b.
The devastation of the church in Jerusalem
8:1-3
Acts 8
:1
8:1
And Saul
aapproved of his killing. And there occurred in that day a great
bpersecution against the
1cchurch which was in Jerusalem; and all were
dscattered throughout the regions of
eJudea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Acts 8
:2
8:2
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.
Acts 8
:3
8:3
But aSaul was
bdevastating the
cchurch, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he delivered
them to
dprison.
12.
The preaching by Philip
8:4-40
a.
In Samaria
vv. 4-25
1)
Proclaiming Christ and the kingdom of God
vv. 4-13
Acts 8
:4
8:4
Those therefore who were scattered went throughout
the land 1aannouncing the word as the gospel.
Acts 8
:5
8:5
And 1Philip 2went down to the city of
aSamaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.
Acts 8
:6
8:6
And the crowds gave heed with one accord to the things said by Philip as they heard and saw the
asigns which he did.
Acts 8
:7
8:7
For with many of those who had unclean spirits,
the spirits came out crying with a loud voice; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.
Acts 8
:8
8:8
And there was much
ajoy in that city.
Acts 8
:9
8:9
And a certain man named Simon had previously been practicing
amagic in the city and had been
bamazing the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great.
Acts 8
:10
8:10
To him they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the power of
aGod which is called Great.
Acts 8
:11
8:11
And they gave heed to him because for a considerable time he had amazed them with his magic.
Acts 8
:12
8:12
But when they believed Philip, who
1announced the gospel of the
akingdom of God and of the name of
bJesus Christ, they were
cbaptized, both men and women.
Acts 8
:13
8:13
And even Simon himself believed, and once he had been baptized, he continued steadfastly with Philip. And as he beheld the
1asigns and great works of power taking place, he was
bamazed.
2)
Confirmed by the apostles
vv. 14-25
Acts 8
:14
8:14
Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
Acts 8
:15
8:15
Who went down and prayed for them so that they might
1receive the Holy Spirit;
Acts 8
:16
8:16
For He had
1not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been
abaptized 2into the
3name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 8
:17
8:17
Then they
1alaid their hands on them, and they
2received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8
:18
8:18
But when Simon saw that through the laying on of the hands of the apostles the
1Spirit was given, he offered them
2money, saying,
Acts 8
:19
8:19
Give me also this authority that on whomever I lay my hands he may receive the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8
:20
8:20
But Peter said to him, May your silver go with you into
1destruction, because you thought that you would
aacquire the
bgift of God through money.
Acts 8
:21
8:21
You have no part nor lot in
1this matter, for your
aheart is not straight before God.
Acts 8
:22
8:22
aRepent therefore from this wickedness of yours and beseech the Lord if perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you;
Acts 8
:23
8:23
For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of unrighteousness.
Acts 8
:24
8:24
And Simon answered and said, You beseech the Lord on my behalf, so that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.
Acts 8
:25
8:25
They therefore, having solemnly
1atestified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem; and they
bannounced the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
b.
To an Ethiopian
vv. 26-39
Acts 8
:26
8:26
But an
aangel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to
bGaza. This is the desert
route.
Acts 8
:27
8:27
And he rose up and went. And behold, an
1Ethiopian man, a
aeunuch, a man in power under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her
btreasure, had come to Jerusalem to
2cworship.
Acts 8
:28
8:28
And he was returning and was sitting in his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
Acts 8
:29
8:29
And the
1aSpirit said to Philip, Approach and join this chariot.
Acts 8
:30
8:30
And when Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, Do you really know the things that you are reading?
Acts 8
:31
8:31
And he said, How could I
aunless someone guides me? And he entreated Philip to come up and sit with him.
Acts 8
:32
8:32
Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "As a sheep
1aHe was led to slaughter
Acts 8
:33
8:33
In His
ahumiliation His judgment was taken away. Who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth.''
Acts 8
:34
8:34
And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I beseech you, Concerning whom does the prophet say this? Concerning himself or concerning someone else?
Acts 8
:35
8:35
And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this
aScripture he
bannounced Jesus as the gospel to him.
Acts 8
:36
8:36
And as they were going along the road, they came upon some water, and the eunuch said, Look,
1water. What prevents me from being
abaptized?
Acts 8
:37
8:37
1And Philip said, If you believe from all your heart, you will be saved. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8
:38
8:38
And he ordered the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he
abaptized him.
Acts 8
:39
8:39
And when they came up
aout of the water, the
bSpirit of the Lord
ccaught Philip away; and the eunuch did not see him anymore, for he went on his way
drejoicing.
c.
Unto Caesarea
v.40
Acts 8
:40
8:40
But Philip was found in Azotus; and passing through, he
aannounced the gospel to all the cities until he came to
bCaesarea.
