Acts 8, Saul Approved Of Their Killing shows that persecution could scatter the followers of Jesus, but it could not stop the Gospel. What looked like a terrible setback became an opportunity for the Word of God to reach new people and new places. Philip preached Christ in Samaria, confronted a heart captive to sin, and was then led to one Ethiopian official who was searching Scripture and ready to hear about Jesus Christ.
Obedience, God’s Covenant, Mercy, Apostles, Saul, Judgment, Impure Spirits, Redemption Plan, Jesus Christ
📖 Acts 8:1 (NIV)
“8 And Saul approved of their killing him.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”
Acts 8 begins with Saul approving of Stephen’s killing and actively destroying the church.
Believers were dragged from their homes and put into prison.
Many were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
But something unexpected happened.
The people who were scattered did not stop speaking about God.
“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”
Philip went to Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah.
People listened, impure spirits came out, the sick were healed, and great joy came to the city.
The Gospel was moving beyond Jerusalem just as Jesus had commanded.
Then Peter and John came to Samaria.
The apostles prayed for the new believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Later, Philip was directed by an angel of the Lord toward a desert road.
There he encountered an Ethiopian official reading Isaiah.
Philip used the very passage the man was reading to explain the good news about Jesus.
The chapter ends with the Ethiopian going on his way rejoicing while Philip continues preaching the Gospel.
Acts 8 shows God’s Redemption Plan moving forward through obedience, even when circumstances appear to be moving backward.
📖 Acts 8:1-4 (NIV)
“8 And Saul approved of their killing him.
“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.”
“4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. “
Saul approved of Stephen’s killing and began destroying the church.
He went from house to house, dragging men and women away and putting them in prison.
This introduces Saul as an opponent of the followers of Jesus.
Yet his presence in this chapter also reminds us that a person’s actions today do not necessarily reveal what God may yet do in that person’s life.
Acts will later show Saul’s story developing in a remarkable direction.
📖 Acts 8:5-9 (NIV)
“5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.”
“9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, “
A great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem.
The believers were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
What appeared to be an attempt to silence the church actually carried the Gospel into places it had not previously reached.
Human beings can create circumstances, but they cannot cancel God’s Redemption Plan.
God can work through circumstances that people intend for harm.
📖 Acts 8:10-12 (NIV)
” 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. “
The scattered believers did not keep silent.
They preached the Word wherever they went.
This is an important lesson about obedience. The Gospel was not limited to one city, one building, or one group of people.
The followers of Jesus carried the message with them.
Sometimes God opens a door by changing our circumstances. The question is whether we will recognize the opportunity and continue to obey.
📖 Acts 8:13-16 (NIV)
“13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.”
“14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Philip went to Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah.
The people heard his message and saw the signs he performed. Impure spirits came out of many people, and those who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
The result was great joy in that city.
Philip did not make the miracles the center of his message. He proclaimed the Messiah.
The signs pointed people toward Jesus Christ.
📖 Acts 8:17-20 (NIV)
“17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”
“18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
“20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!”
Simon had practiced sorcery and had amazed the people of Samaria for a long time.
Many people considered him someone great.
But when Philip proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, people believed and were baptized.
Simon himself believed and was baptized, but his later actions revealed that believing outwardly does not mean every desire of the heart has immediately changed.
📖 Acts 8:21-24 (NIV)
” 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
“24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Simon offered money to receive the ability to give the Holy Spirit to others.
Peter strongly rebuked him.
God’s gifts cannot be purchased with money. Spiritual authority is not a commodity, and God’s work cannot be reduced to something that people buy for personal power.
Peter told Simon to repent and pray, because his heart was not right before God.
This reveals both judgment and mercy.
Sin must be confronted, but repentance remains an opportunity.
📖 Acts 8:25-28 (NIV)
“25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.”
“26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.”
Peter told Simon that he was full of bitterness and captive to sin.
This is deeper than an outward action.
The problem was in the heart.
Acts 8 reminds us that people can become fascinated by power, recognition, influence, or what God can do for them instead of seeking God Himself.
God looks beyond what people see on the outside.
True obedience begins in the heart.
📖 Acts 8:29-32 (NIV)
“29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
“30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.”
“31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”
“32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.”
Peter and John continued proclaiming the Word of the Lord and testifying about Jesus.
Then they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel in many Samaritan villages.
The Gospel was moving outward.
The barriers between people were being crossed.
God’s Covenant and Redemption Plan were reaching beyond the original boundaries of Jerusalem.
Jesus Christ was being proclaimed to people who needed to hear.
📖 Acts 8:33-36 (NIV)
“33
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]”
“34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”
“36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”
Philip was told by an angel of the Lord to go to the desert road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza.
There he found an Ethiopian official sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah.
Philip could have wondered why he was being sent into the desert to meet one person.
But God knew exactly who was on that road.
One person mattered.
The Gospel is never wasted when it reaches one searching heart.
📖 Acts 8:37-40 (NIV)
“[37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”
The Ethiopian official was reading about someone led like a sheep to the slaughter—someone who suffered humiliation, was deprived of justice, and whose life was taken from the earth.
He asked Philip who the prophet was talking about.
Philip began with that very passage and told him the good news about Jesus.
Then the Ethiopian saw water and asked what could stand in the way of being baptized.
He was baptized and went on his way rejoicing.
Philip was then taken away by the Spirit of the Lord and continued preaching the Gospel elsewhere.
The chapter ends with movement—not an ending.
The Gospel keeps going.
Acts 8 demonstrates that God’s Covenant does not depend upon peaceful circumstances.
Persecution scattered the believers, but the Word spread.
Opposition came, but people believed.
Simon revealed a heart captive to sin, yet Peter still called him to repentance.
Philip was sent to Samaria, then to a desert road, and finally continued preaching throughout the towns.
God directed the steps.
The Gospel moved forward.
God’s Covenant remained.
Acts 8 teaches us that obedience means being willing to go where God leads, even when the destination does not immediately make sense.
Philip went to Samaria.
Then he went to a desert road. Then he approached a man he had never met.
Each step mattered.
We also learn that God’s gifts cannot be purchased and spiritual work cannot be used as a way to gain personal power.
God looks at the heart.
And when someone is searching for truth, we should be willing to help them understand what they are reading and point them toward Jesus Christ.
Acts 8 is ultimately about the Gospel of Jesus Christ reaching people.
Philip proclaimed the Messiah in Samaria.
The apostles testified about Jesus.
The Ethiopian official was reading Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the suffering servant, and Philip explained that Scripture through Jesus.
The man believed, was baptized, and went away rejoicing.
The chapter begins with persecution and ends with the Gospel continuing to spread.
Saul approved of Stephen’s killing, believers were scattered, Philip was taken away, and yet God’s Redemption Plan continued moving forward.
People can scatter the church.
People can oppose the Gospel.
And people can misuse God’s gifts.
But no human action can stop what God has determined to accomplish.
The message keeps moving. The Word keeps spreading. And every road of Redemption leads us to Jesus Christ.
