Acts 8

Read: Acts 8

Here we see that the persecution that the Christians are facing worsens to the point that “all except the apostles were scattered.” This forces the new believers to go to places they normally wouldn’t go. Philip specifically goes to Samaria. Typically, Jews hated the Samaritans; a Jewish man like Phillip would not willingly choose to go there. That’s one reason why it was such counter cultural thing for Jesus to talk to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-26) or tell the story about the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) who helped a man in dire need even when the religious leaders would not. But as we can see the gospel message wasn’t just for the Jews; it was also for the Samaritans and all people.  

Though good things can result from persecution, persecution is never a good thing. I do not believe God ever desires that evil things like that happen. However, I do think he sometimes allows bad things to happen and uses those things to accomplish good in the long run. This is an instance of such a circumstance. Phillip was displaced from Jerusalem and because of it, he had the opportunity to share the message with the people of Samaria.

Phillip’s displacement also put him in the right place at the right time to meet the Ethiopian official. This man is reading a passage from Isaiah 53. The Ethiopian man could have asked many Jewish people about this passage of scripture, but God placed Phillip there because Phillip knew that the passage was talking about Jesus. Phillip was able to share the gospel with the man.  As a result of this interaction, he believed and was baptized. Some historians believe that this Ethiopian man then went back to his homeland and the Ethiopian church began as a result.

As you look at your life right now, what are some things that you are dealing with that are difficult? Maybe it’s not persecution like the early Christians experienced… but whatever it is, God sees your difficulty and he cares about you and whatever you are going through. It may be that God will deliver you from that difficulty; however, he may not. But regardless of what happens, God is more than able to use those difficulties for good. It may be hard to see it right now, but if you trust in him, you will be able to look back one day and see how God was at work through it all.