God used Peter and John's laying on of hands to show the Samaritans that spiritual authority rested in Jerusalem, in the twelve, and nowhere else.
The Samaritans had a counterfeit worship center on Mount Gerizim, so God demonstrated through the apostles from Jerusalem that He was dealing with Israel through the Temple in Jerusalem. Those who truly believed Philip's message that Jesus was the Christ still had not received the Holy Spirit until Peter and John laid hands on them. Les Feldick calls this "a slight departure" from what had been taking place before, with the lesson that Jerusalem was the center of God's dealings with the nation of Israel.
Acts 8:14–17 — Records exactly why the apostles sent Peter and John to Samaria and what happened when they laid hands on the believers.
Acts 1:8 — Establishes the God-given order of witness: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth.
John 4:20 — Shows the Samaritan woman acknowledging Mount Gerizim as her fathers' place of worship, the historical backdrop for the rival center.
The account is recorded in Acts 8:14–17: "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." Earlier in Acts 1:8 the Lord had given the order of witness: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." The Samaritan woman herself acknowledged the division: "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship" (John 4:20).
Les explains the delay by going back to Israel's divided kingdom. After the kingdom split under Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the Temple remained in the southern kingdom, Judah, and the northern kingdom set up "a secondary Temple worship on Mount Gerizim." He describes it as "their own counterfeit as it were" — the presence of God wasn't in it, just another man-made religion. The Samaritans headquartered their religion there and "did not recognize that God was dealing with Israel through the Temple in Jerusalem." So when Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ, some Samaritans truly believed that Jesus was the Christ. Yet, as Les says, "it took the putting on of the hands by Peter and John before they received the Holy Spirit." This was "a slight departure from what had been taking place before." Its purpose was clear: "to show the Samaritans that the authority rested in Jerusalem, in the twelve, and nowhere else."
Les traces the question back to Israel's divided kingdom. Under Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the Temple remained in Judah, so the northern kingdom set up "a secondary Temple worship on Mount Gerizim." Les calls it "their own counterfeit as it were" — the presence of God wasn't in it, just another man-made religion. The Samaritans headquartered their religion there and "did not recognize that God was dealing with Israel through the Temple in Jerusalem."
Les says that for Samaritans who truly believed Philip's message that Jesus was the Christ, "it took the putting on of the hands by Peter and John before they received the Holy Spirit." This was "a slight departure" from what had taken place before. The purpose was "to show the Samaritans that the authority rested in Jerusalem, in the twelve, and nowhere else."
Les observes that Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ, and the people gave heed to the miracles. The same miracles that Jesus and the twelve had performed continued. He notes what 1 Corinthians says about the Jew requiring a sign, and he adds, "Samaritans basically are, I think, more Jew than Gentile. They were half-breeds of course."
Samaria's Counterfeit Mountain Worship
Les explains that the northern kingdom set up a counterfeit temple worship on Mount Gerizim, and the Samaritans did not recognize God's dealings through the Temple in Jerusalem.
Peter and John's Hands Prove Jerusalem's Authority
Les says believing Samaritans received the Holy Spirit only when Peter and John laid hands on them, to show that authority rested in Jerusalem, in the twelve, and nowhere else.
Signs Continue in Samaria
Les notes that Philip's ministry in Samaria continued the same miracles as Jesus and the twelve, because Samaritans, like Jews, required signs.
Why God Chooses the Weak: Lessons from Moses and the Cross
Oh, he was religious. He'd been to Jerusalem to worship at one of the feast days, but on his way back to Ethiopia, what does Philip do? Leads him to the place of salvation. He hadn't been saved. He was a proselyte, but he didn't have salvation. All right. Now these Jews were believers.
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria Order
Les highlights the Jerusalem-to-Samaria order in Acts 1:8 and the apostles' continuation of Christ's earthly ministry with miracle-working power.
What Must I Do to Be Saved? Acts 2 vs. Acts 16 Explained
And they'd killed Him, but God had raised Him from the dead. All right. Now they were to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and then they would receive the Holy Spirit. Now don't lose that. Come over now with me to Acts chapter 10. And here we have Peter at the house of Cornelius, a Gentile.
What Must I Do to Be Saved? Acts 2 vs. Acts 16 Explained
In other words, he hadn't even come to the end of his message, or his three points, or whatever. "...while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them who heard the word." And we know they all believe. Have they been baptized yet? Have they? Oh, you're afraid I'm trapping you. No, they haven't. These are Gentiles. They haven't been baptized yet.
What the Bible Really Says About Speaking in Tongues
They were like Peter, they had recognized that Jesus was the Christ. So these believing Jews were astonished. Now we pointed this all out when we taught the book of Acts, that these Jews, the six men who came with Peter for a total of seven, were just utterly astonished that these Gentiles were hearing a salvation message and believing it.
Acts 8:14: Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
The Jerusalem apostles heard Samaria had received the word and sent Peter and John there.
Acts 8:15: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Their purpose was to pray for the Samaritan believers to receive the Holy Ghost.
Acts 8:16: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
This explains that the Spirit had not yet fallen on them even though they were baptized.
Acts 8:17: Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost was given when the apostles laid their hands on the Samaritan believers.
Acts 1:8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
God's order was Jerusalem first, then Judea, then Samaria, then the uttermost earth.
John 4:20: Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
The Samaritan woman reveals the centuries-old division between Mount Gerizim and Jerusalem.
Les distinguishes them from Simon, whose profession was fake and counterfeit. Of those who "truly believed Philip's message that Jesus was the Christ," the Spirit came only after Peter and John laid hands on them. Their salvation was genuine; receiving the Spirit was a separate, delayed event.
Mount Gerizim was the mountain where the northern kingdom headquartered its secondary Temple worship after the kingdom divided. Les calls it a man-made counterfeit without God's presence, because the Samaritans did not recognize that God was dealing with Israel through the Temple in Jerusalem.
Les calls this "a slight departure from what had been taking place before." Its purpose was to show the Samaritans that authority rested in Jerusalem, in the twelve, and nowhere else.
Watch the Teaching: Is Baptism Required for Salvation? What Acts 8 Really Says