新约 - 使徒行传(Acts)第8章

And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.
So there was great joy in that city.
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power."
They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.
But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money
and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.
Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.
For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."
When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
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 Candace, 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.
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."
The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
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. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"
[Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." The eunuch answered, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."]
And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
使徒行传第八章   第 8 章 

  司提反殉道所带来的影响 

  徒 8:1-4> 信徒就这样分散去了?你说这样正好?对福音?告诉我…… 

  8:1-4 逼迫使信徒离开耶路撒冷,分散到犹太和撒马利亚──这就成就了耶稣的命令的另一部分。( 1:8 )“逼迫”促成了福音的广传,并产生极大的效果。 

  腓利 

  新约的宣教士及其旅程 

  徒 8:4> 困难、逼迫谁想受?只望快过去,其实真的很苦,主我…… 

  8:4 逼迫使信徒被迫离开他们在耶路撒冷的家园,而福音也随着他们到了不同的地方。我们往往是要等到落入困难之中才会行动起来;谁也不喜欢困难,但困难并非完全不好,神是要通过我们遇到的困难来工作。当你落在困难或痛苦的景况中,想要埋怨时,就要停下来求问神,祂是否要装备你承担特别的工作。 

  腓利的工作 

  徒 8:7> 世上真有那么多污鬼在我们的周围?我好像没见过…… 

  8:7 耶稣在世上时,曾经遇到很多污鬼,并把它们赶出来。污鬼或是邪灵是由撒但统治的,大部分学者相信它们是堕落的天使,与撒但一同起来违抗神。他们能够使人变哑、变聋、变盲或发疯,它们也会引诱人犯罪。污鬼是真正存在的,而且也很活跃,但是耶稣的权能胜过它们,祂也把这权能赐给跟随他的人。尽管神容许撒但在我们的世界里工作,但世界仍完全由神控制着。祂能够赶出污鬼,阻止它们毁坏人的生命。最终撒但和污鬼都要被扔在火湖里,永远结束在世上作恶(参启 20:10 )。 

  徒 8:9-11> 不从神来岂有能力?我们不是这样受教的吗?那该如何解释术士的能力? 

  8:9-11 在初期教会时代,术士和巫师的数目众多,而且很有影响力。他们行奇事、治病、驱魔,又行占星术。这些异能可能只是一些“掩眼法”,或者是被撒但控制而有能力的(参太 24:24 ;帖后 2:9 )。西门行了很多奇事,有些人甚至以为他是弥赛亚,但他的能力并不是从神而来的( 8:18-24 )。 

  徒 8:14> 难道他们不信外邦人也会信主的吗?为何要去查看? 

  8:14 彼得和约翰被派往撒马利亚,查看撒马利亚人是不是真的信了主。犹太信徒,甚至是使徒仍然不能肯定外邦人(非犹太人)及混血犹太人是否也可以领受圣灵。彼得传道给哥尼流的经历( 10 章),足以使使徒们完全相信圣灵是赐给所有人的。 

  8:15-17 这是传扬福音及教会增长一个重要的时刻,使徒彼得和约翰要到撒马利亚去帮助那些初信的信徒,免得他们与其他信徒隔离。当彼得和约翰看到圣灵降临时,他们确信圣灵通过“所有信徒”来工作,外邦人、混血种族与“纯正”的犹太人一样。许多学者相信,神叫圣灵“戏剧化”的降临,是要在这个历史性时刻作一个标志,显明福音藉着充满能力的信徒,传到撒马利亚了。一般情况下,当一个人悔改信主时,圣灵就会进入他的生命,这一次是一件特别的事件。圣灵充满的事也同样发生在哥尼流一家身上( 10:44-47 ),这是作为未受割礼的外邦人也可以领受福音的一个标志。 

  徒 8:18-23> 样样事物都可以用钱买?那个西门也真奇怪,竟想买能力,你不会这样想吧? 

  8:18-23 “凡物皆有价”在我们这个充斥着贿赂、财富和物质主义的世界里似乎是至理名言。西门以为他可以用钱来买到圣灵的能力,却遭彼得重重的责备。领受神能力惟一的方法,就是像彼得告诉西门的做法──离开罪恶,求神赦免,以及被圣灵充满。 

  徒 8:26> 顺服神的旨意,走上不毛之地──如果他不走上呢?为何定要顺服神? 

  8:26 腓利在撒马利亚的传道工作非常成功( 8:5-8 ),然而,他顺服神的旨意,放下在撒马利亚的工作,走到一条荒野路上。由于腓利顺从神的差遣,便打开了埃提阿伯的福音大门。即使神的引导有时候看来使人降卑,你也要跟随。你最初可能不明白祂的计划,但所带出的效果却证明神的道路是正确的。 

  徒 8:29-35> 腓力可真懂得传福音的方法,你可学到其中一二?你看…… 

  8:29-35 腓利发现这个埃提阿伯人正在读圣经,便利用这个机会向他解释福音,问他是否明白自己正在读的经文。腓利( 1 )顺服圣灵的引导;( 2 )从那个人当时的情况(埋首于以赛亚的预言)开始讨论;( 3 )解释耶稣基督如何成就以赛亚的预言。当我们与人分享福音时,我们应该以他目前所关心的事为焦点,然后便可以将福音与他所关心的事联系起来。 

  徒 8:35> 旧约太旧了,不适合现代人的需要──有时我也会这样想的;但真的无用吗? 

  8:35 有些人认为旧约不适合今天的需要,但腓利却用旧约经文带领这个人相信耶稣基督。旧约和新约都是指向耶稣基督的,全本圣经都适合每一个时代的每一个人。我们切勿忽视旧约圣经,因为它也是神的话语。 

  徒 8:39-40> 腓力突然不见了,为传福音给外邦;今天谁人需要主?又有何人去传扬? 

  8:39-40 为什么腓利突然间被送到另一个城市?这个神迹正表明带领外邦人信主的迫切性。今天,我们传福音的对象没有犹太人与外邦人孰重孰轻的区别,却有哪些容易、哪些不容易接受福音的分野。求神赐你一颗明白每一种人都迫切需要福音的心!──《灵修版圣经注释》