Community Bible Study -- Acts Text of Presentation, Lesson 7, Acts 8:4-40 Click Here to see Lesson 7 Photos . . . Click Here to return to Acts Home Page

Philip and the Beginning of Christian Missions

Last week we discussed Stephen: a Hellenized Jew who argued so convincingly that Jesus was the Messiah that no Jews could stand up to him in debate.  But Stephen was charged with blasphemy and stoned to death . . . and afterward the Jewish Sanhedrin began an aggressive persecution of Jesus’ followers. They commissioned a Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus to “destroy the church”; he went “from house to house, dragg(ing) off (Christians to) put them in prison” (Acts 8:3).  As a result of this persecution, most of the 5000 or so Christians fled from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria . . . and beyond.

Stephen's murder was the culmination of an escalating campaign by the Sanhedrin to suppress the Jesus people after Pentecost . . . because signs and miracles performed in the name of Jesus made Christians more and more popular among Jews.  At first the Sanhedrin tried threats and intimidation.  When that didn’t work, they flogged some of the apostles: a brutal punishment.  When flogging failed, they murdered Stephen and began arresting people whose only crime was to believe Jesus was the Messiah. The Sanhedrin probably thought they had finally succeeded: no more Christians were healing the sick and challenging their authority in the temple.

But in reality, they failed!  The "virus" of Christianity – at first quarantined within Jerusalem – now contaminated all of Israel . . . because:

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went (Acts 8:4).

This week's lesson tells two stories about this missionary work.  The main character is Philip: another of the deacons named in Acts 6. The first mission field is Samaria . . . and a little history lesson may help put the story into context.

Samaria was the heart of the Northern Kingdom of Israel – formed when a taxpayer revolt split Solomon’s kingdom in two upon his death. In 722 BC, the Assyria conquered Israel and carried the people into captivity. These captives are called the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel, because they lost their Jewish identity and never returned to their homeland. (Some people in Kashmir claim to be descended from these captives, but that’s another story . . . ) Assyria resettled Israel with foreigners, who intermarried with lower class Israelites who had not been deported. The bible says these newcomers did not worship God – no surprise – and as a result, God sent lions to terrorize them (2 Kings 17). (And, yes, according reliefs in Assyrian palaces discovered by archaeologists, these were real lions – like we see in the Cincinnati zoo.) After a while the Assyrians realized God was causing the lion problem, so they sent an Israelite priest back to Bethel to instruct the foreign settlers how to worship the LORD God of Israel.  This solved the lion problem, yet “even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols” (2 Kings 17:41). In other words, these half-breeds – who became known as Samaritans – evolved a new religion: a combination of Judaism and pagan idol worship.

Just over 100 years later, the Southern Kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylon, and the southern Jews were also carried into captivity . . . but they were able to retain their identity, and returned home 70 years later. Yet the returning Jews found Samaritans and others had settled their land (Neh 4:2), and these “squatters” opposed their efforts to rebuild the temple and the wall of Jerusalem. Later the Samaritans built a competing temple on Mt. Gerizim – which the Jews destroyed in the 2^nd century BC, when the independent Jewish nation of the Maccabees conquered part of Samaria.  The Samaritan temple was never rebuilt, and is still in ruins today (as is shown on the web site).

It’s easy to see why there was mutual hatred between Samaritans and Jews.  Jewish society since the return from Babylon was based on being pure-blooded, but the Samaritans were half-breeds. Jewish culture was based on the Jewish religion, but the Samaritans had a competing religion: with a slightly different Torah and pagan practices that upset the Jews. And the Jews had destroyed the Samaritan house of worship.

Despite all this, the Samaritans were an ideal Christian mission field because:

·         Through their Torah, the Samaritans believed in the Jewish Messiah.

·         Jesus had preached to the Samaritans of Sychar early in His ministry, and many of them became believers (as detailed in the story of the “woman at the well” in John 4).

We might expect Hebraic Jews to have a hard time getting past anti-Samaritan prejudices. So . . . who undertakes the mission to the Samaria? A Hellenized Jew: Stephen’s fellow deacon, Philip. If Philip is anything like Stephen, he very devout, but as a Hellenized Jew, he is accustomed to dealing with Gentiles, and he knows how to do it without breaking Jewish law. To Philip, ministering to the Samaritans may be a piece of cake!

The Bible doesn’t say exactly where Philip goes . . . just that he goes to “a city in Samaria.” He tells the people Jesus is the Messiah. This is language Samaritans understand, but they probably know many false Messiahs have appeared in Israel. Hence Philip builds credibility for Jesus by performing miracles . . . and healings . . . and casting out evil spirits in His name. The Samaritans respond with “great joy.”

But the city already has someone who gives the appearance of performing miracles: Simon, a sorcerer described as “the divine power known as the Great Power” (Acts 8:10). That description sounds like the Wizard of OZ, and the analogy is probably apt: “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Simon “amazed (the people) for a long time with his magic” (Acts 8:12). Sorcery is condemned by the Jewish Torah – and presumably by the Samaritan Torah as well – yet in the strange Samaritan mix of Judaism and paganism, Simon the sorcerer apparently has credibility.

Nevertheless, the power of Jesus’ name is greater than the magic of Simon, and Philip’s claim of Jesus as Messiah makes sense to people who follow the Samaritan Torah. The Samaritans believe in Jesus and are baptized (Acts 8:12). Simon also believes and is baptized . . . but he seems to have an ulterior motive. He sees that Philip’s power in the name of Jesus is stronger than his magic, and decides he needs to learn to do what Philip does, or he will lose his status as wizard of the people. He follows Philip around, “astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw” (Acts 8:13).

In the meantime, word reaches the “Mother Church” in Jerusalem that large numbers of Samaritans are becoming Christians, and Peter and John go to investigate. When they arrive, they apparently verify everything is “on the level,” because they pray over the people and lay on hands. And perhaps to their astonishment: the people receive the Holy Spirit.

Why did the Samaritans have to wait for a visit from Peter and John to receive the Holy Spirit? Did the Holy Spirit need human help – through the laying of hands – to enter the hearts of these new believers?  And, if so, wasn’t Philip properly ordained when the apostles “laid hands” on him earlier (Acts 6:6)?

That’s a question for which no one really knows the answer . . . but we can speculate. As we go through Acts, it becomes clear that that the apostles’ challenge is not just to preach Jesus to the world, but to convince the Hebraic Jews – Jesus’ earliest followers – that Jesus’ gospel is indeed “good news” for all peoples of the world . . . not just for Jews and Jewish converts. Imagine how the Hebraic Jews in Jerusalem would react if Philip – a recent convert and Hellenized Jew – told them the Holy Spirit had come upon these hated half-breeds? Probably with skepticism or disbelief! But now the story that the Holy Spirit has come upon Samaritans carries all authority of Peter and John!

Back to Simon . . . his real motives become clear when he offers buy the power to fill people with the Holy Spirit by the laying of hands, and Peter rebukes him sharply: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! . . . Your heart is not right before God. . . . You are full of bitterness and captive to sin. . . . Repent of this wickedness” (Acts 8: 20-23).  Simon has become rich by being the wizard of the city – but now Jews have come with greater power . . . which they offer for free. This makes Simon bitter. He became a follower of Jesus for the wrong reasons: he wanted to tap into Jesus’ power and use it to re-establish his status . . . and his income stream. His professed belief in Jesus has not really freed him from captivity to sin; he needs to repent.

“Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me’” (Acts 8: 24). Does Simon really mean this? We don’t know . . . but Christian tradition is that this Simon is Simon Magnus, the father of Gnostic Christianity – and that’s not a good thing!

But what happens with Simon later may be less important to us than understanding the significance of the story of Simon in the bible . . . because whenever scripture includes a narrative about one man's relationship with God, we can usually assume at least one purpose of the story is to provide a “case study” for our Christian education. What can we learn from the story of Simon?

One thing we learn is that from the beginning of the church, there have been phony Christians . . . people who do all the right things – public proclamation of faith in Jesus and baptism – but whose hearts are “not right before God” (Acts 8:21). Typically, such people have motives of power or greed like Simon; and Peter’s reaction forces us to conclude that a public proclamation of faith and baptism is not sufficient to ensure salvation. Peter says motive is all-important . . . our heart must be right with God.

And Peter’s response to Simon seems to suggest that phony Christians should be exposed for what they are – and called upon to repent!

Another interesting aspect to the "case study" of Simon is that belief in Jesus had become the “in thing” in this Samaritan city. There was no persecution . . . no consequences to being a Christian. That’s the climate in which phony Christians thrive – and that’s the situation in 21^st century America. We all know people who profess Jesus with their lips but deny Him with their lifestyle. The Christian rock Group DCTalk says this is what an "unbelieving world finds unbelievable" . . . and Peter says the salvation of such people is questionable. We should all give this some thought.

Concluding the lesson . . . Peter and John are now comfortable witnessing to Samaritans, and they preach in Samaritan towns and villages all the way home. And as for Philip . . . an angel sends him from Samaria to the south . . . to the desert road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza.  There he meets an important official, the treasurer of the nation of Ethiopia, returning from a trip to worship in Jerusalem. 

Why is an Ethiopian worshiping in Jerusalem? Scholars usually describe him as what the bible calls a “God-fearing Gentile”: someone who believes in the God of Israel, but hasn’t converted to Judaism. However, there is a second possibility. . . .

In 1976, the Israeli military airlifted to Israel a group of Ethiopian blacks called Falashas, who practiced an ancient form of Judaism. According to an account preserved in the Ethiopian royal chronicles, when the Queen of Sheba – the Queen of Ethiopia – visited King Solomon of Israel (cf 1 Kings 10), the two had sexual relations and produced a son named Menelik. Many years later, after Solomon was dead and his kingdom split in two, Menelik went to Jerusalem, removed the Ark of the Covenant from the temple, and took it to Ethiopia for safe keeping. Some believe the Ark of the Covenant remains there to this day – protected by an order of Ethiopian monks. 

Whether or not the Falashas are descended from Solomon, the nation of Israel considers them legitimate Jews . . . so there may well have been black Ethiopian Jews at the time of this story. Therefore, it is possible the Ethiopian treasurer on the Gaza road was one of those black Ethiopian Jews, worshiping in Jerusalem as required by the Torah.

But whatever the background of the Ethiopian treasurer, it’s important that the man is interested in Jewish scripture. When the Holy Spirit tells Philip to approach the man, he’s studying the book of Isaiah – right in the Messianic prophesy section around chapters 52-53.  Timing, they say, is everything. “Do you understand?” says Philip.  “I need someone to explain it,” says the Ethiopian.  “Glad you asked,” says Philip.

Philip starts with the passage of Isaiah 53 that the Ethiopian is reading, and explains it as prophesy of Jesus. Then he explains other Messianic prophesy in the context of Jesus.  This causes the Ethiopian to believe, and he asks to be baptized. Philip complies.

This is another reason to suggest the Ethiopian is a Jew. The issue of admitting Gentiles into the church is a big deal in Acts 10 – so why would it not be a big deal for Philip now? Wouldn’t he at least hesitate to baptize a Gentile here and now? It seems more likely the stories in Acts 8 represent bringing dispersed Jews into the church – Samaritans and Ethiopian Jews – just as Acts 2 represents bringing Hellenized Jews into fellowship. And notice . . . it’s the Ethiopian – not Philip – who suggests baptism. Baptism is a Jewish practice, so for the Ethiopian to request it suggests he may be Jewish.

Philip leaves, and the official returns to Ethiopia. But what’s the rest of the story?  The highlands of Ethiopia have been Christian for at least 1600 years; today it’s a Christian island in a Muslim sea. Was a Christian community there even earlier . . . and was it founded by this treasurer of Ethiopia? We don’t know. But I like to think so.

Next week we’ll discuss another familiar story. The Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, who is leading the persecution of Christians, meets Jesus in a vision on the road to Damascus.  We’ll discuss Saul’s dramatic conversion . . . and its aftereffects, as Saul changes from firebrand Pharisee to firebrand Christian – overnight.  How do his old friends and his old enemies react?  We’ll see.