Acts 8:8 - Printer Friendly

Upon the death of King Solomon, his son, Rehoboam, acted so unwisely the nation of Israel split into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, wanted the people to break religiously as well as politically, but he knew that couldn't happen if his people continually returned to Jerusalem to worship at the temple where the ark of the covenant sat. So he built two golden calves and set them in Bethel and Dan. Idolatry became a trademark of the northern kingdom at its inception (1 Kings 12).

When the sin of the northern kingdom grew too great, God had Assyria come down and conquer them. They took many of the people into exile and moved in people from other nations they had conquered (2 Kings 17:6, 24). The Samaritans are the descendants of the mixed people. Years later, King Hezekiah invited the Samaritans to come to Jerusalem and celebrate Passover—and some came (2 Chronicles 30). But after the people of Judah returned from their own exile in Babylon, they refused the Samaritans' offer to help them rebuild the temple (Ezra 4:1–5). In response, the Samaritans built a temple on Mount Gerizim. Although John Hyrcanus I, son of Simon Maccabeus, destroyed the temple in 129 BC, the site was still used for worship at the time Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:20).

This is why the Samaritan woman asked Jesus where they were supposed to worship. Jesus told her, "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23–24).

Now, Philip, the Greek-cultured Jew has come to them, explaining that Jesus the Messiah is for Samaritans as well as Jews. They are certainly grateful for the healing powers Philip so liberally uses, but they are in great joy because they are again invited to worship God.

Acts 8:4–8 describes Jesus' second stage of spreading the gospel coming to fruition (Acts 1:8). As Saul's persecution of the church in Jerusalem grows more violent, Jesus-followers flee to Judea and Samaria. Philip, a fellow deacon of the martyred Stephen (Acts 6:1–6), goes north to Samaria. He expels demons, heals, and preaches the gospel to a people that the Jews traditionally revile. When Philip's ministry takes hold, the church will send Peter and John to formally establish the Samaritans as legitimate believers. (Acts 8:14–25).

Jesus told the apostles they would spread the gospel (Acts 1:8) and persecution makes that happen. Upon the death of the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60), a young Pharisee named Saul builds on the momentum to arrest and, if possible, execute Jesus followers (Acts 8:1–3; 26:10). The apostles mostly stay in Jerusalem, but the church members flee, spreading the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Important encounters in this passage include a magician named Simon and the conversion of an Ethiopian court official.

Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the book of Acts; Acts 1—7 describes the spread of the gospel through Jerusalem; Acts 8:1—11:18 shows the gospel spreading in Judea and Samaria; Acts 11:19—28:31 sees the gospel spread to the ''end of the earth,'' finalizing in Rome. Ironically, although Paul is the central figure in spreading Jesus' good news to the ends of the earth, his early persecution of the church in Jerusalem is instrumental in spreading the gospel through Judea and Samaria.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.