ACT 8

1 Saul gave his consent to Stephen's execution.

The Persecution of the Jerusalem Church

A massive persecution campaign against the Jerusalem church erupted on that very day. All the believers scattered throughout the Judean and Samaritan regions, though the apostles stayed in the city.

2 Pious men carried Stephen to his burial and expressed profound grief over him.

3 Saul, meanwhile, was systematically devastating the church. He invaded one household after another, hauling away both men and women believers and having them imprisoned.

Philip's Evangelistic Preaching in Samaria

4 Those who had been forced to flee travelled from place to place announcing the message.

5 Philip travelled to a Samaritan city and began declaring the Messiah to the inhabitants.

6 The crowds paid unified attention to Philip's teaching as they listened to his words and observed the miraculous signs he was demonstrating.

7 Unclean spirits shrieked loudly as they came out of many people who had been possessed. Numerous individuals who were paralysed or unable to walk received complete healing.

8 This created enormous celebration throughout that city.

9 A man named Simon had been operating in the city previously, practising sorcery and astonishing the Samaritan population. He portrayed himself as someone of great importance.

10 Everyone in the city, from the socially insignificant to the prominent, paid him close attention. They said, "This individual embodies what is called the Great Power of God."

11 They followed him because his sorcery had amazed them over an extended time period.

12 But when they came to believe Philip's proclamation of the good news regarding God's kingdom and the authority of Jesus the Christ, both men and women received baptism.

13 Simon himself also became a believer. After his baptism, he attached himself to Philip as a constant companion. When he witnessed the signs and extraordinary miracles occurring, he was utterly astonished.

The Apostolic Delegates to Samaria

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem received reports that Samaria had embraced God's message, they sent Peter and John to go there.

15 When these two arrived, they prayed that the new believers would receive the Holy Spirit.

16 The Spirit had not yet come upon any of them—they had simply undergone baptism into the Lord Jesus' name.

17 So Peter and John began placing their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18 When Simon observed that the Spirit was transmitted through the apostles placing their hands on people, he brought them money.

19 He said, "Transfer this capability to me as well, so that whoever I place my hands on receives the Holy Spirit."

20 Peter responded to him, "May your money go to destruction right along with you, since you imagined you could purchase God's gift with money!

21 You possess no share or stake in this work, because your heart lacks integrity before God.

22 Turn away in repentance from this wickedness, and plead with the Lord that perhaps this intention in your heart might be pardoned.

23 I perceive that you are trapped in bitter envy and imprisoned by wrongdoing."

24 Simon responded, "Please make your own petition to the Lord on my behalf, so that nothing you have spoken about comes upon me."

25 After giving their testimony and delivering the Lord's message, Peter and John returned towards Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news in numerous Samaritan villages along their route.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

26 An angel of the Lord addressed Philip with these instructions: "Get yourself ready and travel southwards on the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza"—this route passed through wilderness.

27 Philip prepared himself and went. He encountered an Ethiopian man, a eunuch who held a position of authority under Candace, Ethiopia's queen—he supervised her entire treasury. This official had journeyed to Jerusalem for worship

28 and was now returning home. As he rode in his chariot, he was reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah.

29 The Spirit directed Philip: "Approach that chariot and stay close to it."

30 Philip ran up alongside and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, "Do you comprehend what you are reading?"

31 The official answered, "How could I possibly understand without someone to guide me through it?" He urged Philip to climb up and take a seat beside him.

32 The specific Scripture passage he was reading was this:

"Like a sheep being led to slaughter,

and like a lamb that makes no sound before those who shear it,

He does not open His mouth.

33 In His degradation, justice was withheld from Him.

Who can describe His descendants?

Because His life is removed from the earth."*

34 The eunuch asked Philip, "I want to know—who is the prophet describing here? Is he speaking about himself or about someone else?"

35 Philip seized this opening. Beginning with that exact Scripture text, he explained the good news about Jesus to him.

36 As they continued travelling along the road, they arrived at a place where water was present. The eunuch said, "Look—water is here! What would prevent me from being baptised?"*

38 He ordered the chariot stopped. Both Philip and the eunuch descended into the water, and Philip baptised him.

39 When they emerged from the water, the Lord's Spirit suddenly transported Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again, but he continued his journey filled with joy.

40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus. He travelled through that entire region, proclaiming the good news in every town, until he finally reached Caesarea.

Notes

32-33 Quoted from Is. 53:7-8

36 Textual criticism indicates that Acts 8:37, which reads: And Philip said, “ If you believe with all your heart, it is possible” is a later interpolation, as it is missing from the earliest Greek codices. The verse, containing a confessional dialogue between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, is therefore not considered part of the original text.

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