Even though the apostles were spreading the gospel all over and they were on fire doing so, they chose to stay in Jerusalem and to stay in the city. They had not done enough there, and needed to do more. That was where their job was, that was where God wanted them to be.
Phillip is being bold in preaching & missionary aspects.
1. A mission fanned by tribulation (verses 1-3)
Verse 1: Saul approved of the execution
Saul was going house to house, ripping Christians from their families and enjoying it - great persecution against the church, causing the Christians to be spread out. But, this instead sped up the process of them being spread out, forced them to go away and thus, spread the gospel. God actually used the persecution to help the people spread out and spread the gospel.
The mission is NOT about Jerusalem and the temple, but it is about CHRIST
Like a bushfire, the more satan tried to stomp it out, the bigger the "fire" spread
2. A mission manned by non professionals (verses 1, 4)
The apostles stayed in Jerusalem, meaning that the "ordinary" people were the ones spreading the gospel. It is only with the help of EVERYONE; not just the professionals, that God's word can truly spread everywhere.
The apostles stayed behind because they refused to leave their post. We all have different kinds of jobs - some must stay put, and others must go out.
3. A God that cannot be bribed (verses 5-25)
Samaritans - a different group of people. Phillip first baptised them in the name of the Lord Jesus, but it was only when Peter & John came that the spirit came, that they received the second blessing.
The gospel had just crossed over a huge cultural divide. It was important for the apostles to see that it was the same spirit that was at work, so that the Jerusalem church and the Samaritan church would be one and the same. This incident is unique to the early church.
Simon was wrongly baptised - he thinks about the material value of what Peter and John did. This also applies today, we should not think of what God can do for us.
4. A God that seeks out the outcast (verses 26-40)
There is so much to do in Samaria but yet Phillip was brought to the desert. Sometimes God will bring us down seemingly useless paths but God knows what is happening, God has a plan.
This is the first incident of personal conversion. This was the edge of the known world during the time, and only the very rich and powerful rode in chariots. He was an eunuch, a willing servant for the queen. It seems like he was a powerful man with high influence and a lot of money, but empty inside.
Eunuchs are not called to enter the temple (Deuteronomy laws prevent "unclean" from entering). He must have travelled so far only to be denied entrance - this must have been so humiliating for him but yet he did not give up. The verse says that he was reading Isaiah 53:7-8. This would have been the perfect verse because it completely related to his situation. Phillip might have showed him Isaiah 56:5, just a few chapters forward, where it states that eunuchs will be welcomed to the house of God. How awesome for Phillip to show the eunuch that God is seeking him out!
There were no barriers that kept the eunuch from accepting God, as long as they went through the one door called Christ.
Who would be Samaritans for us today? Who are the people we clash with culturally? Who are the eunuchs for us today? Who is unwelcome? It would have baffled the people of that time to see all these different groups of people com together and worship, and they would have had no choice but to admit that it was God at work.
