The Samaritan Pentecost

When Philip preached in Samaria the people listened, believed the Gospel and were baptized (Acts 8:5-7, 12). However, Luke tells us that, when Peter and John learned of the Samaritan’s repentance and came to the Samaritan village where Philip was preaching (Acts 8:14), they found the new believers had not received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:16)! Why would this be so? Was anything lacking in Philip’s preaching?

 

Simon the Great One!

While Philip preached the Gospel in a Samaritan village, a man named Simon is said to have believed and was baptized (Acts 8:13). What is interesting is that Philip’s works among the believing Samaritans is contrasted with this man’s works before Philip arrived. Philip did miracles, drove out evil spirits and healed the people (Acts 8:6-7), while Simon used sorcery and bewitched the people (Acts 8:9). Philip preached Christ, but Simon preached himself as a great one. The Greek word megas (G3173) means great one and is the root from which the 2^nd century church fathers derived Simon’s other name, Magus.

 

Samaria Believes!

At long last the word of God is going out to the nations as promised by Jesus in Acts 1:8, but probably not as originally expected by the Apostles. Instead, the Gospel explodes outwardly in the form of evangelism brought on by persecution. It wasn’t planned—at least not by the Church. Nevertheless, the prophecy was fulfilled as the King of the Kingdom of God reached out to embrace the uttermost parts of the earth, beginning with Samaria and bringing all under his authority.

 

Blasphemy Against God and Moses!

Chapter seven of Acts represents Stephen’s defense, but not just for himself, but of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God with Jesus as Lord or the Messiah. The accusation against him is stated twice in Acts 6, once in verse-13 and then for a second time in verse-14. It is worded differently, but, nevertheless means the same, and in reference to this the high priest (probably Annas) asks Stephen: “Are these things so?”

 

Between a Rock and a Hard Place!

When we come to Acts 5 we find the Church of God between a rock and a hard place, or nestled between the hidden enemy within (Ananias & “the others”) and the formidable enemy from without (Annas & the Jewish rulers). God struck down Ananias and Sapphira, giving “the others” pause to think over what they were planning to do. However, Annas struck out at the Apostles and imprisoned them, intending to have them slain (Acts 5:17-18, cp. v.33). Nevertheless, the power of God was with them, and no one could harm them for their time had not yet come (cp. John 7:30; 8:20; 21:18-19).

 

Jesus is Alive and Here’s the Proof!

Peter and John had been brought before the Sanhedrin in an effort to squash the Gospel before it really began to take hold in Jewish society. The authorities had found the Apostles preaching the resurrection in the Temple and arrested them, planning to hear their case the following day (Acts 4:1-3). The problem for the authorities was they put themselves between a rock and a hard place as far as squashing the new movement was concerned. To bring up the resurrection (the real reason for their arresting the Apostles; see verse-2) would have divided the court between Sadducees and Pharisees and nothing would be accomplished. What to do? So, they decided to threaten them (Acts 4:17).

 

Lame Man Walking!

It wouldn’t be difficult to understand a man’s joy, if he were suddenly able to walk after being crippled for over 40 years. Peter healed such a man sitting at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple when he and John went up to pray (Acts 3:1-2). The man was expecting a small donation for a meal, but ended up being made whole. The text says that he was put at the gate daily, no doubt by someone in his family, but who would have thought when they put his socks on that morning…What a surprise!

 

The Conclusion of the First Pentecost

As a result of Peter’s first sermon on the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, as it is called in the Greek, three thousand souls came to believe in Jesus and came under his authority. They repented of their rebellion against God (an inward expression) and submitted to baptism (an outward expression or testimony) to the new life they were given by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Peter concluded that the promise of new life was offered first to the Jews, but also to those who are afar off (Acts 2:39). That is, the new life of the Spirit was to include both Jew and Gentile. How this would be brought about was probably not understood at this point in time, but in a few years it would come clear.

 

The Day of the Lord

At times I wonder if it isn’t easier to convince an unbeliever of the truth about the Lord and his word than to convince a believer who believes wrong doctrine and thinks he is correct. It doesn’t seem to matter how many Scriptures I use to prove a point, the brother will cling to the error taught him by a man he trusts or the organization of which he is a member.

 

The Coming of the Kingdom of God

Pentecost celebrated the enactment of the Old Covenant between God and Israel. It occurred on the fiftieth day following the weekly Sabbath within the eight day Passover Festival. The first day which counted toward Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks was always a Sunday. Its date varied, hence the need to count. This Sunday was the day the Wave Sheaf Offering was lifted up to be received of God, and in its offering the whole harvest was made holy to the Lord. Nothing in the fields could be harvested until this offering was made.

 

A Theme for Acts

One would find an overall theme of the Gospel narratives summarized in Acts 1:1-3. Jesus taught about the coming Kingdom of God, proving its appearance by those things which he did. God handed his Son over to the Jews and their leaders crucified him, but God acquitted him by raising him from the dead and placing him on his throne in the heavens!

 

Jesus Versus John

As a Sunday school teacher, from time to time someone will come to my class, spend one week with us and then leave, sometimes telling me he wants to check out another class. I thank him for stopping by and considering our class and what we are discussing, and tell him I hope he finds what he is looking for. To be perfectly honest, I have to admit there is a tinge of jealousy on my part, as I watch him walk away. I know I shouldn’t feel this way, and I put the feeling down, recognizing it is only from the flesh, but, still, it is there; and it surfaced, even if I am the only one who noticed. Do we all have such feelings? I don’t know—but I know I do.

 

Behold the Lamb of God!

In the past few blogs concerning John’s Gospel, we’ve been considering what John the Baptist didn’t know about Jesus. If what I’ve written is true, that is, that John was flabbergasted that Jesus, the carpenter’s Son was the Messiah, and that John fully expected, but was wrong to assume, some really fantastic events would occur through the Messiah in that generation, in order to make the Jewish nation the leading nation in the world. If this is true concerning what John didn’t know, how could he have understood that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36)?

 

Paul and the Doctrine of Circumcision

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Did you ever wonder how Paul first began to understand the circumcision doctrine that so identified Pauline theology? Well, immediately following his heavenly vision, Paul went into Arabia. More than likely he spent some time in the synagogues in various cities he visited there. Paul already knew the Nabataeans were near relatives to the Jews, descending from Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s slave. He would have found, if he didn’t know already, Nabataeans were more easily won over as proselytes to Judaism there than in other Gentile countries in the empire. Why was this so? No doubt it was because of the Nabataean’s disposition toward the Jewish practice of circumcision. Being descended from Abraham, circumcision was not rejected, as it was in other Gentile countries. It was already practiced, but not under compulsory conditions as in Judea and Galilee. Nabataeans were more or less indifferent toward the practice.

 

The Father is Greater than I!

In John 14:28 Jesus tells his disciples that his Father, who is God, is greater than he (Jesus). This is one of those “Duh!” occurrences in Scripture. Some folks, who hold Jesus to a low Christology, try pointing to this Scripture as a kind of one-liner to establish the doctrine that Jesus is not God. Yet, they don’t seem to realize that their understanding does not fit the context. Try to put yourself in the place of one of the disciples and Jesus comes into the room and says: “Okay, folks, I just want to tell you that God is greater than I am!” Should you be surprised? If Jesus is only a man, is this supposed to be some great revelation?