Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Chapter 8
5
Philip
Philip traveled to a town in Samaria and preached about Christ there.6
All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him and observed the miraculous signs he performed.
7
For example, in cases of possession, unclean spirits came out shouting loudly. Many people who were paralyzed or crippled were healed.
8
There was great joy in that town.
14
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.
15
They went down and prayed for them so they might receive the Holy Spirit;
16
for he had not yet come upon any of them since they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17
So Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Commentaries
Persecution and Preaching in Samaria.
Following Stephen’s prophetic denunciation, a new wave of persecution begins. Luke indicates that this is a “selective” persecution. Only the Hellenistic Christians had to flee Jerusalem in a rush. What humans see as flight and dispersion, the narrator sees as the spreading of the Gospel. Luke offers important insights about Philip’s missionary work. First, he establishes that Philip’s mission was a complete success. He describes it in terms of the basic outline of all evangelization: proclaiming the Good News, liberation, and transformation, all expressed through everyone’s joy. The second message emphasizes his ongoing focus on showing us the “unity of the Church.” Philip and his companions did not let success go to their heads. They immediately shared what was happening with the Church in Jerusalem, prompting the apostles to go to Samaria.