Acts 8
8
Saul Persecutes the Believers
1Now, Saul agreed to be an accomplice to Stephen’s stoning and participated in his execution. From that day on, a great persecution of the church in Jerusalem began. All the believers scattered into the countryside of Judea and among the Samaritans, except the apostles who remained behind in Jerusalem. 2God-fearing men gave Stephen a proper burial and mourned greatly over his death.
3Then Saul mercilessly persecuted the church of God, going from house to house into the homes of believers to arrest both men and women and drag them off to prison.
The Gospel Spreads to Samaria
4Although the believers were scattered by persecution, they preached the wonderful news of the word of God wherever they went. 5Philip traveled to a Samaritan city # 8:5 Or “the main city of Samaria.” Many believe this was the Samaritan city of Sebaste. and preached to them the wonderful news of the Anointed One. 6The crowds were eager to receive # 8:6 As translated from the Aramaic, which indicates they did more than just hear the good news; they silenced those who said anything against Philip’s message. Philip’s message and were persuaded by the many miracles and wonders he performed. 7Many demon-possessed people were set free and delivered as evil spirits came out of them with loud screams and shrieks, and many who were lame and paralyzed were also healed. # 8:7 Healings, miracles, and deliverances were being accomplished through others, not just the apostles. 8This resulted in an uncontainable joy filling the city!
Simon the Sorcerer Converted
9Now, there was a man who lived there who was steeped in sorcery. For some time he had astounded the people of Samaria with his magic, boasting to be someone great. # 8:9 The Aramaic is “He boasted of himself, saying, ‘I am the great god!’ ” 10Everyone, from the least to the greatest among them, was dazzled by his sorcery, # 8:10 The Aramaic is “They were all praying to him” or “bowing down to him.” saying, “This man is the greatest wizard of all! The divine power of God walks among us!” 11For many years everyone was in awe of him because of his astonishing displays of the magic arts.
12But as Philip preached the wonderful news of God’s kingdom realm, and the name of Jesus the Anointed One, many believed his message and were baptized, both men and women. 13Even Simon believed and was baptized! Wherever Philip went, Simon was right by his side, astounded by all the miracles, signs, and enormous displays of power that he witnessed.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted God’s message of life, they sent Peter and John 15to pray over them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. # 8:15 Or “take hold of the Holy Spirit.” 16For they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and were yet to have the Holy Spirit fall upon them. 17As soon as Peter and John arrived, they laid their hands on the Samaritan believers, one after another, and the Holy Spirit fell and filled each one of them! # 8:17 Implied in the text. The Greek is “They took hold of the Holy Spirit.” That is, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them and filled them.
18When Simon saw how the Holy Spirit was released through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he approached them and offered them money, 19saying, “I want this power too. I’m willing to pay you for the anointing # 8:19 Or “authority.” that you have, so that I also can lay my hands on everyone to receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter rebuked him and said, “Your money will go with you to destruction! How could you even think that you could purchase God’s supernatural gift with money? 21You will never have this gift or take part in this ministry, # 8:21 Or “You have no part with us in this word” (logos). The Aramaic is “You have no portion in this faith.” for your heart is not right with God. 22Repent this moment for allowing such wickedness to fill you. Plead with the Lord that perhaps he would forgive you the treachery of your heart. 23For I discern that jealous envy # 8:23 Or “bitter anger.” has poisoned you and binds you as a captive to sin.”
24Simon begged, “Peter, please pray to God for me. Plead with him so that nothing you just said over me may come to pass!”
Philip and the Ethiopian
25After Peter and John had testified and taught the word of God in that city, they returned to Jerusalem, stopping at many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the hope of the gospel. # 8:25 As translated from the Aramaic.
26Then the Lord’s angel said to Philip, “Now go south from Jerusalem on the desert road to Gaza.” 27He left immediately on his assignment.
Along the way he encountered an Ethiopian who believed in the God of the Jews, # 8:27 Implied by the Aramaic word mhymna, a homonym that can mean “believer” or “eunuch.” It is difficult to understand why a minister of finance would need to become a eunuch. who was the minister of finance for Candace, queen of Ethiopia. He was on his way home from worshiping God in Jerusalem. 28As he rode along in his chariot, he was reading from the scroll of Isaiah.
29The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go and walk alongside the chariot.”
30So Philip ran to catch up. As he drew closer he overheard the man reading from the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. Philip asked him, “Sir, do you understand what you’re reading?”
31The man answered, “How can I possibly make sense of this without someone explaining it to me?” # 8:31 Or “unless someone guide me.” So he invited Philip up into his chariot to sit with him.
32The portion from Isaiah he was reading was this:
He was led away to the slaughter
like a lamb to be offered.
He was like a lamb that is silent
before those who sheared him—
he never even opened his mouth.
33In his lowliness justice was stripped away from him. # 8:33 Which means he had no one there to defend him and stand up for justice.
And who could fully express his struggles?
For his life was taken from the earth. # 8:33 As translated from the Aramaic. Both the Greek and the Aramaic are difficult to translate. The Greek is “Who can describe his posterity?” or “Who could describe the [evil] people of his time?” The Aramaic word for “struggles” (sufferings) and “generation” is the homonym darreh. See Isa. 53:7–8.
34The Ethiopian asked Philip, “Please, can you tell me who the prophet is speaking of? Is it himself or another man?”
35Philip started with this passage and shared with him the wonderful message of Jesus.
36As they were traveling down the road, the man said, “Look, here’s a pool of water. Why don’t I get baptized right now?”
37Philip replied, “If you believe with all your heart, I’ll baptize you.”
The man answered, “I believe that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Son of God.” # 8:37 Although only a few later Greek manuscripts include v. 37, it is found in one of the oldest Aramaic texts (Harklean Syriac Version, AD 616) and one Greek uncial from the eighth century. There is widespread consensus among scholars of both Greek and Aramaic texts that v. 37 was added as an ancient Christian confession of faith.
38The Ethiopian stopped his chariot, and they went down into the water # 8:38 There was no need to go down into the water if it was a baptism of sprinkling. Philip immersed the believing Ethiopian man in baptism. and Philip baptized him. 39-40When they came up out of the water, Philip was suddenly snatched up by the Spirit of the Lord and instantly carried away to the city of Ashdod, # 8:39–40 Or “Azotus.” This translation of Philip was an amazing miracle, as the city of Ashdod would have been fifteen miles or more from the desert road to Gaza. This miracle of being translated also took place with Ezekiel. See Ezek. 3:12–15. where he reappeared, preaching the gospel in that city.
The man never saw Philip again. He returned to Ethiopia full of great joy. Philip, however, traveled on to all of the towns of that region, bringing them the good news, until he arrived at Caesarea. # 8:39–40 This prominent Roman city was also known as Caesarea by the Sea.
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Acts 8: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationActs 8
8
1Now Saul was consenting to his execution.#22:20.
Persecution of the Church. On that day, there broke out a severe persecution#Some idea of the severity of the persecution that now breaks out against the Jerusalem community can be gathered from Acts 22:4 and Acts 26:9–11. Luke, however, concentrates on the fortunes of the word of God among people, indicating how the dispersal of the Jewish community resulted in the conversion of the Samaritans (Acts 8:4–17, 25). His narrative is further expanded to include the account of Philip’s acceptance of an Ethiopian (Acts 8:26–39). of the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.#All were scattered…except the apostles: this observation leads some modern scholars to conclude that the persecution was limited to the Hellenist Christians and that the Hebrew Christians were not molested, perhaps because their attitude toward the law and temple was still more in line with that of their fellow Jews (see the charge leveled against the Hellenist Stephen in Acts 6:13–14). Whatever the facts, it appears that the Twelve took no public stand regarding Stephen’s position, choosing, instead, to await the development of events. 2Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. 3Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church;#Saul…was trying to destroy the church: like Stephen, Saul was able to perceive that the Christian movement contained the seeds of doctrinal divergence from Judaism. A pupil of Gamaliel, according to Acts 22:3, and totally dedicated to the law as the way of salvation (Gal 1:13–14), Saul accepted the task of crushing the Christian movement, at least insofar as it detracted from the importance of the temple and the law. His vehement opposition to Christianity reveals how difficult it was for a Jew of his time to accept a messianism that differed so greatly from the general expectation. entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.#9:1, 13; 22:4; 26:9–11; 1 Cor 5:9; Gal 1:13.
III. THE MISSION IN JUDEA AND SAMARIA
Philip in Samaria. 4Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.#11:19. 5Thus Philip went down to [the] city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.#6:5; 21:8–9. 6With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. 7For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.#Mk 16:17. 8There was great joy in that city.
Simon the Magician. 9A man named Simon used to practice magic#8:9–13, 18–24] Sorcerers were well known in the ancient world. Probably the incident involving Simon and his altercation with Peter is introduced to show that the miraculous charisms possessed by members of the Christian community (Acts 8:6–7) were not to be confused with the magic of sorcerers. in the city and astounded the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, “This man is the ‘Power of God’ that is called ‘Great.’” 11They paid attention to him because he had astounded them by his magic for a long time, 12but once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized.#1:3; 19:8; 28:23, 31. 13Even Simon himself believed and, after being baptized, became devoted to Philip; and when he saw the signs and mighty deeds that were occurring, he was astounded.
14Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, 16for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.#Here and in Acts 10:44–48 and Acts 19:1–6, Luke distinguishes between baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus and the reception of the Spirit. In each case, the Spirit is conferred through members of the Twelve (Peter and John) or their representative (Paul). This may be Luke’s way of describing the role of the church in the bestowal of the Spirit. Elsewhere in Acts, baptism and the Spirit are more closely related (Acts 1:5; 11:16). 17Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit.#2:4; 4:31; 10:44–47; 15:8–9; 19:2, 6.
18#Simon attempts to buy the gift of God (Acts 8:20) with money. Peter’s cursing of Simon’s attempt so to use his money expresses a typically Lucan attitude toward material wealth (cf. Lk 6:24; 12:16–21; 16:13). When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19and said, “Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the holy Spirit.” 20But Peter said to him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money. 21You have no share or lot in this matter, for your heart is not upright before God. 22Repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your intention may be forgiven. 23For I see that you are filled with bitter gall and are in the bonds of iniquity.” 24Simon said in reply, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” 25So when they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and preached the good news to many Samaritan villages.
Philip and the Ethiopian.#In the account of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, Luke adduces additional evidence to show that the spread of Christianity outside the confines of Judaism itself was in accord with the plan of God. He does not make clear whether the Ethiopian was originally a convert to Judaism or, as is more probable, a “God-fearer” (Acts 10:1), i.e., one who accepted Jewish monotheism and ethic and attended the synagogue but did not consider himself bound by other regulations such as circumcision and observance of the dietary laws. The story of his conversion to Christianity is given a strong supernatural cast by the introduction of an angel (Acts 8:26), instruction from the holy Spirit (Acts 8:29), and the strange removal of Philip from the scene (8:39). 26Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, “Get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” 27So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace,#The Candace: Candace is not a proper name here but the title of a Nubian queen. that is, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship,#Is 56:3–5. 28and was returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and join up with that chariot.” 30#Philip is brought alongside the carriage at the very moment when the Ethiopian is pondering the meaning of Is 53:7–8, a passage that Christianity, from its earliest origins, has applied to Jesus; cf. note on Acts 3:13. Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.#Jn 16:13. 32This was the scripture passage he was reading:#Is 53:7–8 LXX.
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
33In [his] humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.”
34Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply, “I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone else?” 35Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him. 36#10:47. As they traveled along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” [37]#The oldest and best manuscripts of Acts omit this verse, which is a Western text reading: “And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he said in reply, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” 38Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued on his way rejoicing.#1 Kgs 18:12. 40Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.#21:8.
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