Tag: Acts 8

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 22  Read: Isaiah 21 Listen: (2:32) Read: Acts 8 Listen: (5:10)

Scripture Focus: Acts 8.4-8, 35-39

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

Reflection: The Gospel Crosses Boundaries and Brings Joy

By John Tillman

Acts begins with Jesus saying, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.8) This serves as an outline of Acts, showing one of its main themes is that the gospel crosses human boundaries.

Beginning in Jerusalem, the apostles take the lead. Peter is the frequent frontman. They often minister in the temple and clash with the same religious leaders Jesus did. But for a time, the story shifts from the apostles to a new group called “deacons.”

The first seven deacons were men, but in scripture and church history many women filled the role. Stephen and Phillip the Evangelist (not Phillip the apostle) are the first two deacons introduced, and help to define what deacons do. Deacons were commissioned out of a controversy regarding distributing food to the needy. However, through Stephen and Phillip, (and later through Phoebe) we see that deacons do more than “wait on tables.” (Acts 6.2)

Deacons weren’t merely sanctified hospitality experts, chefs, or waiters. Deacons were speakers, evangelists, teachers, and miracle-workers. Stephen wasn’t killed because he gave food to widows, but because he taught, using the scriptures, that Jesus was the Messiah (Acts 6.8-12; 7.55-58). Deacons led complex church ministries and Phillip, the second deacon spotlighted in Acts, takes the gospel beyond Jerusalem’s boundaries.

The persecution that followed Stephen’s killing forced everyone except the apostles out of Jerusalem (Acts 8.1). Phillip’s stories, in Samaria and with the Ethiopian eunuch, show us examples of what those believers did—they “preached the word wherever they went.” And where the gospel is preached, joy follows.

In Samaria, Phillip took the gospel to a hated ethnic group and culture. Through his meeting with the Ethiopian, Phillip initiated the gospel’s introduction to the continent of Africa. Many Africans captured and enslaved in the United States were Christians who traced their spiritual heritage to this moment. 

When the focus of Acts shifts to Paul, he is called and commissioned as the first “missionary.” But Phillip and the Ethiopian were Paul’s forerunners. Taking the gospel across human boundaries brings joy (Acts 8.5-8, 38-39).

You don’t need to be commissioned or ordained as a deacon to take the gospel across boundaries. What boundaries are around you? Race? Culture? Political alignment? Misunderstanding?

The same Holy Spirit that used Phillip wants to use you. Are you listening? Let the Holy Spirit carry you over boundaries to spread the gospel and bring joy.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long. — Psalm 25.3-4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Sufferings and False Prophets

False prophets today may be religious or political…what they have in common is typically telling us exactly what we want most to hear.

Sufferings and False Prophets

Read more: Be On Lookout

Some Christians with a vigilante spirit confuse the call to alertness with a call to arms or a declaration of war.

Be on Lookout

Scripture Focus: Acts 8:4-8
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

Reflection: The Gospel for All
By Kingsley East Gibbs

By Acts 8, the church was persecuted and scattered. Stephen had just been martyred (Acts 7.59-60), and Saul breathed threats and murder against God’s disciples (Acts 9.1-2). The early church had much to fear. Today, there are places where Christians are persecuted, harassed, and threatened. Even those of us who don’t fear for our lives because of our beliefs may still feel isolated, belittled, or afraid to share the gospel. The apostles in Acts demonstrate a way for all Christians to respond to God’s commission.

Rather than hiding their faith, the church in Acts preached the word wherever they went to whomever they encountered. The apostles didn’t pick and choose who needed the gospel. Jesus did not call them to judge who gets to hear the word of God. Rather, Jesus sent the disciples to the ends of the earth to share his word with all people (Acts 1.8). This included Samaritans, people on whom the disciples previously wanted to call down fire (Luke 9.54-55).

Obeying Jesus’ teaching that the God of the Jews is for all people, Philip shared the gospel in unimaginable places with unlikely people. For instance, the Old Testament forbade sorcery like Simon’s because it was associated with deception, idolatry, and the demonic. Eunuchs were also excluded from the Jewish Temple. However, Jesus opened the door for all people to live in communion with God, and the apostles shared the gospel with those who were explicitly excluded from Jewish life. Even a sorcerer and a eunuch were invited into the kingdom of God and baptized.

After each of these baptisms, however, Simon and the eunuch had opposite responses. Simon tried to buy the Holy Spirit, while the eunuch left rejoicing and is credited by church tradition with spreading the gospel in his country. 

Jesus commissioned his followers to share the gospel with everyone, not to control how it was received or dictate who should hear it. We too are called to take the gospel to the ends of the earth—to all people—those excluded by religious groups, adored by society, ostracized by communities, and everyone in between. Because the gospel is for all.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. — Psalm 29.2

Today’s Readings
Isaiah 50 (Listen – 2:09)
Acts 8 (Listen – 5:10)

Read more about Not for Sale
Peter’s response calls out the sin in Simon’s heart, the attitude that divine power can be acquired for a price.

Not for Sale