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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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THE GOSPEL TO THE SAMARITANS (Ac 8:1-8) 3/30/14 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. THE GREAT PERSECUTION AND ITS PURPOSE (Ac
8:1-4) A. [Context] Luke’s account of the martyrdom
of Stephen was written in Ch. 7. In Ch. 8, Luke reports the results of
Stephen’s martyrdom upon the church. In essence, the severe persecution that
began to occur was the impetus that caused the church to scatter, taking the
gospel with it. B. [1a] Saul was the young man mentioned in
Ac 7:58 with whom the witnesses of Stephen’s stoning laid their coats. But
Saul was not an innocent by-stander because Luke tells us that he was in
“hearty agreement” (suneudokōn - join with in approval and desire)
with putting Stephen to death. 1. The word “death” (anairesis) here
has the meaning of not only taking away a dead body, but that it was through
an action of killing by putting to death. It is used only a few times specifically
in Acts (Ac 13:28; 16:27; 22:20; 23:27; 26:10). 2. In fact, Paul (Saul) and Luke both fill
in the detail concerning Paul’s murderous hatred toward believers (Ac 22:3-4,
19-20; Ac 26:9-11; 1Co 15:9; Ga 1:13; 1Ti 1:13). Nevertheless, the martyrdom
of Stephen would have a life-changing impact on Saul who would become Paul. 3. The impact that Stephen’s martyrdom would
have upon Paul would not only parallel Stephen’s persecution but also be far
greater. The Lord spoke to Ananias about Paul’s own persecution in Ac
9:13-16. Paul’s persecution was paralleled to Stephen’s. a) Preaching in the synagogue (Ac 17:1-2). b) Rejection by the Jews (Ac 18:5-6). c) Accusation of blaspheme (Ac 21:28; 24:6;
25:8; 28:17) d) Tried by the Sanhedrin (Ac 6:12ff.;
22:30ff.) e) Stoning (Ac 14:19-20, though Paul did not
die) f) Martyrdom (2Ti 4:6) C. [1b] The stoning of Stephen open a wide
door to a “great persecution” (diōgmos - lit. to pursue or chase,
i.e. persecution; megas - great “mega-persecution”) on the church in Jerusalem.
The words of jesus were coming true (Jn 15:20; 16:2). As a result, the church
was scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. In an interesting
turn of events, the church was now accomplishing the very instructions that
Jesus gave in the beginning of Acts, “but
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to
the remotest part of the earth” (Ac 1:8). However,
the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. D. [2] Stephen was buried in Jerusalem by
devout men. The “devout” men may or may not have been true believers (cf. Lk
2:25; Ac 2:5). However, it showed that Stephen was respected as a believer
and faithful witness. The Mishna (written laws based on the Torah) stated
that even a criminal had to have a proper burial. However, they were not to
grieve over him. Yet we read that these devout men, in spite of the Mishna,
protested and made loud “lamentation” (kopetos - to beat on the chest as a sign of great grief) over
Stephen’s death. Stephen was a bold, faithful, and influential witness for
Christianity. E. [3] As for Saul, he was part of the
instigation of the great persecution against Christianity. For he went about
“ravaging” (lumainō - relentless (sometimes irrational) and
devastating pursuit) the church. Saul was acting from his own zeal but
also with the authority of the chief priests (Ac 26:10). He would enter
houses and when he entered their houses he would force (through crafty interrogation
or perhaps even torture) them to blaspheme, that is to speak against God when
they would claim Jesus as Lord and Christ (Ac 26:11b). Once he had their
confession, he would drag off (surō - drag by force like a fish net)
both men and women to prison. When they were in the prison, presumably the
synagogue prisons, he himself would punish them (Ac 26:11a). Saul was so
zealous that he would pursue Christians wherever he found them, including
foreign cities (Ac 26:11c). He tried to literally “destroy” (portheō
- attack and destroy or besiege) Christianity (Ac 9:21; Ga 1:13, 23) and
he believed he was morally right to do so according to Judaism (Ga 1:14). F. [4] The result of such persecution begins
in vs. 4 with a “therefore” (oun - a logical result or consequent).
There was indeed a divine plan in the midst of such travesty. The plan was
that the believers would “preach the word” (pres part of euangelizomai -
evangelizing) as they were scattered. II. PHILIP PREACHES AT SAMARIA (Ac 8:5-8) A. [5] The Philip in Ch. 8 is not the apostle
Philip (Ac 1:13), who obviously stayed in Jerusalem (Ac 8:1). Rather the
Philip of Acts 8 is the Philip who had been one of the seven chosen as
Deacons to serve the Hellenistic Jewish widows (Ac 6:5). A companion of Stephen,
Philip was obviously a faithful believer. Philip was one of the ones who was
scattered but went about preaching the word. In fact, Philip is the man in
Scripture given the title of “evangelist” (Ac 21:8 cf. 2Ti 4:5). 1. Philip went to Samaria, which was 34
miles north of Jerusalem. Philip’s relocation is interesting from several
points. As already mentioned, Samaria was part of the outreaches that Jesus
commissioned the apostles (Ac 1:8). In addition, Samarians were not full Jews
and were despised by the Jews. The Samarians were not only considered
half-breeds, but they practiced their own syncretistic worship (2Ki 17:33).
The Jews refused to let the Samaritans help build the Temple (Ezr 4:1-3)
which caused contempt on both sides. 2. It was the Lord who first bridged the gap
by announcing His Messiahship to the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:4). Philip the
evangelist, understood that the Gospel was to be “proclaimed” (kerussō
- publically announce or herald) to everyone regardless of their
ethnicity. B. [6] The crowds were in one accord and
attentive. Here we see the Spirit’s preparation in giving some understanding
to the Samaritans. We also see the Spirit’s work in the heart of the
Samaritans, though they were despised by the Jewish people. Also we observe the
Spirit’s power in performing signs through Philip. The combination of the
Spirit’s work made a perfect opportunity for Philip to evangelize. Once again
we see the affirmation of the Gospel through signs in the early church. But
now we see someone performing those signs who was not an apostle.
Nevertheless, Philip was a man commissioned by the apostles (Ac 6:5). C. [7] Luke records the signs that Philip was
performing. Similar to what took place in Jerusalem (Ac 5:16), Philip was
casting out demons (“unclean spirits”). In similar fashion, the demons would
often cry out, perhaps in protest, as they were coming out of the person
possessed by them. 1. Not only was there an increase of signs
in the apostolic era, but it appears that there was an increase in demonic
possession. This is not to say that we do not have demonic possession today,
but it was more prevalent in the first century. When the apostles or those
commissioned by the apostles, cast out demons, it was for the purpose of
showing God’s power upon His spokesmen. This gave credence to God’s message
of the Gospel. 2. Today, the Gospel does not need such
confirmation because we have God’s confirmation recorded in His Word. So Acts
is not instructing today’s church how to cast out demons and heal the paralyzed
and lame. How would the church approach demon passion? The Scriptures tell us
that the gospel sets prisoners free. Once free the believer is to put on the
armor of God (Ep 6:10ff). D. [8] The city was rejoicing at the
preaching and reception of the gospel. It is the record of the church’s first
missionary endeavor. It was a success and it was spurred on by persecution. III. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. The Spirit shows His divine providence in
using persecution to promote evangelism. He also shows it in the preparation
of the sinner's heart. B. The Spirit shows His divine power when he
changes the sinner's heart. He can change anyone's heart, no matter how
resistant. C. The Spirit shows His divine purpose when
he enables believers themselves to evangelize 1. They are commissioned to Evangelism (Mt
28:19-20) 2. They become ambassadors of
Evangelism (2 Cor 5:18-20). 3. The early church’s evangelism was the
Spirit's model (Acts 2:46-47) 4. Evangelism remains part of the Spirit's
putrpose for believers today (2 Tim 4:5). |
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