Q2 Spirit's Fall

[Pastor Ralph]

Q2. (Acts 8:4-17) What convinced the Samaritans to believe in Jesus? In your opinion, why didn’t the Holy Spirit fall on them at the time of their baptism? Why did Peter and John have to come first?

[Francina]

Phillip 's preaching which was accompanied by miracles and healing of the sick convinced them to believe in Jesus.

I think the Holy Spirit did not fall on them when they were baptized because God wanted other apostles to come so that more signs and miracles could be shown and more people could be converted.

[Krissi]

Jesus Himself had already made a pass through this area, so in a way, Jesus prepared His own way via the preaching of Philip.  Philip was preaching on ground Jesus had already sowed or prepared. So both Jesus and Philip were instrumental in the conversion of the Samaritans. 

I'm not sure why the Holy Spirit did not come at the time of their water baptism. The two baptisms were separated in time which mimes, perhaps, the way the Holy Spirit didn't fall on the disciples until many days had passed after Jesus' resurrection. This lends credence to the idea that there are two baptisms -- water and spirit -- which can be combined into one.

Peter and JOhn were more prominent disciples. Perhaps they showed up to see for themselves how God was moving among the Samaritans. To convince them of His expanding mandate to offer  salvation to ALL the nations, they had to be  brought to Samaria. Thus, Peter and JOhn may be there for for their own edification than the gifting of the Holy Spirit to the Samaritans. 

-- Had Peter and John not come, would the Samaritans never have the Holy Spirit?  

[Katy]

Q2. When the people heard Philip speak and saw the miraculous healings he performed they  paid attention! It was the combination of him speaking and miraculous signs that caught their interest and caused them to believe what Philip was saying about Jesus. Preaching and healing the sick is the pattern the apostles saw Jesus practise. 
God withheld the Holy Spirit until Peter and John arrived. I think that Peter and John needed to be there to be part of the process of the Samaritan’s becoming Christian so that they would accept that they were now part of the Christian Family of God. They would then report back to the other apostles and their word would be accepted.

[haar]

 

Q2. (Acts 8:4-17) What convinced the Samaritans to believe in Jesus?

It was the miracles performed by Phillip of healing, exorcism, making the cripple and paralytics’ to walk.

In your opinion, why didn't the Holy Spirit fall on them at the time of their baptism?

 

May be God wanted the coming of the Holy spirit on at later time for some specific lessons/ teaching/ message as per the answer to the next question below

Why did Peter and John have to come first?

Peter and John had to go to the new Samaritan converts to pray and lay their hands on them. And they did just that. And the Holy Spirit came upon the new converts. This sent a message to the Jewish Christians that the Samaritans were also accepted in the plan of salvation and that they were no longer second class citizens.

[Yvonne Peterson]

Yes I agree the miracles and signs and wonders definitely drew many to believe. But God does things differently each time. We just need to sow the seed and let Holy spirit complete the work. Praise God for his grace and mercy to us all. 

[hanks]

Q2. (Acts 8:4-17) What convinced the Samaritans to believe in Jesus? In your opinion, why didn't the Holy Spirit fall on them at the time of their baptism? Why did Peter and John have to come first? 
Philip was one of those forced to flee persecution, ending in Samaria. Here he drew great crowds as a result of his preaching the gospel. He convinced the Samaritans through the preaching of Christ, with the evidence of divine miracles, that as a result they came to believe in Christ. And this combination of salvation and healing brought great joy to the city. There was several hundred years of separation between the Jews and the Samaritans. They hated each other, and the Jews looked upon them as pagans. For them to accept these Samaritans as brothers and sisters in Christ, they needed confirmation that the Holy Spirit had come upon them; in a similar way they had experienced at Pentecost. If not, the result could be a split in the early church. They needed the apostles who were present at Pentecost to investigate what had happened in Samaria. There was therefore a delay in the Holy Spirit coming upon them. When Peter and John arrived, they laid hands on them, empowering them, filling them with the Holy Spirit, and they were welcomed into the kingdom of God. God binds Jewish Christians and Samaritan Christians together in one church, breaking down the wall of separation, and abolishing the animosity that existed between these two groups. Now both Jew and Samaritan are one in Christ. We see a similar occurrence with the Gentiles in 10:44-48. Peter and John would report back to the church in Jerusalem that the Samaritans were fully accepted into the church, as would the Gentiles be later on. 
 

[Old Jerry]

I think that Phillip preaching to them the Word of God and the miracles that they saw when Phillip healed the lame and crippled. Maybe the reason that the Holy Spirit didn’t fall on them at the time because God wanted Peter and John to leave Judah and spread the Word.

[Irmela]

Q2. (Acts 8:4-17)

What convinced the Samaritans to believe in Jesus?

In your opinion, why didn't the Holy Spirit fall on them at the time of their baptism?

Why did Peter and John have to come first?

The Samaritans heard and saw.  Unclean spirits came out of people, the paralyzed and crippled were healed.  The miracles came together with proclaiming the Messiah.

God works in the way that He knows is best for each and every occasion.  He knows the situation involved and He knows exactly what is needed at the given time.

In this situation they were the ones that God used, to see what had been done to people who were not considered as part of the "pure Jews".  They were part of confirming the spread of the Good News to the Samaritans.  (In Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and the utter ends of the world).  God used them, by laying on of hands, to impart the Holy Spirit on those who believed and had been baptized.