The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 8
Chapter VIII · Vol. IV, pp. 266–268
1 By occasion of the persecution in Jerusalem, the church being planted in Samaria, by Philip the deacon, who preached, did miracles, and baptized many, among the rest Simon the sorcerer, a great seducer of the people: 14 Peter and John come to confirm and enlarge the church: where, by prayer and imposition of hands giving the Holy Ghost, 18 when Simon would have bought the like power of them, 20 Peter sharply reproving his hypocrisy and covetousness, and exhorting him to repentance, together with John preaching the word of the Lord, return to Jerusalem. 26 But the angel sendeth Philip to teach, and baptize the Ethiopian eunuch.
1 And Saula was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was ba great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they1 were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.2
a ch.7.58;22.20. 1 Ti.1.13.
b ch.7.58;26.10;9.14.
1 i.e. the preachers, ver.4,14;ch.11.19.
2 There is a tradition that the apostles were commanded by our Lord to abide twelve years in Jerusalem; but no value can be attached to it. Much simpler reasons may be assigned for their firmness:—(1) Although they had received the gift of the Holy Ghost, it is probable they expected still something more from 'the promise of the Father' (ch.1.4), and therefore did not judge themselves as yet at liberty to depart. (2) The peculiar courage evinced by Peter and John (ch.4.19), and by all the apostles (ch.5.29,41), will fully account for their remaining when others fled. See Ne.6.11. (3) Their peculiar duties and sense of responsibility should also be taken into account.—C.
3 Asd for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and, haling men and women, committed them to prison.
d ch.7.58;9.1,2,13,11,21;22.3,4,19,20;26.9-12. Ga.1.13,23. 1 Co.15.9. Phi.3.6. 1 Ti.1.13.?
4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad ewent every where preaching the word.3
A.M. cir. 4038. A.D. cir. 34.
e Mat.10.23. ch.11.19;xiii.xiv.xvi.-xix. Mat.5.15,16. 1 Co.14.31. Mar.16.15.
3 Persecution was made, by the wisdom and grace of God, instrumental in the spread of the gospel. Every spot in which a refugee found an asylum became the nucleus of a church.—P.
5 Then gPhilip4 went down to hthe city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
g ch.6.5;21.8, with ver.1,14,15.
4 This 'Philip' was not the apostle (for they all abode at Jerusalem, ver.1), but Philip the deacon (ch.6.5).—C.
h Jn.iv. Ge.49.10. Is.11.10;42.1-7, with Mat.10.5,6.
6 And the people with one iaccord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, jhearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
i 2 Ch.30.12.
j Jn.4.41,42.
7 Fork unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8 Andl there was great joy5 in that city.
l Is.24.14-16;42.10-12;xxxv.lii.liv.lx. ch.13.48. Ro.15.9-12. Ps.19.8;cxvii.
5 One of the chief forms of 'the fruit of the Spirit' is joy (Ga.5.22), a joy that may co-exist with much 'heaviness' (1 Pe.1.6) arising from temporal or spiritual temptations and afflictions.—C.
9 But nthere was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, ogiving out that himself was some great one:
n ver.11;ch.5.36;13.6,8. Ex.7.11. 2 Th.2.9,10. Re.13.13-15.
o 2 Ti.3.2,5.
10 Top whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
12 Butr when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.Cited in WSC 95
r Mat.28.19. Mar.16.15,16. ver.36,37;ch.1.3;2.41;16.15. 1 Jn.5.4.
13 Then Simon himself sbelieved6 also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the tmiracles and signs which were done.Cited in WLC 161 · WCF 28.5
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they usent unto them Peter7 and John:
u 1 Th.3.2. ch.13.2-4;11.22.
7 They sent unto them Peter. A decided proof that Peter was no 'prince of apostles;' for the sent can never be greater than the sender.—C.
15 Who, when they were come down, vprayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
v Mat.7.7,11. Jn.14.13,14;16.23,24. Lu.11.13. ch.2.38.
16 (Forx as yet he was fallen upon none of them; only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he zoffered them money,Cited in WLC 109
19 Saying, aGive me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
A.M. cir. 4038. A.D. cir. 34.
a ver.9-11.
20 But Peter said unto him, bThy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
b ch.10.45;11.17;13.10;20.33. Mat.10.8. 1 Th.2.5,6. 2 Ki.5.15,16,26,27.
21 Thou hast neither cpart nor lot in this matter: for dthy heart is not right in the sight of God.8
c Jos.22.25.
d Ps.78.36-38. Eze.14.3. Je.17.9. Ro.8.7,8. Mat.6.22,23. 2 Ti.3.5.
8 We are not to regard Simon as a thorough hypocrite. He saw Philip's miracles. He was a thoughtful man, and he concluded that Philip must be in league with some supernatural power. He believed that baptism must be the initiatory rite of this new and powerful sect; consequently he confessed his faith in Jesus, and was baptized. He found, however, that baptism alone did not impart the miraculous powers which he sought; he supposed there was a deeper mystery which the apostles kept secret, and he offered to purchase it. He thus plainly mistook the whole character of the gospel.—P.
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if eperhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
23 For I perceive that thou art in the ggall of bitterness,9 and in the bond of iniquity.Cited in WLC 161 · WCF 28.5
24 Then answered Simon, and said, hPray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
25 And they, when they had itestified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
26 And jthe angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza,1 which is desert.2
1 On the south-west of Canaan, Jos.15.47;13.3. Ju.16.1. Zec.9.5.
2 Gaza was the greatest of the five capital cities of Philistia. It stood on the south-western extremity of the plain, on the caravan road to Egypt, and about three miles distant from the coast of the Mediterranean. The road to Jerusalem runs across a dreary parched plain, on the borders of the 'wilderness of wandering,' and may with truth be called 'desert.'—P.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, ka man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and lhad come to Jerusalem for to worship,Cited in WLC 155
30 And Philip pran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, qUnderstandest thou what thou readest?Cited in WLC 157
31 And he said, rHow can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, sHe was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:Cited in WSC 25
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.Cited in WSC 25
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, tof whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?Cited in WSC 25 · WLC 157
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and ubegan at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.Cited in WSC 25
u Lu.24.27,44. ch.28.23;26.22,23;10.43;18.28. 2 Co.1.20. Col.2.17. 1 Pe.1.12,13. 1 Co.2.2.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; vwhat doth hinder me to be baptized?Cited in WSC 95 · WLC 166
v ch.10.47.
37 And Philip said, xIf thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, yI believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.4Cited in WLC 166 · WCF 28.4
x Mat.28.19. Mar.16.15,16. Ro.10.10. ch.2.38,39;ver.12.
y 1 Pe.3.15. Ro.10.10. Mat.16.16. Jn.6.69;11.27;9.35-38. ch.9.20. 1 Co.12.3. 1 Jn.4.15;5.5.
4 The oldest and best MSS. do not contain this verse. It is not necessary to the narrative; and it was probably added by some later copyist to make the story more complete.—P.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they zwent down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.Cited in WSC 95 · WCF 28.4
z Mat.3.16.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord acaught 5away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more:6 and he went on his way brejoicing.
a 1 Ki.18.12. 2 Ki.2.16. Eze.3.12,14;8.3;11.24.
5 Not through the air, as some imagine, but merely, as it were, 'hurried him away,' by some such voice or suggestion as had brought him at first.—C.
6 I believe the removal of Philip was supernatural. A mere inward prompting followed by a hasty, yet natural, withdrawal, would not be so described. Philip was in some way miraculously and invisibly removed. He was conveyed away by divine power to Azotus, or Ashdod, situated about 12 miles northward.—P.
40 But Philip was found7 at Azotus:8 and passing through, he preached cin all the cities, till he came to Cesarea.9
7 Was found. Rather, 'made his appearance,' having left the desert and sought an inhabited district.—C.
8 Ashdod, Jos.13.3;15.46,47. Zec.9.6.
c Mat.9.37. Ro.15.19. ch.10.1;21.8;23.23,33;25.4.
9 Cæsarea on the sea-coast, called for distinction Cæsarea-Palestina. It was built by Herod the Great, & was in apostolic times the residence of the Roman procurator, and consequently the seat of government in Palestine.—P.
Notes
Ver. 20. Thy money perish with thee—seems an awful imprecation, scarcely reconcilable with charity; to avoid which appearance, others have represented it as a prediction. A more literal translation will remove both interpretations, and exhibit the address as neither imprecation nor prediction, but a mere warning of the tendency, and, without repentance, of the result of Simon's trust in deceitful riches:—'Let thy money abide with thyself unto loss.' 'You can gain nothing substantial or permanent by it—above all, it cannot purchase the gift of God. Wherefore, repent, and seek for mercy and pardon.'—'If, perhaps,' &c., does not imply any doubt of the fulness of mercy in God, but a question whether Simon was at all sensible of his sin, or likely to look to Jesus for repentance and forgiveness. C.
Ver. 26. Desert, is not descriptive of the city, whether the old or new, but of the road to it, which, it is probable, the studious Ethiopian had chosen as comparatively unfrequented. C.
Ver. 27. Candace. This had long been the name of the queens of the African Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, as appears from Pliny, Strabo, and Dio. C.
Ver. 35. He preached Jesus, either from this passage alone, by showing how it agreed with no other, but was perfectly fulfilled in Christ; or by collating this with similar passages in the other prophets, and demonstrating how they all united to describe a suffering Messiah, and how the doctrines, miracles, and resurrection of Jesus established his title to that office and dignity. C.
Ver. 38. The universal method of entrance into the Church is by the rite of baptism. When Christ came to John the Baptist at the Jordan seeking baptism the forerunner of the Lord was astonished that the Sinless One, who needed no cleansing, should desire baptism. John had seen merely the idea of external cleansing in the ceremony. But Christ had deeper insight into the meaning of the rite, and said, 'Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.' 'To know the right, to do the right, to love the right—that is the spiritual idea in the outward service. Christ comes to baptism as the leader of the race. He is our representative and as such he asks to be baptized, leaving us his example to follow. L.
Reflections.—It seems hard and inexplicable that eminent ministers should be murdered when they begin to be remarkably useful. But the wisdom of God makes the blood of martyrs the seed of the church, and overrules the persecution of his servants for the spread of his gospel. And it is wonderful to see sometimes the most noted ministers protected amidst the fury of outrageous persecution; and that, while hell and earth rage against the gospel, Jesus Christ shall thereby convert multitudes to himself. If we believe his truth, we ought speedily and solemnly to devote ourselves to him and his service. But, alas! through ambition, covetousness, or other vicious inclinations, many profane the seals of his covenant, and publicly pretend to be his when they are not; and from mercenary views, many are too readily admitted as members or officers in the church. Dreadful will it be if a Saviour perceive them at last in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity! in an unconverted state! Yet it is to be feared that many ask, and rely on the prayers of others, who never heartily pray for themselves.—But no awful discovery of hypocrites must discourage ministers from going on with their work. While wrath lights on the heads of dissemblers, the earnest shall be instructed and strengthened in their most holy faith; and by following the means of grace which they have, they may hope to meet with a blessing, or even to receive means more eminent. If we be humble searchers of God's Word, and often call ourselves to an account whether we understand it, he will send us an interpreter. And much of Jesus Christ may be seen in the Scriptures, if our mind be enlightened by his Spirit. Yea, nothing so affects the conscience as the gospel record concerning him.—What strange methods God sometimes takes to send the gospel to nations answerably to his own promises! Short-lived is the delightful fellowship of Christians on earth. But if Jesus and his Spirit go with each, all may go on their way rejoicing.