Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

8:5 Philip most likely visited ancient Shechem, the main city of the Samaritans, lying at the foot of their holy mountain Gerizim. The Samaritans were a racially mixed group of partly Jewish and partly Gentile ancestry, disdained by both Jews and non-Jews (see notes on John 4:4; 4:20-21). They believed in Israel's God and in many respects maintained their Jewish heritage but were not considered Jews by those from Judah.

8:6 The Samaritans would have been prepared for Philip's message about the Christ (Messiah). They had their own expectation of a prophetic Messiah called the Taheb, who they believed would come to their holy mountain (see John 4:20). John the Baptist and Jesus had previously ministered in this area (John 3:23; 4:4-42). Like the apostles, Philip had received the Holy Spirit's power to cast out demons and to heal, which served as a sign confirming the truth of his message.

8:9 Simon claimed to have divine powers, calling himself "the Great One." (On ancient magic, see note on 13:6.)

8:13 Not only the Samaritans but Simon also believed and was baptized. Commentators differ over whether Simon had genuine saving faith. Peter's strong rebuke to Simon soon after would suggest that Simon did not have genuine saving faith (see vv. 20-21).

8:14 The apostles at Jerusalem retained their authority over the entire church. When they heard of Philip's Samaritan mission, they sent Peter and John to verify its legitimacy.

8:17 they received the Holy Spirit. Apparently in this unique case, where the gospel was first moving beyond the bounds of Judaism, the Lord sovereignly waited to give any manifestation of the full power of the Holy Spirit (cf. vv. 15-16) until some of the apostles themselves could be present (Philip was not an apostle), and therefore there would be no question at all that the Samaritans had received the new covenant empowering of the Holy Spirit in the same way that the Jewish Christians had. This would show that the Samaritans should be counted full members of the one true church, the new covenant community of God's people, founded and based at that time in Jerusalem. It would also guarantee that the Samaritans, who for many generations had been hostile toward the Jews, would not establish a separate Christian church or be excluded from the church by Jewish believers. The Spirit was given only at the hands of the apostles, to show convincingly to Samaritan and other later, non-Jewish leaders of the church that both Jews and non-Jews who believed in Jesus now had full membership status among God's people (see Rom. 11:13-24; Eph. 2:11-22).

8:18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given. Since this was outwardly evident to Simon and no doubt to others as well, there must have been some outward manifestation of the Spirit. This may have been speaking in tongues, prophesying, or both (see 10:46; 19:6), and it was an evident sign to the apostles that the Holy Spirit had fallen on the Samaritans in a similar way to what had happened to the apostles and those with them at Pentecost. offered them money. Simon was acting in character, because magicians often exchanged secrets for money.

8:21 Neither part nor lot is OT language for having no share in something (see Deut. 12:12; 14:27), and this seems to indicate that Simon has now disclosed the condition of his heart and that he did not truly belong to the people of God. The strong language in Acts 8:23 also seems to class Simon as an unbeliever (but see note on v. 13).

8:24 Whether Simon was truly repentant or not is unclear. Against that possibility is the tradition tied to Simon that he was the "first heretic" and the fact that he does not indicate he will do anything to show repentance.

8:25 This transitional verse shows the apostles preaching in many villages of the Samaritans along their route back to Jerusalem--a fulfillment of 1:8 concerning expansion of the gospel into Samaritan territory.

8:26-27 Gaza was the last watering place before the desert on the road from Jerusalem to Egypt. Ethiopia was the ancient Nubian Kingdom, south of Aswan on the Nile. The designation eunuch could have been a mere title (for a "treasurer" or trusted royal servant), or could refer to his having been emasculated. Since he had been to Jerusalem to worship, the eunuch was probably a "God-fearer," a Gentile who worshiped Israel's God but had not become a full convert ("proselyte"). As a eunuch, he would have been barred from the inner courts of the temple, which makes his reading "the prophet Isaiah" (v. 28) especially significant. Isaiah held out the promise that God would grant devout eunuchs a heritage "better than sons and daughters" (Isa. 56:3-5).

8:30 The Holy Spirit directed Philip to approach the eunuch. People usually read aloud in those days, so Philip was probably aware that the eunuch was reading Isa. 53:7-8. A more appropriate passage could not have been chosen as a witness to Christ, attesting to the Holy Spirit's leading. The passage cited focuses on the injustice done to Jesus, something that reflects Luke's presentation of the cross (see Luke 23), as well as the death of Stephen, who followed in his way.

8:36 The direction of the Holy Spirit in this incident is apparent again as Philip and the eunuch arrive at a rare watering place in the desert precisely when the eunuch requested baptism.

8:39 Philip was snatched up and carried . . . away, much like Elijah was (2 Kings 2:11).

8:40 Philip was then taken to witness in the coastal region, first in Azotus (OT Ashdod), then in Caesarea, where he seems to have settled (see 21:8). Caesarea was a city with a large Greek-speaking population. Originally a small harbor town known as Strato's Tower, it was rebuilt by Herod the Great in magnificent Hellenistic style with a greatly improved harbor. In Philip's day it was the seat of the Roman government of Judea. Excavations have yielded significant finds, including the Herodian port and theater, an "amphitheater" shaped like a hippodrome for horse races, a palace built on a promontory out into the sea (frequently identified as Herod's palace), and a great raised aqueduct. Herod built a temple to Augustus here, and an inscription found in the theater mentions Pontius Pilate's dedication of a Tiberium (a sacred site devoted to the emperor Tiberius). Tense relations existed between the mixed Jewish and Gentile inhabitants, and one cause of the First Jewish Revolt (a.d. 66-73) was the Gentile desecration of the Jewish synagogue in Caesarea.