NLT Illustrated Study Bible - Book of Acts - Flipbook - Page 27
A cts 9 : 1
1983
8:20
Matt 10:8
Acts 2:38
8:21
Ps 78:37
8:22
Acts 2:38
8:23
Deut 29:1718
Isa 58:6
8:24
Exod 8:8
Num 21:7
8:26
Acts 5:19; 6:5
h angelos (0032)
Acts
10:3
8:27
1 Kgs 8:4143
Ps 68:31
Isa 56:35
Zeph 3:10
8:3233
*Isa 53:78
8:32
i amnos (0286)
1
Pet 1:19
8:35
Luke 24:27
Acts 18:28
8:36
Acts 10:47
8:39
1 Kgs 18:12
2 Kgs 2:16
Ezek 3:12
9:129
//Acts 22:321;
26:918
9:1
Acts 8:3
exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on
people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”
20 But Peter replied, “May your money be
destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift
can be bought! 21 You can have no part in this,
for your heart is not right with God. 22 Repent
of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Per
haps he will forgive your evil thoughts, 23 for I
can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and
are held captive by sin.”
24 “Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon ex
claimed, “that these terrible things you’ve
said won’t happen to me!”
25 After testifying and preaching the word
of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John re
turned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in
many Samaritan villages along the way to
preach the Good News.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
26 As for Philip, an h angel of the Lord said
to him, “Go south* down the desert road
that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he
started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethi
opia, a eunuch of great authority under the
Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch
had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he
was now returning. Seated in his carriage,
he was reading aloud from the book of the
prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over
and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man read
ing from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked,
“Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless
someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip
to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
32 The passage of Scripture he had been
reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.
And as a i lamb is silent before the
shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
33 He was humiliated and received no justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”*
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was
the prophet talking about himself or some
one else?” 35 So beginning with this same
Scripture, Philip told him the Good News
about Jesus.
36 As they rode along, they came to some
water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s
some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”* 38 He
ordered the carriage to stop, and they went
down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away.
The eunuch never saw him again but went on
his way rejoicing. 40 Meanwhile, Philip found
himself farther north at the town of Azotus.
He preached the Good News there and in
every town along the way until he came to
Caesarea.
Saul’s Conversion (9:131)
The Experience of Saul near Damascus
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats
with every breath and was eager to kill
the Lord’s followers.* So he went to the high
9
:26 Or Go at noon. 8:3233 Isa 53:78 (Greek version). 8:36 Some manuscripts add verse 37, “You can,” Philip answered,
8
“if you believe with all your heart.” And the eunuch replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 9:1 Greek disciples.
and marks the spread of the Holy Spirit’s
power from Judea to Samaria (1:8).
8:24 Simon recognized the need for Peter
to intercede in prayer for him, but it is
not clear that he repented and turned
from his wickedness. His main concern
was apparently to avoid the terrible con
sequences that Peter predicted when his
wicked motives were exposed.
8:2640 Philip obeyed the Holy Spirit’s
leading and then seized the opportunity to
share the message of Good News with a
eunuch on the desert road . . . from Jerusalem to Gaza. This incident shows Philip’s
remarkable effectiveness as a Christian
apologist and evangelist in his outreach
for Christ and in his commitment to bring
ing the Good News to all people regardless
of social class or ethnicity.
8:27 In the ancient world, a eunuch was
an official, typically castrated, who served
in a royal court (see 2 Kgs 9:3032; Esth
1:10; 2:3, 1415, 21; 4:45). Eunuchs were
often scorned by Jews because they could
not perpetuate the covenant family, and
PROPHETS OF ISRAEL
the law of Moses excluded men who had
damaged genitals from the assembly
of Israel (Deut 23:1; cp. Lev 21:1723),
but Isaiah spoke of God’s acceptance of
Gentiles and eunuchs (Isa 56:38; see also
Matt 19:12). In the new covenant, all who
have genuine faith have a place among
the people of God. • The eunuch had
traveled from Africa to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple, probably for one of
the great Jewish festivals.
8:29 The Holy Spirit guides the servants
of God in where, when, and what to
preach, teach, or do (9:15; 10:1920;
11:12; 16:6; 1 Cor 2:13; 1 Pet 1:12). See
“The Holy Spirit’s Presence,” Acts 1:8.
8:3233 The passage of Scripture was
Isa 53:78, one of the Servant Songs of
Isaiah, a passage that speaks of the suf
fering servant of the Lord.
8:3940 After the Spirit of the Lord
snatched Philip away, Philip continued
northward from Azotus (=Ashdod, 1 Sam
5:17; Neh 13:2324; Isa 20:1) up the
coast, preaching in every town along the
GOSPELS & ACTS
way until he came to Caesarea, where he
settled (Acts 21:8). • Caesarea Maritima,
a major seaport on the Mediterranean,
was the seat of Roman government in
Judea. It was built by Herod the Great
about 22–9 bc and was named to honor
Emperor Caesar Augustus.
9:119 The conversion of Saul of Tarsus
on the Damascus road is of central
importance to the narrative of Acts—
Luke recounts the story three times (also
22:121; 26:129). Paul alludes to this
experience several times in his letters
(1 Cor 15:810; Gal 1:1117; Phil 3:411;
see 1 Tim 1:1217). Saul’s conversion was
his prophetic call and commission as an
apostle (Acts 9:15; 22:15, 21; 26:1518).
No one is beyond the power of God to
reach, redeem, and use them for holy
purposes—nothing is impossible with God
(Luke 1:37). Paul was prepared through
his training, upbringing, and experience
to play a unique role in taking the gospel
into the broader world as the “apostle to
the Gentiles” (Rom 11:13; see 1 Cor 15:9;
2 Cor 12:1112; Gal 1:1; Eph 3:8).
L E T T E R S O F PAU L
OTHER LET TERS
