Phillip and Samaria



Acts 8:4-8
4Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
5Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
6And 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.
7For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
8So there was much joy in that city.

As was discussed at the end of last week, God uses the stoning of Stephen to scatter the disciples out into the world. Another one of the guys who were elected to hand out food to the widows shows that he too can spread the Gospel effectively. In today’s read we learn of Phillip who goes to Samaria to share the story of Jesus.

Samaria is an interesting place with a long standing in Hebrew history. The Samaritans are an interesting people and we hear about them several times throughout the Scriptures. Their history with God’s people begins back in the Old Testament. Samaria is located north of Jerusalem, between The Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan River. This is where the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom were located after the division of God’s people after the death of King Solomon. For several hundred years the Northern and Southern (2 tribes) kingdoms either warred with each other or stood together against common enemies. Finally, in 722bc the Assyrians conquered Samaria and drive the people into captivity and slavery. The king of Assyria relocates his own citizen in Samaria to tend the land and bring in revenue for the crown. The new “Samarians” learn a little bit about the Hebrew God and thus is born a hybrid form of religion which certainly doesn’t please God and causes outright hatred from the nation of Judah. This is the background for the people who are living in the region during the time of Christ and the building of the early Church. And these are the people to whom Phillip goes to share the Gospel after Stephen’s death. The Gospel writers also share with us Jesus interactions with the Samaritans through the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and His time spent in conversation with the woman at the well (John 4:1-42).

Phillip heads into Samaria and is greeted with rousing success for the Gospel. He brings healing and deliverance in the name of Jesus Christ; great joy break out. These people were ready to hear the Gospel and they embrace it with both hands. Once again, a “waiter” is used by God to bring the truth to the people. Clearly we would do well to pay attention to those chances we are given to live our faith on the outside.

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