"Peregrinatio Pauli" by Jodocus Hondius from a reprint
of"Hakluytus Posthumus" by Samuel Purchas, 1625
of"Hakluytus Posthumus" by Samuel Purchas, 1625
Luke intertwines accounts of Peter in Judea, Phillip in Samaria, and Paul in parts beyond to paint a picture of the growth of the Church, but the recorded exploits of these men (however extraordinary) represent only a fraction of the activities hinted at by the book of Acts. Many activities are attributed to ordinary believers like Stephen and Phillip who were in no way professional Christians. Only the apostles seemed to have held special status in the Church and depended on the gifts of believers. Believers like us fulfilled the roles of evangelist and missionary as well as prophet, elder, counselor, and comforter. This was especially true after the believers dispersed throughout Judea and Samaria following the stoning of Stephen.
Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” [...] On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. [...] Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 6.8-14; 8.1; 8.4)
Phillip displayed astonishing initiative in Samaria that bordered on presumption. He had the faith to perform miraculous healings though no one specifically granted him this authority, and he preached the Gospel to semi-Gentiles, whom he also baptized as believers without requiring their explicit embrace of strict Judaism (conversion of Samaritans to strict Judaism in any case required only baptism since Samaritans already observed their own rite of circumcision). Rather than condemn Phillip’s actions, the apostles affirmed and extended them, praying that these new believers also receive the Holy Spirit and carrying the Gospel to even more cities in the region. Phillip’s baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch further extended the principle of inclusion because this man was barred from full acceptance as a convert to Judaism owing to his castration.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8.5-8; 14-17)
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. […] Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. (Acts 8.26-31;35-38)
This brings us to the baptism of the Roman Centurion and the God-fearing Gentiles that met in his house. The men could have been circumcised, but they weren’t. Nevertheless, when the Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his companions, Peter concluded that there was nothing more to add except the formal sign of acceptance into the body of Christ. Questioned about this baptism of uncircumcised Gentiles into the body of Christ, Peter relates how God had spoken to him in a vision just prior to receiving the message from Cornelius. We learn later that this was not the end of the matter, for it resurfaced at Antioch and in Galatia
The following day [Peter] arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. (Acts 10.24−48)
The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story. […] When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”(Acts 11.1-4;18)
Phillip and Peter not only accepted Samaritan and Gentile believers as brothers and sisters in Christ, they fellowshipped with them. The acceptance of food and lodging from Samaritan converts was not, strictly speaking, objectionable to observant Jews, because converts were held in high regard. However, consorting with uncircumcised Gentiles was clearly offensive to most Jews of the period, primarily because any food they might offer was almost certainly unclean. The ministry of Jesus among the Samaritans, Phoenicians and Greeks was unusual in this respect, as was his regard for women and people of inferior social status.
Note: Neither Scripture nor the Talmud support the judgment that Simon the Tanner practiced an “unclean” profession. Leviticus only proscribes contact with animal carcasses in the sense of animals not killed by hunting or sacrifice. Otherwise, no meat would be clean. This explains why dried fish (such as fed to the five thousand) was commonly consumed throughout Israel
