“When the apostles in Jerusalem
received the report that Samaria had accepted God’s Message, they
sent Peter and John down to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
Up to this point they had only been baptized in the name of the
Master Jesus; the Holy Spirit hadn’t yet fallen on them. Then the
apostles laid their hands on them and they did receive the Holy
Spirit.” Acts 8:14-17, The
Message
Most
people who read this passage of Scripture are drawn to it because
what they think it has to say about their particular version of
pneumatology (i.e., the study of the Holy Spirit and spiritual
things); whether Luke is saying that Holy Spirit-infilling normally
is a separate event following salvation or this was a solitary “out
of the ordinary” kind of experience for a decidedly out-of
the-ordinary event. (Whichever way you choose to answer that usually
says more about your personal convictions about these things than it
has to do with the story itself). But what gets my attention is the
descriptive statement, “Then the apostles laid their
hands on them...” In that
small gesture, something of incredible significance is occurring
right before our eyes but if we're not paying attention we'll totally
miss its import.
Philip if he had lived in the "old" West |
Like a
lot of biblical writers, Luke is known for his economy of words. Case
in point is his comment describing the after-effect of Philip's
ministry in Samaria. Philip shows up practically out of breath from
running away from Jerusalem where at the moment a young zealot by
name of Saul is rounding up the Christians there following the death
of Stephen. But instead of keeping a low profile, he gets up on a
stump, preaches Jesus and is used by the Lord to heal many paralyzed
individuals as well as exorcise demonic spirits from many others. And
all Luke will say about these remarkable things is: “So there was
great joy in that city” (v. 8). He clearly was not a 21st
century writer who would have relayed this story in far more dramatic
fashion.
When it happens in the Bible it's a big deal |
In like manner, he
relays what happens when Peter and John show up to confirm the rumors
they had been hearing in Jerusalem that Samaria had received the word
of God. Luke doesn't bother to bring us into the moment of what their
follow-up entailed but I infer that it involved some conversations
with Philip and at the very least, having a meal or two with these
new Samaritan believers. Whatever they saw was confirmation enough
that the rumors were true, that there were now Christ-followers in
Samaria and so at Philip's urging they prayed for these new believers
in Jesus to receive the Holy Spirit. And what happens next is a
“whoa” moment in Scripture because in sacramental fashion, Peter
and John, both law-abiding Jewish men lay their hands – probably
for the first time - upon redneck, lowlife Samaritans. The moment is
awe-ful, fateful and rather humorous all at the same time.
Most of us who have
grown up in church or at least are familiar enough with our Bible,
know enough to understand that Samaritans in Jesus' day were
considered inbreds by the rest of the Jewish population of that
region. Though once upon a time they had been part of the family,
following the end of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC much of the
population had been deported. The current denizens of Samaria were
the descendents of a mixed bag of people who had been planted there
by later foreign kings to work the land. Ajith Fernando has this to
say about the centuries old schism between the two groups:
"Dude, what are you doing?" |
Animosity
toward Jerusalem among the Samaritans had deep historical roots. They
were refused a share in rebuilding the Jerusalem temple (see Ezra
3:7-4:5), so they erected a rival temple on their hill, Gerizim. The
Judean ruler John Hyrancus destroyed this temple and conquered
Samaria in the second century B.C. When the Romans conquered
Palestine in 63 B.C. they liberated Samaria from Judean control.
(Acts: The NIV
Application Commentary, p.273)
That all adds up to a lot of bad blood. No wonder the woman at the
well in John 4 is incredulous that Jesus, a Jew, would even bother to
talk with her. No wonder, at another time James and John asked Jesus
for permission to call hellfire down on a bunch of inhospitable
Samaritans (Luke 9:53-54). And yet a year or so later here is the
same John back in Samaritanland, along with Peter, ready to bless
their ancient foe with the blessing of the Father that had been given
to them. I wonder at the moment if he was amused by the irony of it
all?
But in that
gesture, that laying on of hands, Peter and John are declaring that
these Samaritans are equals, members and participants in the
new covenant with Jesus Christ. Whether or not they had the theology
of it all worked out at that moment isn't clear but by laying their
hands on them it can only mean that ultimately they will reach that
conclusion. Of this particular episode in the history of the Church,
John Stott says,
More radical than this |
...the
Samaritan schism had lasted for centuries. But now the Samaritans
were being evangelized, and were responding to the gospel. It was a
moment of significant advance, which was also fraught with great
peril. What would happen now? Would the long-standing rift be
perpetuated? The gospel had been welcomed by the Samaritans, but
would the Samaritans be welcomed by the Jews? Or would there be
separate factions of Jewish Christians and Samaritan Christians in
the church of Jesus Christ? The idea may seem unthinkable in theory;
in practice it might well have happened. There was a real
'danger...of their tearing Christ apart, or at least of forming a
new and separate church for themselves' [quoting Calvin]. (The
Bible Speaks Today: The Message of Acts, by
John R.W. Stott, p. 157)
I'm
sure at the time in the Jerusalem church there were some who longed
for the old rift to be healed. I'm also sure there were others who
would allow the Samaritans to come back in on a probationary status
while pedigrees could be checked out. But here in one fell swoop it
is the apostles' assessment that these distant “cousins” were in
fact now “brothers and sisters in Christ” and should be respected
and welcome as such. I wonder how quickly the Jerusalem Jewish
“pure-breds” embraced their “mudblood” relations? Based on
the previous conflict between the Hebrew Christians and the
Hellenized Christians (see Acts 6), probably quickly in some places
and not so quickly in others. So for Peter and John to act as such
not only did it show spiritual insight but also demonstrate moral
courage. Had they held back it very well could have meant, the
development of a new and subtle schism in the Body as, to use Michael
Green's words, “converts from the two sides of the 'Samaritan
curtain' found Christ without finding each other.” Indeed.
One small step that changed everything |
In
1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped upon the moon for the first time he
uttered the now famous line, “That's one small step for [a] man,
one giant leap for mankind.” It wouldn't be too much of a stretch
to say that when Peter and John laid their hands on these new
believers, Samaritans the lot of them, it was one small touch for
these men, one giant embrace for the Church universal – the first
of many more embraces to come (see Acts 15). That kind of change
would take generations to get into the milieu of Jewish disciples.
Acceptance of Gentile believers would take even longer. But great
shifts in perspective always begin such – a small seed, a small
step, a small gesture made that in time results in great good. As
Fernando puts it,
It
is providential that through the ministry of leaders from the
Jerusalem church the Samaritans received the Spirit. It helped
maintain the unity of the early church...It helped [the new
Samaritan Christians] begin their life as Christians with an
attitude of warm love toward their traditional enemies. Perhaps
somewhere in this process, they repented of their attitudes of
animosity toward Jerusalem. For the Jerusalem Christians too, it was
important that the authenticating sign of the conversion of the
Samaritans took place when the apostles were there and through their
mediation. Accepting Samaritans to their fold also involved some
major attitude shifts on their part. Therefore, clear evidence that
God was in these events was necessary. (Acts:
The NIV Application Commentary, p.
273)
One
thing is for sure, as they leave town everyone has undergone change.
The Samaritans have been blessed with the Holy Spirit – a blessing,
as it has already been pointed out, mediated by the Jewish apostles.
But Peter and John leave changed as well for on their return journey
to Jerusalem they stop in many a Samaritan village to share Jesus
there (8:25). It's a brand new day for everyone, the first of many
new days to come for all believers everywhere.