See Verse / Commentary

Acts

Saul fully agreed with killing Stephen. And a severe persecution broke out that very day against the church in Jerusalem. Except for the Apostles, they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and lamented him loudly. But Saul began to destroy the church, entering house after house and dragging both men and women off to prison. Those who had been scattered went around proclaiming the Gospel-word. Philip went to the principal city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. The crowds listened with one mind to what Philip said, when they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was performing. For evil spirits, shrieking loudly, were coming out of many, and many others who were paralyzed and lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. But there was a man named Simon who used to practice sorcery in that city and amazed the people of Samaria, claiming to be some great one. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, and said, “This man is that Great Power of God.” They listened to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. But when they believed Philip as he was heralding the Gospel about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus the Messiah, they were being baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He continued on with Philip, constantly amazed at the signs and great miracles he saw. When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Gospel-word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. They went and prayed for them so that they might receive holy spirit. For as yet it had not fallen on any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands on the Samaritans, and they were receiving holy spirit. When Simon saw that the spirit was given through the laying on of the Apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me this authority too, so that everyone I lay my hands on may receive holy spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May you and your money be destroyed, because you thought that you could get God’s gift with money! You have nothing to do with this matter, because your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that the thought of your heart may perhaps be forgiven. For I can see that you have fallen into the bitterness of envy and the bondage of sin.” But Simon answered, “You pray to the Lord for me, so that none of the things which you have said will happen to me.” When Peter and John had solemnly testified and spoken the Gospel-word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel to many villages of the Samaritans on the way. An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south on the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went. And there was a eunuch from Ethiopia, a court official under Queen Candace of Ethiopia, who was in charge of her whole treasury. He had come up to Jerusalem to worship. He was returning home, sitting in his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah. The spirit said to Philip, “Go and join that chariot.” So Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I unless someone explains it to me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb with its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In humiliation justice was denied him. Who will tell about his descendants? For his life was removed from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or someone else?” So Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this Scripture, he preached the Gospel of Jesus to him. As they went along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is preventing me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water the lord’s spirit snatched Philip away. The eunuch did not see him any more, but went on his way full of joy. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through the region he kept preaching the Gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Acts