Acts

Saul was there, approving the murder.

Persecution and Preaching in Samaria

This marked the beginning of intense persecution against the Church in Jerusalem. Everyone except the apostles was scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

Meanwhile, Saul was trying to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragged off men and women, and had them thrown into jail.

At the same time, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.

Philip

Philip traveled to a town in Samaria and preached about Christ there.

All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him and observed the miraculous signs he performed.

For example, in cases of possession, unclean spirits came out shouting loudly. Many people who were paralyzed or crippled were healed.

There was great joy in that town.

A man named Simon came to this town practicing magic. He kept the Samaritans spellbound, claiming to be someone great.

Everyone, from the least to the greatest, trusted him, saying:

“This is the Power of God, the Great One.”

They followed him because he had kept them under his spell with his magic for a long time.

But when they came to believe Philip, who told them about the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ as Savior, both men and women were baptized.

Simon believed, was baptized, and stayed with Philip. He was amazed when he saw the miraculous signs and wonders.

Peter and John

Now, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

They went down and prayed for them so they might receive the Holy Spirit;

for he had not yet come upon any of them since they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

So Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Simony

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,

saying:

“Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Peter replied:

“May you and your money perish for thinking that the gift of God could be bought with money!

You cannot share in this since you do not understand the things of God.

Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that you may be forgiven for such a wrong way of thinking;

I see you are poisoned with bitterness and in the grip of sin.”

Simon answered:

“Pray to the Lord for me yourselves so that none of these things you spoke of will happen to me.”

Peter and John shared their testimony and preached the word of the Lord. Then they returned to Jerusalem, bringing the Good News to many Samaritan villages along the way.

Philip and the Eunuch

An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip:

“Go south, toward the road that runs down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road.”

So he got up and set out.

Now, an Ethiopian happened to be passing through that area. He was an official responsible for the Queen of the Ethiopians’ treasury. He had traveled to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage

and was now heading home. He was sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip:

“Go and join up with that chariot.”

Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; then he asked:

“Do you really understand what you are reading?”

The Ethiopian responded:

“How can I, unless someone explains it to me?”

He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

This was the passage of Scripture he was reading:

He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered;

like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer,

he did not open his mouth.

He was humbled

and deprived of his rights.

Who can speak of his descendants?

For he was uprooted from the earth.

The official asked Philip:

“Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of someone else?”

Then Philip began to share the Good News of Jesus using this text of Scripture as his starting point.

As they traveled down the road, they reached a spot with some water. Then the Ethiopian official said:

“Look, here is water; what is there to prevent me from being baptized?” [[

And Philip said:

‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’

And he said in reply:

‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’

Then he ordered the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy.

Philip found himself in Azotus, and he traveled through all the towns to share the Good News until he reached Caesarea.