Tag Archives: Acts 8

Daily Bible Study

November 14, 2023 Bible Study — Do Not Resist the Holy Spirit

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 7-8.

Reading today’s passage I noticed that when Stephen is responding to his accusers he points out that the Israelites had rejected Moses when he first tried to rescue them from the Egyptians, before he fled to Midian.  I never noticed that before, primarily because I have always read that part of the Exodus account as Moses acting before God’s time.  Stephen goes on to speak about how the Israelites later rejected Moses when he was on Mount Sinai.  Stephen used this to illustrate the way in which the Israelites resisted the Holy Spirit.  We must be careful to not make the mistake of thinking Stephen’s message about resisting the Holy Spirit applies only to the Israelites, or only to Jews.  Stephen’s message is one we should take to heart as we examine ourselves to see in what ways we may be resisting the working of the Holy Spirit today.  And perhaps the way we most resist the working of Holy Spirit is by our unwillingness to echo Stephen’s final prayer, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

November 14, 2021 Bible Study — An Example Of Boldly Preaching In Jesus’ Name

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 7-8.

Yesterday I wrote about how the Believers prayed for boldness to preach in Jesus’ name in the face of threats.  The passage ended with Stephen being arrested for doing just that.  Today’s passage begins with Stephen’s trial.  There he even more boldly testifies about Jesus by tying the numerous times when the Israelites refused to obey God’s commands with the Sanhedrin calling for Jesus to be crucified.  As he was dying Stephen did two things which recall Jesus’ death on the cross.  Just as Jesus had called upon God to Receive His spirit as He died, so Stephen asked Jesus to receive his spirit.  Then, Stephen prayed that God not hold the sin of murdering him against those doing so, just as Jesus had prayed for God to forgive those who crucified Him. This represents a model we should strive to emulate as we face death, whether from the hands of men or from natural causes.  I want to note that the group which stoned Stephen to death was the same group which a few months earlier took Jesus before Pilate because they did not have the legal authority to condemn Him to death.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

November 14, 2020 Bible Study Confrontation Vs Gentle Guidance, Which Approach Is Called For?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 7-8

So, now we have Stephen, the first martyr and another confrontational character.  First he got into an argument with members of the Synagogue of Freed Slaves.  When those men could not defeat his logic, they got some people to lie about what Stephen had said (sound familiar).  On the basis of these lies about what he had said, Stephen was arrested.  Then instead of responding to the allegations, Stephen began preaching to the council.  His sermon was even more confrontational than the two sermons by Peter I talked about two days ago.  Stephen accused those to whom he was speaking of deliberately disobeying God’s law.  He did not back down from this confrontational approach even as they stoned him to death.

I want to take a close look at Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, especially how it contrasts with Stephen’s approach (and why).  Philip was led to take the road from Jerusalem to Gaza.  As he was walking along he observed the eunuch traveling by chariot.  Again we are told that he was led to approach him.  When Philip heard the eunuch reading the Scripture, he asked him if he understood what he was reading.  Philip then began explaining the good news about Jesus.  Philip is not confrontational.  Why? Well, the eunuch was seeking answers, he knew that he did not know.  Both Stephen and Peter were preaching to audiences who thought that they knew the answers.  So, when speaking to those confident of their righteousness, we must confront them about their sinfulness, but when speaking to those seeking God, we should meet them where they are and show them the path from there to salvation. The challenging part is knowing the difference.

Daily Bible Study

November 14, 2019 Bible Study — Two Different Examples of Planting the Seed of the Gospel

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 7-8

I think that it is important for us to look at Stephen as described here.  He did not back down from confrontation.  In fact, when he was standing trial before the Sanhedrin, he called them out for having Jesus crucified and compared that action to the ways in which the prophets of old had been killed.  Stephen accused to members of the Sanhedrin of hypocrisy and idolatry.  He made no attempt to defuse the situation.  Instead, he called men who considered themselves exemplars of righteousness persecutors of the righteous.  Luke’s account seems to suggest that Stephen’s testimony here served to radicalize Saul against the Church, leading Saul to persecute Believers.  Of course, Saul’s pursuit of that persecution led to his encounter with Christ, which resulted in his conversion.  We are not always called to calm passions, sometimes we are called to inflame them.

I love the account given here of Philip.  It shows that while Philip was appointed to the same office in the Church as Stephen the ministry to which he was called was different.  In particular, I want to look at his encounter with the Ethiopian.  This was essentially a chance encounter, although Luke makes clear that there are no such things as chance encounters.  Philip was walking along the road when he heard the Ethiopian reading Scripture out loud.  I suspect that was what clued Philip to the idea that the Ethiopian might be receptive to the Gospel.  It seems likely that the Ethiopian was reading out loud in an attempt to better understand what he was reading.  Whatever the case, Philip took the opportunity to show how the passage which the Ethiopian was reading was fulfilled in Jesus.  We, also, should take advantage of chance encounters to preach the Gospel.

Daily Bible Study

November 14. 2018 Bible Study — Witnessing the Holy Spirit at Work

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 7-8.

    When Stephen was arrested and put on trial he recounted the history of the Jewish people. He pointed out how God had selected them as the descendants of Abraham, but that they had again and again rejected God’s commands. He infuriated them by telling them that they were just like their ancestors who had persecuted and killed the prophets sent by God. Their response to Stephen was to prove him right by killing him. Despite the terribly painful method by which they killed him Stephen begged God to forgive them of this sin. There are those today who would accuse Stephen of hate speech for what he said, but it was those who stoned him to death who demonstrated true hate. While Stephen called those he spoke to out for their sin, he did not hate them. Rather he hoped that they would repent and turn from their sin. Let us seek to model Stephen’s love.

    I have always had a special place in my heart for the stories of Philip’s ministry told here. After the death of Stephen, and the persecution which followed, Philip went to Samaria and preached there. Many believed the message which Philip preached because of the miracles he performed. One of those who came to Christ because of Philip was the man tradition names Simon the Sorcerer. Apocryphal tales tell us that he fell away from the faith after his confrontation with Peter, but I believe that a careful reading of Luke’s account here suggests otherwise. The way I read this passage, Simon was a con-man who used magician’s tricks to make people think that he had supernatural powers. Simon followed Philip around and became a believer when he realized that Philip was not using tricks the way that he did. When he saw people receiving the Holy Spirit when Peter laid his hands on them he became so excited that he attempted to buy the power to do the same. I believe that when Peter rebuked him for this, Simon realized his error and truly repented. Part of Simon’s attempt to purchase this power was a desire for the prestige which would come from being able to do so. But part of it was a genuine desire to see more people receive the Holy Spirit.

    Then we have the story of Philip speaking with the Ethiopian eunuch. When Philip overheard him reading the prophet Isaiah, he approached him and asked if he understood what he was reading. I have long pictured the eunuch reading the passage silently, then repeating it out loud to try to make sense of it. In any case, when Philip approached him he invited Philip to explain what he was reading. Philip took this opportunity to show how the Old Testament prophets pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. Once the eunuch understood Philip’s message about Christ, he asked to be baptized. Philip did so immediately. I think that all too often today we squelch the enthusiasm of new believers by delaying baptism until they have gone through classes or other delays for us to be sure that their faith is genuine. In this story, immediately after Philip baptized the eunuch The Holy Spirit took Philip elsewhere and the eunuch never saw him again. Yet tradition says that this eunuch founded the Church in Ethiopia (a tradition which I am inclined to believe).

Daily Bible Study

November 14, 2017 Bible Study — The Believers Prayed For Boldness, and God Answered

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 7-8.

    When Stephen was put on trial he did not answer the charges directly. Instead, he recounted an abridged version of the history of the Israelites. Stephen’s speech is an example of God fulfilling the believers’ prayer from a few chapters earlier. He was indeed bold in proclaiming the Gospel, and no more tactful than Peter had been in his earlier speeches. Stephen accused the Sanhedrin of betraying and murdering the Messiah, and further of having the Law but not obeying it. Then when Stephen looked up to Heaven and declared that he saw the Son of Man standing next to God they could take no more. They rushed Stephen, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Now, I have never experienced being stoned, but I have been hit by a rock thrown at me. Which makes Stephen’s reaction to being stoned remarkable. While he was being stoned Stephen prayed for God to forgive those who were in the act of killing him. Once more I am reminded of the shooting in Texas during the worship service. We should not seek armed guards to protect us from such an incident. Rather, we should pray to God that, if we find ourselves in such a situation, we have the strength to do as Stephen did. Luke’s mention of Saul standing there approving Stephen’s death was not just an interesting detail. He included that to tell us that Stephen’s reaction had far reaching influence.

    I have always paid close attention to the stories about Philip in the Bible (interesting side note, why does Luke not distinguish between Philip the Apostle and Philip the Deacon?) because I share the name. Actually, despite my fascination with my namesake I am more interested in Simon the Magician in the first of the two stories involving Philip. This Simon was celebrity in Samaria who had used his talents to set himself up as a kind of cult leader. Sometimes we get caught up in the folklore regarding Simon the Magician and miss what really happened. First, he immediately recognized the difference between the miracles which Philip performed and the tricks which he had done. Which led Simon to become a believer along with many others. Then when Peter and John arrived and the Holy Spirit came upon people, Simon wanted that ability. It seems clear to me that Simon wanted the ability to lay on hands and have people receive the Holy Spirit in order to return to the spotlight he had enjoyed before his conversion. However, when Peter reprimanded him for seeking to purchase God’s power, he was immediately contrite. He did not attempt to defend his actions, but instead begged Peter to pray for him.

    I really like the story of Philip and the Ethiopian. First, I like what it tells us about following God’s direction when it comes to winning people to Christ. When I read this account I always wonder if the angel who told Philip to go to that particular road was a supernatural being who appeared to Philip or if it was a more mundane seeming messenger whom Philip described as an angel (the word translated “angel” can also be translated as “messenger”). In either case, I imagine Philip heading along the road wondering what he was supposed to do now when he saw the Ethiopian sitting in his chariot reading a scroll. A little voice in his head told him to go over and see what the guy was reading. I can imagine that because I have had it happen to me, not with the same remarkable results as happened here but nevertheless with results which make it clear that God intended me to be at that place at that moment. However, the key thing about this passage is something to which I think we pay too little attention. When the Ethiopian understood what Philip was telling him, he immediately requested to be baptized in the first body of water they came upon and Philip did so. Philip did not say, “Well, you need to go through membership class first.” Or, “Well, we need to wait for one of the Apostles to do it.” No, Philip took the eunuch over to the water and baptized him. We should do the same.