Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 8:14

"Now when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:" — Acts 8:14 (ASV)

For the early church the evangelization of Samaria was not just a matter of an evangelist’s proclamation and people’s response. It also involved the acceptance of these new converts by the mother church in Jerusalem. So Luke takes pains to point out here (see also his account of Cornelius’s conversion in 10:1–11:18) that the Jerusalem church sought to satisfy itself as to the genuineness of Philip’s converts and that they did this by sending Peter and John to Samaria. Along with his thesis about development and advance in the outreach of the Gospel, Luke is also interested in establishing lines of continuity and highlighting aspects of essential unity within the church. Therefore, in his account of Philip’s mission in Samaria, he tells also of the visit of Peter and John. Instead of minimizing Philip’s success in Samaria, as some have proposed, it is more likely that Luke wants us to understand Peter and John’s ministry in Samaria as confirming and extending Philip’s ministry.

Just as in Ro 15:26 and 2 Corinthians 9:2, where a whole province is regarded as acting in a Christian manner when represented by only one or two congregations located there, so Luke here speaks sweepingly of the Jerusalem church hearing “that Samaria had accepted the word of God,” even though in v.25 he refers to further evangelistic activity in other Samaritan villages.