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This is the message most needed now, as then. It is the message which brings “great joy“— it sends people “on their way rejoicing’’ (Acts 8:8, 39).
V. 15. They sent unto them Peter and John who prayed for them.— God used persecution to insure contact; through contact the Spirit wrought conversion, and so humbled the aristocratic Jew by showing Himself as ready to gather out a people for His name from these despised outcasts as from the elect nation itself that made them outcasts. Yes and equally ready to pour out His fulness in Ahab’s capital as at David’s metropolis.—-A. T. Pierson. However, the Lord indicated His will that the new con verts should be led to realize the authority of the original apostles by withholding the outward manifestation of the Spirit; for only when the hands of Peter and John were laid on them did they receive the Holy Spirit.— G. T. Purvis. V. 17. And they received the Holy Spirit. Peter and John were sent down to visit the new converts, and, as they prayed and laid hands on them, a Samaritan Pente cost followed like unto that first outpouring in the sacred city. This is significant as marking a distinct stage in the development of this history of the acts of the Holy Ghost, for it is the first time that He came in power upon any believers outside of Jerusalem and Judea. The Holy Spirit here broke for the first time the caste lines and limits of exclusion.— A. T. Pierson. Reader, have you received the Holy Ghost? Get away from the various and conflicting doctrines with which Satan is trying to throw dust in your eyes and frighten you away fron^ this glorious reality, and ask yourself definitely and honestly if you have ever known anything in your exper ience which answers to the receiving of the Holy Ghost mentioned here; If not, seek the fulness of the Spirit which God is waiting to bestow upon every empty, fully-surrend ered soul.—M. Baxter. Philip Telling About Jesus. Acts 8:26-40. Memory Verse.— “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15. Approach.— Did you boys and girls ever go to a big re vival meeting? James you tell us about the one you went to. Yes, there were a lot of people gathered together in a big tent, and there was a meeting every day and every night, and they had fine singing, and ELEMENTARY the preacher was a fine one. Helen Mabel L. Merrill Why d° they haV6 these special meet ings every once in a while? To tell people about Jesus. That is right, and did you know they had these kind of meetings a long time ago? Let us bow our heads and thank God for sending some one to tell us about His Son Jesus. Lesson Story.— Some of you will remember the story of a woman drawing water from a well in a place called Sa maria, and Jesus came along and talked with the woman about her soul, and she was saved, Now in this same place our story for today happened. There was a big revival meeting, the name of the preacher or evangelist was Philip. (The older children might be told of Stephen’s faithfulness in preaching the word, and how he gave up his life, and Philip took his place.) Philip was brave and true, and even though he knew that others had lost their lives be cause they told about Jesus, he told every body about Jesus. God gave Philip power to heal many of the sick people that were brought to him, others who were lame and had to be carried, were able to walk. There was great joy in the city and many believed and were baptized. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard the good news of many people being saved at the revival, they sent two more preachers down to help. These two preachers we have heard of many times .before. Their names were Peter and John. Now what do you think happened? God sent word through an angel for Philip to leave the big revival meetings in the city of Samaria, and take a long trip through the wilder ness toward the city of Gaza. Philip obeyed and went at once. As he was going a man from the land of Ethopia, who was an officer of the queen of that country and took
TIME A. D. 37. Eight years after the death of Christ— Alford’s Greek Testament. Y. 4. They that were scattered. The early Christians were not disposed to leave Jerusalem. They were lingering too long, unmindful of the world ly- COMMENTS ing in sin and waiting to he evan- FRpM THE gelized. The martyrdom of Stephen COMMENTARIES was the stirring up of the nest. The H. G. Dean persecutor—-hoping to kill a feeble movement-Binfuses new life into it. —David James Burrell. Went about preaching the Word. We certainly now have a distinct step forward, for while the apostles remained be hind in Jerusalem,, we are given to understand that the Gospel was successfully preached by others.— J. M. Stifler. V. 5. And Philip. Not one of the apostles for they were not scattered, but one of the seven.— J. M. Stifler. Philip’s preaching was singularly blessed. His full posi tion, as in fact the pioneer evangelist, has never been ap preciated.— A. T. Pierson. Went down to the City of Samaria. The Lord chose His own instrument—-and He led Philip to Samaria where He Himself had gone, yea, to the very city of Samaria, which iSi’Sychar. The Samaritans were not a race of strangers altogether—-they had Israelitish blood in them. The soil there, too, had been prepared. The Samaritans in large numbers had believed on Him for the words of the woman with whom the Lord had that memorable conversation at Jacob’s well. They invited the Lord to tarry and many more believed on Him because of His own word. Among this people Philip appeared.— A. C.' Gaebelein. And preached Christ unto them. His preaching was that Jesus (he of John 4) was the promised Messiah.—Cam bridge Bible. V. 6. And the people . . . gave heed . . . hear ing and seeing the miracles which he did. . . . The orig inal words imply that crowds of the people gave their faitt and consent to the new teaching.— Lumby. We are reminded of the eager hearing given to Jehus by the people of Sychar.—Amos R. Wells. Philip was preaching under the command of Matthew 28:19, 20-a, and Mark 16:15 with the promises of Matthew 28:20b and Mark 16:16, 17, 18 as his assurance of success . . . and V. 7. Unclean spirits— came out of many— and many were healed. The miracles— were to be signs that the mes sage which Philip was bringing was from God. The signs here enumerated are such as could leave no doubt in the minds of those who witnessed the cures.^-Cambridge Bible. Philip did miracles in connection with preaching the Gospel.^—A. C. Gaebelein. , V‘ S f f i B there was great joy in that city. The city where Philip preached and the miracles were done re- joiced greatly.—A.C. Gaebelein. Not only because of healed bodies, but also because of healed souls.— Phillips Brooks. V. 14. When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Sa maria had received the Word of God. It is not surprising that the apostles, when they heard that Samaria had re ceived the Word of God, should send a deputation to the place where the good work had begun.— J. A. Alexander. God s purposes and God’s plans are very far reaching. We see now why the Samaritans were raised up more than six hundred years before and why they had been preserved in their half-and-half character for centuries. They were neither Jews nor Gentiles. They were midway between these distant moral extremes. And now God uses them as a sort of a half-way house from those in the covenant to those who were outside of it. They were the ladder with out which even the believing Jew, hampered as he was by his scruples, could not have gotten down to the uncircum cised Gentile. The leap was too great. The gulf between the two extremes was social, religious, political9-and the Samaritan bridged it. God plainly intended him for this from the first.— J. M. Stifler.
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