Verses 1-4: Persecution That Scatters, Providence That Sends

¹ Saul was consenting to his death. A great persecution arose against the assembly which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. ² Devout men buried Stephen and lamented greatly over him. ³ But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house and dragged both men and women off to prison. ⁴ Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word.

• God can advance his mission through real suffering and real human evil:

  The chapter begins with “a great persecution” and Saul’s violent actions, showing that the church’s hardships are not imaginary and the enemies’ choices are morally serious. Yet the scattering becomes an instrument of wider proclamation, as those forced from Jerusalem “went around preaching the word,” revealing God’s ability to work through circumstances without excusing the wrong done.

• The whole church participates in witness, not only prominent leaders:

  With the apostles remaining in Jerusalem while “those who were scattered abroad” preach, Acts 8 depicts mission carried by believers broadly. This supports the theological conviction that gospel witness belongs to the whole people of God, even when structures and normal routines are disrupted.

• Grief and faithfulness coexist in the life of the church:

  “Devout men buried Stephen and lamented greatly over him,” presenting lament as a faithful response to loss. The church honors the dead, mourns deeply, and still continues in gospel proclamation, modeling a spirituality that does not deny sorrow in order to serve God.

Verses 5-8: Christ Proclaimed, Mercy Displayed, Joy Given

⁵ Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ. ⁶ The multitudes listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip when they heard and saw the signs which he did. ⁷ For unclean spirits came out of many of those who had them. They came out, crying with a loud voice. Many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ There was great joy in that city.

• The heart of mission is proclaiming Christ:

  Philip “proclaimed to them the Christ,” placing the identity and work of Jesus at the center of evangelism. Whatever else accompanies gospel ministry—compassion, justice, or signs—Acts 8 anchors the message in Christ himself.

• God confirms the gospel with merciful power over sickness and evil:

  The signs include deliverance from “unclean spirits” and healing for “paralyzed and lame,” showing God’s compassion for embodied suffering and his authority over spiritual oppression. These works direct attention to the truth spoken about Christ and produce “great joy,” pointing to salvation as restoration that touches communities, not merely private beliefs.

• Unified listening can follow clear gospel testimony:

  The multitudes respond together—“with one accord”—to what they “heard and saw,” reflecting that God can create receptivity and communal attentiveness through faithful preaching and evident mercy.

Verses 9-13: Amazement, Belief, and the Mixed Motives the Church Must Discern

⁹ But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one, ¹⁰ to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is that great power of God.” ¹¹ They listened to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. ¹² But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³ Simon himself also believed. Being baptized, he continued with Philip. Seeing signs and great miracles occurring, he was amazed.

• Counterfeit “power” can captivate; the gospel redirects worship to God’s Kingdom and Jesus’ name:

  Simon’s sorcery produces amazement and even religious misattribution—“that great power of God”—illustrating how spiritual confusion can mingle with popular enthusiasm. The turning point is the content of Philip’s message: “good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ,” which re-centers faith away from human greatness and toward God’s reign revealed in Christ.

• Faith and baptism belong together in the church’s public life:

  Those who “believed” were “baptized, both men and women,” showing baptism as an embodied, communal act tied to confessing the gospel. The text presents baptism as a serious response to believed good news, not merely a private symbol detached from discipleship.

• External association with the church is not the same as a heart made right before God:

  Simon “believed,” was “baptized,” and “continued with Philip,” yet later is told his “heart isn’t right before God.” Acts 8 therefore teaches the necessity of discernment: visible participation and even amazement at miracles can coexist with unresolved heart corruption, and the church must shepherd people toward sincere repentance and true worship.

Verses 14-17: Apostolic Unity and the Gift of the Holy Spirit

¹⁴ Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, ¹⁵ who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit; ¹⁶ for as yet he had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of Christ Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

• The gospel creates one church across old divisions, safeguarded by apostolic fellowship:

  Samaria “had received the word of God,” and the apostles respond by sending Peter and John—leaders associated with Jerusalem—so that Samaritan believers are not treated as a separate or second-class community. The praying and laying on of hands displays relational unity and accountable recognition across cultural and historical hostility.

• The Holy Spirit is God’s gift, not human achievement, and is received according to God’s wise ordering:

  The believers had been “baptized in the name of Christ Jesus,” yet “as yet he had fallen on none of them” until the apostles prayed and laid hands on them. Acts presents the Spirit as personally given by God, not mechanically controlled by rite or charisma, and also shows that God may, in certain moments, coordinate the Spirit’s reception with the church’s visible unity and authorized witness.

• Prayer and the church’s ministry accompany God’s work without replacing it:

  Peter and John “prayed for them” and then laid hands on them, demonstrating that the church participates through prayerful means while God remains the one who gives the Spirit. This preserves both divine initiative and meaningful human participation in the life of grace.

Verses 18-24: The Gift Cannot Be Bought—Repentance Is Required

¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me also this power, that whomever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God. ²² Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” ²⁴ Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that none of the things which you have spoken happen to me.”

• Grace is a gift, never a commodity:

  Simon’s offer of money reveals a transactional view of God—treating the Holy Spirit as purchasable “power.” Peter’s rebuke names the core theological issue: the Spirit is “the gift of God,” and attempting to buy spiritual authority is a direct contradiction of grace.

• Spiritual leadership must protect the church from corruption with clarity and courage:

  Peter does not soften the diagnosis: “your heart isn’t right before God,” and Simon has “neither part nor lot in this matter.” Acts 8 models accountable discipline where leaders confront sin that endangers the community, especially sin that tries to manipulate holy realities.

• Repentance and prayer are real means of restoration, while forgiveness remains God’s mercy:

  Peter commands, “Repent therefore… and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you,” holding together human responsibility (repent and ask) and divine freedom (forgiveness as God’s merciful granting). The church can call sinners to genuine turning without presuming to control God’s mercy, and sinners are not told to despair but to seek God.

• Sin enslaves inwardly before it destroys outwardly:

  Peter describes Simon’s condition as “the poison of bitterness” and “the bondage of iniquity,” showing sin as both internal corruption and captivity. Theological seriousness about sin is paired with a pastoral summons: repentance is not merely regret, but release from bondage through returning to God.

Verses 25: The Word Keeps Moving

²⁵ They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Good News to many villages of the Samaritans.

• Gospel mission includes both decisive moments and steady, widespread proclamation:

  After the significant events in Samaria, the apostles continue preaching in “many villages,” showing that the church’s work is not only dramatic breakthroughs but also patient, repeated speaking of “the word of the Lord” across ordinary places.

Verses 26-31: God Leads; Scripture Requires Explanation

²⁶ But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.” ²⁷ He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship. ²⁸ He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ He said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He begged Philip to come up and sit with him.

• God personally directs mission, and believers meaningfully obey:

  An angel speaks; the Spirit speaks; and Philip “arose and went” and then “ran to him.” The narrative emphasizes God’s initiative in arranging encounter and the servant’s responsive obedience, affirming both divine guidance and genuine human participation in God’s saving outreach.

• God draws seekers through worship and Scripture, even before full understanding:

  The Ethiopian had “come to Jerusalem to worship” and was reading Isaiah on the way home. Acts 8 honors the reality of sincere seeking while also showing that devotion still needs the gospel’s clarity to reach its fulfillment.

• Scripture is clear enough to be read, deep enough to require teaching within the church:

  The eunuch’s humility—“How can I, unless someone explains it to me?”—supports the theological practice of guided interpretation. God uses a teacher-evangelist (Philip) to serve the reader, highlighting that understanding often comes through the Spirit working by Scripture within relational discipleship.

Verses 32-35: Christ at the Center of the Scriptures

³² Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he doesn’t open his mouth. ³³ In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.” ³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?” ³⁵ Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus.

• The gospel is Scripture-fulfilled and Christ-focused:

  The eunuch reads a passage describing suffering, humiliation, and death, and Philip’s response is to “preach to him about Jesus” beginning from that Scripture. Acts 8 teaches that faithful evangelism is not detached from the Old Testament but arises from it, reading Scripture in a way that culminates in Christ.

• Jesus’ suffering is presented as purposeful and revelatory:

  The text stresses the Servant’s silence and humiliation and the taking of his life. Without speculating beyond the passage, Acts 8 shows that the early church proclaimed Jesus through the lens of suffering Scripture, inviting believers to see the cross not as an accident but as central to God’s saving message.

Verses 36, 38-40: Baptism, Joy, and Ongoing Mission

³⁶ As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?” ³⁸ He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus. Passing through, he preached the Good News to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.

• Baptism is an urgent, embodied response to the gospel:

  Upon seeing water, the eunuch asks what prevents baptism, and the narrative moves directly to the act: “he baptized him.” Acts 8 presents baptism as a concrete, timely step of discipleship tied to receiving the gospel message, carried out through the ministry of the church.

• Joy is a fitting fruit of receiving the good news:

  After baptism and Philip’s sudden departure, the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing,” portraying joy as a deep spiritual outcome of encountering Christ through Scripture and sacrament. The joy is not dependent on Philip’s continued presence, indicating that God sustains the believer beyond the moment of instruction.

• The Spirit remains sovereign over ministers, and the mission continues beyond any one worker:

  “The Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away,” and Philip is then found elsewhere preaching “to all the cities.” This reinforces that ministry is directed by God, not controlled by human planning, and that the gospel keeps advancing through ongoing proclamation.

• God’s saving work is both guided from above and carried out through human means:

  Acts 8 repeatedly shows God initiating (through persecution’s scattering, angelic direction, and the Spirit’s commands) while also highlighting human actions that truly matter (preaching, listening, believing, baptizing, praying, repenting). This holds together God’s sovereignty and meaningful human response without collapsing one into the other.

• The church must welcome genuine faith while discerning spiritual counterfeit:

  Samaria “received the word of God,” yet Simon’s story warns that not all religious enthusiasm is rightly ordered. The chapter teaches that the church can rejoice in growth and still practice careful pastoral discernment about motives, repentance, and integrity.

• The Holy Spirit is not controlled by technique, money, or status, but is given as God’s gift:

  The Samaritans receive the Spirit through prayer and apostolic laying on of hands, while Simon is rebuked for trying to buy the gift. Together these passages teach that the Spirit’s work is personal, holy, and free—received in humility rather than acquired through manipulation.

• Scripture-centered evangelism is essential for bringing seekers to Christ:

  The eunuch’s reading of Isaiah and Philip’s explanation show that God uses Scripture not only to awaken interest but to reveal Jesus. The church therefore serves the world best by opening the Scriptures and preaching Christ plainly from them.

• Baptism and joy belong to the gospel’s public and personal fruit:

  Acts 8 links believed good news with baptism and highlights rejoicing as a result. This encourages believers to see the Christian life as both outwardly expressed (in baptism and fellowship) and inwardly transformed (in joy and a new direction).

Conclusion: Acts 8 portrays the gospel’s unstoppable advance: persecution scatters believers yet multiplies preaching; Christ is proclaimed with merciful power; the church practices unity, discernment, and repentance; and the Spirit leads Scripture-centered mission to unexpected people and places. The chapter invites believers to trust God’s guiding hand, pursue a right heart before him, and participate faithfully in the continued spread of the Good News.