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.
We find the sequel to the work of the Gospel writer Luke in the book of Acts. This second work continues where his Gospel left off, and even overlaps with the ascension of Jesus into the heavens. Few scholars doubt that Luke wrote the work, but some do question his accuracy. Fortunately, numerous studies done by historians and archaeologists have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt, that Luke was a highly accurate historian, being very familiar with the subject areas of his book, whether it be customs, political titles, cities and countries, and the like.
The book of Acts is written sometime after the Gospel of Luke and ends with Paul preaching the gospel under arrest while waiting for his first trial under Nero. Thus we are speaking of a date in the early 60s.
The recipient of this second work is also Theophilus, but probably intended for a larger audience. Some have sought to argue that the Acts is really a legal brief to defend Paul. Though it has some elements to seek to show that Christianity was not a revolutionary movement against Roman rule, nonetheless the primary focus of the book is elsewhere. Luke seeks to move the life of Jesus from suffering Savior to Lord of the church. Jesus is seen throughout the book in some form, but particularly He is working through the promised Holy Spirit.
The Acts is more than a history of the church, but is a theology of the movement of God in His people and in the world through the proclamation of the Gospel that began at Jerusalem and finally reaches the capital of the empire, Rome.
The first portion of Acts centers on Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria. This discussion introduces the apostles, Stephen the Hellenistic Jew, and Philip the evangelist. The primary figure, however, is the apostle Peter, particularly through his proclamation to the Gentile centurion Cornelius in chapter 10 and subsequent defense before the apostles and elders at Jerusalem in chapter 11.
The major human character of the Acts only emerges in chapter 8, and he is not a friend of Jesus or Christianity. Saul the Pharisee and rabbi is present at the stoning of the martyr Stephen and assented to his death. It is only in chapter 9 that this fervent Jew is brought to faith in the Messiah that he had been persecuting. From this point on, Luke’s book focuses on the ministry of the apostle to the Gentiles. Luke covers three missionary journeys and the final trip to Rome, where the Roman citizen and Christian Paul must give testimony to the risen Lord and Savior before the Romans, and ultimately before Caesar himself. We find the book ending with Paul sharing about Jesus with Roman soldiers without hindrance. Only in church tradition do we discover he was found innocent at this time. He later died after a second trial toward the end of Nero’s reign in A.D. 66, after he had written his last letter to Timothy, his son in the faith.
One discovers in the Acts a number of theological ideas, of which I will only mention three. Luke emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, empowering the apostles and disciples to preach the Gospel and giving them strength in times of persecution. Secondly, the book of Acts indicates, along with the remainder of the New Testament, that salvation is through faith and not works. Last of all, Acts makes clear that the Gospel is intended for all people, Jews and Gentiles.
Acts is a unique book in the New Testament in that it bridges the gap between the life, passion and resurrection of the Messiah with the work of the apostles and the Holy Spirit in the life of the church that Jesus said he would establish. Without this book there would be considerable confusion regarding Paul, the major author of the epistles, as well as the life of the church.