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Acts 8:4–8
“Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did” (vv. 5–6).
Right before ascending to heaven, Jesus told His followers that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon [them], and [they would be His] witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:6–11). Thus far in our study of Luke’s history of the early church in the book of Acts, we have seen the initial stages of Christian witness in Jerusalem and Judea (chs. 1–7). In today’s passage, we read of the spread of the gospel to Samaria, in line with our Lord’s promise regarding the expansion of the church.
In God’s providence, persecution of the church brought the gospel from Jerusalem to the wider world. As noted in Acts 8:1–3, the Jewish religious leaders began persecuting the church more generally after the martyrdom of Stephen, scattering many of the believers away from Jerusalem. Verse 4 indicates that the Christians who fled the city went forth “preaching the word.” Here we see an example of the Lord’s working great good out of evil and suffering (see Rom. 8:28), for persecution of God’s people led to their taking the good news of salvation beyond the boundaries of Judea.
As noted, the first place the gospel went outside Jerusalem was Samaria, for Philip went and preached there (Acts 8:5). Philip was one of the first men appointed to care for the church’s widows (6:1–7), and he addressed not only the material needs of the early believers but also the spiritual needs of people outside the church through the proclamation of the gospel. The English Standard Version says that Philip went to “the city of Samaria” (8:5), the chief city of the Samaritan region, but some other manuscripts say that Philip went to “a city of Samaria,” another locale in the Samaritan territory but not the city of Samaria itself. Either way, the gospel was making inroads into areas that were not fully Jewish. Jesus commanded His followers to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, not just the people of Israel, and Philip’s work in Samaria was integral to the worldwide extension of the gospel (see Matt. 28:18–20).
Philip preached the gospel with power, working miracles to confirm the message. The Samaritans listened intently, and many of them believed, responding with joy to the gospel. John Calvin comments, “It cannot be but that so soon as we know that God will be favorable and merciful our minds shall be [filled] with incomparable joy, and such as does far pass all understanding.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
There can be no greater joy than to know that we have been reconciled to our Creator and forgiven of our sin. Possessing this joy does not mean that we deny the reality of the hardships we face, but it does mean that we persevere through our trials, knowing that we are right with God and that we can find joy even in the darkest times because we ultimately belong to Christ forever.
For further study
- Psalm 5:11–12
- Isaiah 12:3
- Acts 8:26–40
- 1 Thessalonians 1:2–10
The bible in a year
- Judges 8–10
- Luke 8:40–56