1Saul 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. 2Devout men buried Stephen and lamented greatly over him. 3But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house and dragged both men and women off to prison. 4Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word. 5Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6The multitudes listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip when they heard and saw the signs which he did. 7For 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. 8There was great joy in that city.
9But 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, 10to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is that great power of God.” 11They listened to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. 12But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself also believed. Being baptized, he continued with Philip. Seeing signs and great miracles occurring, he was amazed.
14Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit; 16for as yet he had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of Christ Jesus. 17Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19saying, “Give me also this power, that whomever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God. 22Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23For I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”
24Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that none of the things which you have spoken happen to me.”
25They 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.
26Then 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.”
27He 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. 28He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.”
30Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31He said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He begged Philip to come up and sit with him. 32Now 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.
33In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away.
Who will declare His generation?
For his life is taken from the earth.”
34The eunuch answered Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?”
35Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus. 36As 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?”
37 38He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39When 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. 40But Philip was found at Azotus. Passing through, he preached the Good News to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.
Having Beautiful Feet
Having Beautiful Feet
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. 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?”37 [a38 He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
The stoning of Stephen resulted in the church being scattered throughout the land. God was using these events to spread the gospel. This chapter demonstrates that as persecution intensified, the spread of the gospel expanded. Although Saul was the chief persecutor at this time, he would soon have his encounter with Jesus, and he would write the church in Rome, assuring them, “28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 WEB)
We must remember that it is during challenging and difficult times that we, too, grow in the Lord and learn to trust Him. As the chapter progresses, we find the account of some high-level Ethiopian government official leaving Jerusalem, where he had gone to worship. Many scholars surmise that there were faithful followers of Yahweh in Ethiopia from the time of Solomon. As he rode along, he was reading Isaiah 53:7, a key messianic passage in the Bible. He didn’t know to whom the scripture referred. God impressed on Philip to approach the chariot and explain what these scriptures meant. The text tells us,”35 Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus”(v.35)
Are we willing to “open our mouths and preach to others about Jesus”? In the tenth chapter of Romans, Paul raises the question of how anyone will hear the good news without a preacher. Like Philip, God sometimes puts each of us in the presence of others, and we are the means by which the gospel is to be shared. Often, our timidity and fear get in the way. We think, “Surely there is someone more qualified than me who needs to share the gospel with this person”. We must all reflect on what God has done for us and be prepared to share that with others. We must prepare ourselves to walk others through the Bible. Not to do so is to hide our light under a bushel. Pray today for the courage to be able to open your mouth and to tell others about the wonderful things that God has done in your life. In that same chapter, Paul says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15b WEB)