Acts 8:2-20 BSB

Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments - Acts 8:1-40

Acts 8:1 . At that time there was a great persecution against the church. With regard to this very tremendous storm which suddenly burst on the infant church, Cardinal Baronius, in his Ecclesiastical Annals, gives us an extract from a discourse of Dorotheus, a priest of Antioch, written in the second century, who states that two thousand persons were at this time massacred in Jerusalem, and in Judea; and that their bodies were mangled, and exposed in the fields to be devoured by vultures... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:1-8

Acts 8:1-8And Saul was consenting to his death.Three great figures in the ChurchI. The persecuting Saul. In this part of the narrative the name of Saul occurs three times (Acts 7:58; Acts 8:1; Acts 8:3). How quick the development and how sure! First of all, he watched the clothes of the men who stoned Stephen; then he expressed in every feature of his face satisfaction at the martyr’s death; and then he took up the matter earnestly himself with both hands. He struck the Church as it had never... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:2

Acts 8:2And devout men carried Stephen to his burial. The burial of StephenI. The devout men exemplified--1. The constancy of Christian friendship. They did not need the sound of his voice and the echo of his steps to remind them of the duties they owed to him. The friendships induced by Christianity are the firmest and most enduring. Our friend may be no longer on earth, but he lives with Christ and so is still ours.2. The heroism of Christian friendship. These men were in danger of sharing... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:3

Acts 8:3As for Saul, he made havoc of the Church.The smiter smittenRead and compare the following passages, the text and Acts 14:19; Acts 9:1; Acts 23:12; Galatians 1:13 and 2 Corinthians 11:23; Acts 26:10; Acts 16:23; Ezekiel 18:25 and Galatians 6:7. All these experiences were undergone by the same man--the persecutor was persecuted; he who breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the saints was himself pursued by the vengeance of furious men. Note, then--I. That a man’s life comes back... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:4

Acts 8:4Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word.The aggressive power of ChristianityThat it is pre-eminently by aggressive movements that the Church is to prosper. By this means she is to maintain spiritual life in her own soul--cause religion to flourish at home, and extend its triumphs abroad.1. The truth of this doctrine is suggested by the first impulses of the religious principle--the spirit of love in every Christian’s bosom. False religionists, both... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:5-8

Acts 8:5-8Then Philip wont down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them.Philip at SamariaI. The preacher--“Philip.”1. His native place--“Caesarea,” most likely.2. His official status--“Evangelist,” and one of the first deacons.3. His new charge--“Samaria.”4. His specific work “Preached.”5. His theme--“Christ.”6. His directness--“Unto them.”He took aim at his audience. He did not take long range at antediluvian iniquity, but poured hot shot and shell into the living iniquities of... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:9-24

Acts 8:9-24But there was a certain man called Simon Simon the Magian unmasked and put to shameThis Simon was the first heretic in the Christian Church, the first to claim its fellowship while out of sympathy with its fundamental truths.His mistakes were many and grievous.1. He began with an unscrupulous ambition. No sooner had Peter and John begun to confer the gifts of spiritual power by the laying on of hands than Simon saw that his own juggleries were cast into the shade. All that he... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:14-25

Acts 8:14-25Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John.The first Church visitationI. The occasion. There is--1. Christian life to be fostered (verse 14).2. A want in the Church to be supplied (verse 16).II. The visitors.1. Peter--apostolic zeal.2. Evangelical tenderness.III. The functions.1. Prayer in the name of the Church (verse 16).2. Imposition of hands in the name of God (verse 17).IV. The effects.1. The... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:17

Acts 8:17Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.ConfirmationAccording to--I. Its origin. No sacramental institution of our Lord, but a time-honoured ordinance of the Church.II. Its import. No substitution for, or repetition of baptism, but a ratification of baptismal confession and grace.III. Its effect. No infallible communication of the Spirit, as here by the apostles, but an incalculable spiritual blessing for susceptible hearts. (K. Gerok.) read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:20-24

Acts 8:20-24But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee.The impotence of moneyI do not know that the age in which Simon lived was especially a commercial age; but whatever may have been its distinctive peculiarity, there cannot be much doubt about ours. There have been successive ages, each of a characteristic type, as, e.g., the age of the shepherds, illustrated in the long centuries of pastoral life in the East; the age of conquest, as depicted in the story of the Persian kings; the... read more

Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments - Acts 8:1-40

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:1-8

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:2

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:3

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:4

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:5-8

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:9-24

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:14-25

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:17

The Biblical Illustrator - Acts 8:20-24

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