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Acts - 22
Acts 8:14-25
Introduction
Of all the books in my office (and I have a lot of books) one of the most important is a little paperback book titled “Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms.”
To get a right definition for a word, to come to a right understanding of a concept sometimes requires that you compare it to other words, called synonyms.
The synonyms essentially mean the same thing but they bring out other nuances that help you understand it.
But other times, to rightly understand a word you need to contrast it with other words, called antonyms, so that you can define something by what it is NOT.
In our text for today, the concept of what it means to be a Christian is shown to us by way of contrast.
We are able to see what a true believer is and what a false believer is.
And by seeing this true/false dichotomy we are able to come to a fuller understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a Christian.
Let me remind you of the context: Philip the evangelist is in Samaria, preaching the gospel and pointing people to Jesus.
The Samaritans have previously been focused on the astounding feats of a magician named Simon.
Philip comes into town, with the power of God, and heals the sick and casts out demons.
All these miracles point to the truth and validity of Philip’s message.
The Samaritans believe the gospel and respond in baptism.
Even Simon the magician seems to be converted.
But upon closer inspection, things might not be as they seem.
Acts 8:14-25 - 14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,
15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit had been bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
19 saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you supposed you could obtain the gift of God with money!
21 You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray earnestly to the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of unrighteousness.”
24 But Simon answered and said, “Pray earnestly to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
25 So, when they had solemnly bore witness and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were proclaiming the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
TS - The Samaritans as a whole are set in contrast with Simon, showing us the difference between a true believer and a false believer.
TRUE BELIEVERS (V.
14-17)
In Acts 1:8 the Lord Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses, they would testify about Him, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
While this would have certainly been inspiration to hear that they would take the good news of Jesus around the world, the reality of that was maybe a little less than inspiring.
For centuries, the Jews believed they were God’s chosen people.
And in one sense, that was certainly true.
God had promised Abraham in Genesis 12 that He would work through Abraham’s line to birth a new nation that would be God’s own possession on the earth.
God promised to bless them and protect them.
He promised to work in and through them.
And God did exactly as He had promised.
But over time, this created a false sense of superiority among the Jews.
They were God’s people and the rest of the world be damned.
The Gentiles were unclean.
They were rebellious against God.
They disobeyed His law.
They were ‘less than’ the Jews in terms of a relationship with God.
So even when their own people caved and intermarried with those pagan nations, producing the people group known as Samaritans, the Jews viewed even them as ‘less than.’
In fact, Jews put Samaritans in the same religious category as the Gentiles…unclean, unfaithful, outsiders.
The fact that the Gospel, the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, was going to go to the Samaritans, even to the nations, was mind blowing for them.
It was overwhelming.
That God would save those outside the Jewish nation was difficult to accept.
Read the NT letters.
Read the rest of the book of Acts.
These early Christians, who all came from a Jewish background, struggled with the fact that Samaritans could be saved, that Gentiles could be saved.
That struggle is put on display for us here.
V. 14 - Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John…
That phrase ‘received the word of God’ is used three times in Acts.
First in Acts 2:41 at Pentecost when the Church initially began.
The Jewish crowds believed God’s word in Peter’s sermon.
Now, here it is Samaritans who receive God’s word.
In Acts 11:1 it is the Gentiles (the non-Jewish, pagan nations) receive God’s word.
There is something going on here.
This event in Acts 8 is a major turning point salvation history.
God’s salvation goes beyond one chosen nation.
The gospel goes outside the Jewish people and into another group, one that had previously been viewed as ‘unsaveable.’
So when word gets back to the apostles about the Samaritans believing in Jesus, they quickly dispatch Peter and John (two major pillars) to check it out.
Of course they did!
They had to verify this was real.
They had to check in to make sure this was legit.
They had heard Jesus say that they would take the gospel to Samaria, but to hear the Samaritans actually believed it…well, maybe that was too good to be true.
Upon arrival, they discover that something is missing…or Someone is missing.
V. 14b-17 - …they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
What is going on here?
In Acts 2 at Pentecost, Peter had declared that all who believe, repent, and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ are assured forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Yet here, (as seen in verse 12) these Samaritans believe the gospel, repent of their previous trust in Simon the magician, and are baptized in the name of Jesus.
Why hasn’t the Spirit come yet?
Of all the theories that scholars present, only one of them makes any sense.
This is an exceptional event.
This is not the normative experience for all believers.
It is not the normative experience for all believers that they come to Christ at one point and then the Spirit comes into their life during a second experience.
That is what Roman Catholics and Pentecostals/Charismatics falsely teach.
According to Acts 2, the normative experience for all believers is that upon faith, repentance, and baptism, salvation and the indwelling presence of the Spirit are given at one and the same time.
This is an exceptional event in Acts 8.
So what makes it so exceptional?
This is the first time salvation comes to anyone outside of a Jewish background.
This is so outstanding, so unique, that God purposely withholds His Spirit until the apostles arrive.
Why? Two reasons.
First, so the apostles can know for sure that God is saving people outside of Israel.
Yes, Jesus promised that, but it is another experience to witness it firsthand.
Get your head around it.
Get your heart around it.
I think this is shown for sure in the fact that John is one of the apostles sent to Samaria.
Do you know what John wanted to do the last time he was in Samaria?
Read Luke 9.
They had rejected Jesus and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to kill them all.
That is how John feels about Samaritans.
But now, instead of seeing fire fall from Heaven, he sees the Holy Spirit fall.
I imagine this had a life-changing impact on the apostles.
And second, to show the Samaritans that they are in.
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