NLT Illustrated Study Bible - Book of Acts - Flipbook - Page 26
A cts 8 : 4
1982
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4 But the believers who were scattered
preached the Good News about Jesus wher
ever they went. 5 Philip, for example, went
to the city of Samaria and told the people
there about the Messiah. 6 Crowds listened
intently to Philip because they were eager
to hear his message and see the miraculous
g signs he did. 7 Many evil* spirits were cast
out, screaming as they left their victims. And
many who had been paralyzed or lame were
healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
9 A man named Simon had been a sorcerer
there for many years, amazing the people of
Samaria and claiming to be someone great.
10 Everyone, from the least to the greatest,
often spoke of him as “the Great One—the
Power of God.” 11 They listened closely to
him because for a long time he had as
tounded them with his magic.
12 But now the people believed Philip’s
message of Good News concerning the King
dom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.
As a result, many men and women were bap
tized. 13 Then Simon himself believed and
was baptized. He began following Philip
wherever he went, and he was amazed by the
signs and great miracles Philip performed.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard
that the people of Samaria had accepted
God’s message, they sent Peter and John there.
15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for
these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.
16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any
of them, for they had only been baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and
John laid their hands upon these believers,
and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was
given when the apostles laid their hands on
people, he offered them money to buy this
power. 19 “Let me have this power, too,” he
8:4
Acts 8:1; 11:19
8:5
Acts 6:5; 21:8
8:6
g se-meion (4592)
Acts
15:12
8:7
Matt 10:1
Mark 6:7; 16:17
8:9
Acts 5:36; 13:6
8:12
Acts 2:38
8:13
Acts 19:11
8:14
Acts 8:1
8:15
Acts 2:38; 19:2
8:16
Acts 10:44
8:17
Acts 6:6; 19:6
8 :7 Greek unclean.
PROFILE
PHILIP Empowered and Effective Evangelist
Acts 8:58, 2640
Acts 6:5; 8:413;
21:89
Philip, a prominent Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jewish Christian, was one of the first to take
the Good News of Christ to those outside the borders of Judaism. Well respected among the
early Christians, he was one of seven men chosen to administer the f ood-distribution pro
gram for needy believers in Jerusalem (6:16). Philip was a strong and effective evangelist in
the power of the Spirit.
When Christians were forced to flee Jerusalem following the death of Stephen (8:4), Philip
carried the Good News of Christ north to the ethnically-mixed city of Samaria. There he
performed many miraculous healings and exorcisms, and people responded eagerly to his
message (8:58). Many men and women were baptized, including a notorious sorcerer named
Simon (8:913). Then, directed by an angel, Philip traveled southwest from Jerusalem toward
Gaza (8:26). There, directed by the Spirit, he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, who was returning
home after visiting Jerusalem (8:27). When the Ethiopian asked Philip to help him understand
Isa 53, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus (Acts 8:2635), then baptized the man
by the roadside (8:3638). Philip was then suddenly taken away by the Spirit of God to the
town of Azotus (8:3940), where he again preached the Good News. He traveled through all
the coastal towns until he came to the large Roman city of C aesarea on the coast, where he
settled down (8:40; 21:89).
Many years later, Paul spent a night in Philip’s home in Caesarea (21:8). By this time Philip
was known as Philip the Evangelist. He had raised four unmarried daughters, all of whom
had the gift of prophecy (21:9).
Philip exemplifies early Christian evangelists, whom the Holy Spirit empowered and guided
to authenticate their witness (see also 1:8; 3:48; 5:1216; 6:8; 10:920; 13:2; 14:8; 16:610;
19:1112; 20:912, 2223). Philip submitted to the power and guidance of the Spirit, and God
used him to take the Good News to those beyond the borders of Judaism.
8:7 cast out . . . healed: Miracles often
accompany evangelism in Acts (see note
on 3:111).
8:924 Simon the sorcerer was a show
man, dazzling the people of Samaria
and making self-exalting claims. Simon’s
attempt to obtain spiritual power
T H E P E N TAT E U C H
through payment gave the name simony
to the later corrupt practice of buying
and selling ordination to church leader
ship (cp. 1 Tim 6:910). Peter strongly
rebuked Simon’s wickedness.
8:1417 When the apostles sent two of
their own to Samaria, it was an amazing
ISRAEL’S HISTORY
step in overcoming prejudice (cp. Matt
10:5; Luke 9:5254; John 4:9; 8:48).
Then, it was even more amazing that
Peter and John prayed that the new
Samaritan believers would receive the
Holy Spirit. This event parallels the day
of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2:147)
POETRY & WISDOM
