You don’t expect to see some people in the church building. Maybe they are notorious in town, perhaps they were the school bully, or maybe they stole your date for prom. Think about that person. Now imagine them going to church. What does it tell you if that person is in church? Maybe that church is crazy, or MAYBE that no-good, rotten, good-for-nothing scoundrel has changed for the better.
In Acts 8:5, we read that Philip, an evangelist, went to Samaria to preach the good news about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus told the disciples that the gospel would go into Samaria in Acts 1:8. The Samaritans were “those guys.” If you could think of the worst people possible, the Samaritans were worse. It is an understatement to say that there was cultural prejudice by the Jews. Faithful Jews went out of their way to avoid walking through Samaria. In Luke 17:11, we see that Jesus walked through Samaria. That was shocking behavior for a Jew. In John 4, we read about a Samaritan woman at a well. Jesus spoke with her, and that was scandalous. Now Philip is preaching in this same Samaria in Acts 8. What was he thinking? Didn’t he know who those people were?
Yes. Philip knew who the Samaritans were. He also knew who Jesus was. If Jesus did not care about nationality or prejudice, Philip wouldn’t either. The gospel message was and still is for all. Jesus saves any who will make Him their Master. The good, the bad, and the ugly – it doesn’t matter. All people are equal in God’s sight.
The most amazing part of Philip being in Samaria was not the scandal of going there but the response of the Samaritans to the good news. In Acts 8:12, we read that many were being baptized in response to the preaching of the gospel. Those people were now in the church. That is not scandalous, but beautiful.
Do you feel something is missing in your life? Jesus can fill that God-sized hole in your heart. Won’t you sit down with me over an open Bible and study how Jesus gives us eternal life?
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