“Acts 8: The Preaching of Philip”

Sunday, January 08, 2017

In Chapter 8, the persecution intensifies. With the opposition led by a young man named Saul (first mentioned in Acts 7:58), the whole church, except the apostles, is scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Everywhere the disciples go, they preach the gospel.

We are next introduced to another of the seven, Philip. He has two major events in the rest of this chapter. First, he preaches to the city of Samaria and then to an individual, a government official from Ethiopia.

When he is forced out of Jerusalem, Philip initially goes to Samaria. The Samaritans were a despised group of people, half Jew and half Gentile, never fully accepted by either side.

Philip has one message for these lost souls, salvation in Jesus Christ. Again, the miracles that he is able to perform convince many that Philip’s message is the truth. Those who believe are baptized, and as Jesus promised Mark 16:15-16, they are saved by the grace of Almighty God.

One of the Samaritan converts was a sorcerer named Simon, who immediately recognized the difference between his magical tricks and the genuine miracles of Philip. After he becomes a Christian, he wants to buy some of this miraculous power from the apostles and is told to repent and pray to God for forgiveness.

Right in the middle of this city-wide revival, God calls Philip away to a deserted place for a providential meeting with the treasurer of the nation of Ethiopia. Returning to his home from a spiritual journey to Jerusalem, the official is reading from the book of Isaiah, but does not understand what he is reading. Philip preaches Jesus to him, he is baptized and the officer goes on his way rejoicing. Philip moves on to Caesarea.

--Roger Hillis

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