The big picture
Stephen's burial and the church's scattering are allowed to remain grief and persecution before the chapter shows what the scattering carries. Saul enters houses and drags away believers, while displaced people preach wherever they go. Philip reaches Samaria, where a city that once gave its attention to Simon the sorcerer now hears the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Simon himself believes and is baptized, but his attempt to buy the authority associated with the Holy Ghost exposes how deeply he still misunderstands divine gift. The chapter then changes scale from a city to one traveler. Philip is sent to an Ethiopian official reading Isaiah on a desert road, and the crucial question becomes not whether the words are moving but whom they mean. Philip begins there and announces Jesus. Water appears, the traveler asks what hinders baptism, and the encounter ends with two men moving on in different directions, one preaching and one rejoicing.
Central truth
Scattered believers carry the word into Samaria, and Philip explains Jesus from Isaiah to an Ethiopian official while Peter rejects Simon’s attempt to purchase the Spirit’s gift.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Acts 8:1: “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all…”
Slow down at the turning point
Acts 8:20: “But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.”
Keep this word trail visible
Philip, baptized, eunuch, Jerusalem, Lord, preached
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Acts 8:1-4
Grief, havoc and scattering
Begin with the turn. Saul consents to Stephen’s death, a great persecution breaks out, and the believers are scattered through Judaea and Samaria, which is the second stage of 1:8. Read verse 2 so that Stephen is buried with lamentation; the church grieves its dead. Explain “havock” as violent destruction, entering homes and dragging men and women to prison. Then show verse 4 as the hinge of the chapter: the scattered went every where preaching. Teach it first because the rest of the chapter is what that preaching produced.
Acts 8:5-13
Philip in Samaria
Remind the class who the Samaritans were: a people of mixed descent with their own temple tradition on Mount Gerizim, long estranged from the Jews. Philip, one of the seven, preaches Christ there, and the city has great joy. Then introduce Simon, who had bewitched the people and was hailed as the great power of God. Show the contrast in verses 9 and 12. Note that Simon believed and was baptized, and that the Book of Acts reports this without saying what kind of faith it was. Let the following verses reveal it.
Acts 8:14-17
Peter and John lay on hands
The apostles send Peter and John, who pray for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Ghost, and verse 16 explains that he had not yet fallen on any of them. They lay hands on them and they receive the Spirit. Be careful and fair here. Some traditions see in this a pattern for confirmation, others a later experience of the Spirit, and others a unique moment that joined the Samaritans to the Jerusalem church so no rival church would form. Present these views and leave the text to speak. Everyone agrees the Samaritans were fully received.
Acts 8:18-25
The gift that cannot be bought
Simon sees the Spirit given and offers money for the power to give it. Explain that the later word simony, the buying of church office, comes from him. Read Peter’s words in full, because they are fierce: thy money perish with thee. Then show the call to repent and pray, and Simon’s reply asking the apostles to pray for him. The Book of Acts does not tell us what became of him. Teach the danger of treating God’s gifts as a source of power or profit, and keep the door Peter left open.
Acts 8:26-35
A reader on the desert road
Now the scene narrows to one man on a lonely road. Explain that the official was a high treasury officer of Candace, the title of the queen of Ethiopia, and that he had travelled to worship in Jerusalem. As a eunuch he would have been kept out of parts of temple worship by Deuteronomy 23:1, so read Isaiah 56:3-5 alongside, the promise to eunuchs who hold fast God’s covenant. He is reading Isaiah 53, and Philip runs to the chariot. Show that the official’s question and Philip’s beginning at the same scripture are the model of the passage.
Acts 8:36-40
See, here is water
The official sees water and asks “what doth hinder me to be baptized?” Read verse 37, the confession, and explain plainly that the King James includes it and that some early manuscripts lack it, so learners are not surprised by other Bibles. Then they go down into the water and he is baptized. Traditions differ on the mode of baptism, and this verse is read in more than one way, so do not settle it. Philip is caught away, and the official goes on rejoicing toward the uttermost part of the earth.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
“Simon believed and was baptized, so he must have been saved and then lost it.”
Verse 13 says Simon believed and was baptized, and verses 20-23 say his heart was not right before God and that he was in the bond of iniquity. Christians reconcile these differently: some see a faith that was never real, others a believer in grave sin, others a loss of grace. The Book of Acts does not resolve it and says nothing of his end. Teach what is plain: wonder at signs is not the same as a heart right with God.
“The Samaritans had not really believed, because they did not have the Spirit yet.”
Verse 12 says they believed Philip’s preaching and were baptized, and verse 14 says Samaria had received the word of God. The delay in verse 16 is explained only by the words as yet he was fallen upon none of them. Traditions read the delay as confirmation, a second experience, or a unique bridge between peoples. None of those readings needs to cast doubt on the Samaritans’ faith, and the text does not.
“Peter cursed Simon with no hope of forgiveness.”
Peter’s words in 8:20 are severe, but in 8:22 he says “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” The word perhaps expresses urgency, not a closed door. Simon’s reply in 8:24 asks for prayer. Teach the severity as the measure of the danger and the call to repent as the measure of God’s mercy.
“The Ethiopian could not understand Scripture because he was a foreigner.”
He needed a guide, as he says in 8:31, and so do most readers. He had travelled to Jerusalem to worship, owned a scroll of Isaiah and was reading it aloud, and he asks a sharp question in 8:34. The difficulty is the passage itself, which needs Jesus to explain it, as Luke 24:27 shows the risen Jesus doing for his own disciples. Honour the official as a serious reader.
Learning objectives
- Trace how persecution moves witnesses beyond Jerusalem.
- Contrast Philip’s proclamation with Simon’s previous self-promotion.
- Describe the apostles’ role in the Samaritans’ reception of the Spirit.
- Identify the wrong assumption behind Simon’s offer.
- Explain the official’s question about Isaiah’s suffering figure.
- Trace the official’s response from guided reading to baptism and joy.
Teacher preparation
- Read Acts 7:58–8:4; retain the grief and violence behind the geographical expansion rather than calling persecution a pleasant opportunity.
- Map Samaria, the Jerusalem-Gaza road, Azotus, and Caesarea using the places Acts 8 names.
- Gloss “haling” in 8:3 as dragging and “Esaias” in 8:28 as Isaiah; explain the official’s treasury responsibility without sensationalizing his status as a eunuch.
- Read Isaiah 53:7–8 beside Acts 8:32–35; prepare to start where the official is actually reading.
- Mark the KJV confession in 8:37 and compare the order of events in Acts 8:12–17 with 10:44–48 before making a universal formula.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Read Acts 8:4–8, 12: scattered believers preach, Philip proclaims Christ, and Samaritans believe and are baptized.
Scripture-supported
Compare Acts 8:32–35 with Isaiah 53:7–8: Philip begins with the official’s passage and preaches Jesus.
Strong inference
Infer from Acts 8:14–17, 25 that Jerusalem and Samaria are joined in shared apostolic witness rather than presented as rival churches.
Possible or traditional reading
Explain that some read Acts 8:14–17 as a pattern for a subsequent reception of the Spirit, while others emphasize this particular expansion to Samaria; compare Acts 10:44–48 before universalizing the sequence.
Limit
State that Acts 8:24 gives Simon’s request, not his eventual destiny, and 8:39 does not describe the official’s later ministry or claim that he founded a national church.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What continues when believers are scattered from Jerusalem?
What a good answer contains
The word goes with them. Verse 1 says the believers were “all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles”, and verse 4 says “they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” Ordinary believers, not the Twelve, carry it first. A good answer also keeps verse 2, the great lamentation over Stephen, because grief and witness travel together. A weak answer turns persecution into a neat strategy and forgets the cost.
Show teacher guidance
Read 8:1–5. Expect proclamation by scattered believers, not only the apostles; preserve the lamentation in 8:2.
2. How does Simon’s earlier reputation differ from Philip’s message?
What a good answer contains
Simon pointed to himself. He was “giving out that himself was some great one” (8:9), and the people called him “the great power of God” (8:10). Philip pointed away from himself, preaching “the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ” (8:12). A strong answer sees that the contrast is not only true power against false power but self-display against proclamation. A weak answer reduces the difference to who had better miracles.
Show teacher guidance
Compare 8:9–12. Simon advertises his own greatness; Philip announces God’s kingdom and Jesus’ name.
3. What does Simon actually try to buy?
What a good answer contains
Not a blessing for himself but a power over others. He says “Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost” (8:19). He wants to be able to confer the Spirit, as he once held the city’s attention by sorcery. A good answer sees that he treats God’s gift as a technique to control. A weak answer imagines a sincere donation to the apostles’ work, which Peter’s response rules out.
Show teacher guidance
Use 8:18–20: authority to confer the Holy Ghost through laying on hands. Do not reduce his offer to ordinary support for ministry.
4. Why does Peter’s rebuke reach beyond the money itself?
What a good answer contains
Because the money shows the heart. Peter says he “thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” (8:20), that “thy heart is not right in the sight of God” (8:21), and that he is “in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” (8:23). Yet he also says “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God” (8:22). A strong answer keeps both the severity and the door left open.
Show teacher guidance
Read 8:20–23. The issue includes treating God’s gift as purchasable and a heart not right before God; retain the call to repent.
5. What question opens the official’s conversation about Isaiah?
What a good answer contains
Philip’s own: “Understandest thou what thou readest?” (8:30). The official answers “How can I, except some man should guide me?” (8:31) and then asks the question that matters, “of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?” (8:34). Philip “began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (8:35). A good answer sees humility on both sides: an honest reader and a guide who begins where the reader is.
Show teacher guidance
Use 8:30–35: he needs help understanding whom the prophet describes. Guide answers toward the suffering figure and Philip’s explanation of Jesus.
6. What surrounds the official’s baptism in the KJV account?
What a good answer contains
Preaching, a request, a confession and joy. Jesus is preached from Isaiah (8:35), the official sees water and asks what hinders him (8:36), Philip answers “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest” and he confesses “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (8:37). They go down into the water, he is baptized, and he goes on his way rejoicing (8:38-39). Note that some early manuscripts lack verse 37; the King James includes it, so teach it.
Show teacher guidance
Trace 8:35–39: Jesus is proclaimed, water is noticed, belief is confessed, baptism occurs, and the official continues rejoicing; do not skip 8:37.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Evaluate a fictional promise that a payment guarantees spiritual power; let Peter’s answer in 8:20 dismantle the offer.
Relationships and community
Plan a reading conversation that starts with a newcomer’s actual question rather than an expert’s preferred lecture.
One reader still matters
Compare the significance given to Samaria’s crowds and the solitary official; design a teaching schedule that makes room for both.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Scattered
Read 8:1-4 and take question one. Mark Judaea and Samaria on the map from chapter 1.
Philip and Simon
Read 8:5-13 and take question two. Write Simon’s claim and Philip’s message side by side.
The Spirit and the money
Read 8:14-25. Present the readings of 8:16 fairly, then take questions three and four.
On the desert road
Read 8:26-35 and take question five. Read Isaiah 53:7-8 slowly.
See, here is water
Read 8:36-40 and take question six, noting what the King James includes in 8:37.
Handout and prayer
Read the key verse together and pray for someone who is reading the Bible and needs a guide.
90 minutes
Opening
Ask the group who first explained the Bible to them, and how. Keep the answers for the desert road.
Scattered
Read 7:58-8:4. Take question one and give time to the grief in 8:2.
Philip and Simon
Read 8:5-13 and John 4:9 on Jews and Samaritans. Take question two and the confusion about Simon’s faith.
The Spirit given
Read 8:14-17. Take the confusion about the Samaritans and set out the traditions’ readings of the delay without choosing.
Not for sale
Read 8:18-25. Take questions three and four and the confusion about Peter’s curse.
On the desert road
Read 8:26-35 with Isaiah 53:7-8 and Isaiah 56:3-5. Take question five and the confusion about the foreign reader.
See, here is water
Read 8:36-40 and take question six. Explain the manuscript note on 8:37 calmly.
Handout and prayer
Read the key verse together and invite each learner to name one passage they would like help to understand.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Set up two chairs as a chariot and let a child read a short line from Isaiah while another runs alongside and asks, do you understand what you are reading. Show how Philip told him about Jesus and he was so glad he went home rejoicing. Explain Simon simply: he wanted to buy God’s power, and Peter said God’s gifts are not for sale.
Youth
Ask them who they would ask if they found a hard passage in the Bible. Give them 8:30-35 as a pattern for reading together, and let them try it in pairs with a short verse. Compare Simon wanting power for his own name with Philip pointing to Jesus. Keep the question of the Spirit in 8:16 open and fair if it comes up.
Adults
Trace how the gospel crosses two boundaries in one chapter: to the Samaritans and to a eunuch from Africa who could not fully enter the temple. Read Isaiah 56:3-5 together. Present the readings of 8:14-17 fairly and let people speak from their own traditions with respect. Discuss what it looks like today to treat spiritual gifts or influence as something to buy or sell.
One to one
This chapter suits one to one reading, since Philip and the official are a pair. Ask the person what part of the Bible they find hardest, and read it together, beginning, as Philip did, where they are. If they ask about baptism, point to 8:36-38 and to their own church’s practice. End by asking what would make them go on their way rejoicing.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Acts 8
The passage in brief
After Stephen’s death the believers are scattered by persecution, and everywhere they go they preach the word. Philip preaches Christ in Samaria and many believe. A magician named Simon tries to buy the power to give the Holy Spirit, and Peter tells him God’s gift cannot be bought and calls him to repent. Then an angel sends Philip to a desert road where an official from Ethiopia is reading Isaiah. Philip explains that the passage is about Jesus, and the man is baptized and goes home rejoicing.
A verse to keep
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
Acts 8:35 · King James Version
Questions to take home
What did the scattered believers do in 8:4?
What did Simon want to buy, and why was it wrong?
What question did the official ask about Isaiah in 8:34?
This week
Read one passage of the Bible with another person this week and talk about what it says about Jesus.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
