Acts 8
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Acts 8:1–3 (ESV)
1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 8
8:1–3 Luke has just set up his account of the church’s witness beyond Jerusalem with two men who are (at this point) opposites: Saul, a zealous enemy of the church (Acts 7:58), and Stephen, the Christian who has just laid down his life as a witness to Jesus (7:60). In very different ways both men motivate the church’s growth, as God continues to build His Church in spite of persecution. The story of Saul and the events following Stephen’s death act as a backdrop for the Church’s efforts and Saul’s later, changed life (ch. 9).
Acts 8:1–3 (ESV)
1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
The Message of Acts (Chapter 6. Philip the Evangelist (8:1–40))
First, Stephen’s martyrdom brought a great persecution … against the church at Jerusalem. It began on that day, the day of Stephen’s death, and it broke out with the ferocity of a sudden storm (1b).
Secondly, the great persecution led to a great dispersion:
Thirdly, if Stephen’s martyrdom led to persecution, and the persecution to the dispersion, the dispersion now resulted is widespread evangelism.
New Testament (7:54–8:4—The First Martyr)
8:1. It took persecution—mainly the scattering of the bicultural, foreign Jews—to get the church to begin to do what Jesus had commanded them back in 1:8. As the second-century North African theologian Tertullian pointed out, “the blood of Christians is the seed” of the church’s growth.
8:1 his murder Saul’s support for the council’s vicious treatment of Stephen anticipates his passionate hatred for the Church (vv. 3; 9:1–2; Gal 1:13–14).
Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 8)
of Judea and Samaria The persecution scatters believers beyond Jerusalem. God uses this moment to spread the gospel of the salvation Jesus offers and His lordship (Acts 1:8).
except the apostles Since at this point the Church is centered in Jerusalem and the persecution is so intense there, the apostles remain there to continue to lead and support the Christian community.
2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.
8:2. Dying unburied was the greatest dishonor possible in the ancient Mediterranean world; even risking one’s life to bury the dead was considered honorable and heroic. Adult sons or those closest to the deceased would take charge of burial. Jewish law forbade public mourning for a condemned criminal, but for anyone else it was considered a pious duty. Stephen’s pious friends ignore the illegal ruling of the highest Jewish court to honor their friend.
3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
New Testament (7:54–8:4—The First Martyr)
8:3. Prison was normally a holding place till trial; that Saul detains women as well as men indicates that he is more zealous than most of his contemporaries would have felt necessary (Gal 1:13–14; Phil 3:6). The only charge against the church members seems to be an assumption of their opposition to the temple, aroused by Stephen’s speech.
Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 8)
8:3 house after house The early Christian community gathered for worship and meals in homes, likely the large residences of wealthy converts (compare 2:46; 5:42; 20:20).both men and women Saul pursued Christians without mercy or discretion.
The Message of Acts (Chapter 6. Philip the Evangelist (8:1–40))
Effective evangelism becomes possible only when the church recovers both the biblical gospel and a joyful confidence in its truth, relevance and power.
Acts 8:4–8 (ESV)
Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 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. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
Acts 8:4–8 (ESV)
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 8
8:4 who had been scattered Gamaliel had predicted that those who were against God would be scattered (5:37); the Church scatters, but instead of dying out like the religious leaders expect, it grows all the more.
New Testament 7:54–8:4—The First Martyr
8:4. Most ancient religions were spread by traveling merchants or other travelers more than by prominent individuals.
5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 8)
8:5 Philip One of the seven Hellenistic (Greek-speaking and cultured) Jews elected to meet the material needs of the community. See 6:3–5; compare 21:8.
Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 8)
city of Samaria The spread of the gospel to the Samaritans represents an important advance in preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth (1:8).
The gospel has already crossed cultural and language barriers among Jews (2:1–13; 6:1–7), now it spreads to those who share some Jewish beliefs but were—on the basis of race, religion, and general history—generally viewed by Jews with derision (compare John 4; see note on John 4:9).
8:5. “The city of Samaria” could refer to the Old Testament site of Samaria, now a pagan Greek city called Sebaste, dedicated to the worship of the emperor and full of occult influences (cf. comment on 8:10–11). But Sebaste’s people were Greeks rather than Samaritans, so the phrase probably refers to the main Samaritan city of the district of Samaria, Neapolis, on the site of ancient Shechem (cf. 7:15–16). This was the religious center of the Samaritans.
6 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.
New Testament (8:5–13—The Conversion of Samaria)
8:6–8. Signs were accorded high evidential value in antiquity. That the modern Western educated elite tends to denigrate them is more a commentary on our culture than on theirs; most cultures in the world today (virtually all cultures not influenced by deistic rationalism or atheistic Marxism) accept diverse forms of supernatural activity. Thus those who reject miracles merely on the basis of philosophical a prioris may do so as ethnocentric dogmatists rather than as genuinely open-minded intellectuals.
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 8
8:6 signs that he was performing As with Peter and Stephen, Philip’s message was accompanied by miracles attesting its validity and authority (compare Acts 2:43; 6:8).
7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
8 So there was much joy in that city.
Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 8)
8:7–8 Luke (the narrator) lists the specific types of signs Philip performed. These signs demonstrate that Jesus has power not only over the physical realm (as in Peter’s healing of the lame man; 3:6–10), but also over the supernatural realm.
SUMMARY:
The Message of Acts (a. Philip Evangelizes the City (8:5–8))
The evangelist both proclaimed the Christ to the Samaritans (5), since they too were expecting a Messiah, and performed miraculous signs
(6), exorcizing evil spirits, which uttered wild shrieks as they left their victims, and healing many paralytics and cripples
(7). Some think of these miracles as special to Philip; others think of them as demonstrating a norm for evangelism. What is certain is that, since neither Stephen nor Philip was an apostle, Scripture does not warrant a rigid restriction of miracles to the apostles. At any rate, hearing Philip’s message and seeing his signs, the crowds … all paid close attention to what he said
(6), and the combination of salvation and healing brought great joy to the city (8).