Act 8:4-13 | KingComments | STEP | When Stephen was stoned, Saul already demonstrated his involvement by acting as a robe keeper ( ). Now Luke notes that he was in hearty agreement with the stoning. Immediately after this remark of Saul’s consent to Stephen’s death, Luke mentions the first major persecution against the church. With Stephen’s death the floodgates are opened. The spirit of hatred that the religious leaders possess takes full possession of them and comes to full development. With Stephen’s death also the extra year of grace that Israel was given by God to bring forth fruit for Him comes to an end ( ). Now that Stephen has been rejected and with that the second offer of grace, the offer of salvation goes to the nations. For this, God will use the man who is still in the process of becoming the greatest persecutor of Christians. First the gospel will be brought to the regions of Judea and Samaria. The church is scattered to these regions. These are the regions that the Lord Jesus mentioned in His commission to the disciples to proclaim the gospel there ( ). So far, this has not been done. The Lord uses persecution to process this ( ). Because of this they are as it were sent out into the harvest ( ). The apostles stay in Jerusalem. Are they disobeying their commission? It may be that it is courageous to stay in Jerusalem right now and that God wants it that way. After the Council has assuaged its anger by the stoning of Stephen, this first martyr for the faith is brought to the tomb by devout men. The loud lamentation over him fits in with this. They are grieved, but not in the way that unbelievers are grieved who have no hope ( ). Luke then turns our attention to Saul again for a moment. He has seen with joy that Stephen was killed. That event has unleashed in him the cherished feelings of hatred, which he expresses by destroying the church (cf. ). In doing so he works meticulously. He enters every house where he suspects Christians live or gather ( ). When he finds them, he arrests them and puts them in prison ( ), where he tried by using torture to force them to blaspheme ( ). In doing so, he makes no distinction between men and women. People driven by hatred have no eye for differences in bearing capacity. Especially the weak are a grateful target for them. Maybe it is precisely in a general sense the weak who have been left behind in Jerusalem because they have no possibilities to flee. All the hatred that erupts only accomplishes the will of God, because through the scattering that results from this, the gospel goes to many places. The persecution is like an unpleasant wind that carries the seed to other places with the happy consequence that it can germinate there. The hatred that drives them away does not frighten them, but on the contrary makes them courageous witnesses. The proclamation of the Word is done by every scattered believer. The proclamation of the gospel clearly does not depend on a gift, but on a heart full of the Lord. What is meant by the enemy to eradicate, God uses to expand His work. We find here a beautiful application of Samson’s riddle: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet” ( ). The eater and the strong is the enemy who “prowls around like the roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” ( ). But instead of devouring the believers, new life is created as a result of faith in the preached gospel. We see a wonderful example of what is happening in the area of Samaria, of which Luke gives us an account in the next section.

‏ Acts 8:4-13

Persecution – Stephen Buried

When Stephen was stoned, Saul already demonstrated his involvement by acting as a robe keeper (Acts 7:58). Now Luke notes that he was in hearty agreement with the stoning. Immediately after this remark of Saul’s consent to Stephen’s death, Luke mentions the first major persecution against the church. With Stephen’s death the floodgates are opened. The spirit of hatred that the religious leaders possess takes full possession of them and comes to full development.

With Stephen’s death also the extra year of grace that Israel was given by God to bring forth fruit for Him comes to an end (Lk 13:6-9). Now that Stephen has been rejected and with that the second offer of grace, the offer of salvation goes to the nations. For this, God will use the man who is still in the process of becoming the greatest persecutor of Christians.

First the gospel will be brought to the regions of Judea and Samaria. The church is scattered to these regions. These are the regions that the Lord Jesus mentioned in His commission to the disciples to proclaim the gospel there (Acts 1:8). So far, this has not been done. The Lord uses persecution to process this (Acts 8:4). Because of this they are as it were sent out into the harvest (Lk 10:2). The apostles stay in Jerusalem. Are they disobeying their commission? It may be that it is courageous to stay in Jerusalem right now and that God wants it that way.

After the Council has assuaged its anger by the stoning of Stephen, this first martyr for the faith is brought to the tomb by devout men. The loud lamentation over him fits in with this. They are grieved, but not in the way that unbelievers are grieved who have no hope (1Thes 4:13-14).

Luke then turns our attention to Saul again for a moment. He has seen with joy that Stephen was killed. That event has unleashed in him the cherished feelings of hatred, which he expresses by destroying the church (cf. Psa 83:4). In doing so he works meticulously. He enters every house where he suspects Christians live or gather (Acts 2:46 ; Acts 5:42).

When he finds them, he arrests them and puts them in prison (Acts 22:4), where he tried by using torture to force them to blaspheme (Acts 26:9-11). In doing so, he makes no distinction between men and women. People driven by hatred have no eye for differences in bearing capacity. Especially the weak are a grateful target for them. Maybe it is precisely in a general sense the weak who have been left behind in Jerusalem because they have no possibilities to flee.

All the hatred that erupts only accomplishes the will of God, because through the scattering that results from this, the gospel goes to many places. The persecution is like an unpleasant wind that carries the seed to other places with the happy consequence that it can germinate there. The hatred that drives them away does not frighten them, but on the contrary makes them courageous witnesses.

The proclamation of the Word is done by every scattered believer. The proclamation of the gospel clearly does not depend on a gift, but on a heart full of the Lord. What is meant by the enemy to eradicate, God uses to expand His work.

We find here a beautiful application of Samson’s riddle: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet” (Jdg 14:14). The eater and the strong is the enemy who “prowls around like the roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1Pet 5:8). But instead of devouring the believers, new life is created as a result of faith in the preached gospel. We see a wonderful example of what is happening in the area of Samaria, of which Luke gives us an account in the next section.

Preaching of Philip in Samaria

We have met Philip before as “one of the seven” deacons (Acts 6:5). He has faithfully performed his duty as a deacon and thereby obtained “great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (1Tim 3:13). As a result, he has now become an evangelist (Acts 21:8). He preaches in Samaria.

The inhabitants of Samaria, the Samaritans, are a mixture of Jews and heathens who have lived in Israel since the transportation of the ten tribes by the Assyrians (2Kgs 17:24-41). At first they were idolaters, but they also began to worship Yahweh, adhering only to the five books of Moses. Because of that mixture they were despised by the true Jews. They had Mount Gerizim as a place of worship in contrast to the Jews who had Jerusalem as a place of worship (Jn 4:20). Through the preaching of Christ, the new worship comes for them as well, apart from Jerusalem and Mount Gerizim (Jn 4:21-24).

Philip does not preach a doctrine, but a Person, Christ. Further on in this chapter we read that he is preaching “Jesus” to the eunuch (Acts 8:35) because he connects to what the eunuch reads. He reads Isaiah 53 and in it the Lord Jesus is presented in His humiliation. By preaching “Christ” in Samaria, Philip connects to the resurrection and glorification of the Lord (Acts 2:36).

The preaching of Philip has great results. One of the reasons for this is that the Lord Himself had already worked in Samaria and that many people already knew Him there, who in turn had become witnesses (Jn 4:39). Sowing was already done, and harvesting is now possible (Jn 4:35-38). The seed of the preaching falls into prepared soil. There is also faith in the coming of the Messiah (Jn 4:25). Philip can preach Him as already come.

Through his preaching there is unity among the crowds. Obedience to God’s Word works unity. Besides hearing the preaching, which is mentioned first, they also see the signs he performs. By the way, in Acts we see that besides the apostles, signs and wonders are only done by Stephen (Acts 6:8) and Philip (Acts 8:6). The signs that Philip performs consist of delivering people from spiritual and physical captivity in a wonderful way.

They are not called wonders but signs because all these healings refer to the glorified Lord Who thereby underlines and affirms the preached Word (Mk 16:20). The Christ Who is preached by Philip proves His redemptive and restorative power in these wonders. All these wonders mean that the power to deliver and restore lies with Him. They are a foretaste of the powers of the future age (Heb 6:5). The fact that the unclean spirits shout out loudly indicates that they are reluctantly leaving their victims, but that they have to because of the higher power of the Lord Jesus.

The deliverance from the power of sin through the work of Christ, together with a benevolent deliverance from the consequences of sin, brings great joy. The effect of the preaching of Philip to the eunuch also brings joy (Acts 8:39). Joy is inextricably connected with the gospel. The angel who announces the birth of the Lord Jesus speaks of “great joy which will be for all the people” (Lk 2:10). Wherever the Lord Jesus is received, sorrow over sins is followed by joy over the forgiveness thereof (1Thes 1:6). Joy belongs to the kingdom of God (Rom 14:17) and is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22).

Simon the Magician

Before Philip came to Samaria, there was a man active who brought the people into ecstasy. He did this through magic. He was also not modest in his performance, but presented himself as “someone great”, someone of importance. [While I read this comment again, I get a postcard in the mailbox, which shows that people like Simon are still very much alive. The card says among other things: I am a great African medium and clairvoyant ... I offer you a solution for all your problems ... but also protection against bad influences ... I help you ... I bring success.’ This slave of satan certainly does not suffer from an inferiority complex.]

With his magic, Simon turned his attention to himself, and with success. He got everyone’s attention. He appealed to everyone, he appealed to small and great, young and old. Everyone was impressed by him and attributed divine power to him. His sorceries were wonders of the lie (2Thes 2:9). Nor was it a hype, a star suddenly appearing and just as suddenly disappearing again. On the contrary, he continued to fascinate the people “for a long time”. At the same time, it shows that what the devil has to offer is always only for a certain time. It never satisfies constantly.

The gospel, on the other hand, has a lasting effect. This is what the people who listen attentively to Philip and pay attention to his preaching discover. When they did not know any better, they were captivated by Simon’s magic. But when they see the wonders of Philip, they clearly see the difference between fake and real and that real and fake have nothing to do with each other. “What does straw have [in common] with grain?” (Jer 23:28b). Simon preached himself, Philip preaches the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ.

The kingdom of God is the atmosphere in which the reign of the Lord Jesus is acknowledged. Faith in the Name of the Lord Jesus brings someone into that sphere. That is why baptism follows directly as an outward evidence through which someone shows that he wants to belong to Him and follow Him. Men and women are baptized. In the Old Testament only what was male was circumcised. In the New Testament, when it comes to saving and following Christ, there is no difference anymore between men and women before God (Gal 3:27-28).

Receiving the Holy Spirit, as was the case in Acts 2 (Acts 2:38), is not yet mentioned here. They receive the Holy Spirit only after Peter and John have come from Jerusalem and identified themselves with them by the laying on of hands. God does this consciously this way. For there was a religious rivalry between Jerusalem and Samaria and this does not give them a chance to do a disturbing work.

Simon also believes and is also baptized. He does not see a rival in Philip, but his superior. Simon constantly remains with Philip, as if he had his hopes set on him. With the eunuch this is different (Acts 8:39). Simon’s faith is of the kind mentioned in John 2 (Jn 2:23). Philip lets himself be deceived by Simon and baptizes him (or has him baptized).

What really drove Simon were the signs and great powers that Philip did. Likewise, there are many today who are attracted to the Christian faith because of the sensational things they observe on certain occasions, such as healings or so-called prophecies.