Philip’s evangelism

“Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them.” (1) This Philip is not the apostle Philip, but one of the seven men (deacons) selected in Acts 6:5. In the list of the seven men, his name appears second after Stephen. He was a Hellenistic Jew, which made him more open-minded than the Hebraic Jews. Like Stephen, he was endowed with the gift of evangelism. He stayed close to the apostles and had authority delegated to him by them. “And they brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them” (Acts 6:6). (2) “Philip went down to the city of Samaria.” (a) The journey from Jerusalem to Samaria is a descent in terms of terrain. (b)  The city of Samaria here is not the Old Testament Samaria (Sebaste), which had become a Greek city by that time. This is Neapolis (Shechem), which had become the center of Samaritan worship. (c) At that time, Jews and Samaritans were in a hostile relationship. (3) He “began proclaiming the Christ to them.” The focus of Philip’s message was Christ, who was already known in the city of Samaria.

The signs performed by Philip

“The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed or limped on crutches were healed.” (1) Philip’s evangelism was accompanied by supernatural phenomena. (a) Signs generally accompanied the ministry of the apostles, but Stephen and Philip had been delegated authority by the apostles. God validated Philip’s message with signs. (b) The crowds found Philip’s signs compelling. For those who presuppose that miracles do not occur, this passage might be difficult to believe. However, if God exists, supernatural phenomena are possible. (2) The signs included the following: (a) unclean spirits were cast out. (b) Many who were paralyzed or limped on crutches were healed. This follows the same pattern as in Acts 2:43 and Acts 3:9-10. “So there was much rejoicing in that city.” The gospel brings great joy to people (ref. Acts 2:46-47). May our evangelism be accompanied by the same joy also. Let’s pray that God will bless our evangelism greatly and that it will bear abundant fruit.