Acts #8

Philip the Evangelist

Thank you guys, and thank you Kristi & Eloise for that wonderful music, but before we continue in our studies of the book of Acts tonight, please if you would:

“Join me in a word of prayer.”

I’ve titled the message tonight, “Philip the Evangelist”

Last week in our study of the book of Acts, we talked about how the 12 disciples had chosen the first, so called deacons of the new Hebrew church. They chose them to help out in the daily operation of things such as the daily distribution of food. As you remember, the members of the new church had sold all their personal possessions and given all the proceeds to the church. The disciples chose 7 men to take on these responsibilities. We discussed one of them last week. Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr, how he was arrested, and how he was falsely accused of blasphemy, and how they drug him out of town and stoned him to death. We talked about Stephen’s defense by explaining Israel’s entire history of accepting and then falling away from God time after time, including killing their Messiah God had promised them and sent them. We also saw the introduction of the great apostle Paul in the book of Acts as he was guarding the coats of all the men who were stoning Stephen. Tonight we’re going to be discussing how after the death of Stephen, persecution broke out against the church and how they were all scattered through out the regions of Judea and Samaria. This persecution mainly came at the hands of Saul of Tarsus which we’ll later learn, became the apostle Paul. We will also talk tonight about the ministry of Philip in Samaria, the other main character that was introduced last week in the naming of the seven aids to the apostles. Philip’s ministry turned out to be quite amazing with him performing miraculous signs and wonders and teaching and preaching about Jesus and the good news of the kingdom to come. We will start off tonight by reading verses 1 thru 25 of chapter 8.

Read text:

Jesus had told His followers that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth back in the first chapter of Acts. Until the stoning of Stephen, they had remained in Jerusalem with a remarkable unity and spirit of fellowship. In this section of the story, however, persecution will drive them out of Jerusalem into the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria.

Change is seldom easy. It must have been difficult, if not a bit traumatic, for the church members in Jerusalem to just up and leave their homes. Most descriptions so far in Acts, have portrayed the church as an exciting and contagious place to be. Members ate in one another’s homes. No one had any financial needs. Property was shared equally among the members. Much time was devoted to prayer and learning from the disciples. There was a supernatural power working within the early Hebrew church. Miracles were taking place, and new believers were added everyday.

The few problems they had faced so far had been dealt with fairly quickly, allowing the group to keep ministering and growing. The ministries of the newly appointed Seven deacons had started very well, especially the work of Stephen.

Then, with no warning, Stephen had been seized, carried before the Sanhedrin, and stoned to death. The crowd’s hostile feelings toward Stephen ended up starting a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. The apostles, remained in Jerusalem however, and the new church eventually survived there, but many members were scattered to other locations. Notice verse 1. (“1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”). They left the wonderful unity they had shared, to settle elsewhere and begin new communities. Meanwhile, Saul was passionately seeking out and putting in prison all the believers he could lay his hands on.

The new believers might have been resistant to change, but they preached about Jesus wherever they went and began to see positive things happening. Philip left Jerusalem, and went to preach in Samaria. Philip became an effective evangelist. Like Stephen, he was empowered by the Holy Spirit to perform great miracles. Look at verse 6. (“6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.”). He drove out evil spirits and healed many paralyzed and crippled people, resulting in great joy throughout the region.

As it turned out, Philip’s display of God’s power was overshadowing the work of a sorcerer named Simon. Look at verses 9 and 10. (“9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.”). Simon’s boast to be the Great Power in verse 10 may have been a claim of divinity, or perhaps it was a way for him to claim an association with some unseen higher power. In either case, his ability to amaze the Samaritans with his magic came to an end when they saw Philip performing genuine miracles in the name of Jesus. Even Simon counted himself among the believers and was even baptized with numerous other Samaritans. But Simon appeared to be more of a follower of Philip, with a curiosity about the power he had been given by the Holy Spirit, than being a follower of Jesus. Notice verse 13. (“13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.”).

But one great miracle hadn’t been observed in Samaria yet. For some reason, the belief and baptism of the Samaritans wasn’t accompanied by the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Peter and John had been sent from Jerusalem to observe for themselves the response of the Samaritans to Philip’s preaching. When they arrived, they prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit, and the new believers did just that. Look at verses 14-17.(“14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”). Luke does not specify exactly what confirmed the presence of the Holy Spirit, but it was very apparent because Simon the sorcerer witnessed something that impressed him. It’s often assumed that the sign was speaking in tongues like it was on the Day of Pentecost, but scripture doesn’t really tell us.

Peter earlier had promised the gift of the Spirit to all who repented and were baptized back in chapter 2 verse 38. (“38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”). So why the delay in the arrival of the Holy Spirit in this one instance? Well, it could have been the long history of tension (and even hatred) between the Jews and the Samaritans. Hostility had existed between the two groups for centuries, and discention had formed because of differences. Differences only in their place of worship. The Samaritans believed in God and practiced the law, but didn’t worship at the temple in Jerusalem. The animosity over their location of worship was intense. For the Samaritans to believe in the same Savior and be baptized in the same Name as the Jews was an unprecedented event. The delay in the coming of the Holy Spirit however allowed Peter and John to witness the event so they could return to the church in Jerusalem and confirm God’s work among their former enemies. In addition, Philip’s ministry as an evangelist was validated among the Samaritan people.

It is rather strange that John was one of the disciples sent to witness the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Samaritans. One of the last times he had been in Samaria, he had asked Jesus about calling down fire on the people. We can read about that in Luke 9:52-56. Lets look at it. (52 And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.”) The very disciple who previously wanted God to pour out His judgment on the Samaritans was there to see God pour out His Spirit and His blessing on them instead.

Peter and John had laid their hands on the Samaritan believers prior to their receiving the Holy Spirit. Simon the sorcerer witnessed what happened and tried to bribe the two apostles to give him the same ability. Notice verses 18 and 19. (“18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”) Peter’s response not only revealed the shallowness of Simon’s “conversion,” but also created great fear within the sorcerer . Judging from Simon’s heart not being right before God, brings doubt that he had ever made a sincere decision to repent and follow Jesus. After Peter’s harsh rebuke, Simon wouldn’t even pray to God directly but looked for someone else to pray for him instead. Notice verse 24. (“24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”). Not scripture, but early church tradition says that Simon originated the cult of Gnosticism and led a lot of believers astray with his false teachings.

In contrast to the reluctance of Simon was the enthusiasm of Peter and John. On their way back to Jerusalem, they preached the gospel in many other Samaritan villages. The love of Jesus was beginning to heal a conflict that had existed for centuries between the two groups.

Before we start our next section of the story lets read verses 26 through 40 together: Read text:

After such amazing success in Samaria, the angel’s instructions to Philip doesn’t seem to make much sense. Look at verse 26. (“26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.”). Gaza is the most southerly of five Philistine cities near the Mediterranean coast. I assume we all know where Gaza is now, with all the things going on in Israel right now. But the road between Jerusalem and Gaza stretched through the desert for fifty or sixty miles. Why leave the crowds of eager-to-hear Samaritans to go into isolation in the wilderness? Yet Philip seemed to respond with no reservations.

Along the way he saw a chariot and was told by the Spirit to stay close to it. Notice verse 29. (“29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”). I wish the Holy Spirit would just verbally speak to me today, but that’s a lesson for another time. Inside the chariot was a man reading from the book of Isaiah the profit. It was common practice in those days to speak aloud when reading. So Philip had the ideal opportunity to ask the man if he understood what he was reading. And of course he had no idea. It’s just like today when an unsaved person reads the Bible, it’s really hard for them to understand it without someone explaining it to them. But once a person’s saved, it all starts making perfect sense when you read it and we really start growing in our knowledge and our understanding of the Bible.

It turned out that the man was an important official from Ethiopia, the man in charge of the queen’s treasury. The Ethiopian eunuch had traveled a great distance to worship in Jerusalem, but the fact that he was a eunuch may have prevented his opportunity to worship because Hebrew law didn’t allow it. Lets look at Deuteronomy 23:1 (“1 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the Lord.”) Perhaps he had gone all that way to Jerusalem, only to be turned away from the temple and all the other worshipers.

If so, it is all the more significant that he was reading about someone else who was humiliated and without descendents, that is Jesus. It was also all the more frustrating that he didn’t really understand the scriptures. So Philip climbed up in the chariot with him and started with what he was reading, Isaiah 53, to tell him the good news about Jesus.

When they traveled past some water, the Ethiopian eunuch asked to be baptized, and Philip complied. Look at verses 36-38. (“36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.”) But as soon as the two came up out of the water, Philip disappeared under the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Ethiopian eunuch never saw him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

As for Philip, he turned up in Azotus (the Old Testament city of Ashdod), miles away from where he had been. Now that’s a miracle. So he made his way north to Caesarea, preaching throughout various towns as he traveled. Philip appears to have settled in Caesarea according to Acts 21:8–9. Lets read it (“8 On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.”).

Closing:

The account of the belief and salvation of the Samaritans and their early inclusion into the Hebrew church provides a good lesson for us today as believers. Can you think of anybody, or any groups of people who tend to be excluded from church involvement either locally or worldwide? Do you think it’s better for the church to remain somewhat segregated, or should God’s people strive harder for total unity within the “Body of Christ”? What do you think it would take to resolve the conflicts within the church today and become more united denominationally, regardless of race, economic status, or political affiliation? Something for us to think about during our quiet time.

Lets pray together: ..........................

Invitation:

As Kristi and Eloise are getting us ready to sing our last hymn tonight, and as we’re considering all the things we’ve learned together, about the beginning of the church in the book of Acts, and if you have never honored God before by asking His Son Jesus, to save you from what we all deserve, which is spiritual death, this would be the perfect time to do just that. God has made that so easy for us to do. The Bible says that anyone, and I do mean anyone, who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus SHALL BE SAVED. It doesn’t matter what your past may look like. The Lord just cares about your future. And He wants everyone to spend that future with Him in eternity, in that place He calls heaven. Don’t wait another second. If you have any doubt at all about your eternal security, or what’s going to happen to you when you die physically, I beg you to get it settled right now. Don’t wait another second. Get it taken care of right this minute, right here,----- just quietly, ----- with your eyes closed, ----- with your heads bowed, ----- and with your heart’s toward God, ----- just pray a little prayer like this......just pray......Lord, thank you that you love me. I am a sinner, in need of a savior. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins and for the sins of the whole world. I also believe that after three days He was raised from the dead by Your power, so that I also may live in newness of life. Save me Lord, so I may live the rest of my life for You.----- The Bible says if you prayed a simple little prayer like this “you will be saved”.

Please, as we’re singing our last hymn tonight, and if you still need too, just pray that little prayer I mentioned as we sing. And God will save you !! Lets sing together.