Text: Acts 8: 4-6, 9-10, 12-13, 15-24; 26-27, 29-31, 34-39
Last week, the Jerusalem community of disciples was shaken when Stephen, one of the first deacons, was killed for his beliefs.
The church scattered and one of those deacons, Philip, found himself in Samaria, preaching Christ.
That moment of tragedy and the threat of persecution could not stop the good news from moving beyond Jerusalem… to Samaria… to the ends of the earth.
Before we get too far this morning… why Samaria?
Why is this place so important?
Well, first, we have to remember that Samaria isn’t a far flung place, but had been right in the center of Jesus’ ministry. In order to get from Jerusalem to Galilee you had to pass through… Samaria!
The Samaritans were distant cousins, “lost sheep of Israel” as J. Jervell describes them.
These neighbors were not Gentiles, not complete outsiders to the Jewish faith, but there were differences between more traditional Jews and their Samaritan kin that created animosity and division.
The reason the story of the Good Samaritan was so controversial was the very fact that the priest and Levite – faithful Jewish folks – didn’t stop… but the Samaritan, whom the crowds would have expected to do the wrong thing, did.
This is where Jesus promises that the ministry of the church will spread first.
From Jersualem… to Samaria… to the ends of the earth.
This journey of Acts starts with the Jewish faithful… but then it starts to take root in those who are on the fringes of God’s people.
Philip finds in Samaria an audience that is eager to hear more about Jesus and the good news.
But his ministry in this chapter is largely the story of how two folks on the fringe of faith receive the invitation.
The sorcerer and the eunuch.
One arrogant and brash, the other humble and full of questions.
For one, the power of the Holy Spirit is a commodity to be bought and sold, possessed and tamed.
For the other, that power is precious, mysterious, and a gift to be treated delicately.
Let’s dive in deeper.
In Samaria, “Simon the Great” was known throughout the area for his dazzling performances of sorcery.
But he finds that notoriety fading as a new player, the deacon Philip, comes on the scene.
Suddenly, it is someone else doing the healing…
Someone else drawing the crowds…
And Simon Magus, himself, is astonished by the power that this follower of Christ displays.
He is overcome by the good news of God and joins in the fellowship of believers.
But we get the sense that stepping out of the limelight was a really rough transition.
Simon misses drawing a crowd and being the center of attention.
Now, there is an interesting point here that I want to mention.
Philip, as a deacon, appears to have the authority to preach and to baptize folks, but it wasn’t until the apostles Peter and John show up that the gift of the Holy Spirit was received.
Philip had the gift of the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t have the ability to share it with others.
The apostles did. They began to lay hands on folks so that they, too, could be filled with the Spirit, and when Simon Magus sees this, he suddenly wants their job.
He perceives the Holy Spirit as a kind of magical ability that could be possessed and he wants to take it on the road to give some new audience a show.
So this former sorcerer runs up and throws down a bag of coins… “Give me that authority!” he demands.
Faith in Jesus Christ is a new part of Simon’s life and so he naturally starts from what he knows and where he is gifted. He knows how to draw a crowd and perform and thinks…“I could do that.”
What he has misunderstood, however, is that the Holy Spirit isn’t interested in being possessed. The apostle Peter calls him out and rebukes him for trying to buy God’s gifts.
We remember what happened not that long ago to the likes of Ananias and Sapphira and you almost have to hold your breath waiting for Simon Magus to drop dead.
But he is invited to pray, to repent, and our last impression of this sorcerer has him asking the apostles to intercede on his behalf.
Maybe there is hope for him, after all.
After this encounter, Philip is led by the Holy Spirit in a different direction, this time southwest of Jerusalem to another person on the fringes of the Jewish faith.
Whereas in Samaria, the Holy Spirit was a power that amazed, in this story, she seems to be moving subtly behind the scenes.
Our text tells us that this individual was coming from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for worship in the temple. We might assume that they were a God-fearer… a term used for those who followed the God of Israel, but like Samaritans, they found himself on the margins.
In this case, it wasn’t because of their own religious history, but because of their identity.
Luke tells us the passenger in the carriage was an Ethiopian eunuch – which might not mean a whole lot to us today – so I appreciate Gary DeLashmutt’s more modern description: this was a “sexually altered black man from a pagan country.” [1]
Despite their standing in the court of the queen of Ethiopia, their wealth, and all the power they did possess, this eunuch knew they could not buy a place in the family of God. They understood the barriers.
And yet, we can’t help but ignore that the eunuch is reading the words of the prophet Isaiah – who talked about Ethiopia’s inclusion in God’s blessings (18:1, 45:15) and who shared God’s promise that outcasts like eunuchs and foreigners who kept the Sabbath would be welcomed in God’s family (see chapter 56). They knew how important scripture was in their quest for a relationship with God… even though they were on the fringes of the Jewish faith.
The Holy Spirit brought these two together in this moment and Philip climbs in the carriage to lead a Bible Study. And in this dialogue with Philip, they discovered someone who, according to DeLashmutt, “understood that their standing with God was based not on ethnic identity, moral record, religious heritage, etc.—but through Jesus’ death alone…”
Philip is led by the Holy Spirit to tell this fellow sojourner the good news about Jesus and the eunuch is ready and eager to receive this word and join in the fellowship.
In spite of the lingering suspicion that the answer might be no, when the eunuch and Philip come to a small oasis of water by the side of the road, they ask a heartbreaking question: “What would prevent me from being baptized?”
It is not a demand, it is a humble question of faith from someone who has everything in the world… except for a place in the family of God.
Because they were castrated, this eunuch could never have completed the conversion to Judaism – which would have included circumcision and then baptism.
But if it is the death and resurrection and exaltation of Jesus that brings us salvation, and if this eunuch has taken this message to heart, why should anything stand in their way?
Philip is led by the Holy Spirit to baptize the eunuch and they go on their way rejoicing.
The story of the church began with a small crowd in Jerusalem, but already it is defying our expectations.
Those on the fringes are ready and eager to hear the good news and to join in the community of God’s people.
They might not all respond in the way that we want them to and there are sure to be challenges along the way… but the Holy Spirit is constantly reminding us… we don’t get to control who hears the message.
[1] https://teachings.xenos.org/es/teaching/1484