The early Christian, Tertullian, said, ″The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.″⁴ The church scatters out from Jerusalem (Acts 8:1; 11:19) and Saul initiates a thorough search for believers (v. 3). There is nothing here of the open-mindedness of Gamaliel (Acts 5:33-40).

The body of Stephen was treated with respect and his loss was keenly felt (v. 2).

One of those who was scattered was Philip. He went to a city in Samaria. Through God's blessing, great joy came to the city. It is significant that Christian repentance is a turning from sin and a turning to God. In Athens they turn away from idols (Acts 17:34), and in Ephesus from superstitious sorcery (Acts 19:19). The ″turning from″ may vary. Here, the people turn away from the flashy and spectacular magic offered by Simon and turn to the Lord Jesus and all that is involved in His kingdom (v. 12). The proclamation of Christ and His Kingdom is what changes people.

Even Simon the sorcerer, astonished by what he saw, believed, and was baptised (v. 13). (The Samaritans had an unusual experience of the Spirit, dealt with in tomorrow's reading). Simon's motivation for believing, however, is apparently commercial. In verse 18 he offers to pay for the Holy Spirit. He is a reminder to us that not all who profess faith and are baptised are truly converted. A person can look good, have all the trappings, and still be full of bitterness and a captive to sin (v. 23)! Simon's problem was that he understood neither the nature of Jesus' messiahship, nor the person and role of the Holy Spirit. He thought of both as spiritual forces that could be used to gain control of people and make money, a common attitude of the world to ″the force″ of Christianity.

God is about to authenticate true faith in the Samaritan believers (Acts 8:14-17), but at the same time, Peter chastises someone for duplicity (Acts 8:20-23). Peter is exercising this ministry of authentication and exposure, and displaying the authority that Jesus gave him in Matthew 16:19.

⁴ Tertullian, quoted in ″Apology″ 50.14 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992).