New Testament in a Year

8 ^1-2 Some devout men buried Stephen and mourned his passing with loud cries of grief. But Saul, this young man who seemed to be supervising the whole violent event, was pleased by Stephen’s death. That very day, the whole church in Jerusalem began experiencing severe persecution. All of the followers of Jesus—except for the emissaries^[a] themselves—fled to the countryside of Judea and Samaria. ³ Young Saul went on a rampage—hunting the church, house after house, dragging both men and women to prison.

⁴ All those who had been scattered by the persecution moved from place to place; and wherever they went, they weren’t afraid or silent. Instead, they spread the message of Jesus.

⁵ Philip, for example, headed north to the city of Samaria, and he told them the news of the Anointed One. ⁶ The crowds were united in their desire to understand Philip’s message. They not only listened with their ears, but they witnessed miraculous signs with their eyes. ⁷ Unclean spirits cried out with loud screams as they were exorcised from people. Paralyzed people and lame people moved and walked in plain view. ⁸ So the city was swept with joy.

^9-11 There was a fellow named Simon who had a widespread and long-standing reputation as a sorcerer in Samaria. Everyone—not just poor or uneducated people, but also the city’s elite—paid him great respect. Because he had amazed them with his magic, they thought, “This is a truly great man, full of the power of the God of Greatness.” ¹² But they were even more impressed with Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus the Anointed. Both men and women received ceremonial washing through baptism^[b]— ¹³ and even Simon himself became a believer. After his baptism, he shadowed Philip constantly, and he was as amazed as everyone else when he saw great and miraculous signs taking place.

¹⁴ Meanwhile word had reached the Lord’s emissaries^[c] in Jerusalem that the message of God was welcomed in Samaria—a land of half-breeds and heretics in the minds of many Judeans. They sent Peter and John ¹⁵ to pray for the Samaritans. They were especially eager to see if the new believers would receive the Holy Spirit ¹⁶ because until this point they had been baptized^[d] in the name of the Lord Jesus but had not experienced the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ When Peter and John laid hands on the people, the Holy Spirit did indeed come upon them all.

¹⁸ Simon watched all this closely. He saw the Holy Spirit coming to the people when the apostles laid hands on them. So he came to Peter and John and offered them money.

²⁵ Peter and John preached to and talked with the Samaritans about the message of the Lord; and then they returned to Jerusalem, stopping in many other Samaritan villages along the way to proclaim the good news.