The Acts of the Apostles
Acts Chapter 8
Vs.1 Saul was standing watching Stephen being stoned to death. Saul was glad to see it. He thought the believers in Jesus were wrong.
There were many other Jews who thought the believers were wrong. They were making life hard for the believers. The believers were being persecuted (hurt, mocked).
Some ways the “persecution” happens is for a group of people to not be allowed to work in some jobs, not allowed to buy in some stores, people attacking them on the street, people attacking them at their homes, people attacking their children.
In all the Jerusalem, many of the Jewish people were against the believers. We know the leaders of the Jewish church were against the believers.
The some of the believers have left Jerusalem and have gone to nearby towns of Samaria, and part of Judea.
The disciples stayed in Jerusalem.
Vs. 2 Stephen is buried.
Vs. 3 Saul begins to go into the homes of believers and he pulls them out of their homes and takes them to jail—-both men and women.
Vs. 4 Those that had moved away started telling the people in that town about Jesus. So the “gospel” meaning “good news” is being told in more places.
Vs. 5 Philip went to Samaria to preach. The people listened. Miracles were done.
Evil spirits came out of people. People were healed.
Vs. 8 There was great joy and happiness in the city.
Vs.9 There was a man who lived there named Simon. He was a person who did magic. (Like a male witch.) He had a lot of power because of the evil spirits giving it to him.
The people had a lot of respect and fear for this man. Because they had seen the things this man was able to do. They said that he had the “power of God”. But it was not God’s power that was working in him. It was the evil powers.
Vs. 12 But when the people heard Philip preach they believed what Philip said. They believed in Jesus and they were baptized.
Vs. 13 Simon also believed and he was baptized. He followed Philip and watched all the miracles happen. He saw the power of God through Philip doing wonderful things for people.
Vs.14 The disciples in Jerusalem heard about what was happening in Samaria. So they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
Vs. 15 Peter asked the believers at Samaria if they had received the Holy Spirit since they had believed.
Peter and John laid hands on the believers and prayed for them and the Holy Spirit came on the people.
Vs. 18, 19 Simon saw what happen he offered money to Peter if Peter would give him the same power to lay hands on someone and they would receive the Holy Spirit.
Vs. 20 -23 Peter told Simon that he had the wrong idea about the Holy Spirit if he thought that Peter could give it to him or if he thought he could buy it with money.
Peter went on to tell him that his heart was wrong. The he was still bound by evil in his heart/spirit if he thought that way. That he did not fully understand about his belief in Jesus/God and the Holy Spirit.
Peter said that Simon’s money would die with him That Simon needed to ask for forgiveness and repent. Simon was used to people looking to him because of the “power” he had to do things. Now he sees people receiving the Holy Spirit and he wants to have “power” to make that happen. Simon is thinking about having the “power” for his own glory. He is not doing it to give God glory.
It does not say here in these verses that the believers spoke in different languages when the Holy Spirit came on them. In Acts 2 That is what happened to the believers and the disciples when the Holy Spirit came on them.
It would seem that something very unusual happened when the Holy Spirit came on the believers that made Simon want this power.
In other places, later, we will read that when the Holy Spirit came on other believers they spoke in different languages.
So even though it does not say so here it is reasonable to think that they spoke in different languages, also, like the others.
This may be the reason Simon wanted this “power”.
Vs. 24 Simon asks Peter to pray for him that bad things do not happen to him because of his selfish, and pride in asking for power.
Vs. 25 Peter and John preached for awhile and then they went back to Jerusalem. Philip must have gone back to Jerusalem, also.
Vs. 26 An angel came to Philip and told him to go south of Jerusalem toward Gaza.
It was a desert area. He went. On the way, he met a man in a chariot.
Vs. 27 This man was from Ethiopia. He worked for the Queen, Candace. He was in charge of all her money and treasure.
(He was a eunuch. A eunuch is a male who has been made sterile. His male parts have been cut. The reasoning was that he would not be able to sire a child and make a woman pregnant. And he would not have the normal male sexual desire. The king or queen did not want the women in their houses to be raped or have affairs with men and have children with just anyone, especially, a slave or worker. So this was one way of protecting the women.
A man would not want this done to him so we would think that this man was a “slave” of sorts that was in the Queen’s court and he was forced into this position. Many times young men, even children, were taken as slaves, made eunuchs while they were young. They grew up in the palace. It was the only life that they had known.)
He had come to Jerusalem to worship. So he was of Jewish belief. Now he was on his way back home. He was reading a scroll (they did not have books in book shape. God’s word was written on long pieces of paper that were rolled up.) He was reading the book of Isaiah.
Vs. 29 The Spirit of the Lord spoke to Philip and told him to run and catch up to the man in the chariot. So he did.
And the man asked Philip to join him in the chariot. Philip saw what he was reading and asked him if he understood what he was reading.
The man had been reading what Isaiah had said would happen one day in the future
about the promised Messiah/Savior coming to the world.
Vs. 32 The verses in Isaiah were about a person being led to death like a sheep going to be killed, or like a sheep before the person cutting its wool the sheep is silent and does not cry out so this person will not cry out but will go to his death quietly. Isaiah 53:5,6 This is how Jesus was. He was silent before those who killed him.
Vs. 34 The man from Ethiopia asked, who was this man that Isaiah is talking about?
So Philip told him about Jesus. How Jesus had come as a baby and did miracles and preached and died and rose again and when back into heaven.
Philip must have told him about the other believers and about being baptized. Because as they were riding along they came to a small pond of water and the man from Ethiopia asked to be baptized.
Philip told him he could be if he truly believed that Jesus was the Son of God.
So Philip baptized him.
Vs. 39 When they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away and the man from Ethiopia did not see him again.
Wow! What a surprise that must have been! Philip just disappeared before his eyes!
Philip was set down in the town of Azotus. Philip began preaching there. He kept preaching and walking toward Caesarea preaching as he went.
( I will give this note of explanation. In the world of the occult, witchcraft, we hear of those who “ride on the wind”. Meaning the evil spirits can pick up a person and take them to another place. Stories tell of a person being in a room disappearing and hours later returning—just reappearing.
Evil spirits have a lot of power. They can do things that people in American have never heard of. People who live in the islands of the ocean, or in Africa, or India, or China, and such places where evil spirits are everywhere because of idol worship know that these things happen. There are many stories of amazing things that evil sprits can do.
In America, because we have worshipped the true God, and not idols. Because we have mostly for years honored the true God of heaven we have not seen evil spirits do their work in our country.
There has always been those who worship Satan who know about evil powers. And the more, the people of America ignore God and do not obey Him the more evil spirits have freedom to show themselves. So we are seeing more of it now.
Satan never created anything. He can only copy what God has done or made. He is very good at “copying” the miracles of God. If you see a “miracle”, you need to look closely at who is doing it and by what power. If the person is not walking in true obedience to God—–be careful—watch out.
It does not matter if the person says he is doing it by God’s power. You need to look at the person’s life. Is he doing things that are connected to witchcraft? Is that person living a life that is pure from sin? If not, be careful! His power may be a “copy” from Satan.
John l wrote in his letter I John 4: 1 to “try or test” the spirits to see if they are of God.
As things of evil and witchcraft grow in America we as believers need to be careful and wise. Look carefully and see what “spirit” is doing this “miracle”.
The book of Revelation tells us that some day in the future the AntiChrist and his prophet will do miracles and many will believe in him because of it. )