Acts 8

Persecution after Stephen’s death scatters the believers, and the gospel spreads outward instead of being stopped. Philip brings Christ to Samaria, where the Spirit is given and Simon the sorcerer is exposed. Then Philip meets an Ethiopian official on a desert road and explains Isaiah’s suffering servant to him.

Acts 8:1

Saul stood by and approved of Stephen’s killing. A great persecution then struck the Jerusalem church, and believers fled across Judea and Samaria. The apostles stayed behind. What looked like a disaster began to carry the gospel beyond Jerusalem, as Jesus had said it would.

BSA: scattered (“dispersed, spread out”): The believers were driven out like seed thrown wide, and the word went with them.

See also: Acts 1:8.

Acts 8:2

Devout men buried Stephen and grieved loudly for him. They showed courage by honoring a man the authorities had condemned. Grief for a faithful martyr is right and good, and God sees such love.

BSA: mourned (“made great lamentation, lamented deeply”): Their sorrow was open and heartfelt, not quiet or hidden.

Acts 8:3

Saul turned fierce, wrecking the church by entering homes and dragging believers off to prison, women included. The church met in houses, so he hunted there. The man who would later become Paul is shown here at his worst.

BSA: destroy (“made havoc of, ravaged”): The picture is of violent wreckage, not mere disapproval.

Greek: ἐλυμαίνετο (elymaineto, G3075) — “was ravaging, laying waste.” The word is used of a wild beast tearing at its prey. It shows how savage Saul’s attacks were.

Acts 8:4

The scattered believers did not hide. Wherever they went they spoke the message. Ordinary Christians, not only apostles, became the carriers of the gospel, and the persecution only widened its reach.

BSA: preached (“proclaiming, speaking”): They shared the message freely as they traveled.

Acts 8:5

Philip, one of the seven chosen to serve in Acts 6, went to a city in Samaria. Samaritans were despised by many Jews, yet he told them the Christ had come. The gospel crosses old barriers of prejudice.

BSA: proclaimed (“preached, heralded”): Philip announced Christ like a herald with a royal message.

See also: John 4:39-42.

Acts 8:6-7

Crowds listened eagerly because they heard Philip and saw signs. Evil spirits left with loud cries, and the paralyzed and lame were healed. The miracles gave weight to the message and showed that Christ’s power was truly at work.

BSA: undivided attention (“with one accord, unitedly”): The whole crowd was drawn together in a single, eager listening.

Acts 8:8

Joy filled the city. Where there had been bondage, sickness and deceit, the good news brought gladness. Real encounters with Christ bring joy to whole communities, not only individuals.

BSA: joy (“a deep and lasting happiness”): This was lasting gladness, not a passing excitement.

Acts 8:9-11

Simon had long amazed Samaria with magic and claimed to be someone great. People from the humblest to the most important called him the Great Power. They followed him because he had impressed them for years. Wonders alone do not prove that someone comes from God.

BSA: sorcery (“magic, supernatural powers”): His power was a counterfeit that held the people in awe.

Greek: ἐξιστάνων (existanōn, G1839) — “amazing, astonishing.” It means to knock people out of their usual state of mind. Simon dazzled people rather than teaching truth.

Acts 8:12

When the Samaritans believed Philip’s message about God’s kingdom and the name of Jesus, they were baptized, men and women alike. Belief came first, and baptism was the public sign of it. The good news was about a King and his rule, not about a human celebrity.

BSA: name (“character, authority”): The name of Jesus stands for all that he is and the authority he holds.

See also: Matthew 28:19.

Acts 8:13

Simon himself believed and was baptized, and he stayed close to Philip. Yet he was still amazed chiefly by the miracles. His later behavior shows that his heart may not have been truly changed. Being impressed by power is not the same as surrendering to Christ.

BSA: astounded (“amazed, full of wonder”): Simon was now the one dazzled, and his wonder rested on the signs themselves.

Acts 8:14

The apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had welcomed God’s word and sent Peter and John. This was a new step, a mixed and long-divided people receiving the gospel. The apostles came to confirm it and to join the work.

BSA: received (“accepted and welcomed”): Samaria had gladly taken the word in, not merely heard it.

Acts 8:15-17

The Samaritans had been baptized in Jesus’ name, yet the Holy Spirit had not yet come on them in the visible way seen elsewhere. Peter and John prayed and laid hands on them, and they received the Spirit. Christians understand the timing here in different ways. All agree it shows God welcoming Samaritans fully into his people.

BSA: fallen (“come down, rested”): The Spirit comes from above as a gift.

Greek: ἐπιπεπτωκός (epipeptōkos, G1968) — “fallen upon.” The Spirit is pictured as coming down upon people, not as something they reach up and grasp.

See also: Acts 2:38; Acts 10:44-45.

Acts 8:18-19

Simon saw the Spirit given when the apostles laid on hands, and he offered them money for the same ability. He wanted the power for himself, to give to others. He treated God’s Spirit like a trade secret, a tool for his own reputation.

BSA: power (“authority, ability”): Simon wanted control over the gift, not the Giver.

Acts 8:20

Peter answers with a sharp rebuke. The Spirit is God’s gift and cannot be bought. To think money could buy it was to misunderstand grace entirely. Salvation and all that comes with it are free to those who receive them.

BSA: gift (“free gift, gracious bestowal”): A gift by nature cannot be purchased; it can only be received.

See also: Isaiah 55:1; Ephesians 2:8.

Acts 8:21

Simon has no share in this ministry because his heart is not straight before God. God looks past outward baptism and religious activity to the inner motives. A crooked heart cannot take part in God’s work.

BSA: right (“straight, level”): The picture is of a heart that is not honest or aligned with God.

Acts 8:22

Even now Peter offers hope. Simon should repent and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Peter says perhaps he will forgive, because the matter is in God’s hands, not Peter’s. The door of mercy stays open to a repentant sinner.

BSA: Repent (“turn away from sin, change your mind”): True repentance is a change of heart that leads to a change of direction.

Greek: μετανόησον (metanoēson, G3340) — “change your mind, repent.” It means a turn of mind and direction. Simon must rethink what he wanted and why.

Acts 8:23

Peter sees Simon’s true state: bitter and bound by sin. Bitterness is like poison, and iniquity is like a chain. Greed for power and standing had taken hold of him. The verse names the problem so it can be dealt with.

BSA: poisoned (“in the gall of bitterness, full of bitter envy”): Gall is a bitter, harmful substance; Simon’s heart was full of it. captive (“in the bond of iniquity, a slave to”): Sin had him tied up like a prisoner.

Acts 8:24

Simon asks the apostles to pray for him, so that the judgment Peter described will not fall on him. He seems afraid of the consequences. The passage does not say whether he truly repented, so we are left to take the warning seriously ourselves.

BSA: Pray (“beseech, ask earnestly”): He begs for help, though his request focuses on escaping punishment.

Acts 8:25

Peter and John bore witness, spoke the Lord’s word, and headed back to Jerusalem. On the way they preached in many Samaritan villages. The apostles, once reluctant about Samaritans, now share the gospel with them gladly.

See also: Luke 9:51-56.

Acts 8:26

An angel tells Philip to leave a fruitful work and go south to a desert road toward Gaza. It must have seemed an odd order, yet God had one person in mind. The Lord guides his servants step by step toward the people he is preparing.

BSA: desert (“desolate, uninhabited”): The road ran through empty country, a place where few would expect a divine appointment.

Acts 8:27-28

Philip meets an Ethiopian official, a eunuch who managed the treasury of the queen. Candace was a title of Ethiopian queens. He had traveled far to worship in Jerusalem and was now reading Isaiah on his way home. He was a seeker with a hungry heart.

BSA: Ethiopian (“from the land of Cush”): He came from the far south, at the edge of the known world.

Greek: εὐνοῦχος (eunouchos, G2135) — “eunuch, court official.” The word often meant a trusted royal officer. It also suggests he may have been barred from full participation in Israel’s worship.

See also: Isaiah 56:3-5.

Acts 8:29-30

The Spirit told Philip to go up to the chariot. Philip ran, heard the man reading Isaiah aloud, and asked whether he understood. Reading aloud was normal then. Philip began with a simple question that opened the door.

BSA: ran up (“ran up hastily, with urgency”): Philip obeyed at once and eagerly.

Acts 8:31

The official humbly admits he needs help and invites Philip into the chariot. He was a learned and powerful man, yet willing to be taught. Scripture is a gift, and God often uses a faithful guide to open it up.

Greek: ὁδηγήσει (hodēgēsei, G3594) — “will guide, lead along the way.” The word comes from the word for road, so it means showing someone the way, like a guide on a path.

Acts 8:32-33

The passage is Isaiah 53. It describes someone led silently like a sheep to slaughter, humiliated, denied justice, and cut off from the living. The words point to a suffering that is patient and undeserved. They fit Jesus before Pilate and on the cross.

BSA: humiliation (“lowliness, humiliation, being brought low”): The servant was brought down to the lowest place.

See also: Isaiah 53:7-8.

Acts 8:34

The eunuch asks a sensible question: is the prophet describing himself or another? He wants to know who the suffering one is. Good questions about Scripture lead straight to Christ.

BSA: talking about (“referring to, speaking of”): He wants to know exactly whom the prophet means.

Acts 8:35

Philip began right where the man was reading and explained that this passage speaks of Jesus. The good news is not a new idea added to Scripture. It is what the Scriptures were pointing to all along.

Greek: εὐηγγελίσατο (euēngelisato, G2097) — “told the good news.” It is the verb form of gospel. Philip did not just explain a text; he announced good news.

See also: Luke 24:27.

Acts 8:36-38

Seeing water along the road, the eunuch asks what prevents his baptism. He orders the chariot stopped, and both men go down into the water. He had believed and wanted to follow Christ publicly at once. Some Bibles omit verse 37, which is missing from the oldest manuscripts.

BSA: baptized (“immersed, fully wet”): The word pictures being plunged into water, a sign of being joined to Christ.

See also: Romans 6:3-4.

Acts 8:39

When they came up, the Spirit took Philip away suddenly. The eunuch did not see him again, yet he went on his way rejoicing. His joy did not depend on his teacher’s presence. It came from knowing Christ himself.

BSA: carried (“seized, snatched away”): Philip was taken swiftly and by God’s power, not by his own choice.

Acts 8:40

Philip turned up at Azotus, the old Philistine city of Ashdod, and preached in every town along the coast until he reached Caesarea. The evangelist keeps moving and keeps proclaiming. The gospel keeps moving outward across the land.

BSA: preaching (“proclaiming, announcing”): He kept announcing the good news in each town he passed.