching out beyond the city, Philip on the other hand, continued beyond Samaria, and the next leg of Philip's adventure starts in Acts eight, verses 26 through 29.

The Ethiopian Eunuch

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Jason: Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he started out and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all treasury of the Kand, which means Queen of Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah, the prophet.

The spirit told Philip, go to that chariot and stay near it. It seems like Philip is a frontline man for God's mission right now, and his ministry in Samaria was blessed and fruitful, and I imagine it was pretty hard to consider leaving that and moving on to the desert no less. But God had plans for our missionary, and Philip was a faithful servant.

Now, there were two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, and God commanded Philip to take the one that was seldom used. But regardless, he encounters this Ethiopian eunuch reading from Isaiah, and the first thing to note is that Ethiopia back then was much larger than the Ethiopia of today, and this was a land where the Queen of Sheba came from.

Now she saw the glory of Solomon's kingdom, and she had faith in the God of Israel. So it's possible that the Jewish faith was passed along over centuries to men like the one Philip encountered. I wanna point out that scrolls, like the one he was probably reading from, were very expensive. So it's, it's clear that this Ethiopian was both successful as well as hungry for God's word to spend that kind of, that kind of money on it.

So here's Philip. Stumbling upon a man who was rich and probably powerful, and the spirit tells Philip to be bold and just go up to the, to the Ethiopian. I want you to also understand that because this man was a eunuch, he might not have been treated so well in Jerusalem according to Deuteronomy 23 verse one, no one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.

So what's possible? This dusty road was the only place this Ethiopian man felt comfortable reading from scripture, but God arranged a divine appointment here between Philip and the Ethiopian. As we continue, you'll see that as we continue in Acts eight verses 30 and 31. Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.

Do you understand what you are reading? Philip asked, how can I, he said, unless someone explains it to me. So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now, it was pretty customary to read out loud in the ancient world, so clearly Philip knew what was being read as he approached the stranger. And this was a door opened by God, a heart prepared by God.

Philip was a, was very good at being led by the Spirit, which made him a, a really effective evangelist. Should probably point out that the ability to read is pretty rare in ancient times. So that tells us that the Ethiopian was, was learned that he, he'd had some education, but Philip starts by asking, do you understand what you're reading?

And this wasn't an affront to the Ethiopian, but a gracious offer to explain what these passages meant. And look, I'm, I'm no stranger to reading and not understanding, and there's no shame in asking for help in discipleship. That's why commentaries exist. That why, that's why we have discipleship programs.

It's a lesson for us that it's good to read the Bible, but we should seek to understand the word and, and sometimes we need help doing that. But as is Ethiopian. He is graciously accepting this invitation. We, we get the scripture and Philip's answer in eight verse 32 through 35. 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 sheer is silent. So he did not open his mouth in his humiliation. He was deprived of justice. Who can speak of this? Of his descendants for his life was taken from this earth. The eunuch asked Philip, tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about himself or someone else?

Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. So this passage, it was coming from Isaiah 53 verses seven and eight, and this is, this is a wonderful segue for Philip to teach about Jesus. It's almost like God arranged everything perfectly, right? I do wanna step back for a moment because the Jews of that day understood the identity of this suffering servant a little bit differently.

Now, some believed the suffering servant was the nation of Israel itself. Since Israel had suffered a great deal in the midst of wars and exile and persecution, some believed he was Isaiah writing about himself. Others still thought this suffering servant was the Messiah, but they found this difficult.

Because they didn't want to think of the Messiah as suffering, but what a better place to start a conversation about Jesus and the passage from Isaiah that he was reading. So I'm sure Philip preached about who Jesus was and and what he has done for us. I mean, these are the essentials of the gospels.

Look, I, I appreciate that preachers like to remind us that we have obligations to God, but the gospels begin with and are founded upon what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. And I believe this is where evangelism should start. But we're gonna close out chapter eight with the Ethiopian getting baptized in Philip, basically being whisked away in Acts eight verses 36 through 40.

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 me being baptized? And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down to the water and Philip baptized him. Then 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 he went on his way rejoicing.

Philip, however, appeared in Asta Aus. And traveled about preaching the gospels in all the towns until he reached cesa, so that was weird. Clearly, the spirit was at work here because this stranger, Philip encountered, became a true believer and wanted to be baptized in declaration of his beliefs. Now in some manuscripts, verse 37 ads, Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may, and the eunuch answered, I believe that Jesus Christ is a son of God.

Which kind of reinforces the the Ethiopian's belief. But as the Ethiopian came up outta the water, the spirit of the Lord came and carried Philip away. And this is pretty strange and pretty unique occurrence in scripture. However, Ethiopian doesn't seem phased and continues on with this massive joy in his heart.

There is an interesting sidebar here though. The Coptic Christians who are persecuted in Egypt today trace their lineage back to the Ethiopian official. Now whether that's true or not, who can say, but it would demonstrate the importance of this one divine appointment. Now, Philip went on to preach the gospels in all the towns until he reached, uh, CESA, which is another Gentile city.

I mean, this was truly the beginning of the Gospel spread beyond Jerusalem, just as Jesus commanded in Acts one verse eight. And it's no wonder that Philip is the only person in the New Testament to be called. The evangelist later in Acts 21 verse eight.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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Jason: Acts chapter eight is a chapter of movement. The church scatters, and in doing so the gospel spread.

Philip crosses boundaries. Simon teaches us the dangers of false faith, and the Ethiopian euch reminds us that nobody, absolutely nobody is beyond God's reach. The gospel is unstoppable. Persecution can't stop it. Prejudice can't stop it. Distance can't stop it. The spirit drove Philip a deacon chosen to help set tables to cross boundaries and ethnic divides.

Well guys, that's the spirit that's alive in you and me today. So get out there, witness with your Jerusalem to your Judean, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Be bold when those divine appointments guide you to the most unlikely people, and surrender to the one who gave his life for us. To God be the glory forever and ever.

Amen. Until next time, keep loving your neighbors. Dive into God's word daily and may the Lord bless you and keep you and fill you with his peace. Take care of God bless, and I'll see you in the next episode.

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