One of the seven men chosen to serve tables in Acts 6 was Philip (Acts 6:5). Like Stephen, Philip was a good man, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3). Having had the hands of the apostles laid on him, Philip had a miraculous measure of the Spirit and in Acts 8, we see him taking ad-vantage of it.

Philip had the ability to preach. Recognizing that ability, he became an evangelist (Acts 21:8). An evangelist is one who proclaims the good news of the gospel. Paul tells us that evangelists were given by God for the building up of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12). The church needs those who have the ability to proclaim the good news of the gospel, and Philip was one such man. His journey as an evangelist began in Acts 8.

Acts 8:5 (ESV)
⁵ Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

In Samaria, Philip received the response to his preaching that every evangelist wants—they heard him. To hear can carry the simple idea of noise coming to the ears, or to the deeper meaning of listening and coming to an understanding. In this case, the deeper meaning is under consideration. The record says that they paid attention to Philip.

In the first century, when the gospel was first preached and the New Testament was still in the process of being written, miracles needed to be performed to confirm the Word (Mark 16:20; He-brews 2:3-4). This is what Philip did at Samaria (vers. 6-7).

Sometimes, when emphasizing the part that miracles played in confirming the Word, we overlook the other effects of them. Miracles changed the lives of individuals, as well as entire families. Imagine how hard it would be to have a mother who was possessed by a demon, or to be a father who was crippled and unable to support his family. Life would be hard for everyone involved.

Philip’s arrival at Samaria marked a new day for many of the Samaritans. Do you think that those who were paralyzed at Samaria ever imagined when they woke up that morning, that by the end of the day, their paralysis would be gone, and they would be walking? What about those who had children whose lives were controlled by an unclean spirit, not knowing day by day what to expect? They probably hoped that something would change, but the local doctors could not do anything for them. Every day brought new sorrow. But not this day.

On this day, when Philip went down to Samaria, the grace of God was in full effect. By His power, lives were changed. The Samaritans, many of whom were plagued by terrible ailments, were set free from that bondage, and the city greatly rejoiced (ver. 8).

Samaria had more reason to rejoice than they first realized. Yes, many of their lives were changed due to the physical healing they received, but the greatest blessing for them was the healing of their souls. Due to the miraculous confirmation of the Word that Philip preached, many of the Samaritans obeyed the gospel of Christ (ver. 12), and, by God’s grace, they were saved.

As much as their lives changed physically, the greater change was spiritual. They became children of God and now they really had a reason to rejoice.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.