Right, we can. Open up to act chapter 8
Will be starting axe 8 tonight and I'll be Finishing it next week, unless there's this is our schedule change, Ray.
Okay, no schedule change as of yet. So we'll be finishing axe 8 next week.
But this week we'll be looking. At a couple of parts of it and this chapter. To me is a really interesting chapter.
In in looking at the book of Acts. Because you can really sort of see the structure. This is kind of one of the turning points in the book where where you see Luke's, Luke's structure really worked out.
We'll get to that. The details of that in just a moment, but let's go ahead and begin reading the first few verses of the chapter.
Act chapter 8. Verse one. And, of course, let me stop because it comes right at the end of a story.
This is coming right after the stoning of Stephen and Saul who will later start going by his Roman name, Paul.
Is present at the stoning and so that's where it's picking up and it's it is kind of continuing to introduce him.
And says, and Saul approved of his, execution, his being Stephen. And there are rows on that day, a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.
And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles.
Develop men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house, he dragged off men and wasn't women and committed them to prison.
Before we Before we, really start diving into it. Let's look to the Lord again in prayer.
Hello. What?
Father, we thank you for this account. For the stories that we have from the early church that Tell us so much about how you were working in the very early days.
We thank you for the these accounts of what the saints were doing and The persecutions that they were under and we thank you that we can look ahead.
To the fact that at least one of those persecutors becomes one of the the great leaders in the church.
Father, we pray that as we look at this tonight. That we will be built up. We will be strengthened.
That we will look to you and look to the leading of your spirit. As we learn what you have for us to know from this passage.
In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Okay, so the first thing obviously is that Saul is strongly in a agreement with the stoning of Stephen.
Even though technically and and I think Philip went into this some, but even though in many respects the stoning of Stephen was not entirely a legal process.
They had they overstepped. The bounds of what they were allowed to do according to the Roman occupiers.
I've been laying on that. Okay.
But. But Saul is in agreement with this because he thinks that The threat to Judaism, the threat.
Let me.
To monotheism as they had understood it. Was so great that Stephen, Stephen needs to be removed to the point of needing to be executed.
And that execution as we see in the rest of verse one. Okay. That execution kind of emboldens the enemies of the church.
Up to this point. You know, they might arrest Peter and John as they are going to pray at the temple.
And and healing people which they don't approve of But they might do things like that, but there hasn't been a big general persecution.
. And Okay.
But at this point, we see a A general persecution at least. If then, which is pretty much where the churches located after Pentecost.
Are you talking to me or someone else? Okay.
You do have believers who have spread out. But for the most part. The church is centered in Jerusalem around the apostles.
And at this point, like I say, the enemies of Christianity. Are emboldened to persecute it.
Both more openly and more violently. And the result of this is that they, they being the believers who had come to faith, They were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
If we, and this is where I was saying. We start to see. Yeah, I think that reference is a reference to the outline of acts and the chapter starts to show us some of it.
They were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Now, if you're like me, You, you want to roll that.
To the ends of the earth, right? That's how that phrase is supposed to go because that's how it goes.
And act 1 8. If you want to look back at that, it's just a few pages.
This is at the ascension of Christ. Christ is commissioning his disciples. And he says to them.
Well, I'll start in verse 7. He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Which we know that's a reference to Pentecost.
And he says, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
So I think that we've been. I think that that lays out sort of an outline for what's going on in acts.
Jerusalem, Judea. Samaria and the ends of the earth. And at this point, we've been focused in Jerusalem and probably a little bit of the surrounding country.
And here in chapter 8, We're really going to see now because of this scattering because of the persecution that sends the church out of Jerusalem where it's really getting hot.
We're going to see that spreading. Into Samaria in particular, what we're going to focus on tonight.
We'll talk a little bit more about the ends of the earth. Next week but the only other place I was curious so because like I say when I read Judea and Samaria I want to say and the ends of the earth and it's not there.
So I thought, well, It must be there in lots and lots and lots of places. It's not there in lots and lots and lots of places.
It's an act 1 8. It just really there was probably a Sunday school song. I don't know.
But it really sticks in my brain. So I search just for the ends of the earth. And in the New Testament, one of the other primary places where that phrase comes up and I'm treading on somebody's toes right now coming up in a few weeks.
But the place where that comes up is in Acts chapter 13 verse 47. I won't ask you to to turn to it.
But that's Paul talking about the ends of the earth. And him say him. Excuse me, him taking that quotation from Isaiah.
And he is alight to the Gentiles and to the ends of the earth. So I think at that point the book of Acts really shifts to that.
But like I say, I'm getting outside of chapter 8. So I better reel myself back in.
Important thing to note there in verse one. Just for understanding who our characters are, if nothing else. That very last phrase in the verse it says except the apostles.
I think that's there. Mainly so that we can understand that. Now we're going to start talking about Philip.
We're not talking about Philip the Apostle. We're talking about Philip, I assumed the deacon.
That we, were introduced to in Acts chapter 6. He's sometimes in history. He's sometimes called Philip the Deacon.
He's sometimes called Philip the Evangelist because of this chapter. But we're not talking about the disciple Philip that we saw throughout the Gospels and the apostle Philip.
The apostle Philip would have still been in Jerusalem and this Philip is now setting out. That will.
Start encountering in verse 4. But I just want to throw that little.
Bit in right now. So in verse 2. Development Barry Stephen and make great lamentation over him.
I think in part this is to show that even when when Stephen is being executed. By a really horrific manner of death.
He's still honored and respected. It doesn't disgrace him in the eyes of the church.
The church understands. That this is not, you know, a legitimate conviction. That disgraces Stephen.
This is him suffering for the sake of Christ. And so development take him in the same way that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.
Took our Lord's body and buried it. Some people came and they took Stephen's body. And it was buried and now Saul as I said this this execution has emboldened the Persecutors of the church.
Saul as sort of the self-appointed primary instrument of that persecution. Ravaging the church and verse 3.
Entering house after house. And he drags off men and women and committed them to prison.
It's interesting that this is one of the phrases that people will sometimes point to and say, well, axe has, you know, you can't rely on it.
It has no. Historical reliability. It says that Paul was throwing them in prison. The just didn't have prisons in the first century.
It wasn't it wasn't part of what was going on. And it's true that they didn't have prisons.
In the sense that we think of. Where somebody goes to be locked up for 20 years. For, you know, whatever crime they've committed.
They didn't have those. But that's not what Prison has to be. We have it as a sort of a technical term.
We've got prisons for after you've been convicted and you're there for long periods of time.
We have jails for when they've arrested you and they're just holding you until they can figure out what to do.
And that's really all that's required here. Maybe not even that they were put in a room.
Right, it can just be indicating. That Paul is committing them to imprisonment. They're they're in bonds.
He's taken custody of them and he's taking them back to the Sanhedrin who did have holding cells.
They don't have, you know, they didn't have anything the size of American prisons.
But the Sanhedrin did have a few holding cells available. Not for long term put for holding someone until they could Yeah, drag them out and put them on trial.
Which they would want to do as quickly as they could. So that's where he's taking them.
He's not you know, he's not filling up a prison industrial complex in ancient Israel. So, if somebody tells you that this proves that acts has not historically reliable.
You know they're wrong.
Okay, I have my notes broken up differently than my Bible does so it took me a second to go back and forth Verse 4 says that now those who were scattered That's talking back from verse one.
Where. Probably not actually all the Christians, but The Christians in Jerusalem were scattered except the apostles, not the apostles.
They were still there. But those who were scattered went about preaching the Word. Philip went down to the to the city of Samaria.
And proclaimed to them the Christ. The crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip.
When they heard him and saw the signs that he did.
For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed so there was much joy in that city.
So this is. Philip's Ministry in Samaria. And
Okay, so a couple of things there.
That apparently I never wrote down. My notes for I skipped to to verse 9 actually but a couple of things that are important there.
Or interesting anyway. It says that Philip went down to the city of Samaria. So that there are a couple of options for where that could be.
One, it could be. The ancient city of Samaria where Amri and Ahab and those kings of the northern kingdom of Israel had made their capital.
I mean, I'm a. Think it was honorary. If not, I think I'm the first one of that dynasty and I'm pretty sure it was Armri who bought the the territory there and established a city there that was Samaria and that's where the name of the whole region eventually comes from.
By this point in history, it was no longer called Samaria. Herod the Great, the the herod who built the or rebuilt the temple.
Rebuilt. The second temple, the one that is built back during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and Hagai.
Wasn't terribly impressive as a structure. And Herod, I don't think he ever saw a civil engineering project that he didn't like.
He wanted that's why he's called the great because he built so much And one thing that he built.
Was, I don't think that was me. One thing that he built was he. Rebuilt Samaria which had kind of gotten run down and he renamed it.
Sebast or Sub-. I'm not sure how to pronounce it. But he renamed it, I'm going to say, Sebast.
And that was an honor of the Emperor Augustus because It's a lot easier to spend money in the Roman world if you name it after the emperor and give, you know, give great honor to the emperor so that he'll continue funding your civil engineering projects that you're kind of addicted to.
So that's one option for where this was. The other option.
And I really thought that I had written it down.
Starts with a G, something like. Kate or
I don't remember if you're that interested. I see a couple of people with pens.
I'll send out an email later. But I remember typing it in. I must have deleted that part of my notes.
But it's the the reason that it gets some some attention as the possible city where this could have been that Philip went is because in the second century Justin Martyr tells us he's talking about Simon.
Who we haven't actually come to yet. He's in verse 9. And Simon, he tells, Justin tells us that Simon was from this city.
So if it's the same Simon. If Justin's right and if it just so happens to be Simon's hometown that all this is taking place in then it could be that city.
I think what's most important is that Acts even though Luke probably knew what city it was.
Axe doesn't tell us which city. What's important is not the specific city. What's important for Luke?
For this structure is to highlight the fact that the Gospels being taken to Samaria. That's where Christ sent them.
In his like his parting instructions. That was, you know, one of the steps. And so that is what Luke is highlighting that that's where they're going right now.
That part of their commission is actually being fulfilled. The apostles hadn't even gone yet.
It took persecution in Jerusalem. And and Philip the deacon leaving town before the gospel ends up going to Samaria.
But when he goes and he preaches Just like when Jesus arrived at some other city in Samaria.
Sitecar and John Chapter 4 This Samaritans respond. Very well and lots of people are believing.
Philip and it says that it's because of the signs in verse 6 because when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.
So he's casting out spirits. And he's healing the paralyzed and the lame.
And lots of people see this. And are impressed, which is reasonable. And they come to to believe.
In what Philip is preaching to them. They come to believe in Christ.
So at that point, now we've caught up to my notes. Let's continue on into verse 9.
But there was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria.
Saying that he himself was somebody great. So I've been talking a little bit about Simon, but now we actually get Simon.
And there are a couple of things here that are important to notice. First of all, He practiced magic.
If you, if you see reports of him in history, he'll usually because sometimes people will call him Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician.
But the sort of classic name for him is Simon Megas. So if you see that. They're talking about or at least intending to be talking about This man, Simon, who was living in this town in Samaria.
If we continue on, we've already got a little hint of it. He's saying that he himself was somebody great.
Is that? I don't think so. He himself was somebody great. But it goes on and gets more explicit verse 10.
They all paid attention to him from the least to the greatest. Saying this man is the power of God that is called great.
Now, that sounds like an elevated. Assessment of Simon to us. Right, that sounds like they're really giving him a lot of credit.
But they're actually giving him significantly more credit than it sounds like in English. If we look at the phrase in And at the end of verse 10.
This man is the power of God. Okay, even at 1 point in the New Testament. We can trace that down and we can see that in the New Testament.
Jesus Christ is called the power of God. But in in Samaritan context. It's even more.
Direct than that. The, Samaritan. I guess translation of the old Testament or of the part of the Old Testament that they used.
Samaritans only used the first 5 books. Of the Old Testament, the the 5 books of Moses.
But in translating that, they would frequently translate the word L, which is the word for God.
Into the Aramaic word for power. So in a Samaritan context. That power reference. Even stripped of, you know, power of God.
That's a direct reference to God. It's going to like Click for them that. That this guy's got something to do with God.
I don't think They're actually claiming that he is God? They might be, they could be going that far.
But I don't think that's what they're doing.
And to push it a little bit further. The powers If it were plural is also an angelic reference.
So this could be read as a reference to the angel of the Lord. They could have been saying or he might have been claiming.
It's not entirely clear how deep the scam goes. He could have been claiming to be the angel of the Lord.
Certainly, whatever they were believing and whatever he was claiming. They were putting him in a very high position.
I think you've got some body. Who's being understood as a. Possible Messianic figure at the very least.
Some sort of a high level profit. And he is performing magic. So he's performing. Acts of power and wonders and all kinds of miracles and things like that.
So he's got a lot of He's got a lot of followers. But even he One Philip comes and is preaching Christ.
Even Simon?
Here's something that makes sense in it. And even he, it says, Well, I haven't read it, so we'll go on.
Verse 11 and they paid attention to him. Him being Simon. Because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.
But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women, so they turn away.
From Simon to Jesus. And in verse 13, even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized, he continued with Philip.
And seeing signs and great miracles performed. He was amazed. Now that kind of makes me think.
That his magic Might have just been tricks like the magic that we see. Cause it wouldn't seem like he would be all that wild.
If he was doing real magic. Seems like he's wild because This seems real and what I was doing Kind of an act.
It was a show. It was a scam, but he sees that this is something real. This is real power.
If he was doing real magic, if he was channeling demonic power or or if he was doing stuff that was then being empowered by evil spirits.
I still think that there's he sees a difference there and that's what catches his interest is that He knows what he's doing, even if it's not just a trick.
It's pretty low level. And these guys are doing something super impressive. What they're doing is the real deal.
Like the Egyptian magicians. When they encounter what Moses does. It's like, yeah, we can kind of do something like that, but not.
. That powerful So whichever of those 2 it is. Simon recognizes that something more powerful is here. And so he believes and is baptized.
The question that I have there. And it it only gets more complicated in the end of the passage we'll look at tonight more complicated for me.
Is is Simon a true believer at this point?
You know, is it says he believes. And we know that That's all that's required of us, right, is belief.
But we also know that Belief doesn't just refer to intellectual ascent. It doesn't just talk about, you know, a recognition of something.
There's got to be something deeper. So is Simon. Truly a believer or is he like the people in John chapter 2?
Versus 23 and 24 actually let's turn there
So John chapter 2 Jesus has just been performing. Miracles, signs and wonders.
And. In verse 23.
No. Yeah, 23. Sorry, I was looking at 22. Now when the when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.
Sound familiar? But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them. Because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he knew what was what was in man.
So Jesus sees these people. Who believe because they see signs. But he doesn't entrust himself to them, cause he knows what's in their heart.
So that's my question here with Simon is What's in his heart when he believes does he just believe that something more impressive?
Is on the same. Does he believe that he's going to lose his audience? Which, I mean, that could even be part of it.
It does have. The people turning to Follow Philip and Phillips preaching. First and Simon also follows.
Or is it genuine? And, and I'm not. I'm not a hundred percent sure about that.
I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt. But I'm not a hundred percent sure.
About what we are to think about Simon. Let's.
Let's briefly skip versus 14 to 17. We'll come back to that. The only thing I'll say about it now for context is that in those verses.
Peter and John, the reports of what Philip is doing in Samaria. Get back to Jerusalem.
And so Peter and John come from Jerusalem up to the city in Samaria. And they lay hands on the new believers, these new Samaritan believers.
And when they lay hands on them, the Samaritan believers receive the Holy Spirit.
I promise we'll come back to that. But Getting back to Simon for a moment when he sees that He's really impressed.
So. Picking up in verse 18. Now, when Simon saw that the Spirit was given, through the laying on of the Apostles hands, He offered them money, saying, Give me this power also so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.
So Simon. Simon wants in on this. I don't know if Simon wants in on. Another cool magic trick that he's seen that he can fleece people out of money for Or if Simon's just an idiot and he's a believer.
And he sees, oh, it gets even better than what Philip showed us. And he wants in on that, which is, which is good.
Thank you. You don't buy it as Peter will tell him in the next verse. But I'm not sure still.
Where his heart is. But Peter's response. Whether he's a believer who needs to be corrected.
Or he's an unbeliever who's just looking for a good way to scam naive.
Christians. Peter's response is pretty harsh. So let's look at first. 20.
But Peter, said to him, May your silver parish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.
You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. And here's why I.
Kind of wonder if Simon is just a. So. Stupid believer. Peter says, repent therefore of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that if possible The intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. So Peter's response, reply is harsh.
But I don't know, Ananias and Sephira might say that. I've heard harsher from Peter.
So it's not as harsh as it could have been. But it's definitely not. You know, just, oh, you made a little mistake, Simon.
That's not actually how we do it. Peter, at the very least. Has to make very clear.
To Simon and Luke wants to. Maintain that message to make it clear to all the rest of us that this is not how it works.
You do not buy your way into the faith. You don't buy your way into the upper echelons of the faith.
The Holy Spirit is not something that you can give out. Because you've paid a fee or something like that.
And Peter who We know has a bit of a temper. Peter makes that. Very clear to Simon.
So like I say, I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he's genuine.
Well, I didn't, I didn't include before I get into that. Let me.
Give you Simon's reply to Peter. After Peter said you're in the bond of iniquity.
Verse 24 and Simon answered, pray for me to the Lord. That nothing of what you have said may come upon me.
So.
I don't know. To me, like I say, I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
He sounds repentant there. Maybe he's just. You know, making a convenient apology.
But, but I'm inclined since Peter.
Peter treats him as harshly as it seems like he needs to in order to bring him in line.
But not harsher than that. And Simon does? Repent and ask for Peter to pray for him that he'd be forgiven.
Simon seems to want to be forgiven. So I'm inclined to give him benefit of the doubt.
The, as most of you know, I spent. Quite a few years studying early Christianity, sort of the second century through the fifth century.
And and those guys and later. We're not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
So if any of you know traditions about Simon from church history, he's, when I told you that Justin Martyr tells us where his hometown is, where he's from.
Justin Martyr also tells us that he is the father and the fountain head of what comes to be known as Gnosticism.
Largely Well, I don't know about largely, but at least partly. Because of this passage where We were saying that he is being associated.
With the great power, the power of God and called the one who is great. And some of the Gnostic systems had really complicated.
Systems of Divine like they were called divine emanations. Basically, you've got a divinity and another divinity comes forth and another divinity comes forth.
And before you know it, you've got. You know, an entire science fiction universe ready for the stage in screen.
But it's just too unbelievable. So they. They don't make that stuff today.
They make. Easier to understand, much more realistic sci-fi. But you get wild systems. And they consider Simon to be sort of the fountain head of all this.
Now.
Maybe. I don't know for sure. Sometimes They made very convenient connections. So it's possible.
It's also possible that they were confused. I mean, Just in this chapter, we've got 2 Simons.
Peter goes by Peter in this chapter because it would start hurting your head otherwise. But we got 2 Simons right here.
And I think it's in chapter 10 or chapter. Yeah.
In chapter 10, we're going to get another Simon involved, Simon the Tanner. So there are a lot of guys named Simon running around and it's possible that that in the second and third century Christians kind of conflated.
A Simon who was a heretic. With a Simon that they knew about from acts. I don't know.
But just based on this chapter, I'm inclined to give Simon the benefit of the doubt and say that it was either another Simon or just a convenient thing.
To blame all of Gnosticism. On him. So one thing we don't have.
Those those huge crazy systems I was talking about. They don't really start to come into significant existence until almost the third century.
Late second century is when you really start getting them blossoming into systems. So it seems like quite a long wait.
Any questions or comments on that before we go back? To versus 14 to 17.
The other thing. That you might have heard. He actually gives his name and he is to blame for this even if he was just stupid.
But he actually gives his name. To one of the church offenses. That the Reformation was protesting against and that not just the Reformation, people of protested against it all right along and it's I pronounce it semi I don't know maybe it's supposed to be Simon.
But the buying of church offices. If you. You know, if you've got enough money and it's the Middle Ages.
You can go say, hey, I wanna be the bishop of that town. And the Archbishop will say, Okay.
And that's called Simony or Simony. And it's condemned every time it gets talked about, but.
Like a lot of things, it's condemned and then it's done just as much as it gets condemned.
So did anybody have a question pop up while I was? Talking about ethical dilemmas. Yeah.
They said.
Thank you.
The same way that he's trying everybody. Okay. But you might be Thank you. Okay, sure.
Philippines.
Yeah, I do. I'll repeat it for Zoom. The, is that what you were gonna say?
Yeah. Luke's pointing out that when he's saying there at the end, Okay, He could still be in that same mindset where he tried to buy.
The Holy Spirit or by the ability to to grant the Holy Spirit, he could still be in that same mindset and saying, you know, well, I don't have full access.
I can't repent, but, but can you go for me and can you put a good word in for me?
This is Matt.
And that's totally possible. I think that's completely a fair reading of the text. It doesn't seem to me like we're committed one way or the other.
I think that he thought This is.
If, if you do think that It has to be read that way. I think that's fine.
And I think we get largely the same point from it, which is. A condemnation of these kinds of behaviors.
Like on the one hand we get a condemnation of the the way that Simon was understanding this takes place.
And also an emphasis on the fact that the gospel is being taken to Samaria. And there were some hiccups along the way.
So yeah, I think you're right. Look, it could very well be that. And if, you know.
I don't know. I don't know which way to go. I wouldn't be surprised if I get to heaven and find out oh yes, Simon's not here.
I won't be shocked, but I, you know. For the time V and I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt.
But that's all it is, benefit of the doubt. I do not have anything. Where I can say, no, clearly.
Clearly he came to true faith in Christ. I just, I can't do that.
Thank you. Peter says, is all of fitness and the Oh boy. That. Not really.
I couldn't, I mean. Yeah, I don't, Carmen asked if I could address.
The gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. I mean, I think other than the The surface, you know, the other than what's obvious in it that that he sees that Simon is still like bond of iniquity, I take him to be saying.
That you still haven't moved to the point of freedom from this inequity you've still got you know to use Paul's later terminology.
The old man is still really active in you. At the very least, he's saying that, I think.
And gall of bitterness I don't have anything in particular for and I didn't spend any time looking into it.
I just read that whole section. As Peter's coming down hard on him. But not quite as hard as Iananias and Sephira.
So I don't know, you've given me my project for the week. I'm back up back up here next week.
So if I find anything, I'll tell you. Let's look though at Versus 14 to 17 and Also, 25.
Because there's something there also.
Let me. Read them and then I'll have a few comments.
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, They sent to them Peter and John.
Who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For he had not yet, he the Holy Spirit.
Had not yet fallen on any of them. But they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they laid their hands on them. And they received the Holy Spirit.
So this is what impressed Simon so much. That he tried to buy the same gift. So, couple of questions that come up then are.
First of all, it must have been something obvious when they received the Holy Spirit. So what What was it and And I don't know.
I mean, just based on what we've already seen and acts at this point, it could have been something like speaking in tongues.
It could have if we go back to to Panicast it could have been. Tongs of fire.
I don't know what it was. But I don't, I do think it was something that was apparent.
It wasn't, I mean, I don't think when when I received the Holy Spirit when I accepted Christ.
I don't think anybody was able to see anything in that moment. Maybe. As I then began to grow, they could see the Holy Spirit.
Active in my life. But I gotta tell you.
I don't think that would have been Cool enough looking for somebody to try to buy the ability. To give that to me.
I don't know, maybe if they were a parent and they wanted to see growth in their children, they'd be willing to pay for it.
But other than that, and I don't think that's what Simon's up to. Simon sees something that Simon wants to be able to grant.
So I think it's something more apparent than we typically think of.
We'll pause for a silver alert.
Good.
That I better wrap up pretty quickly now, okay. But the, so I think that the sign was something.
Oh, somebody must get it red. So I think the sign must have been something that was apparent enough to be seen, but I don't know what it was.
And I don't think that it particularly matters what it is. Other than to say that it's something visibly apparent.
Like we had not necessarily the same. Manifestation, but visible like it was visible at Panicast.
The other thing is Why does the Holy Spirit wait to come upon. These believers until the apostles get there.
That's. That's unusual. Right, that's not the way the New Testament usually works.
It's certainly not the way we talk about it. And so why does the Holy Spirit wait?
I'll give you a wrong answer. I'll give it to you because it's out there and some of you I can look around the room.
Grew up in places where it was taught, whether it was taught explicitly enough that you ever heard it or not.
But it's not. Because the gift of the Holy Spirit or the the baptism in the Holy Spirit or whatever we want to call it.
It's not because that is dependent upon the laying up on of apostolic hands and since the apostles are all dead.
Hands that were authorized by the apostles and then authorized by those authorized people of the apostles and authorized by them.
And in you might almost call it an apostolic succession. That goes on to today. That's a view that like.
Catholic and Orthodox. And I think Lutheran maintain a doctrine of apostolic succession.
I know Episcopalians or Anglicans do. Methodists even maintain Sort of a
A reduced doctrine of apostolic succession. But I don't think that's what it's about.
Does anybody want to take a stab or for the sake of time? Maybe for the sake of time, I should give you what I think.
I'll give you my answer and if anybody wants to offer another one, we'll do it that way.
I think what's going on here is almost more than confirmation for the Samaritans. More than anything special for them.
I think this is confirmation for Peter and John.
Peter and John who have spent their lives among Jews and other than those really uncomfortable times when Jesus would drag them through some area and make them encounter.
Disreputable Samaritan women at Wells. They pretty much steered clear of Samaritans.
Now, he told them, Jerusalem, yeah, Judea, yeah! Samaria, oh.
And I, and, and he says, and to the ends of the earth. And I think what we've got here.
Is the gospel going to Samaria. And now Peter and John seeing. And being able to take back the report to Jerusalem.
Yeah, this, this is for real. This is not some kind of Second rate, Christian faith that these people have.
They didn't become Jews. And then get the Holy Spirit. They didn't become Christians. And they're saved, but they're not, you know, they don't have the, the full thing like we have.
It's none of that. It is complete. It is absolute 100%. They're not, you know, they're not doing this without the apostles.
They're not separate from the apostles, so we don't end up with a Jewish Jerusalem church.
And then a Samaritan Church. And eventually a Greek church and a Roman church. No, we don't get all of that.
They see and they take back the report to Jerusalem. This is all one thing. And whatever the next step we have is.
That's gonna be all one thing too. So I think we're continuing to see that. Sort of development.
Particularly in Peters, we go through the next couple of chapters. Peters.
Very reluctant development through this idea. Is kind of going to be at the center. But so far we've taken it as far as Samaria.
As far as the Samaritans. And so I think that's why The Holy Spirit chooses in this instance.
To wait until people who have, there's another instance where the Holy Spirit doesn't come upon people, but I don't think they had the full Godspel preached to them prior to that.
Here we've got people who've got the gospel preach to them. They've accepted the gospel.
I'm going to assume Philip is teaching them correctly. And yet, one time. This first time, the Holy Spirit waits.
So, I don't know, does anybody want to add a comment on other additional reasons or? Counter reasons.
Any other ideas or thoughts? On that?
Okay, then the very last verse for tonight is verse 25. Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, we're talking about we're talking about Peter and John are the actors in the previous section.
I think we're including Philip in they it's not clear, but it makes next week's passage make more sense.
So when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem. And here's an interesting phrase and part of why I think What I just was talking about with the Holy Spirit is probably right.
They were turned to Jerusalem to preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
Then didn't do that on the way.
Hey, just want to check out what was going on. They didn't preach the gospel or at least Luke doesn't tell us about them.
Preaching the gospel to Samaritans in Samaritan villages on the way to this city of Samaria.
But now after seeing the Holy Spirit. Come upon these believers and knowing that, oh.
Samaritans can be saved too. They can have the Holy Spirit too. Now on their way back to Jerusalem, they are preaching the gospel to many villages.
And I assume. With great success.
Any comments or questions?
Okay. Then let's close. Our study time and prayer.
Father, we thank you. As a bunch of Non Jewish people that your Holy Spirit comes on all of us equally.
We thank you that we have access through the gospel. Through your son through his death on the cross.
We thank you that. That your believers in this time took that mission and and began to spread it and father we thank you that we can Look in these pages and learn more about you.
Learn more about what they did and Think about what we can and should do as we go. Through villages that we might be uncomfortable with.
Spreading the gospel. And Christ's name we pray. Amen.