Acts 8:4-8 4Therefore, those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news of the word. 5Now Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached to them the Christ. 6And the crowds paid attention with one accord to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or crippled were healed. 8So there was much joy in that city.
The early church was effective in discipleship, as evidenced in verse 4. The apostles had done a good job of teaching others about Jesus. They remained in Jerusalem while others fled for their lives. This fact shows the courage of the apostles to stay where they were in great danger and continue their ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing. Meanwhile, other believers, likely many of those whom they taught, fled the city for other areas. Luke writes in verse 4 how they preached the word wherever they went in Judea and Samaria. The word was the good news of Jesus, summarized in the various sermons and speeches recorded thus far in Acts. It likely included many of the stories, sayings, and parables Jesus taught his disciples and the crowds that eventually ended up in the four Gospels in the New Testament.
Verses 5-8 give a brief summary and introduce the ministry of Philip, who was one of the seven Hellenistic Jewish Christians mentioned in 6:5. The Samaritan city he went to is unnamed but is described with the article “the,” so it was a prominent or important city in some way. He chose a place of importance to preach the good news that the Messiah had come. Jesus had preached in various Samaritan cities, towns, and villages, so it is possible people had either heard him directly or heard about him. Philip could now complete the story that some of them had heard. It is also possible that for many, this word was all new. The Samaritans, like the Jews, were looking for the Messiah, based on Deuteronomy 18:15. Philip helped them connect the dots and see Jesus as the fulfillment of their longing. The proof of the truth of Philip’s message was verified by signs, including casting out demons and the healing of the paralyzed and lame.
Philip’s mission to Samaria marks a significant extension of the mission Jesus gave in 1:8. Samaritans and Jews had been enemies of sorts for centuries, even as far back as the time of the twelve tribes. They were part of the same family as descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but like many families, they had bitter divisions. The Samaritans were the descendants of the ten northern tribes that became known as “Israel,” but were destroyed and exiled by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. For Philip to go there was a significant step theologically and politically. As a Hellenistic Jew, such divisions may not have been so important to him. The good news of the Christ brought joy to the city. Persecution resulted in celebration. Stephen’s sacrifice had scattered (diasparentes, verse 1) the seed of the gospel through the preaching of believers like Philip.
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