Acts 8:4-25 | God Uses Bad Opportunitiesનમૂનો

Word got back to Jerusalem. After hearing that Samaritans were coming to faith in Jesus and that even a sorcerer in league with the dark powers gave his life to Christ, Peter and John go to Samaria to see it firsthand.

At this point, the only people who had received the Holy Spirit were Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. But the kingdom movement Jesus began was never meant to only remain there. So Peter and John pray with them and lay their hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit. Here we see, for the first time in Acts, God’s saving grace extended to both the Jews and Gentiles alike. The presence, filling, and identity of God’s people is not for the people of Israel in Jerusalem and Judea alone. It’s for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved.

God wants all people to come to know him through Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit. This includes those who do not fit the bill of what some might typically think of as people of God. Samaritans were outsiders. Sorcerers were in league with pagan, dark powers. God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. God’s kingdom is not just for the insider, but the outsider too.

Who do you know who needs the good news of Jesus? Who are the Samaritans and sorcerers you know? The skeptics. The rebels. The non-church folk. Those involved and allied with dark things. Or maybe it’s you! The good news of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit is for all of these folk! Who will you pray for (or even with) to receive it today?