Acts, chapter eight, shows us how the young Christian church begins to spread beyond Jerusalem.
It reminds me of the creeping juniper plants we have on the back hill at the beach house. When we first planted them as small plants, our hope was they would spread quickly to cover the ground and hold the hill. Well, not much happened right away. For several years, the small plants even struggled among the weeds just to avoid being overtaken, so we weeded the hill. We still do, every year. However, this year, for the first time, I have begun to see signs of real spread. The junipers are taking root and putting out branches across much of the hill space. Very exciting!
And similarly, after some time and the martyrdom of Stephen, the young Christian community begins to spread out--due in part to the persecution it had begun to face in and around Jerusalem. Philip (one of the six men chosen along with Stephen back in chapter six) plays an important role in chapter eight.
First, we see Philip depart for Samaria where he begins to teach about the Messiah, to perform miraculous signs, and to baptize in Jesus' name.
Second, we see Peter and John join Philip in Samaria. They pray that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit and then lay hands on them at which time they do received the Spirit. Peter also chastises a greedy local magician named Simon.
Finally, we see Philip leave Samaria heading south toward the desert where he meets an Ethiopian official whom he teaches and baptizes along the road. To conclude the chapter, Philip is suddenly seen along the coast, preaching in Azotus and headed north to Ceasarea.
If possible, spend some time with the geography. But also, follow all eight footnotes for verses one through eight (some of the footnotes reference other related bible locations--follow these too), and watch the connections grow between Luke's account here, Paul's letters which are yet to be written, and the predictions Jesus previously made! It is well worth the small amount of time!
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