TRACINGS FROM THE ACTS OF THE
APOSTLES
VI. SAMARIA
EVANGELISED.
ACTS viii.
"YE shall be witnesses unto Me in Samaria" (Acts i. 8)
were part of the Lord's last words to His disciples. Hitherto, since Pentecost,
none had gone out to the people of that province. At Jerusalem all the
preaching had been carried on, and to it from the country round the sick had
been brought for healing (v. 16). But diffusion, not concentration, was to be
characteristic of Christianity. So just as the confusion of tongues at Babel
resulted in the dispersion abroad of men upon earth, so the persecution which
began on the day of Stephen's death, as Luke really wrote, resulted in the
scattering abroad of the disciples. "And there arose" (we quote the Revised
Version) "on that day a great persecution against the Church which was in
Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judsea
and Samaria, except the Apostles" (viii. 1).
Stephen's Burial. -
Who, then, would bury Stephen? The Christians, like the Apostles at the
Crucifixion, were unable to come forward to give the martyred one an honourable
and the accustomed funeral rites. But, as in the Lord's case, God provided for
this, and in a most unlooked-for way. If the Christians could not volunteer,
devout men, godly Jews, were willing to perform the last sad offices. They
buried him, and made great lamentation over him (viii. 2). There were in
Jerusalem pious men, still professedly Jews, very probably Hellenists or
foreign Jews, who had no part in that murder, and had no sympathy with those
who stoned Stephen. They showed this in the most marked way by burying him, and
greatly lamenting him.
Saul. A little is now told us of a young
man who made himself most prominent in opposing the truth. He had kept the
raiment of the witnesses who stoned the martyr, for he had consented to his
death. He must have heard Stephen's prayer for his murderers, and have
witnessed, we may conclude, Stephen in his dying moments on his knees for his
opponents. Yet nothing he witnessed, nothing he then heard, softened him in the
slightest degree. Zeal for religion, unless tempered by grace, may make its
votary the most implacable of mortals. Such at this time became Saul. We may
call him the Torquemada of his day.* For he made havoc of the Church, entering
into every house. and haling men and women, committed them to prison. Nothing
like this had taken place before. It was systematic persecution of an
inquisitorial character. Private houses were invaded, and the prisons populated
with Christians of both sexes. So far we learn from the historian.
* This
man, Thomas de Torquemada, was the founder of the Spanish Inquisition in the
fifteenth century. During the eighteen years of his ministry in Spain, no less
than 10,220 persons were burnt as heretics, 6,860 condemned and burnt in
effigy, and 97,321 reconciled by other punishments. Torquemada was allowed to
carry out his relentless persecution. Saul was arrested in the midst of his,
and converted.
But when we read Saul's own account of it, years after
his conversion, the horrors of that time appear in an awful light. "I verily,"
he said, "thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the
name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem : and many also
of the saints did I shut up in prisons, having received authority from the
chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme"
(Acts xxvi. 9-11). What a time it must have been! No wonder that all were
scattered abroad from Jerusalem who could get away, except the Apostles.
Imprisonments and deaths were frequent events, and some whose faith gave way
were made to blaspheme. Stephen was the first martyr, but evidently not the
only one. Many were put to death at that time. It was a great execution indeed.
The Apostles were not touched. Probably the previous unsuccessful attempt
against them, related in chap, v., made the authorities afraid to apprehend
them.
Through Judea and Samaria the disciples now went preaching the
Word. Of the work in Judea we have little record, save that we learn from the
Galatians (i. 22) that there were assemblies in that province, and one perhaps
at Lydda, and probably one at Joppa (Acts ix. 32-43), before Peter's memorable
visit to Caesarea. We know, too, that Philip preached systematically in part of
the province between Ashdod and the town just named. To Samaria we are,
however, specially directed, which, since the deposition of Archelaus, son of
Herod the Great, was placed, in common with Judea, under the Eoman governor,
who was subject to the imperial officer in Syria.
In the Gospels we have
notices of Samaria. At Sychar, very early in our Lord's ministry, before indeed
the imprisonment of the Baptist, a work went on of which we have some
information in connection with and consequent on the Lord's interview with the
woman at the well (John iv.). In Samaria at a later date the Lord experienced
opposition from the inhabitants of a certain village, who declined to receive
Him (Luke ix. 52), because His face was as though He were going to Jerusalem.
Hearty reception and distinct rejection - these had been the Lord's experiences
in Samaria.
Philip. Now Philip, one of the seven chosen in chap. vi.
to serve tables, but set free doubtless from that service in consequence of the
persecution, went down to Samaria from Jerusalem. To what city in that province
he went is not distinctly stated. Some have supposed it was the capital. Others
have suggested Sychar. Sufficient for us is it to know of the work which went
on. "He went down to a city of Samaria, and preached the Christ unto them. And
the people [rather, multitudes] with one accord gave heed unto those things
which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For 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. And there
was great joy in that city" (Acts viii. 5-8). What Jews refused, Samaritans
gladly received. Malice filled hearts at Jerusalem. Much joy pervaded the
people of that city in Samaria. For Philip preached Christ unto
them.
Preaching Christ. We may mark the term - preaching Christ,
not simply Jesus; for he could and did preach both. To the eunuch, who was
reading the prophetic description of the Lord's humiliation, Philip preached
Jesus (viii. 35), opening up to him who it was who thus suffered - Jesus, the
Virgin's child. To the Samaritans he preached Christ. Now to preach Christ
involves the setting forth the resurrection and the ascension of the Lord
Jesus. For it is as risen and ascended, as we learn from Peter, that we - i.e.,
Christians - know Him as the Christ (36). As risen, we learn of God's
acceptance of His sacrifice, and hence of the sure ground on which all stand
who believe on Him. We take our stand on the accepted sacrifice - own that all
has been done that He had to do; and justified by His blood, know the blessing
of justification by faith, and in consequence - peace with God (Rom. iv. 24 -
v. 9). As ascended, we have a light cast upon the Person who died, and on the
value of the sacrifice. He has ascended to God's right hand who died as a man
on the cross. He is therefore a Divine Person as well. How great, then, must be
the efficacy of His sacrifice who, once on the cross, is now at the right hand
of the Majesty in the heavens! So preaching Christ implies a very full Gospel,
which sets the one who receives it in the conscious enjoyment of peace with
God. Preaching Jesus would not necessarily include all that is involved in
preaching Christ. There is a time for each. And evidently Philip, divinely led,
knew when to preach the one, and when to preach the other.
The fields in
that city of Samaria were white for harvest. And whilst Saul was carrying on
his dire persecution at Jerusalem, Philip was blessedly engaged in evangelising
in Samaria. The devil was stirring up the former. The Spirit of God was guiding
and blessing the latter. And now a most marked proof of the power of the Word
was displayed by the people, who turned to Philip, and embraced the Gospel,
though formerly captivated by a sorcerer named Simon. In one way such an
overturn might seem nothing strange. Something new generally attracts the
crowd. And displays of miraculous power might well have arrested attention. But
the change wrought in this case was permanent. The impression Simon had
produced, great as it had been, was after all transient. Philip's preaching
made abiding impressions. It was not just a gaping crowd following a
miracle-worker. Souls were deeply impressed, for consciences were dealt with.
Many became earnest, and not merely enthusiastic.
Simon Magus.
Who was that sorcerer? Simon by name, he is commonly called Magus, indicative
of his profession - a magician or sorcerer. By his magical arts he had
bewitched the people, and had established himself in their estimation as a
marvel. He gave himself out for some great one. The people gave heed to him,
from the least to the greatest, declaring, so we should read, "This man is that
power of God which is called Great" (viii. 10). To those captivated by Simon,
Philip preached - not, however, himself, but Christ. How different must he have
appeared to them all from the sorcerer. Both did wonders. Simon exalted
himself, and accepted the adulation of the crowd. Philip preached Another, and
enlisted the converts as disciples of Christ. He sank himself, his glory, his
greatness, in the excellency of the One whom he preached. Was he dazzled by the
power of Simon? Certainly not. He did what amazed Simon, who felt himself in
the presence of one greater than himself. Simon wondered, we are told,
beholding the signs and great miracles wrought. A power greater than that which
he had known was at work, and he was constrained to admit it. It was the power
of the Holy Ghost. And the message proclaimed, the historian is careful to
state, was good news to those who received it. The effect on the people was
decided. Prestige, which had been with the sorcerer, disappeared like snow
before the sun. From being bewitched by Simon they turned to be baptised by
Philip, who had preached what they now believed was good news concerning the
kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. True converts had been made; and
even Simon took his place as a convert among them. He too was baptised. What a
testimony had been borne to the power of. the truth! People felt it. They owned
it. For they were baptised unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. God was
triumphing in the place where the enemy had dazzled so many. For turning once
for all from Simon, they became disciples in truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A change indeed had been wrought by the preaching of the Gospel. And
the miracles and wonders attested the messenger as one sent by God. Simon, the
sorcerer, at the feet of Philip ! The great one, as he loved to proclaim
himself, now professedly the disciple of that newcomer, and doubtless fervent
preacher! But Philip was only an evangelist. By that designation he was many
years after described (Acts xxi. 8). Great as he seemed in the eyes of Simon,
there were greater than he in the Church of God - even the Apostles of the
Lord. Philip, we have said, was an evangelist. And it is interesting to observe
that he knew his gift, and kept to it. For throughout this chapter, which gives
us what may be called "the Acts of Philip," preaching is the service, and that
only, in which he is seen engaging. "He preached Christ"; "He preached the
things concerning the kingdom of God," etc.; "He preached Jesus"; "He preached
the Gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea" (viii. 5, 12, 35, 40).
Neither the gift of teaching nor that of exhorting was bestowed on him. In
preaching he laboured, for he was an evangelist, and the only man so designated
in the New Testament,* though not the only one* of course who laboured in that
line of service. Others, like Paul, might be teachers as well as evangelists.
Philip was only an evangelist.
* Timothy was to do the work of an
evangelist, but had other important work as well (2 Tim. iv. 5).
An
Apostolic Visit. Tidings of the success of the Gospel in Samaria reached
the ears of the Apostles in Jerusalem. Two of their number were accordingly
depvited to visit the scene of blessing. These were Peter and John. Philip's
work was found real and stable. The Apostles accredited it. For, in the midst
of the converts, and seeing surely the reality of the work, they had not to lay
the foundation again, nor to supplement Philip's Gospel. Their service at that
time was to confer on the converts full Christian blessing by the gift of the
Holy Ghost. For that they prayed. "As yet," as the historian acquaints us, "He
was fallen upon none of them; only they were baptised to the name of the Lord
Jesus" (Acts viii. 16). Believers they were. Children of God they had become.
Saved souls they certainly were. But in the belonging to Christ (Rom. viii. 9),
and in the being members of His body (1 Cor. xii. 13), they had not as yet
participated. These spiritual blessings depended on the receiving of the Holy
Ghost. For that Peter and John prayed; and then laying their hands on the
disciples, they received the Holy Ghost. We see then plainly that people may be
believers, and yet be not what Scripture calls sealed (Eph. i. 13) - i.e., be
partakers of the gift of the Holy Ghost. But God desires not to leave any in
that condition.
* The Samaritan worship is dated from Manasseh, the son
o£ Joiada, the son of Eliashib, the high priest, whom Nehemiah chased
from him, as son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. He obtained leave from
Darius Nothus to build a rival temple at Gerizim, about B.C. 409.
Now
in three different ways was that gift bestowed in early days.
1st. The
Spirit was poured out on the whole company at Pentecost.
2nd. Many saints,
doubtless most, after that received the gift of the Spirit by the hearing of
faith (Gal. iii. 2), believing the Gospel of their salvation (Eph. i. 13).
3rd. Others again - and these Samaritans were in the last class - received
the Holy Ghost by the imposition of the hands of Apostles. The history of the
Samaritans in the past very probably accounts for this in their case. For
though professedly descended from Jacob (John iv. 12), they had started, and
maintained since the days of Nehemiah,* a rival worship and a rival temple,
erected on Mount Gerizim. Their position was really schismatical. It was
independency. Hence they must learn that blessing only could reach them from
Jerusalem. So not only had Philip left the capital to preach the Gospel to the
Samaritans, but Peter and John also came down from it to give them the Holy
Ghost. All their spiritual blessing was received through vessels connected with
Jerusalem. Salvation was indeed from the Jews (John iv. 22).
Simon
detected. The sorcerer evidently looked on with amazement, beholding the
power of the Apostles displayed in conferring the Holy Ghost. He well knew how
men regarded any one professedly even endowed with supernatural powers. He
knew, too, what temporal profit he had himself reaped by dazzling the multitude
with his sorceries. If only he could possess that power which Peter and John
had exhibited, what gains would he make! In what estimation would he be held !
Hence he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power, that on
whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost" (Acts viii. 18, 19).
The power to give the Spirit he desired, not the blessing of receiving it. For
that he cared not. The answer of Peter was instantaneous, crushing, and
decided, negativing the request, and defining Simon's true moral condition.
Baptised though he had been, he had no spiritual life in his soul. Conversion
he had never known. In the new birth he had never shared. He was yet in the
gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity, and on the road to perishing, unless
forgiveness of that thought of his heart was accorded to him. Real believers
will never perish. Simon was not yet in that class, and so beyond the danger of
it. "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God
may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter :
for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy
wickedness, and pray God [rather, the Lord], if perhaps the thought of thine
heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of
bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity" (viii. 20-23). Simon believed, we have
read (13). Evidently it was intellectual faith without any real conscience
work. His heart was still not right with God. Who, consciously sharing in
Divine grace, could have made the request he did ? Was conviction wrought in
his soul by Peter's reply? Was his conscience at last really aroused? "Pray ye
to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon
me," was the unhappy man's response. He desired to escape Divine judicial
dealing. But that apparently was all. He asked for their prayers, but made no
confession of his sin, nor does it appear that he prayed, as told to do,
himself. With this he disappears from the pages of inspiration. And any notices
of him in ecclesiastical history, mixed up though they may be with fables,
confirm the Apostle's expressed judgment of him - that he had no part or lot in
the matter. Persistent opposition to the truth is uniformly reported of him,
and unceasing hostility and bitterness against Peter seem to have characterised
that sorcerer to the end.
Much joy had been known in the city before the
converts received the gift of the Holy Ghost. What must they have experienced
on the reception of that gift? Freedom of spirit before God they would then
have come to know, and the consciousness of their relationship to Him must have
been experienced, their very utterance, addressing Him as they must have done
as Father, being the expression of it. Short, probably, was the stay of the two
Apostles after fulfilling the true purpose of their mission. For having
testified and spoken the Word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem,
preaching, however, by the way in many villages of the Samaritans. How changed
were the people of that province and that sect! When the Lord had been going
towards Jerusalem, entering a village inhabited by them, He was forced to leave
it; for they would not receive Him, because His face was set toward the
mother-city - Jerusalem (Luke ix. 53). Now Peter and John, who had been with
Him at that time, met with no coldness, nor were they rebuffed by any in the
Samaritan villages, though they were going up to Jerusalem. Samaria was
receiving the Word of God. When the Spirit really works, prejudices of ages
melt away, and what might have been thought insuperable difficulties are found
to be no longer in existence. God prepares hearts, and the Word can then fall
on them like the soft refreshing benediction of dew on the parched earth. What
a field it must have been to cultivate ! But other work was appointed the
evangelist Philip. To that he will now betake himself.
The Ethiopian
Eunuch. Left behind very possibly by the Apostles in that city, the
converts of which must have become endeared to him, Philip, whilst they were
pursuing their evangelistic service in the province of Samaria, received a call
to go to another place. An angel of the Lord spake unto him, and directed him
to go on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza, "which [or, the same] is desert."
He at once obeyed, and went. But why he was taken from the fruitful field of
his labours was as yet a secret unknown to him. In the path of obedience he got
light cast on his way. Desert though the place he reached was called, he found
himself not alone in that locality. A eunuch - a man of great authority under
Queen Candace,* and who was over all her treasure - a man therefore in whom the
Queen reposed confidence, but more, either a Jew or a proselyte to the Jewish
faith - was returning from Jerusalem, whither he had gone to worship. Evidently
the Temple service, and intercourse there with professed Jews, had not provided
all that he was ready to receive. He had got from none of the doctors there the
light which would open up the prophetic teaching of the Book of Isaiah. Yet he
valued that portion of Divine revelation, and was studying it whilst on his
homeward journey. Was he to return to his country as uninformed on that book as
he had left it? Circumstances seemed to point to that; for Jerusalem was
behind, and he in a desert. Without a teacher, without a helper, he was quietly
reading the book, when Philip, directed by the Spirit of God, accosted him with
the question, " Understandest thou what thou readest?"
* Of this particular
queen nothing seems known. The name Candace is thought to be, like that of
Pharaoh, the designation o£ the sovereign, and not a personal proper
name. In the time of Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., ii. 1) Ethiopia continued to be
governed by female sovereigns.
A stranger to that eunuch thus made
bold to address him. Naturally he might have repulsed such an one. Why should
that simple man, without retinue or even one attendant to mark rank, presume to
intrude on such a high official as he was? He was not travelling alone.
Doubtless he had a goodly number with him. But when the Spirit prepares hearts,
they are ready to welcome assistance; and the outward appearance of the
individual, or the strangeness of such a meeting, raises no objection in the
mind of the true inquirer. So the eunuch replied to the question put to him,
"How can I, except some man [rather, one] should guide me?" He needed help. He
confessed it. And believing Philip could give it, he besought him to come up
and sit with him. The servant of Candace and the servant of the Lord were thus
together; and the former, who probably was accustomed to be listened to with
respect, now sat as a pupil at the feet of the evangelist.
The portion
of the prophet Isaiah was that with which we are familiar as the fifty-third
chapter of the book. How all was ordered of God! A helper was provided for the
eunuch, and the passage he was reading afforded an opening for Philip to
discourse of the Lord Jesus. To the eunuch, however, the meaning was as yet
dark. The light that he would welcome had not illuminated those verses (Isa.
liii. 7, 8). But now he had only to ask this stranger to get them opened up to
him, and to learn of whom the prophet was writing. "Philip," we read, "opened
his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus." What a
time that must have been ! The Lord's rejection when in life was foretold in
the first verse (John xii. 38). His ways in grace, in healing, etc., were
predicted in the fourth verse (Matt. viii. 17). His bearing our sins and the
blessed result of that to us were stated in the fifth verse (1 Peter ii. 24).
His spotless innocence was asserted in the ninth verse (1 Peter ii. 22). His
burial in Joseph's tomb was announced in that same verse (Matt, xxvii. 57-60).
And God's appreciation of Him set forth in the last verse. To what a history in
that one short chapter must the eunuch with wonderment and delight have
listened! Never before had the Scriptures, we may well believe, seemed to him
so full, and their teaching so interesting.
Baptism. The effect
was rapid and decided. Going on their way, they reached water, near, it would
seem (if the Palestine Exploration Society's map is correct), to the modern
Tell Hesy* and the eunuch at once proposed to be baptised with Christian
baptism. "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptised ?" Anxious to
profess himself openly a disciple of the Lord Jesus, he commanded the chariot
to stand still; and the two, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water,
and he baptised him (Acts viii. 36-38). Philip's mission to him had now ended.
He had preached unto him Jesus. He had baptised him at his own desire. Then
"the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip." He disappeared as suddenly, or
more so, than he had come. The two who had met in the desert never met again on
earth. The eunuch continued his homeward journey without deviating from his
path by endeavouring to find out Philip. " He saw him no more " is the sacred
writer's statement, who assigns the following as a reason; "for," as we should
read (not, and), "he went on his way rejoicing." Philip had done for him all
that he had to do. The eunuch had received what he wanted. He had gone to
Jerusalem to worship. He had left that city without any knowledge of Christian
truth. He met Philip by the way, had Jesus preached to him, and went home a
professed disciple of the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord. Of more than
this we have no certain knowledge, so must await a coming day to learn what
results, if any, attended him in his country on his return, supposing, as we
must, that he sought to spread the Christian faith.
* "At Tell Hesy is the
only spring for many miles around: a brackish brook trickles down from Tell
Nejtleh, where in ancient times it was confined by a massive dam; and at Tell
Hesy it is joined by a fine, fresh spring, while the whole of the water is
swallowed in the stony wady within a few hundred yards lower, and never
reappears " (Palestine Exploration Fund, vol. for 1890, p. 161).
But
though about the rest of his path here we can say nothing definite, we know
that before the foundation of the world he had been given to the Son by His
Father, for Divine choice had been exercised in his favour ere Adam walked the
earth (Eph. i. 4). And now as a sheep, one of the flock of the Good Shepherd,
he appears on the page of inspired history. "All that which the Father giveth
Me shall come unto Me," the Lord had said (John vi. 37). This eunuch, given to
Him, did come to Him. But, humanly speaking, how unlikely was that to have
taken place! He had visited Jerusalem without, as we may well believe, coming
across any of the Apostles, or coming under the power of their teaching. He was
returning home to Ethiopia, where certainly no Christian teachers or preachers
were yet to be found. He was leaving behind him the land in which alone as yet
the light of Christian truth was shining. But the Shepherd's eye was on him,
and the Spirit directed Philip to speak to him. Then it was discovered that he
was one of the sheep for whom the Good Shepherd had given His life; and though
as a eunuch he could never of old have been admitted into the congregation of
the Lord (Deut. xxiii. 1), he could be, and was, admitted into the assembly of
God and of Christ.
Judaea evangelised. Of Philip we learn a
little more. He was found at Azotus, the ancient Ashdod, situated north of
Gaza. He had travelled north-west from Tell Hesy, whilst the eunuch continued
his journey south-west from that place towards Gaza. From Azotus Philip worked
his way northward, preaching the Gospel in all the cities till he reached
Csesarea. Samaria and Judaea had been now evangelised, though there may have
been places in each province as yet unvisited. Still the Gospel had been
planted in both, and so the fulfilment of the commission entrusted to the
disciples (Luke xxiv. 47), and repeated in more detail to the Eleven (Acts i.
8), was being carried out. Further details of the work in these provinces are
for the most part withheld, and the historian passes on to the circumstances
connected with missionary work among the Gentiles. The record, then, of
Philip's evangelistic labours has closed. We read no more of him till the
Apostle Paul's visit to Csesarea on his last journey to Jerusalem before his
first imprisonment, when he and his company found a halting-place in Philip's
house, who had, we may suppose, definitely taken up his abode in that city, the
seat of the Roman government of Judaea (xxi. 8-14). It is not unlikely that our
historian then met Philip for the first time, and may have heard from the
evangelist's mouth the story of his visit to the desert and of his intercourse
with the eunuch.
Great things had been done, wonderful things had been
witnessed; yet things more wonderful were to be displayed in the conversion of
Saul, and in the immense diffusion of Gospel work in heathen lands.
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To Chapter Seven