Pay Close Atttention

Acts 8:4-8 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
 
FIRST, let’s know who Philip is. We could easily believe he is one of the apostles: John 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Several passages in John tell of Philip’s responses to Jesus’ questions and of his relationship with other disciples. It’s easy to think Philip, the evangelist to Samaria, is one of the Twelve.
   But he’s not. This is Philip who is named with Stephen in
Acts 6:5 They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus… The Holy Spirit had anointed Philip in the same way he had touched Stephen’s life. In Samaria the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
   Four times in this passage Luke mentions Philip’s and the others’ preaching: those who were scattered preached the word wherever they went… the crowds heard Philip…proclaimed the Christ there…they all paid close attention to what he said.
   The healing miracles are extraordinary blessings to the sick and their families, aren’t they? Each of us likely has some condition we pray God will heal. How wonderful it would be to experience this kind of healing in our churches and families!
   But the most important way to expand the gospel is to preach and teach it. When we think of Jesus’ great work on earth, we must first consider his preaching is the core of his purpose: Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” The Holy Spirit anointed Jesus, fully man, to preach the gospel. Jesus’ entire mission on earth would have been fruitless if he had neglected the preaching. Many would have had new physical lives. But no one would have been born into a new life in heaven.
   Philip isn’t one of the Twelve, but he is Jesus’ disciple, obedient to making disciples. He didn’t go to Samaria to become a popular healer. He went to be a faithful gospel witness.
   Apparently the Spirit had given the Samaritans a hunger for the Word. They paid close attention, and we can assume many repented and believed.  
   God is calling his people to himself. Remember from John 4 that Jesus first reveled he is Messiah to a Samaritan woman at a well. The Samaritans were half-blooded Jews, whose ancestors intermarried with the Assyrians, who conquered them. This was God’s justice against the idolatry of his people Israel. Moving the gospel messengers from Jerusalem to Judea – from the city to the towns and villages – and then to Samaria, the long-despised territory – is God’s plan to reveal the gospel first to all of Israel.
   The gospel message requires Spirit-inspired preaching. This is the means for the eternal miracle of salvation. People must pay close attention.