After the stoning of Stephen, the disciples were scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. The apostles remained in Jerusalem until Saul changed from a silent consenting witness to Stephen’s death into an active persecutor of Christians. Saul’s change is not unusual. We see the same progression in many things today. Someone starts as a silent witness, then consents to the activity and then becomes an active participant. Children may be originally shocked by a divorce but finally accept it as normal. Then, as adults, they find it easy to become active participants in the same action. This is the way evil grows into full acceptance by a culture.

On the other hand, Stephen’s influence on the world surpassed everyone’s expectation. His faith, acquired from Jesus, spread ultimately to Paul and from there to the whole world. Men are seldom aware of their full influence on the rest of the world. It is a shame that we frequently fail to tell people how much influence they had on our lives. Stephen’s death made it clear that Christianity could not bloom as a branch of Judaism. They were plants from the same stock, but could not grow in a single bed.

The Christians were driven out of Jerusalem and scattered abroad. This was actually a good thing for the disciples and apostles. Had they stayed in Jerusalem, they would have enjoyed a comfortable and happy life. Once they were scattered abroad, they faced all the dangers of a homeless people. If they could not preach "Jesus Christ Crucified" in Jerusalem, they would preach him in some other place. As a result, Christianity was no longer restricted to a specific geographic area.

Philip went to Samaria and continued to preach the word and miracles resulted. The consequence of Philip’s ministry was much joy in the city. People sometimes think the arrival of Christianity in a non-Christian community is a depressing thing. They think only of unwelcome disciplines and unnecessary restraints accepted reluctantly. The Samarians experienced something entirely different. It brought a joy comparable to releasing people from prison. The required discipline was gladly accepted as a means by which real freedom is attained. Is this still true today?

Simon the Charlatan was a magician. Magic is man’s attempt to change the natural course of events for his own benefit. It is simply another attempt to impose man’s will over God’s. He had quite a following, as charlatans frequently do, until people recognize the deceit. The arrival of Philip and the miracles that resulted from his preaching changed things for Simon. Whereas magic is man’s attempt to control and alter the natural course of events for his own benefit, a miracle is God’s use of his own laws in extraordinary ways to bring to pass his own purposes. Simon’s magic was to glorify himself, while Philip’s miracles were glorifying God.

Magic has a great appeal to many people. First, it is easier than working for whatever is desired. Second, it promises to place control of their life completely within their grasp. There is always a temptation to consider the sacraments of the church as magic rather than miracles. Outsiders have accused the church of practicing magic rather than worshipping God. They fail to see the sacraments as channels by which God’s grace flows to his people.

People soon recognized the difference between Simon’s magic and Philip’s miracles. Even Simon recognized the difference and converted to Christianity. When he offered to pay for the power Philip showed, he revealed his conversion, like many today, was not real. Those who pretend to have control over health, happiness and prosperity should be recognized as charlatans. The only thing that will stop their efforts is the truth.

One of the questions we still ask today is, "How can we spread the Christian life from one person to another?" Americans are considered expert promoters and yet the church seems to have lost the power to extend itself. Philip provides a good answer to our question. He was told to go south by the desert route. He happened on a man traveling by chariot. When he noticed the man was reading Jewish scripture from the prophet Isaiah, he asked if he understood what he was reading. The man said no and Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached Jesus unto him.

Philip found a man who was seeking something, diligently, sincerely and earnestly but failing to understand what it meant. We would love such an opportunity. With enough opportunities like that we could fill the church and send out missions to continue the work elsewhere. What we fail to realize is that more opportunities exist than we think. There is no doubt that people today are discouraged and asking questions critical to their future. They want to know the meaning of suffering, tragedy and the failures of mankind. They want to know how to prevent such catastrophes. Some people are so preoccupied with frivolities that they will not hear. On the other hand, many do have a listening ear. Philip found what we seek today, a receptive frame of mind.

There are just two ways to spread anything in which you are greatly interested. The first is to live it yourself, and the other is to talk about it. There is no substitute for the first. The value of our beliefs show when we demonstrate it with our own lives. We spread things not only by living them, but also by talking about them, by passing the word on and passing the fire from one person to another by persuasion.

The early Christians drew other people to them because they had something that other people recognized as supremely worth while. In the second century, Tertullian wrote, "See how these Christians love one another." The next exclamation was "Listen to them!" We have chiefly relied on the first means to spread the movement and it is critical to do so. We must live our faith and we must be true to it in all aspects of our lives. But that is not enough. The term "silent majority" is an oxymoron. If we are silent, no one knows what is important to us and what makes us what we are. We show no magnetic force to attract others. Our children are not attracted by what we don’t explain. Our friends are not interested if they don’t know what motivates and completes us.

There is a certain reticence to discuss our faith with contemporaries. We claim to respect the liberty and the rights of people to think for themselves, and so we do. But there is something strange about reticence when it goes that far and when it comes into the realm of things that are so critical in our lives. We sometimes forget that we are allowed to talk about our faith. While the government eschews supporting one faith over another, it does not prevent us from declaring our beliefs to the whole world. One problem with our current situation is that the government controls too many parts of our lives and as a result restricts our ability to declare our faith in those arenas.

Philip was not at all reticent but he had a direct advantage in this particular case. The man was reading scripture and showed his interest immediately. So Philip started with the scripture being read and progressed to preaching Jesus to the man. Today, we would have to start by knowing the concerns of those we would engage. We would talk about his family, education, vocation and leisure interests. When we know what a person’s concerns are, we know how to explain our faith in terms that relate to their needs. It is in this manner that many churches get involved in social issues. If a person’s physical needs are being met, they have more time to consider their spiritual development. Unfortunately, many churches get so focused on addressing social issues, they lose track of the original objective. They forget that loving God is the first commandment and loving neighbors is the second. Our objective is to spread those commandments to others.

The story of Philip ends with both men descending from the chariot and Philip baptizing his new friend in the name of Jesus. "And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." It may not always work out that way. In many cases it will not. We know that talk by itself certainly is empty. We also know that when straight, honest talk is supported by character and directed by intelligent understanding, it is one of the most powerful weapons in the world.