Atos 8
Bede
Atos 8:1
And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. This is what the Lord Himself commanded: When they persecute you in one city, flee to another (Matt. X). For it was by His will that the occasion of tribulation became the seed-bed of the Gospel. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:1
Now on that day, a great persecution arose in the Church that was in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. If the Church was scattered, the apostles remained in Jerusalem, as Luke tells us, it is evident that he lied who, writing under the name of Melito, bishop of Asia, explains that in the second year after the Lord's ascension, all the apostles were divided to preach in their respective provinces: who all, as the death of the blessed Mother of God approached, were lifted in the clouds and snatched to Jerusalem from the places where they were preaching the word of God, and placed before the door of her house, among whom was also Paul, who, having recently converted from being a persecutor to the faith of Christ, was taken up with Barnabas into the ministry of the Gentiles. This scripture also specifically refers to the Apostle John, that at that time he preached in Ephesus: all of which openly contradicts the words of blessed Luke, who narrates that the apostles, with the other faithful driven out from Jerusalem, remained there and preached everywhere until the Church had peace through all Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. That this could not be accomplished in one year is evident to all. He also clearly indicates that Paul was not ordained with Barnabas into the ministry of the Gentiles in the second year after the Lord's ascension, but a long time later. Moreover, let us not believe that the blessed Apostle John, to whom the Lord on the cross committed his virgin mother to a virgin, departed after one year and left her alone, and that so much time passed that she feared her body would be burned by enemies after death; and that he, after being taken up in clouds, returned to himself as if negligent or forgetful, and that she anxiously asked him, saying: "I ask you, son John, to remember the word of your master, my Lord Jesus Christ, who commended me to you. Behold, I am called to the way of all the earth. But I have heard the counsel of the Jews saying: Let us wait for the day when she who bore Jesus of Nazareth dies, and let us burn her body; therefore, my son, take care of my funeral." I have taken care to recall these things because I know some who rashly give assent to the aforesaid book against the authority of blessed Luke. — Retractions on Acts
Atos 8:2
Godly men cared for Stephen, and made great lamentation over him. This lamentation and the martyrdom of blessed Stephen is well remembered in the book of the revelation of his relics, which we have made mention of before, in which it is recounted that Gamaliel said among other things, in a vision to the presbyter Lucian: "I am Gamaliel, who raised Paul, the apostle of Christ, and taught the law in Jerusalem. Here with me in the eastern part of the tomb lies my lord Stephen, who was stoned by the Jews and the chief priests in Jerusalem for the faith of Christ outside the gate which is to the north, which leads to Cedar; where he lay cast out day and night, so that burial would not be given to him, according to the command of the impious chiefs, that his body should be consumed by wild beasts. But by God's will, not one of them touched him, neither a beast, nor a bird, nor a dog. I, Gamaliel, sympathizing with the ministry of Christ, and hastening to have a reward and part with the holy man of faith, sent by night as many as I knew who were religious and believed in Christ Jesus, living in Jerusalem among the Jews: and I encouraged them, and provided necessary supplies, and persuaded them to secretly go and carry his body with my conveyance to my village, that is, to Caphar Gamala (which means, the village of Gamaliel), twenty miles from the city; and there I made lamentation for him for forty-five days, and placed him in my new tomb in the eastern chamber, and I commanded them to give whatever was necessary for his lamentation from my resources." — Retractions on Acts
Atos 8:4
Therefore, those who were scattered went about evangelizing the word of God. For scattered, in Greek it is written as disseminated, that is, dispersed. For they were those of whom Isaiah spoke: All who see them will recognize them because they are the seed which the Lord has blessed, and about whom the Lord said in the parable of the Gospel: The good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom (Matthew XIII). This seed was disseminated through regions so that the harvest of faith, which began in Jerusalem, first filled Judea and Samaria, then the whole world. Finally, we read about these same scattered ones, or rather disseminated ones, in the following: that they spoke the word not only to Jews but also to Greeks, and the foundations of the nascent church in Antioch were laid nobly through them. — Retractions on Acts
Atos 8:5
But Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And he was from among the disseminated ones, who first preached Christ in Samaria, and he began through the deacon, as Christ said to the apostles: And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria (Acts I). — Retractions on Acts
Atos 8:6
But the crowds paid attention to what was being said by Philip. From this chapter and from the story of the Samaritan woman, it is proven that this nation was prompt in spirit to believe. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:9
A certain man who had previously been in the city, a magician seducing the people of Samaria. For seducing, in Greek it is written ἐξιστῶν, which signifies putting into ecstasy or mental displacement, that is, amazement and awe, through the displays of his tricks. — Retractions on Acts
Atos 8:10
All listened to him from the least to the greatest, saying: This man is the power of God. This, not as an adverb of place, but as a pronoun. As if to say: This one is the power of God. — Retractions on Acts
Atos 8:13
Then Simon himself also believed. Either he truly believed in the Lord, having been overcome by the words and virtue of the blessed Philip, or, as it is more credible, he pretended to believe until he received baptism, so that, because he was very eager for praise, in such a way that he wanted to be considered the Christ, as the stories tell, he might learn from Him the arts by which he performed miracles. This is also said to have been done by his successors, who, initiated in their author's malevolent arts, customarily entered the Church by any deceit and secretly acquired baptism. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:14
They sent Peter and John to them. Arator beautifully explains this: Peter often makes John his companion, because the Church favors the virgin. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:17
It should be noted, however, that Philip, who evangelized Samaria, was one of the seven. For if he had been an Apostle, he would certainly have been able to lay hands on them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For this is reserved to bishops alone. For presbyters, whether outside the bishop's presence or in his presence, are allowed to baptize and anoint the baptized with chrism, but only with chrism consecrated by the bishop; however, they are not to anoint the forehead with the same oil, which is reserved to bishops alone when they impart the Paraclete Spirit to the baptized. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:20
"Your money perish with you," and other things. When holy men pronounce a sentence of cursing, they do not erupt from the desire of vengeance, but from the justice of examination. For they see the subtle judgment of God inwardly, and recognize the evils rising outwardly that ought to be carried by a curse; and they do not sin in the curse, since they do not disagree with the inner judgment. For when the innocence of the one cursing remains, and yet the curse swallows up the one who is cursed to destruction, from the outcome of both sides it is gathered that the sentence received from one internal judge is hurled at the guilty one. Thus Simon, who received the curse from Peter, perished by eternal damnation. And below, Bar-Jesus, rebuked by Paul, was immediately deprived of common light. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:20
May your money perish with you. More accurately, it is written into perdition, according to the Greek authority, rather than in perdition. For in that perdition, in which a wicked man was condemned, his money was not to be with him, but he was commanded to retain the money he offered to the apostles for the sacrilegious bargain since they did not want to accept it, and this into his own perdition, so that, undoubtedly, due to this money which he had amassed for an unjust purchase, he would suffer eternal punishment. — Retractions on Acts
Atos 8:23
For I see you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. Therefore, the Holy Spirit descended in a dove to teach those who would receive Him to be simple. For he who retains the gall of bitterness in his heart, however baptized he may seem to be, is not freed from the bonds of his iniquity, but as if purged for a single moment at the hour of baptism, he is soon oppressed seven times more fiercely by a demon. Therefore, in vain does he attempt to buy the grace of the Spirit, who has taken care to divest himself with a raven's mind. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:26
To the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, this is desert. Not the road, but Gaza is called desert. For that old Gaza, which was once the boundary of the Canaanites near Egypt, was utterly destroyed, and another in its place was built elsewhere. This allegorically represents the people of the Gentiles, formerly deserted by the worship of God, nor cultivated by the preaching of any prophets. The way descending from Jerusalem to Gaza opens the spring of salvation; it is the Lord Jesus Christ, who says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John XIV). He descended from the heavenly Jerusalem to our infirmities, and whitened the blackness of our guilt in the water of baptism. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:26
Arise and go toward the south. It is well to seek, find, and wash at noon, the one who, burning with the devotion of his heart, merited to be consecrated by God as a kind of first-fruits of the nations. In him that special saying of the Psalmist is fulfilled: Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:27
The queen of the Ethiopians, Candace. And in the Book of Kings, we read that the Queen of the South came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. For, indeed, it was the custom of that nation always to be ruled by women, and to call them Candace. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:27
And behold, a man from Ethiopia, a powerful eunuch. He is called a man for the virtue and integrity of his mind; and not undeservedly, as he had so much zeal for the Scriptures that he did not cease to read them even on the way; and he bore so much love in religion that, leaving the royal court, he came from the farthest parts of the world to the temple of the Lord. Hence, while justly seeking an interpreter of the reading, he found Christ whom he was seeking; and, as Jerome says, found more in the desert fountain of the Church than in the gilded temple of the synagogue. For there, as Jeremiah in amazement proclaims, the Ethiopian changed his skin, that is, washed from the filth of sins, he ascended whitened from the washing of Jesus. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:27
Who was over all her treasures. The queen of the Ethiopians, sending her treasurer to Jerusalem, designates the Church of the nations, which will offer the Lord gifts of virtues and faith. The etymology of the name also fits. For Candace can be interpreted as changed from Hebrew. It is indeed she to whom it is said in the psalm inscribed: For those who will be changed: Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house (Psalm 45), and the rest. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:29
And the Spirit said to Philip. The Spirit spoke in Philip's heart. For the Spirit of God, as it were, appears to speak words to us, with a hidden force prompting us to do what ought to be done. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:32
As a sheep led to the slaughter. Just as a sheep, when led to sacrifice, does not resist, so he suffered of his own free will. Or in a higher sense, just as the lamb was accustomed to be sacrificed at Passover, so Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5). — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:32
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent. He not only redeemed us with his blood but also covered us with his wool, so that we, shivering in our unbelief, might be warmed by his garment, and we might hear the Apostle speaking to us: As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Thus, he did not open his mouth, since in his passion he wished to answer Pilate and the chief priests briefly, and Herod not at all. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:33
For his life will be taken from the earth. So that he would live not on earth, but in heaven. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:33
Who shall declare his generation? Either it is to be understood of his divinity that it is impossible to know the mysteries of his divine birth, of which the Father speaks: I have begotten you from the womb before the morning star (Psalm 110); or of the Virgin's birth, which can be explained with difficulty. To Mary, seeking the reason, it is said through the angel: The Holy Spirit will come upon you. So either the angel or the evangelist should declare only the sacraments of his birth, who is a rare narrator. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:33
In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Because the judge of all did not find truth in judgment, but, without any fault, was condemned by the clamor of the Jews and the voice of Pilate. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:35
But Philip opening his mouth, etc. Philip interpreted means 'the mouth of a lamp,' and it is a beautiful sense that the mouth of a lamp opened its mouth, while it brought forth the obscure things of prophecy into the light of knowledge. Although these circumlocutions according to history could signify that his speech at that time would be somewhat longer. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:36
They came to a certain water. Even today there is a village called Bethsoro in the tribe of Judah, on the twentieth milestone of those going from Chebron of Elias. Near it, a fountain bubbling up at the roots of a mountain is absorbed by the soil from which it springs. In this place, the eunuch was baptized by Philip. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:36
Who prohibits me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop, and the rest. Here another translation according to the Greek exemplar has a few more verses where it is written: Behold water, who prohibits me from being baptized? But Philip said to him: If you believe with all your heart, you will be saved. And responding, he said: I believe in Christ, the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stop, and the rest. I believe, therefore, that our own interpreter initially translated these verses as well, but they were later omitted due to the fault of the scribes. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:39
The Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. There are some who testify that an angel did this in the Holy Spirit, as Jerome reports. — Commentary on Acts
Atos 8:40
He preached to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. He says of Palestine, where it is described below that he had a house, which is shown to this day, as well as the room of his four prophesying virgin daughters. — Commentary on Acts