Acts 8:1. _And Saul was consenting unto his death_ i.e. approving of all that was done. We have the same word, Luke 11:48, "Ye allow (i.e. praise and approve of) the deeds of your fathers." St Paul says of himself (Acts 22:20), "When the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed I also was standing by an... [ Continue Reading ]
_And devout men carried Stephen to his burial_ On _devout_, see Acts 2:5 note. The verb often means "to prepare a dead body for burial," but in Thuc. vi. 72 it is found exactly as used here. The Jews paid great attention to funeral rites. Cp. _Midrash Rabbah_on Genesis 47:29 (par. 96), "Deal kindl... [ Continue Reading ]
_As for_[But] _Saul, he made havock of the church_ His own words will best describe his action (Acts 22:4), "I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." The same word is used by the LXX. (Psalms 80:13) of the ravages of wild beasts. _entering into... [ Continue Reading ]
_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.... [ Continue Reading ]
Philip's Preaching in Samaria and its effects 5. _Then_[AND] _Philip_ The second named in the list of the seven deacons (Acts 6:5). He is only mentioned in this chapter and Acts 21:8 where he is called Philip the Evangelist. _went down to the city of Samaria_ i.e. the capital city of the district... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the people_[multitudes] _with one accord gave heed_ The original words imply that crowds of the people gave their faith and consent to the new teaching. _hearing and seeing the miracles which he did_ Better, _when they heard and saw the signs which he wrought_. They heard what had been done in... [ Continue Reading ]
_For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them_ There are some variations in the Gk. Text of this clause, but the most authoritative text would give; _For from many of them which had unclean spirits they came out crying with a loud voice_. On unclean spi... [ Continue Reading ]
_a certain man, called Simon_ From the Gk. word _magos_=sorcerer or magician, this man is usually spoken of as Simon Magus. According to Justin Martyr (_Apol_. i. 26) he was born at Gitton, a village of Samaria. The history which is given of him after the events mentioned in this chapter describes h... [ Continue Reading ]
_This man is the great power of God_ The A. V. translates the _Tex. Rec_., but the best MSS. give, _This man is the power of God that is called great_. We can see from the language of the N. T. that "powers" was a word current to express _angelic or heavenly influences_(Romans 8:38; 1 Peter 3:22); a... [ Continue Reading ]
_And to him they had regard_ Read, _And they gave heed to him_. This is an instance of that fondness for change of expression which is so marked a feature of the A. V. The word in the original is exactly the same as in the preceding verse. _of long time he had bewitched_[amazed] _them with sorcerie... [ Continue Reading ]
_But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God_ The oldest MSS. omit _the things_. The verb "preaching" is the same as in Acts 8:4, and contains the notion of "gospel" or "glad tidings." Now that the field of the preachers" labour is being extended we have a furthe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then_[And] _Simon himself believed also_ We can see from the history which follows that the belief here described was of a very imperfect nature. It perhaps amounted to no more than the conviction that in Philip was some power greater than his own. We have an example of a like imperfect belief desc... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter and John sent down to Samaria. Conduct of Simon Magus 14. _Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem_ The whole twelve still abiding there (Acts 8:1) and evidently all taking their part in the administration of the affairs of the Church, though it does not fall within St Luke's purpose to... [ Continue Reading ]
_who, when they were come down_, &c. It is clear from the whole history that the special gift of the Holy Ghost, bestowed at this period on the Christian converts in various places, was not given except through the Apostles. The case of Ananias, sent by God's special command to Saul, differs from al... [ Continue Reading ]
_they were baptized in_[into] _the name_, &c. The preposition, which is the same that is used by Christ (Matthew 28:19) at the institution of the Sacrament, implies the tie by which the new converts are in baptism bound to Christ as His followers, servants, worshippers.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then laid they their hands on them_ That there might be some outward sign of this imparted grace. So Ananias (Acts 9:17) laid his hands on Saul, and he received the Holy Ghost. But on Cornelius and his companions (Acts 10:44) the same gift was bestowed while Peter spake unto them.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when Simon saw_, &c. Simon's conduct now makes it clear how limited his faith had been. As he offered to buy the power, so we may be sure he meant to sell it. His faith, such as it was, had only sprung from his amazement. _he offered them money_ From his name, all trafficking in sacred things... [ Continue Reading ]
_saying, Give me also this power_ The character of the man is shewn by what he asks for. He does not desire the Holy Ghost for himself as a spiritual gift to seal his baptism, but that he may be able to bestow, what he looks upon as a higher power than his own magic, upon others. We can learn from t... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Peter said unto him, Thy money_[silver] _perish with thee_ It is clear from what follows that this terrible invocation of doom upon this offender is to be qualified by the condition supplied from Acts 8:22, where repentance and prayer are pointed out as means whereby even so great a sinner may... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter_(or _word_)] By the word "lot" the thought is carried back to the election of Matthias (Acts 1:26). In that case the choice had been left to the "Lord who knows the hearts of all men," but Simon's character is patent to all; "his heart was not right wit... [ Continue Reading ]
_Repent therefore_, &c. On this condition not only could the stern wish of Peter be averted, but the anger of God also. We see therefore that the words of the Apostle in Acts 8:20 must have been coupled in his mind with such condition, but the further language of this verse seems to imply that to Pe... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity_ The preposition _in_makes a great difficulty in this verse. The word in the original means _into_or _for_. The construction has been compared with that of the Hebrew preposition ל = _for_after the verb "to be" in p... [ Continue Reading ]
_that none of these_[the] _things which ye have spoken come upon me_ Simon shews by the character of his petition that he is not moved by a true spirit of repentance. He utters no word of sorrow for the evil of his thought, but only petitions that he may suffer no punishment. Yet we can see that he... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they_[They therefore], _when they had testified and preached_[spoken] _the word of the Lord, returned to_[towards] _Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in_[to] _many villages of the Samaritans_ Peter and John had not been sent forth to make an extended missionary journey, but only to confirm the... [ Continue Reading ]
Philip baptizes an Ethiopian Eunuch 26. _And the angel of the Lord_ The Gk. has _an angel_. While Peter and John were carrying on the work of Philip in Samaria, God directs the Evangelist to a new scene of labour. _spake unto Philip_ Most probably in a vision as to Cornelius (Acts 10:3) and to Pet... [ Continue Reading ]
_behold, a man of Ethiopia_ It is better to supply the substantive verb here, "behold _there was_, &c." otherwise the conjunction at the commencement of the next verse is left untranslated. Ethiopia, like Cush in the O. T., is a general name given to the country which is now called Nubia and Abyssi... [ Continue Reading ]
_was returning_ The original has a conjunction, "_and_was returning," i.e. at the termination of the feast. _read Esaias_[Isaiah] _the prophet_ He was evidently reading aloud (see Acts 8:30), and this was common among Orientals and was specially the practice of the Jews, who accompanied the reading... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then_[And] _the Spirit said unto Philip_ i.e. by a prompting from within. _Go near, and join thyself to this chariot_ No doubt this royal treasurer had a numerous retinue, and a single traveller on a desert road would be doing what was natural in attaching himself to a train of people who were jou... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Philip ran thither to him_ Better, _ran up_. There is only the verb in the Greek. _Understandest thou_, &c. Philip's question refers to the application of the words. Of their reference to Jesus the eunuch could of course know nothing, but he might have heard some of the Jewish expositions of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_except some man_[one] _should_[shall] _guide me_ The eunuch, living far away from the received expounders of the Scriptures, feels that in a dark passage like that which he was reading he has need of trained instruction. He uses therefore the word which is employed for the guidance given by teacher... [ Continue Reading ]
_The place of the scripture_ The A. V. omits the conjunction at the beginning of this verse. Read, _Now_the place, &c. The word rendered "place" signifies the whole _context_of the passage. The eunuch was studying the whole account of the sufferer whom the prophet here describes. The verses quoted h... [ Continue Reading ]
_in his humiliation_, &c. The Hebrew text signifies "Through oppression and through judgement (i.e. punishment) he was taken away." _who shall declare his generation_?] i.e. who shall describe his contemporaries, men who under a form of judicial punishment oppressed the sufferer, and put him to dea... [ Continue Reading ]
_of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?_ As Isaiah 61. was held by the Jews to relate to Isaiah himself, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, &c.," so the eunuch enquires whether the words he has been reading have the same reference.... [ Continue Reading ]
_and began at the same_[this] _scripture, and preached unto him Jesus_ It can hardly be doubted that during his sojourn in Jerusalem the eunuch had heard the history of the new teachers who had created such an excitement in the city, and so he would have had some story told him of the founder of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_And as they went on their_[the] _way_ We must suppose that Philip travelled for some time with the eunuch, for not only has he explained that in Jesus was fulfilled all that the prophets had spoken concerning the sufferings of the Messiah, but has taught him that believers in Jesus are to be admitt... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Philip said. If thou believest with all thine hearty thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God_ The whole of this verse is omitted in the oldest MSS. It probably found its way into the text of those MSS. where it does exist from the margin. Such a marg... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he commanded the chariot to stand still_ i.e. he ordered the chariot-driver to stop, and of course the whole retinue would see what took place, and they may certainly be regarded as the nucleus of a congregation to be established in Ethiopia. Tradition tells us that the eunuch laboured to evang... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip_ Just as Obadiah expected Elijah would be caught away while he himself went on his errand to Ahab (1 Kings 18:12). Compare the language of Ezekiel (Acts 3:12; Acts 3:14; Acts 8:3, &c.), "So the spirit lifted me up and took me away." _that_[and] _the eunuch... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Philip was found at Azotus_ That is, he appeared again and continued the work of his ministry. The expression is a translation of a Hebrew verb which is often rendered in A.V. "to be present." Cp. Esther 1:5, "that were present," and in the margin, Heb. "found." Azotus is the ancient Ashdod (1... [ Continue Reading ]