Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-2)

We last saw Saul in Acts 8:3, where it says that he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. The picture of Saul here in Acts 9 is of an angry, violent man absolutely convinced of his own righteousness. Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Notice that Saul hated the disciples of the Lord.

This angry man went to the high priest to get approval for further attacks. Saul did his persecuting work under the direct approval of the highest religious authorities. He asked and received letters from the high priest authorizing his mission.

The high priest mentioned here was Caiaphas. In December 1990 an ossuary (a bone box) was discovered in Jerusalem. It was inscribed with the name of this Caiaphas and positively dated to this period. Inside were discovered some of the remains of a 60-year-old man, whom many researchers believe was this same Caiaphas. If true, these are the first physical remains (such as bones or ashes) of a specific person mentioned in the New Testament.

Here Saul continued and expanded this work to the city of Damascus, about 130 miles or 210 kilometers northeast of Jerusalem – a six-day journey altogether. Saul was willing to sacrifice to attack Christians. His intention was to travel to Damascus, look for any who were of the Way – that is, any who were followers of Jesus. This shows there was a Christian community large enough in Damascus to be concerned about. Christianity – the Way – was spreading everywhere.

Many years later, Saul remembered his days as a persecutor. In Philippians 3:6, Saul (Paul) mentioned how his zeal made him a persecutor. In Galatians 1:13, Paul added more regarding his background: For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.

Many of you know how this story turned out. This angry, violent man who hated Christians and the Messiah they served eventually became a Christian himself. What we read here in Acts 9:1-2 reminds us that Saul wasn’t seeking Jesus when Jesus sought him. We might say that Saul was decided against Jesus when Jesus decided for Saul.

I hope you have decided “for” Jesus – that you have repented and believed, and put your trust in who Jesus is and what He did to rescue you for now and eternity. Just remember that you can only decide for Jesus because He decided for you first; that you can only love Him because He loved you first – even if you’ve sinned greatly against Him as Saul did. His love is that powerful.

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 9

Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-38)

Philip preached Jesus to the man in the chariot, and the man was ready to respond to the good news of who Jesus is and what He did for us. The Spirit of God was at work through the word of God, and it was wonderful. As Philip explained the good news, he probably did as Peter did at Pentecost, giving those who heard an opportunity to respond in faith and be baptized (Acts 2:38).

So, the Ethiopian asked a question: See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? This shows that the Ethiopian did in fact believe, and that he wanted to be baptized to declare his belief. He saw the truth of God and knew that it was for him.

However, Philip insisted that the Ethiopian believe with all his heart before being baptized. In brief and simple words, this describes how we should respond to the gospel: believe with all your heart.

If we only believe with our head and not our heart, it isn’t enough. We may intellectually know that Jesus died for the sins of the world, but do we know in our heart that He died to cleanse our sins?

The man in the chariot did believe. He said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This confession of faith, taken in all that it means, is the essential belief for anyone who will come to God. We must believe in the person of Jesus, in all that He is and has done as Christ. We must believe that He is the Divine Son, and that He is the Son of God sent from the Father to accomplish the salvation of all those who will believe with all their hearts.

When the Ethiopian said “Jesus Christ,” he confessed that Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ). He agreed with his mind and heart that Jesus is the sin-bearing servant that Isaiah described and Jesus fulfilled.

One might ask: How could the man in the chariot know that he really believed with all his heart? The answer isn’t found in measuring percentages of commitment, but in simply trusting and surrendering to Jesus all one is aware of. More areas of trust will become apparent over time; and then we can believe Jesus as we see them.

Have you believed with all your heart? If so, have you received water baptism? Both are important. Each of us should follow the good example of the Ethiopian in Acts 8.

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 8

Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:29-31)

The Holy Spirit directed a servant among the early Christians to leave a successful work in Samaria and go to a desolate wilderness. Once there, Philip saw a chariot carrying an important man – a Jewish man from Ethiopia. This man had an important position in the Queen of Ethiopia’s government and was returning from a visit to Jerusalem.

The Holy Spirit who led Philip to the desert then said to him, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” It took a lot of boldness to do it, but Philip did what the Spirit told him to do. The Ethiopian was a rich man, a man of power, and at least in some way a celebrity. Yet Philip knew he needed Jesus just as much as anyone else.

We often shrink back from speaking boldly about Jesus, and the world lets us know we shouldn’t talk about such things. But the world does not hesitate to preach own message to us. We should be just as bold to the world about Jesus as the world is bold to us about sin.

Coming near, Philip heard him reading because it was common in the ancient world to read aloud. Listening, Philip knew the Ethiopian was reading the prophet Isaiah.

Philip knew God gave him an open door, a prepared heart. Plainly, God had arranged this meeting. Philip was effective as an evangelist because he knew how to flow with what the Holy Spirit wanted to do. He was truly led by the Spirit, not by his own whims and feelings.

Philip then asked an important question: “Do you understand what you are reading?” It was good for the Ethiopian to read the Bible, but unless understanding was brought to him, there was little benefit from his reading. But God had brought someone (Philip) to bring understanding.

The Ethiopian man answered, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” This is the proper question of anyone who wants to understand the Bible. We should never feel bad if we need to be taught before we can understand many things.

Here are two principles to understand your Bible better. First, find good teachers. It is wonderful when we come to understand the great truths of Bible on our own, but this passage shows us that God also has a place and a purpose for teachers among the followers of Jesus.

Second, to get more understanding from our Bibles, we must plunge in. Butterflies wander over the flowers in the garden and accomplish nothing, but bees plunge right down into the flower, and they carry away essential food. We won’t get anything if we just hover over our Bibles; we must dive right in.

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 8

Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” (Acts 8:24)

Simon was a sorcerer among the Samaritans, and in some way he responded to the message preached by Philip and others. Yet, the way Simon acted (Acts 8:18-19) and the way Peter rebuked him (Acts 8:20-23) showed there was something insincere and incomplete in Simon’s faith in and surrender to Jesus.

We see something else not-quite-right with Simon in Acts 8:24: he refused to humble himself before God and truly repent. Instead, he avoided responsibility for his sin – and did it with spiritual-sounding words.

When Peter confronted Simon, he said pray to the Lord for me, that none of these things come upon me. Instead of genuinely humbling his heart before God, Simon asked Peter to pray he would be spared the consequences of his sin. This shows Simon felt a true conviction from the Holy Spirit but was not yet willing to humble his own heart before God. Peter could pray to the Lord for Simon, but he couldn’t humble Simon’s heart for him.

The door of repentance and getting right with God was open to Simon if he would take it – but Peter could not do it for him. A few verses before, Peter boldly challenged Simon: repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you (Acts 8:22). Peter told Simon “pray God” and Simon asked Peter, “pray for me.”

When Simon asked Peter, “please pray for me,” it was a way to ask Peter to do something, instead of Simon doing something himself.

Always remember that the preacher can’t believe for you, nor can he repent for you. After all, the preacher has enough repenting to do on his own account! The preacher can pray for you, but you better also pray for yourself – as Peter told Simon to do.

We don’t know what became of Simon. Church tradition says that he continued down a bad path and later became a dangerous false teacher among the early Christians. We don’t know how accurate those traditions are; it is possible that Simon did repent and get his heart right with God.

When we feel convicted by the Holy Spirit, it’s common to evade the responsibility of doing something about the sin He speaks to us about. If the Holy Spirit speaks to me about pride, it’s easy for me to start seeing pride in other people, and feeling they should repent of it.

Like the situation with Simon, it’s possible that when I need to humbly pray to God with a repentant heart instead I ask someone else to pray for me.

Today, take responsibility for your walk with God and growth in Jesus. If the Holy Spirit speaks a word of correction to you, don’t pass it off on someone else.

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 8

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:18-19)

God was moving among the people of Samaria. The good news finally extended past Jerusalem and Judea and had now come to the Samaritans. It first came to Samaria through Philip, but eventually the apostles Peter and John came to see what God was doing. As they taught and served the Samaritans, they also prayed that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Someone named Simon – who was a sorcerer – also believed, but his discipleship was rather superficial. He noticed that when Peter and John laid hands on those who believed, they received the Holy Spirit. Perhaps there was some outward evidence of this giving of the Holy Spirit. Whatever happened, it impressed Simon.

Simon the (hopefully former) sorcerer wanted the same ability to lay hands on people, pray for them, and have them receive the Holy Spirit. He wanted it enough that he offered them money for the ability.

In this, Simon thought that the Holy Spirit was merely a power that could be bought or sold. He wanted to control the working of the Spirit and he regarded the Holy Spirit as a power he could use as he wanted. That isn’t how the Holy Spirit of God works. He isn’t an impersonal power; the Holy Spirit is a Person who lives in us and rules the believer’s life. He wanted this so anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit: Simon did not really desire the Holy Spirit for himself, but the ability to impart the power of the Holy Spirit to others at his will. This would give him much spiritual authority.

Through Christian history, this man Simon inspired the term “simony.” Simony is the word for the sin of buying or selling church offices or privileges, because to buy or sell such spiritual things works in the same spirit as this Simon. This sin was common in church history and is still sometimes practiced today.

But even when they don’t formally buy or sell church offices or privileges, many people still think and act like this Simon. I can think of at least two ways some today follow Simon:

Simon wanted to use God’s power to make him powerful and successful. Many people today have that kind of “transactional” relationship with God. They will obey and serve God if it means God will give them what they want.

Simon either forgot or never knew that the Holy Spirit is a Person, not just a power. We don’t “control” the Holy Spirit and use Him as we want. We surrender ourselves to God’s Spirit and He uses us as He wants.

Today, receive the Holy Spirit – surrender yourself to Him, instead of trying to “use” Him for what you think you want.

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 8