Acts 8:4

Samson's riddle is here again unriddled: Out of the eater comes forth meat, and out of the strong sweetness. The persecution that was designed to extirpate the church was by the overruling providence of God made an occasion of the enlargement of it. Christ had said, I am come to send fire on the earth; and they thought, by scattering those who were kindled with that fire, to have put it out, but instead of this they did but help to spread it.

I. Here is a general account of what was done by them all (Act 8:4): They went every where, preaching the word. They did not go to hide themselves for fear of suffering, no, nor to show themselves as proud of their sufferings; but they went up and down to scatter the knowledge of Christ in every place where they were scattered. They went every where, into the way of the Gentiles, and the cities of the Samaritans, which before they were forbidden to go into, Mat 10:5. They did not keep together in a body, though this might have been a strength to them; but they scattered into all parts, not to take their ease, but to find out work. They went evangelizing the world, preaching the word of the gospel; it was this which filled them, and which they endeavoured to fill the country with, those of them that were preachers in their preaching, and others in their common converse. They were now in a country where they were no strangers, for Christ and his disciples had conversed much in the regions of Judea; so that they had a foundation laid there for them to build upon; and it would be requisite to let the people there know what that doctrine which Jesus had preached there some time ago was come to, and that it was not lost and forgotten, as perhaps they were made to believe.

II. A particular account of what was done by Philip. We shall hear of the progress and success of others of them afterwards (Act 11:19), but here must attend the motions of Philip, not Philip the apostle, but Philip the deacon, who was chosen and ordained to serve tables, but having used the office of a deacon well he purchased to himself a good degree, and great boldness in the faith, Ti1 3:13. Stephen was advanced to the degree of a martyr, Philip to the degree of an evangelist, which when he entered upon, being obliged by it to give himself to the word and prayer, he was, no doubt, discharged from the office of a deacon; for how could he serve tables at Jerusalem, which by that office he was obliged to do, when he was preaching in Samaria? And it is probable that two others were chosen in the room of Stephen and Philip. Now observe,

1. What wonderful success Philip had in his preaching, and what reception he met with.

(1.) The place he chose was the city of Samaria, the head city of Samaria, the metropolis of that country, which stood where the city of Samaria had formerly stood, of the building of which we read, Kg1 16:24, now called Sebaste. Some think it was the same with Sychem or Sychar, that city of Samaria where Christ was, Joh 4:5. Many of that city then believed in Christ, though he did no miracle among them (Act 8:39, 41), and now Philip, three years after, carries on the work then begun. The Jews would have no dealings with the Samaritans; but Christ sent his gospel to slay all enmities, and particularly that between the Jews and the Samaritans, by making them one in his church.

(2.) The doctrine he preached was Christ; for he determined to know nothing else. He preached Christ to them; he proclaimed Christ to them (so the word signifies), as a king, when he comes to the crown, is proclaimed throughout his dominions. The Samaritans had an expectation of the Messiah's coming, as appears by Joh 4:25. Now Philip tells them that he is come, and that the Samaritans are welcome to him. Ministers' business is to preach Christ - Christ, and him crucified - Christ, and him glorified.

(3.) The proofs he produced for the confirmation of his doctrine were miracles, Act 8:6. To convince them that he had his commission from heaven (and therefore not only they might venture upon what he said, but they were bound to yield to it), he shows them this broad seal of heaven annexed to it, which the God of truth would never put to a lie. The miracles were undeniable; they heard and saw the miracles which he did. They heard the commanding words he spoke, and saw the amazing effects of them immediately; that he spoke, and it was done. And the nature of the miracles was such as suited the intention of his commission, and gave light and lustre to it. [1.] He was sent to break the power of Satan; and, in token of this, unclean spirits, being charged in the name of the Lord Jesus to remove, came out of many that were possessed with them, Act 8:7. As far as the gospel prevails, Satan is forced to quit his hold of men and his interest in them, and then those are restored to themselves, and to their right mind again, who, while he kept possession, were distracted. Wherever the gospel gains the admission and submission it ought to have, evil spirits are dislodged, and particularly unclean spirits, all inclinations to the lusts of the flesh, which war against the soul; for God has called us from uncleanness to holiness, Th1 4:7. This was signified by the casting of these unclean spirits out of the bodies of people, who, it is here said, came out crying with a loud voice, which signifies that they came out with great reluctancy, and sorely against their wills, but were forced to acknowledge themselves overcome by a superior power, Mar 1:26; Mar 3:11; Mar 9:26. [2.] He was sent to heal the minds of men, to cure a distempered world, and to put it into a good state of health; and, in token of this, many that were taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. Those distempers are specified that were most difficult to be cured by the course of nature (that the miraculous cure might be the more illustrious), and those that were most expressive of the disease of sin and that moral impotency which the souls of men labour under as to the service of God. The grace of God in the gospel is designed for the healing of those that are spiritually lame and paralytic, and cannot help themselves, Rom 5:6.

(4.) The acceptance which Philip's doctrine, thus proved, met with in Samaria (Act 8:6): The people with one accord gave heed to those things which Philip spoke, induced thereto by the miracles which served at first to gain attention, and so by degrees to gain assent. There then begin to be some hopes of people when they begin to take notice of what is said to them concerning the things of their souls and eternity - when they begin to give heed to the word of God, as those that are well pleased to hear it, desirous to understand and remember it, and that look upon themselves as concerned in it. The common people gave heed to Philip, oi ochloi - a multitude of them, not here and there one, but with one accord; they were all of a mind, that it was fit the doctrine of the gospel should be enquired into, and an impartial hearing given to it.

(5.) The satisfaction they had in attending on, and attending to, Philip's preaching, and the success it had with many of them (Act 8:8): There was great joy in that city; for (Act 8:12) they believed Philip, and were baptized into the faith of Christ, the generality of them, both men and women. Observe, [1.] Philip preached the things concerning the kingdom of God, the constitution of that kingdom, the laws and ordinances of it, the liberties and privileges of it, and the obligations we are all under to be the loyal subjects of that kingdom; and he preached the name of Jesus Christ, as king of that kingdom - his name, which is above every name. He preached it up in its commanding power and influence - all that by which he has made himself known. [2.] The people not only gave heed to what he said, but at length believed it, were fully convinced that it was of God and not of men, and gave up themselves to the direction and government of it. As to this mountain, on which they had hitherto worshipped God, and placed a great deal of religion in it, they were now as much weaned from it as every they had been wedded to it, and become the true worshippers, who worship the Father in spirit and in truth, and in the name of Christ, the true temple, Joh 4:20-23. [3.] When they believed, without scruple (though they were Samaritans) and without delay they were baptized, openly professed the Christian faith, promised to adhere to it, and then, by washing them with water, were solemnly admitted into the communion of the Christian church, and owned as brethren by the disciples. Men only were capable of being admitted into the Jewish church by circumcision; but, to show that in Jesus Christ there is neither male nor female (Gal 3:28), but both are alike welcome to him, the initiating ordinance is such as women are capable of, for they are numbered with God's spiritual Israel, though not with Israel according to the flesh, Num 1:2. And hence it is easily gathered that women are to be admitted to the Lord's supper, though it does not appear that there were any among those to whom it was first administered. [4.] This occasioned great joy; each one rejoiced for himself, as he in the parable who found the treasure hid in the field; and they all rejoiced for the benefit hereby brought to their city, and that it came without opposition, which it would scarcely have done if Samaria had been within the jurisdiction of the chief priests. Note, The bringing of the gospel to any place is just matter of joy, of great joy, to that place. Hence the spreading of the gospel in the world is often prophesied of in the Old Testament as the diffusing of joy among the nations: Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, Psa 67:4; Th1 1:6. The gospel of Christ does not make men melancholy, but fills them with joy, if it be received as it should be; for it is glad tidings of great joy to all people, Luk 2:10.

2. What there was in particular at this city of Samaria that made the success of the gospel there more than ordinarily wonderful.

(1.) That Simon Magus had been busy there, and had gained a great interest among the people, and yet they believed the things that Philip spoke. To unlearn that which is bad proves many times a harder task than to learn that which is good. These Samaritans, though they were not idolaters as the Gentiles, nor prejudiced against the gospel by traditions received from their fathers, yet had of late been drawn to follow Simon, a conjurer (For so Magus signifies) who made a mighty noise among them, and had strangely bewitched them. We are told,

[1.] How strong the delusion of Satan was by which they were brought into the interests of this great deceiver. He had been for some time, nay, for a long time, in this city, using sorceries; perhaps he came there by the instigation of the devil, soon after our Saviour had been there, to undo what he had been doing there; for it was always Satan's way to crush a good work in its bud and infancy, Co2 11:3; Th1 3:5. Now,

First, Simon assumed to himself that which was considerable: He gave out that he himself was some great one, and would have all people to believe so and to pay him respect accordingly; and then, as to every thing else, they might do as they pleased. He had no design to reform their lives, nor improve their worship and devotion, only to make them believe that he was, tis megas - some divine person. Justin Martyr says that he would be worshipped as prōton theon - the chief god. He gave out himself to be the Son of God, the Messiah, so some think; or to be an angel, or a prophet. Perhaps he was uncertain within himself what title of honour to pretend to; but he would be thought some great one. Pride, ambition, and an affectation of grandeur, have always been the cause of abundance of mischief both to the world and to the church.

Secondly, The people ascribed to him what he pleased. 1. They all gave heed to him, from the least to the greatest, both young and old, both poor and rich, both governors and governed. To him they had regard (Act 8:10, Act 8:11), and perhaps the more because the time fixed for the coming of the Messiah had now expired, which had raised a general expectation of the appearing of some great one about this time. Probably he was a native of their country, and therefore they embraced him the more cheerfully, that by giving honour to him they might reflect it upon themselves. 2. They said of him, This man is the great power of God - the power of God, that great power (so it might be read), that power which made the world. See how ignorant inconsiderate people mistake that which is done by the power of Satan, as if it were done by the power of God. Thus, in the Gentile world, devils pass for deities; and in the antichristian kingdom all the world wonders after a beast, to whom the dragon gives his power, and who opens his mouth in blasphemy against God, Rev 13:2-5. 3. They were brought to it by his sorceries: He bewitched the people of Samaria (Act 8:9), bewitched them with sorceries (Act 8:11), that is, either, (1.) By his magic arts he bewitched the minds of the people, at least some of them, who drew in others. Satan, by God's permission, filled their hearts to follow Simon. O foolish Galatians, saith Paul, who hath bewitched you? Gal 3:1. These people are said to be bewitched by Simon, because they were so strangely infatuated to believe a lie. Or, (2.) By his magic arts he did many signs and lying wonders, which seemed to be miracles, but really were not so: like those of the magicians of Egypt, and those of the man of sin, Th2 2:9. When they knew no better, they were influenced by his sorceries; but, when they were acquainted with Philip's real miracles, they saw plainly that the one was real and the other a sham, and that there was as much difference as between Aaron's rod and those of the magicians. What is the chaff to the wheat? Jer 23:28.

Thus, notwithstanding the influence Simon Magus had had upon them, and the unwillingness there generally is in people to own themselves in an error, and to retract it, yet, when they saw the difference between Simon and Philip, they quitted Simon, gave heed no longer to him, but to Philip: and thus you see,

[2.] How strong the power of Divine grace is, by which they were brought to Christ, who is truth itself, and was, as I may say, the great undeceiver. By that grace working with the word those that had been led captive by Satan were brought into obedience to Christ. Where Satan, as a strong man armed, kept possession of the palace, and thought himself safe, Christ, as a stronger than he, dispossessed him, and divided the spoil; led captivity captive, and made those the trophies of his victory whom the devil had triumphed over. Let us not despair of the worst, when even those whom Simon Magus had bewitched were brought to believe.

(2.) Here is another thing yet more wonderful, that Simon Magus himself became a convert to the faith of Christ, in show and profession, for a time. Is Saul also among the prophets? Yes (Act 8:13), Simon himself believed also. He was convinced that Philip preached a true doctrine, because he saw it confirmed by real miracles, of which he was the better able to judge because he was conscious to himself of the trick of his own pretended ones. [1.] The present conviction went so far that he was baptized, was admitted, as other believers were, into the church by baptism; and we have no reason to think that Philip did amiss in baptizing him, no, nor in baptizing him quickly. Though he had been a very wicked man, a sorcerer, a pretender to divine honours, yet, upon his solemn profession of repentance for his sin and faith in Jesus Christ, he was baptized. For, as great wickedness before conversion keeps not true penitents from the benefits of God's grace, so neither should it keep professing ones from church-fellowship. Prodigals, when they return, must be joyfully welcomed home, though we cannot be sure but that they will play the prodigal again. Nay, though he was now but a hypocrite, and really in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity all this while, and would soon have been found to be so if he had been tried awhile, yet Philip baptized him; for it is God's prerogative to know the heart. The church and its ministers must go by a judgment of charity, as far as there is room for it. It is a maxim in the law, Donec contrarium patet, semper praesumitur meliori parti - We must hope the best as long as we can. And it is a maxim in the discipline of the church, De secretis non judicat ecclesia - The secrets of the heart God only judges. [2.] The present conviction lasted so long that he continued with Philip. Though afterwards he apostatized from Christianity, yet not quickly. He courted Philip's acquaintance, and now he that had given out himself to be some great one is content to sit at the feet of a preacher of the gospel. Even bad men, very bad, may sometimes be in a good frame, very good; and those whose hearts still go after their covetousness may possibly not only come before God as his people come, but continue with them. [3.] The present conviction was wrought and kept up by the miracles; he wondered to see himself so far outdone in signs and miracles. Many wonder at the proofs of divine truths who never experience the power of them.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act_8:4

Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word.

The aggressive power of Christianity

That it is pre-eminently by aggressive movements that the Church is to prosper. By this means she is to maintain spiritual life in her own soul--cause religion to flourish at home, and extend its triumphs abroad.

1. The truth of this doctrine is suggested by the first impulses of the religious principle--the spirit of love in every Christians bosom. False religionists, both among Pagans and nominal Christians, have, I know, taught that piety was a kind of dormant, contemplative spirit; that its power was to be manifested in patient endurance rather than holy action; in a voluntary withdrawment from the world to avoid its contaminations, rather than in resolute efforts to make the world better. The unsophisticated promptings of the new-born soul are always to active effort for God. This is strikingly exhibited in young converts. It is illustrated with great beauty in the conduct of Christs earliest disciples. It conceives plans, it demands efforts, for the worlds conversion. Every real Christian that lives in the spirit of religion may consult his own Consciousness on this subject. See the lives also of eminently holy men in later times--Baxter, Brainerd, Martyn, Payson, etc.

2. The doctrine I have stated further appears from the fact that truth is the grand instrument which God employs to overthrow the kingdom of Satan, and advance and establish the kingdom of His Son. The Word of God must not only be translated into all the languages of the earth, but it must be carried to every, mans door; nay, its great truths must be pressed home upon every mans conscience. What a mighty work here opens for Christians of every name! It is, moreover, eminently an aggressive work, a missionary movement. How are they to accomplish it by shutting themselves up in cloisters?

3. Both the necessity and the vital importance of the aggressive movements of the Church appears from the very attitude of a fallen world towards God. It is one of hostility to His character and opposition to His truth. The world will not come to the Church and crave instruction at her lips. As her Saviour sought her, so He requires her to seek sinners. In other words, she must make external and aggressive movements. She must not study so much her own comfort as her enlargement.

4. The whole current of Scripture precept and representation is in perfect accordance with this view of the subject. The Bible never instructs the Church that she is to conquer the world by her passive virtues--Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

5. The entire history of the gospel confirms this view of the subject. When has any signal advance been made in the work of human salvation, except by a movement similar to that described in the text? The Mosaic institution was peculiar. It was conservative rather than aggressive. Turn to a still later page in the history of the Church. How was it at the Reformation? How was it at the period when Whitefield and Wesley appeared? And just in proportion as any branch of the Christian Church, in the spirit of Christ, attempts spiritual aggression, in the same proportion its interests are prospered. It is seen fulfilling its high destiny.

Remarks:

1. We see why the Church is organised.

2. This subject also indicates the grand object of all preaching to the Church.

3. This discussion throws light upon the providences of God towards the Church. Now, as in former days, He allows heresies, persecutions, schisms, and various forms of affliction, from time to time, to invade the Church. Missionary efforts formed no part of their original plan; they were the plan of Providence.

4. This subject throws light upon the melancholy fact, known and read of all men, that many Churches which have numbers, and wealth, and much secular influence, have no corresponding moral power. Woe to Churches and to ministers who are thus at ease in Zion. (J. H. Tinsley, D. D.)

The gospel--its propagation and effects

I. It is the will of God to propagate His Sons gospel; and in all ways, through circumstances adverse or prosperous, He gives it free course. Sometimes it is by opening the commerce of nations, so that the messengers may occupy new fields; sometimes by some spark from a martyrs pile kindling a tire in a land or in a heart. Great as has been the effect of the patronage of kings, it has been as nothing in comparison with that constancy of faith even unto death, of which Stephen was its first instance, followed by those of whom our text speaks. This was all that remained of the effects of the first Christian persecution; an added testimony, a wider circulation, and a more decided devotion.

II. What is this gospel?

1. It is called the Word. A word is the utterance of a mind, reason communicating itself. Do we believe that the gospel is the expression of Gods mind, the communication of His will? It is a glorious view which is thus opened. God has spoken concerning us, and to us. That mystery which for ages and generations had enveloped the ulterior designs of the Almighty Creator touching His rebellious creatures is at last revealed. God has announced to us the forgiveness of sins through a Mediator and a Sacrifice; the sanctification of sinners, their recreation in His own lost image, by means of an indwelling Holy Spirit; that prayer is the one connecting link between us and these two unspeakable gifts; that it is His intention to raise the dead to an immortal existence, the character of which, for happiness or misery, will depend upon the life here led by us. These things are amongst the disclosures embodied in that Word which these dispersed disciples preached, and which we, if we be faithful to our commission, are preaching still and still hearing.

2. But, as they preached the Word, so Philip preached Christ (Act_8:5). There was no difference between the two. Christ is the Word, and is so designated because He is the Revealer of God: The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. To preach Christ, in His person, in His character, in His work, is to proclaim Gods Word, in its simplicity, fulness, and strength.

III. The credentials of this gospel. When we preach the Word, or Christ, how do we establish it? No doubt we go back to the evidences: we speak of Gods triple seal, of goodness, wisdom, and power, as set to the words and works of Christ: These arguments are never worn out; nor can it ever be safe to disuse them. But when our Lord said, These signs shall follow them that believe, He taught us to look for more than a mere historical proof. When Philip preached, certain results followed (Act_8:7). Thus he could appeal to effects, and say, Judge ye whether a doctrine which brings with it these infallible signs be of man or of God. These visible tokens do not now attend our preaching, and we ought not to want them; and if we hear not Moses and the prophets, if we refuse the doctrine of Christ and the apostles, neither should we be influenced by any outward sign. But a changed life, an altered spirit, the formation of Christian habits, and the diligent use of Christs ordinances these are the true proofs of the gospel Word in our days; by these things other men take knowledge of its power and of its virtue.

IV. The effect of the proclamation of the Word (Act_8:8). It is long, we may fear, since in any whole place there was joy on account of the gospel. Let me ask then as to the individual soul, Which of you knows what joy is in things spiritual? Who, in days of health and prosperity, finds his happiness simply in Christ? Who, in days of sickness and disappointment, does not find to his consternation that the light of heaven is gone out too? Joy is the overflowing of happiness, the exuberance of a comfort and a tranquillity habitually felt within. Oh where is such joy as that of which our Lord spoke, These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full? Levity there may be, and too much of it; cheerful spirits in some, domestic happiness in some, contentment and even thankfulness in a few; but where amongst us is that grace of Christian joy which seemed to flow so naturally, in other days, out of the very first reception of the tidings of a Saviour? And yet such joy lies nearer than we imagine: sin forgiven, the atonement believed in, the Holy Spirit cherished--it is the natural effect of these things to inspire joy. Ask of God the power to grasp them as realities, and joy will enter with them; a joy not of this world, a joy the very foretaste of heaven. (Dean Vaughan.)

The liberty of prophesying

The great majority of the dispersed Christians held no ecclesiastical office whatever. Yet they preached wherever they came, without being called to do so by official duty or express commission, but entirely from the internal pressure of faith, which cannot but speak of that which affects the heart, from the impulse of the Spirit by whom they were appointed, and from love to the Saviour to whom they were indebted for the forgiveness, of their sins and for their blessed hopes. According to human ideas of Church government and office, it ought not to have been so. But the Lord of the Church does not so confine Himself even to the office of the apostolate established by Himself, as that everything must take place entirely through it in order to be lawful, pleasing to God, blessed, and full of promise. Christ thus shows that no man and no finite office is indispensable and absolutely necessary; only He Himself is ever and everywhere indispensable. (G. V. Lechler, D. D.)

The aggressive character of Christianity

A Christian is one who knows and receives as true what Christ has revealed in His Word, whose inward state (religious consciousness) is determined by that knowledge, and whose life is devoted to the obedience and service of Christ. Christianity is therefore a system of doctrine, an inward life, a rule of action. When, therefore, we speak of the aggressive character of Christianity, we may mean the antagonism of truth to error, the expansive power of the principles of spiritual life, or the opposition of good to evil in the outward life; or, as the Scriptures call it, the kingdom of God. We may mean by the aggressive character of Christianity, its inherent force, by which it tends to gain more and more the complete control of the individual man and of human society; by controlling all the forms of human thought, the inward character of men, and their outward conduct.

I. Christianity is thus aggressive. It does tend and strive to subdue.

1. This is variously taught in the Scriptures. It is compared to a stone, cut out of a mountain, which gradually fills the whole earth; to a tree whose branches extend over all lands; to leaven; to a temple in the process of erection; to the sun in its course through the heavens.

2. It is deducible from its nature. Truth is necessarily antagonistic to error, and holiness to sin. The one must strive to overcome the other, both in the individual and the world. Besides being a religion suited to the necessities of all men, and absolutely essential to their well-being here and hereafter, it cannot be embraced by the individual without the consciousness on his part of the obligation to uphold and extend it. A Christian, from the nature of the case, is fired with zeal for the glory of Christ and with love for his fellow-men.

3. It is illustrated in the history of the Church. The original promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpents head has expanded into the whole system of Christian doctrine. The hundred and twenty disciples in Jerusalem occupied Syria, Egypt, Greece, Italy; and since then Christianity has gained the civilised world. It has banished idolatry, elevated man, and moulded human society.

4. It is proved in the experience of every Christian. His inward life is a progress. He passes from infancy to maturity. The truth becomes better known and more firmly believed. Indwelling sin becomes weaker, and grace stronger. Where this is not true, there is no true life.

II. To what is this aggressive power due?

1. Not to anything in itself as a system of truth. If revealed to the lost in the other world it would be powerless. If revealed to fallen men, sent in books or by living teachers to the heathen, it would, if left to itself, be universally rejected. The opposition of Satan and the evil heart would be too much for it.

2. Not to the subjective effect on the hearts of those who are led to embrace it. If nothing were done ab extra to induce the reception of the gospel, the inward effect and the outward agency would fade away.

3. But to the purpose of God and the co-operation of the Spirit. When a woman puts leaven into a measure of meal, she is sure that the whole will be leavened, because the effect is due to the operation of invariable physical laws. But when the gospel is introduced into a community, whether it will take root and extend, or not, depends on an ab extra sovereign working of Divine power. Hence a sense of dependence is to be acknowledged and cultivated. It is because Christianity is the life of God (i.e., of a present Christ)

that it must prevail.

4. Although the gospel is thus dependent on supernatural agency for its preservation and extension, yet human co-operation is ordained as the means. Faith and love are the powers which we are to wield, depending on the Spirit of God. (C. Hodge, D. D.)

The service of persecution to She Church

The dispersed preached the gospel. Thus by the storm the seeds hitherto collected in one place are scattered hither and thither, and carried to a distance, where they germinate and bear fruit. Thus the Redeemer knows how to convert that into good which was intended only for evil; i.e., not only to hinder the contemplated wicked designs, but by means of them to obtain an unexpected furtherance of His kingdom. (G. V. Lechler, D. D.)

Sparks carried by the wind

The storms of persecution are only winds which fan the fire of faith in the Church, and carry the sparks of truth to a distance. (K. Gerok.)

Wider growth of the Church

We spring up the thicker the oftener we are mowed down. The blood of the martyrs is their harvest-seed. (Tertullian.)

The zeal of the apostles

As a tree on fire kindles a whole forest into a flame, so the apostles, burning with the fire of heaven, have set in a blaze the whole world, and have filled it with the light of truth and the warmth of charity. (St. Augustine.)

Useful incendiaries

The apostles were as burning coals, scattered throughout the nations, blest incendiaries of the world! (Archbishop Leighton.)

What true preaching is

I do not suppose that these good men stood up in pulpits and gave sermons. This also is good; but for this there would often be no time; the men must make haste--their enemies were close upon them--they must flee into the next village! But, before they went, Just listen, they would say. You ask why we are here, why we are in trouble and danger, what is the matter? We will tell you. Then would come the sad tale of Stephen. And the Name that Stephen had loved would again be spoken; with the glad tidings that Jesus who had died was risen again, and was at the right hand of God, to save from their sins those who repented and believed in Him. And He has saved us! those preachers would say; and He is ready to save you! They might not be, all of them, very wise, but they could tell as much as this. And to tell this truly and earnestly is to preach the gospel. May not even a child, then, sometimes preach? (S. G. Green, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Extension of the Church to Judæa and Samaria (Act_8:4 to Act_11:18)

The Christians, scattered by persecution, preach everywhere through Judaea and Samaria. The places specially mentioned are Samaria, Azotus, Caesarea, Lydda, the Sharon valley, and Joppa.

J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 8:4. Οἱ μὲν οὖν διασπαρέντες διῆλθον, they therefore who were scattered abroad went in different directions) These very words are resumed, as if after a long parenthesis, in ch. Act 11:19, and this thread of the narrative is thus continued. The verb διέρχεσθαι, to pass on throughout, in the Acts often signifies doctrine scattered everywhere.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_8:4-5. Διῆλθον] they went through, they dispersed themselves through the countries to which they had fled.[219]

Act_8:5. Of the dispersed persons active as missionaries, who were before designated generally, one is now singled out and has his labours described, namely Philip, not the apostle, as is erroneously assumed by Polycrates in Eusebius, iii. 31. 2, v. 24. 1 (see, on the contrary, Act_8:1; Act_8:14, and generally, Zeller, p. 154 ff; Ewald, p. 235 f.), but he who is named in Act_6:5, Act_21:8. That the persecution should have been directed with special vehemence against the colleagues of Stephen, was very natural. Observe, however, that in the case of those dispersed, and even in that of Philip, preaching was not tied to an existing special office. With their preaching probably there was at once practically given the new ministry (that of the evangelists, Act_21:8; Eph_4:11), as circumstances required, under the guidance of the Spirit.

κατελθ.] from Jerusalem.

ΕἸς ΠΌΛΙΝ Τῆς ΣΑΜΑΡ.] into a city of Samaria. What city it was (Grotius and Ewald think of the capital, Olshausen thinks that it was perhaps Sichem) is to be left entirely undetermined, and was probably unknown to Luke himself. Comp. Joh_4:5. Kuinoel, after Erasmus, Beza, Calvin, Calovius, and others, takes τῆς Σαμαρ. as the name, not of the country, but of the capital (Sebaste, which was also called Samaria, Joseph. Antt. xviii. 6. 2). In that case, indeed, the article would not have been necessary before πόλιν, as Olshausen thinks (Poppo, ad Thuc. i. 10; Ellendt, Lex. Soph. II. p. 137; comp. Luk_2:4; Luk_2:11; 2Pe_2:6). πόλις, too, with the genitiye of the name of the city, is a Greek idiom (Ruhnk. Epp. crit. p. 186); but Act_8:9, where τῆς Σαμαρ. is evidently the name of the country (ΤῸ ἜΘΝΟς), is decidedly opposed to such a view. See also on Act_8:14.

ΑὐΤΟῖς] namely, the people in that city.

[219] The οἱ μὲν οὖν διασπαρέντες is resumed at Act_11:19,a circumstance betokening that the long intervening portion has been derived from special sources here incorporated.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 8:4 . οἱ μὲν οὖν : marking a general statement, δὲ in following verse, introducing a particular instance (so Rendall, Appendix on μὲν οὖν , Acts , p. 162, and see also p. 64). διῆλθον : the word is constantly used of missionary journeys in Acts, cf. Act 5:40 ; Act 11:19 ; Act 9:32 (Luk 9:6 ), cf. Act 13:6 , note. εὐαγγελιζόμενοι : it is a suggestive fact that this word is only used once in the other Gospels (Mat 11:5 by our Lord), but no less than ten times in St. Luke’s Gospel, fifteen in Acts, and chiefly elsewhere by St. Paul; truly “a missionary word,” see Act 8:12 . Simcox, Language of the N. T. , p. 79, speaks of its introduction into the N.T. with “such a novel force as to be felt like a new word”. It is used several times in LXX, and is also found in Psalms of Solomon , Act 11:2 ( cf. Isa 40:9 ; Isa 52:7 , and Nah 1:15 ). On its construction see Simcox, u. s. , p. 79, and Vogel, p. 24.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching--Though solemnly enjoined to do this (Luk 24:47; Act 1:8), they would probably have lingered at Jerusalem, but for this besom of persecution which swept them out. How often has the rage of Christ's enemies thus "turned out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel" (see Phi 1:12-13).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. They that were scattered - went every where preaching] Thus the very means devised by Satan to destroy the Church became the very instruments of its diffusion and establishment. What are counsel, or might, or cunning, or rage, or malice, against the Lord, whether they are excited by men or devils!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. And they were scattered abroad. Luke declareth in this place also, that it came to pass by the wonderful providence of God, that the scattering abroad of the faithful should bring many unto the unity of faith; thus doth the Lord use to bring light out of darkness, and life out of death. For the voice of the gospel, which was heard heretofore in one place only, doth now sound everywhere; in the mean season, we are taught by this example that we must not yield unto persecutions, but rather be encouraged unto valiantness; for, when the faithful flee from Jerusalem, they are not afterward discouraged either with exile or with their present miseries, or with any fear, that they degenerate into slothfulness; but they are as ready to preach Christ even in the midst of their calamity as if they had never suffered any trouble. Moreover, Luke seemeth to note that they led a wandering life in that they changed their lodgings often. Therefore, if we desire to be counted their brethren, let us prick forward ourselves so diligently, that no fear or bitterness of cross discourage us, but that we go forward in showing forth the profession of faith; and that we never be weary of furthering the doctrine of Christ; for it is an absurd thing that exile and flight, which are the first exercises of martyrdom, should make us dumb and fainthearted.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(4) They that were scattered abroad.—These. As has been said above, would in all probability be Stephen’s Hellenistic fellow-workers and followers. As in later ages, the axiom that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church,” held true from the beginning. The attempt to stamp out the new faith did but give it a wider scope of action, and urged it on to pass the limits within which it might otherwise have been confined for a much longer period.

Preaching the word.—Better, preaching the glad tidings of the word.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where [went about] preaching the word] In these words we have the general effect of the persecution. One particular history of such preaching is given immediately.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore they that were scattered abroad,.... By reason of the persecution in Jerusalem: the seventy disciples, and other ministers of the word; or the hundred and twenty, excepting the apostles,

went every where; or

went through the countries of Judea and Samaria, as far as Phenice, Cyrus, and Antioch:

preaching the word; the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions add, "of God", and so some copies; the Gospel, which is the word of God, and not man; which was not of men, nor received from men, but came from God, and by the revelation of Christ; and which was good news and glad tidings, of peace, pardon, righteousness and salvation, by Jesus Christ.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

Ver. 4. {See Trapp on "Act 8:1"} Trucidabantur et multiplicabantur, saith Austin. They were never the fewer for being slain. Plures efficimur quoties metimur, saith Tertullian. Ecclesia totum mundum sanguine et oratione convertit, saith Luther; the Church converts the whole world by her sufferings and prayers.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Went everywhere - That is, they traveled through the various regions where they were scattered. In all places to which they came, they preached the Word.

Preaching the word - Greek: “evangelizing,” or announcing the good news of the message of mercy, or the Word of God. This is not the usual word which is rendered “preach,” but it means simply announcing the good news of salvation. There is no evidence, nor is there any probability, that all these persons were “ordained” to preach. They were manifestly common Christians who were scattered by the persecution; and the meaning is, that they communicated to their fellow-men in conversation wherever they met them, and probably in the synagogues, where all Jews had a right to speak, the glad tidings that the Messiah had come. It is not said that they set themselves up for public teachers, or that they administered baptism, or that they founded churches, but they proclaimed everywhere the news that a Saviour had come. Their hearts were full of it. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; and they made the truth known to “all” whom they met. We may learn from this:

That persecution tends to promote the very thing which it would destroy.

(2)That one of the best means to make Christians active and zealous is to persecute them.

(3)That it is right for all Christians to make known the truths of the gospel. When the heart is full the lips will speak, and there is no more impropriety in their speaking of redemption than of anything else.

(4)It should be the great object of all Christians to make the Saviour known “everywhere.” By their lives, their conversation, and their pious exhortations and entreaties, they should beseech dying sinners to be reconciled to God. And especially should this be done when they “are traveling.” Christians when away from home seem almost to imagine that they lay aside the obligations of religion. But the example of Christ and his early disciples has taught us that this is the very time to attempt to do good.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Now the partition wall was about to be broken down, and the Gentiles to be taken into the pale of the church, God provides this strange means towards it. The disciples are forced to flee for their lives out of Jerusalem, and have an opportunity to preach Christ and the gospel wheresoever they came: thus God can make light to come out of darkness, and makes Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem, Gen 9:27.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They therefore for therefore they, A.V.; about for everywhere, A.V. Went about; i.e. from place to place, and wherever they went they preached the Word. Diercomai here is used in the same sense as in ver. 40, and in Act_10:38 Act_17:23 Act_20:25, and elsewhere.

The first flight of the Word.

they that were scattered abroad," etc. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save the world. Providence and grace work hand-in-hand. The Church needed to be taught by discipline. Jerusalem a natural center of religious life. But a center of radiation, not concentration.

I PREACHING THE WORD the greatest function of the Christian Church.

1. The Word preached was the Word given. Apostles gave it. It was preeminently Christ"s Word. It was given by the Holy Ghost with special gifts and wisdom unto us.

2. The Word preached was the Word tried. Conversion proved it. Church life illustrated it. The attitude of the corrupt Jewish Church showed that it was a new Word that was required for the world. 3. Preaching preceded writing. Individual testimony. The baptism of persecution followed the baptism of inspiration. The world wants not speculative truth, but practical the Word of life. "Taste and see," etc.

II UNIVERSAL RESPONSIBILITY for the spread of truth.

1. The true conception of the Church a body of believers. They believe and therefore speak. Possession of the Word is responsibility.

2. The state of the world demands activity in every believer.

3. The pastoral office quite consistent with the fulfillment of this universal duty. The primi inter pares should stimulate all to work.

III THE LEADINGS OF PROVIDENCE are the true guidance of spiritual activity. Scattered abroad" against their will. Doors opened. Opportunity enlarged. Trouble sanctified.

1. It is dangerous to anticipate Divine preparation.

2. Watch in the night, for the darkest hour precedes the dawn.

3. Keep a true and firm center from which to go and to which to return. Jerusalem still remains the seat of apostolic wisdom and authority. God is not the author of confusion. The greatest activity need not break up orderly religious life. Revivals and evangelistic aggression should always maintain a rallying-point. Seek out not "quiet resting-places," but spheres of labor. Let God appoint the peace. R.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore they that were dispersed went everywhere - These very words are reassumed, after as it were a long parenthesis, chap. xi, 19, and the thread of the story continued.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The missionary work of the disciples and of Philip:

v. 4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere, preaching the Word.

v. 5. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

v. 6. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

v. 7. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice. , came out of many that were possessed with them; and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

v. 8. And there was great joy in that city.

While the apostles remained in Jerusalem with the small remnant of the former large congregation, escaping personal injury probably only because of a superstitious fear of their power to perform miracles, the disciples that were driven from Jerusalem by the persecution were ever mindful of the command of their Lord Jesus. They journeyed everywhere; and wherever they came, they brought the joyous message of the Word, the gracious Gospel of the Savior. Note: The men that went out at this time were not members of the teaching staff of the congregation, they were so-called lay-members, and yet they brought the message of the Gospel wherever they went. Every Christian, learned or unlearned, can and should give testimony of the faith of his heart, and thus try to gain souls for the Savior. —But in all these missionary endeavors the work of one man stood out very prominently, namely, that of Philip, one of the seven officers elected by the congregation, chap. 6:5. His work as deacon having been terminated by the persecution in Jerusalem, he became an evangelist. He made the journey either to one of the cities of the region of Samaria or, more likely, to the city of Samaria, or Sebaste, the capital of the district itself. The topic of his preaching was ever the same, the one subject that can never be preached too often or too fervently: Christ, the Savior of the world. And this simple Gospel-preaching concerning the Messiah had its effect. It received a better reception than in the case of the Jews, to whose self-righteousness the Word of the cross was ever an offense. The multitudes that gathered about Philip attended carefully to the things that were spoken by Philip, and were of one mind. The combined evidence of the preaching which they heard, and of the signs which he performed as a proof of the Gospel’s divine mission, was so powerful as to convince great numbers of them. For many demoniacs were freed from the evil spirits, the unclean devils that had taken possession of them, though the spirits protested with loud cries when they were driven out, and many paralytics and lame people were healed. Note the distinction made also here between the driving out of demons and the healing of sick people. Luke’s description shows that he was well acquainted with the nature of both afflictions, and that he distinguished with a reason. The consequence of all these events was that there was great joy in that whole city. It was a time of blessing for body and soul. Philip did not belong to the tribe of the modern sensational preachers with the knack of electrifying the masses; none of their tricks were employed by him. It was the preaching of Christ that brought about the new condition, the miracles serving only for further confirmation.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The severe persecution at Jerusalem, dispersed the whole body of the church, and scattered both members and teachers thereof, except the apostles. Some went to Damascus, some to Samaria, some to Phoenice, Cyprus and Antioch. But God over-ruled this scattering for his church’s increasing: he brought good out of evil, light out of darkness, order out of confusion. It is a great and certain truth, that the Holy God would suffer no sort of evil to be, did he not know how to bring some excellent good out of that evil.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. “Therefore indeed being dispersed abroad, they went everywhere preaching the word.” Oh, how the devil overshot himself in the Sauline persecutions. It was high time that Jerusalem nest was broken up and the saints dispersed to the ends of the earth to preach the gospel. Nothing could so effectually bring to pass this indispensable desideratum as a bloody persecution. Hence the devil set a trap, lost all of his bait and got caught in it himself. This awful Sauline persecution was worth more than a wagon full of gold to send the gospel to the destitute, and thus establish the church in all the earth. Meanwhile Satan’s persecution dispatched hundreds and thousands of blood-washed and fire-baptized evangelists to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth; he even lost the greatest and most successful leader of hell’s army he ever had on the earth, i. e., Saul of Tarsus, whose attitude at the very front of the popular church qualified him, invested in the livery of heaven, to serve the devil and promote the damnation of souls infinitely beyond the possibilities of the blackest incarnate reprobate, fighting overtly and devouredly under the motley banner of the bottomless pit. Therefore in the work of Saul the persecutor hell suffered signal bankruptcy.

ALL SAINTS ARE PREACHERS

4. “Therefore indeed being dispersed abroad, they went everywhere preaching the word.” The martyrdom of Stephen lifted the flood-gate of a general and sweeping persecution against the Nazarenes, the Roman power acquiescent in the diabolical malignity, thus purchasing Jewish favor with the blood of the saints. Consequently they fled in all directions, like Samson’s foxes, scattering the fire throughout all Palestine and everywhere rolling out the revival wave into the Gentile world. Thus the devil overshot himself; thinking to exterminate Christianity from the globe, he sent out fiery platoons of missionaries to the ends of the earth. The Holy Ghost certifies that they all preached the gospel, here using that identical word, evangelidzoo, which means “preach the gospel,” and not simply to proclaim as an herald; thus evolving the fact that all the saints in the Apostolic age were divinely authorized preachers of the gospel, Satan having waited to a later date to invent license, thus obstructing the free and universal evangelization of earth’s dying millions under the leadership of the Holy Ghost. Unobstructed by ecclesiastical tyranny, neither the apostles nor their saintly contemporaries ever received any license to preach. If the church wants to give you license, accept it with gratitude; if not, go ahead and preach in the regular Apostolical succession.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 1

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Went every where preaching the word. The rage of the persecutors only extended the reign of Christ. The scattered saints, long prepared at the feet of the apostles, went everywhere as preachers of Christ. The blood of Stephen was the seed of the church.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

This begins the story of Philip, whom the people had chosen as a deacon. (See: Acts 6:5)

who had been scattered

The cause for the scattering, the persecution, was stated previously. This can be stated in active form. AT: "who had fled the great persecution and had gone" (See: Active or Passive)

proclaiming the word

"Word" here is a metonym for "message." AT: "proclaiming the message from God" (See: Metonymy)

went down to the city of Samaria

The phrase "went down" is used here because Samaria is lower in elevation than Jerusalem.

the city of Samaria

Possible meanings are 1) Luke expected the readers to know which city he was writing about. AT: "the main city in Samaria" or 2) Luke did not expect his readers to know which city he was writing about. AT: "a city in Samaria"

proclaimed to them the Christ

The title "Christ" refers to Jesus, the Messiah. AT: "told them that Jesus is the Messiah" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

believe

preach

word of God

Philip, the evangelist

Samaria

Christ

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

4. διῆλθον, went about. This was the effect on the whole body. The history turns at once to a single instance of the dispersion, and describes its results.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4-13.] Preaching of the Gospel in Samaria by Philip.

4.] μὲν οὖν resumes the subject dropped at the end of ver. 1, and determines this verse to be the opening of a new section, not the close of the former.

διῆλθ.] See reff.

εὐαγγ. τ. λόγ.] Here first we become acquainted with the missionary language so frequent in the rest of the book: and we have τὸν λόγον, an expression very familiar among Christians when the book was written, for [the fuller one which must have prevailed at first] τ. λ. τοῦ θεοῦ.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.