Acts 8: 4 “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. 6 The crowds gave their undivided attention to Philip’s message and the signs they saw him perform. 7 With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
9. Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, 10 and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.” 11 They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.”
Yesterday, we spoke about the Samaritans and the reasons that the Jews ostracized them and felt superior to them. This sense of superiority was based on an assumption of ethnic purity as well as purity of religious practices. Now, both of these assumptions could easily be challenged. The Jews went into exile in the first place because they indulged in shameless idol worship of the worst kind, sacrificing their own children. And many of the families that returned with Ezra or Nehemiah were found to have intermarried, so the bloodlines were not that simple. But, the Jews felt superior nonetheless and also refused to have anything to do with Samaritans.
But Jesus had already told the disciples that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8) You might think that once Jesus gave that command, the disciples put away their religious scruples and followed the leading of the Holy Spirit …. and you would be WRONG! Things were comfortable in Jerusalem; okay, the Sanhedrin was unhappy and had arrested and whipped some of the disciples, but really, things weren’t too bad. And then persecution came, and nothing was ever the same again.
Until now, the Christians had been huddling together in Jerusalem, but that was no longer a safe place. When Stephen testified mightily about Jesus and was stoned, severe persecution broke forth. It took persecution to accomplish that command of Jesus. I am sure that at the time, the Christians were horrified and some of them might even have questioned God as to why He was being so unkind. God, on the other hand, had a far bigger purpose in mind than merely having a few thousand believers in Jerusalem. And so the Christians scattered and preached as they went, and Philip found himself in a Samaritan city. When Philip preached, revival broke out, and many of both sexes believed and were baptized.
There are several points to notice in this story:
1. God can use what we call “catastrophe” to accomplish His sovereign purposes. God used this persecution to spread the Gospel.
2. God desires that all people come to know Him. God is not interested in the class or race of a person; Jesus died for all mankind.
3. When given a chance, the Samaritans – these allegedly hard – hearted pagans – responded to the Gospel in large numbers. It’s likely that nobody was more surprised than Philip when all these people began repenting, but he went ahead and baptized these new converts without hesitation.
Today, the world is convulsed by the COVID – 19 pandemic and many people are living in fear. But the questions are these: What is God doing? God is always doing new things, so what is His perfect will for this situation? How does God want us to respond?
Someone has commented that this pandemic has brought out the best in the good people and the worst in the bad people. This is a true statement. A recent Facebook post showed the 96 year old mother of one of our friends enjoying a family encounter via a computer and the Zoom program. The elderly lady in question was in a nursing home, while the family was at their house 25 miles away. Churches have put services on – line so many more people are now accessing them. All kinds of new resources have become available, and can be downloaded free or very cheaply. On the other hand, there have been some horrible racial incidents. Satan is alive and well and continues to use anyone He can.
There is a famous quote Fred Rogers of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” has repeated many times. When Fred was little and he became frightened, his mother would tell him “always look for the helpers.” Today, we should not only look for the helpers, but we should be the helpers and encourage those who are already helping. But more than that, those of us who are Christians should follow Philip’s example. We should tell others about Jesus and allow them to experience the love and peace and joy that we know.
PRAYER: Father God, this morning help us to look for your purposes in everything that is happening around us. We thank you that your hand is not shortened and that you are still on the throne. Help us to trust you and to act in love and not out of fear. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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