In the mean time, the apostles had remained at Jerusalem, apparently
not directly affected by the persecution against Stephen and his
friends, or at least not disturbed by it so as to be prevented from
remaining at their original post, in the discharge of duty. For, a
true regard for the instructions long ago given them by their Master,
would have required them to leave Jerusalem, if the opposition to
their preaching became so settled and extensive as to prevent them
from advancing the cause of Christ there, more rapidly than they
might in other places. The spirit with which they had been taught to
meet tyrannical opposition, was not one of idle bravado or useless
pertinacity, but of deliberate and calculating steadiness in their
plan, which knew when to prudently give way, as well as when to boldly
withstand. It is therefore fair to conclude, that the persecution here
referred to, was so limited as not to be directed against the apostles
themselves, nor to hinder their useful labors. If any of them had been
imprisoned during this persecution, certainly the rest would have been
blamable for not escaping; but the fact that they remained perfectly
free, appears from their leaving the city without delay, on the
occasion which now required their presence and assistance elsewhere.
For as soon as they heard of the preaching of Philip at Samaria, and of
the willingness with which the Samaritans had received and believed the
first communications of the word, they immediately sent to them Peter
and John, who, as the chief teachers of the doctrines of Christ, might
give the new converts a fuller preparation for their duties in their
calling, than could be expected from one so lately commissioned as the
zealous preacher who had first awakened them. These two great apostles,
having come down to Samaria, prayed for the believers there that they
might receive the Holy Spirit; for this heavenly gift had not yet been
imparted to them; the only sign of their acceptance into the new faith
having been their baptism by the hands of Philip, who does not seem to
have been empowered to indue others with the same divine spirit which
he had so abundantly received on himself. But the apostles laying their
hands on them, as they had before done with such powerful effect on
Stephen, Philip and their fellow-servants, now also inspired these
second fruits with the same divine energy, which was instantly made
manifest in them, by the usual signs. As soon as Simon saw the display
of the new powers, with which those were suddenly gifted who had been
made the subjects of this simple ceremony, he immediately concluded
that he had at last found out the means of acquiring those miraculous
powers at which he had been so deeply amazed, and which he thought
he could make vastly profitable to himself in his business, as a very
decided improvement upon his old tricks. Thinking only of the motive
which always moved _his_ mind to the bestowment of such favors, he
immediately took out the money he had gained by his impositions on
the people, and offered the apostles a handsome share of it, if they
would simply give him the valuable privilege of conferring this divine
agency on all upon whom he should lay his hands, in the same manner as
they. But his mercenary hopes were soon blasted by the indignant terms
in which Peter rejected his insulting proposal. “Thy money perish with
thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God could be bought
with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter; for thy
heart is not right in the sight of God. Change thy mind, therefore,
from this wickedness of thine, and ask God, if indeed there is any
possibility, that the iniquity of thy heart may be forgiven thee; for
I see that thou art still full of the bitterness of thy former poisons,
and bound fast in the chains of thy old iniquities.” Simon, hushed and
overawed in his impertinent offers by this stern rebuke, sunk into a
penitent tone again, and begged of them that they would pray for him,
that the doom to perish with his money, as declared by Peter, might
not fall on him. Of the depth and sincerity of his penitence, no good
testimony is left us; but his submissive conduct, at best, seems to
have been rather the result of a personal awe of the apostles, as his
superiors in supernatural powers, than prompted by any true regard
for their pure faith, or any just appreciation of their character and
motives. The apostles, however, waited no longer to enlighten the mind
of one so dark in his views of the divine agency; but after they had
borne witness to the truth of Philip’s words and doctrines by their own
preaching, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the gospel in many
villages of the Samaritans, on the way. Philip also, having had his
labors thus triumphantly crowned by the ministrations of the apostles,
left Samaria, and turned his course southwards, towards Gaza, under
the impulse and guidance of a divine spirit. On this journey, occurred
his most interesting adventure with the lord high treasurer of the
Ethiopian queen, after which Philip was found at Ashdod, on the sea,
from which place, journeying northwards again, he went preaching
through all the towns on the coast, till he arrived at his home, at
Caesarea.
Illustration: JAFFA――JOPPA.