Paul in his work, as Stephen had been in his teaching. It is noticeable that the city of Samaria, is the first scene of his activity. The teachers who had been most prominent were compelled to take flight, and Philip was among them. The persecution of which Saul was the leader must have stopped the "daily ministrations" of the Church. He is one of the deacons appointed to superintend the daily distribution of food and alms, and so to remove all suspicion of partiality. Philip the Evangelist: ”is first mentioned in the account of the dispute between the Hebrew and Hellenistic disciples in Acts 6. May we be reminded that daily humility is necessary to live out the Gospel in our relationships and in our community! People: Not the Jew, not the powerful, but those who humble themselves. As Jesus said, the least of these shall inherit the kingdom of God. For it is the Eunuch that asks for help, listens to the truth of Philip, and acts out the Gospel in being baptized immediately.
But it is this man who Luke shows is the richest of the three mentioned. He would have been considered the lowest of the low.
An Ethiopian Eunuch would have been shunned by the Jews for both his race and his sexual identity. But, it is a humble Ethiopian Eunuch that believes and is forgiven of his sins. Saul was a Jew’s Jew and he suppressed the Gospel, Simon Magus was powerful and wealthy Magician, and he wanted to exploit the Gospel. What Luke is trying to show in this chapter is that anyone who is humble can receive the gospel. Thirdly, the Ethiopian Eunuch believed in the Gospel and was baptized. And, that it is the Holy Spirit that is the power (dynamo) of God! In the end Simon lost his vision, the very thing which caused him to envy in the first place. Simon did not realize that the Holy spirit can not and will not be controlled for personal gain. He envied with his eyes the power of the apostles. Simon saw the Gospel and the Holy Spirit as something to be exploited. Simon Magus was a magician who would use his special powers to receive money and tithes from locals who believed he was “semi-divine.” The Samaritans even called him “God’s Great Power.” Simon was so popular he even had his own cult-like followers called the Simonians, which were Gnostic (the physical world has no meaning). Second, Simon tries to exploit the Gospel for personal gain. All who reject Jesus and God suppress the Gospel in their own personal life but Saul hated the Gospel so much that he suppressed the Gospel physically with persecution. Saul saw that Christians and believers in Jesus were a threat to him and his way of life, so he responded with suppression. Saul’s entire identity since childhood has been the learning the Jewish law and becoming a pharisee. Suppressing the Gospel is a response rooted in rejecting God. After the stoning of Stephen, Saul is embolden and begins to more actively find and imprison early church Christians. Luke in this chapter is trying to convey the wide range of response to the Gospel.įirst, Saul actively tries to suppress the Gospel by persecuting the church. Response: In Acts Chapter 8 we see three specific responses to the Gospel: suppress, exploit, and believe.
0 kommentar(er)
