And leaving on the morrow, we came to Caesarea; and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was of the seven, we abode with him.
Paul's group stops at Caesarea and stays in a private home. Luke names the host twice over — "the evangelist" and "one of the seven" — and both titles carry a history.
This was the last stage of a long and tiring journey.
They reached Ptolemais and stayed one day with the believers. Then they went on by land to Caesarea. Under the roof of Philip the Evangelist they found rest, hospitality, and surely a most hearty welcome. Here they stayed many days — a rest for Paul after the tiring voyage, and a little time of quiet before facing the storm at Jerusalem.
The title matches what Acts 8 shows Philip doing, city after city, until he reached Caesarea.
As for Philip, the supernatural way he was taken to Azotus did not disturb him. He travelled north to Caesarea, preaching in the cities as he went. This chapter mentions preaching seven times. In five of those the word used is one we have carried over into our own language as "evangelize." In three of the five it is Philip who evangelizes. So it is no surprise that he is soon called "Philip the evangelist" (Acts 21:8).
"One of the seven" points back to the men chosen in Acts 6 to hand out food each day. That humble beginning is the point.
The service of a deacon might seem a very small matter, but nothing in God's service is really small. Paul writes that such service, done faithfully, is the way to higher and larger things. The later history of two men named in Acts 6:5 shows this clearly. Stephen advanced to become the first Christian martyr; Philip to become a greatly used preacher of the Gospel, the only man called an evangelist in Scripture (see Acts 21:8). Every true servant of God has begun with small and humble things. So let none of us despise and shirk them, as we are naturally inclined to do.
Philip's appointment belonged to Jerusalem. His gift did not.
By office Philip was one "of the seven" (Acts 6:5), but his gift was that of an evangelist, and that is what he is called (Acts 21:8). His office lapsed when all who made up the assembly in Jerusalem were scattered. Acts 8 then shows him actively using his gift as an "evangelist," with striking blessing both to a whole city and to an individual. Acts never shows Philip travelling with an apostle... Philip went on his free way under the Lord's direction, evangelizing "all the cities" till he came to Caesarea. The world is in principle the evangelist's province. Travelling or staying is a question of his subjection to the Lord.
Two things changed for Philip after Jerusalem: what he handled, and what he was called.
He no longer had anything to do with tables, but with a risen Christ in glory, and he had the privilege of using a gift the Lord had given him, ministering to the Samaritans what he had learned of Christ. From that service he received from God the title "Philip the evangelist."
Paul is the guest here, and Philip is the host. Nothing in the scene suggests competition.
How good to see the great apostle of the Gentiles staying with dear simple Philip the evangelist. That is how the Lord's various gifts were mixed together in daily life in that day. The great apostle and the earnest evangelist were together. They were not rivals but co-workers, as the Lord arranged, and they got on well together.
The extra phrase settles which Philip this is. Another Philip was an apostle, and the two have been mixed up.
The words of the inspired writer are full and distinct. From their precision one might think it impossible that any intelligent mind could fail to see the person meant. Yet even the man often called the father of church history misunderstood the verse. He confused Philip the evangelist with Philip the apostle. It becomes a duty to notice the error, and to press its importance as a warning to those who talk up the authority of ancient writers. For Acts tells us here that the Philip with whom the apostle's party stayed was not only the evangelist. He was one of the seven — one of the seven men the apostles appointed for the service of tables in the days of first love, soon after Pentecost.
- Seven — Philip started by handing out food at tables. Nothing in God's service is small, and faithfulness there is the road to larger things.
- Evangelist — the title fits the work. In Acts 8 he "evangelizes" city after city, and he is the only man in Scripture called this.
- Free — his office ended when the church in Jerusalem scattered; the gift did not. He answers to the Lord, and the world is his field.
- House — the gift ends at an open door: Philip gives Paul rest and a welcome before Jerusalem.
- Together — apostle and evangelist under one roof, co-workers and not rivals, just as the Lord arranged.
Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
Paul and his companions stop at Caesarea on the way to Jerusalem and stay in the home of Philip the evangelist. Luke adds one detail: the four unmarried daughters there had the gift of prophecy — but what was prophesying, and where did they use it?
The stop came at the end of a long sea voyage.
Reaching Ptolemais, they stayed one day with the brothers. Then they moved on by land to Caesarea. In the home of Philip the evangelist they found rest, hospitality, and surely a most hearty welcome. Here they stayed many days — a rest for Paul after all the strain of the voyage, and a little quiet time before facing the storm at Jerusalem. We have no account of what happened during their stay. Luke mentions only that Philip had four daughters who prophesied — gifted women who, in their proper sphere, helped on the work of God.
Philip still carries his old title, and the daughters add to the praise.
Though nothing more is said of Philip's work, he was still called "the evangelist," and he had four daughters who prophesied, a lovely commendation. Of course this does not imply at all that they were public speakers, since prophesying can certainly happen in private. This is a valuable gift for sisters to cultivate.
Prophecy in the New Testament is not mainly about predicting the future.
A popular idea is that a prophet foretells future events. But that is only part of his work, and in some cases it may be missing altogether. The mark of New Testament prophesying is speaking "to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation" (1 Cor. 14:3).
The gift also ranks at the very top.
The fact stated in verse nine deserves full attention. Philip had four unmarried daughters, and we are told that they prophesied. That is, they had the highest form of gift for acting on souls from God. Such prophesying was yet more than teaching or preaching.
Kelly puts the question plainly. Can a woman have such a gift, and what is it for?
As unmarried women, they were still living in their father's house, and they prophesied. There is no reason why a woman should not have this or most other gifts as much as a man. I do not say the same kind of gift always. Surely God is wise and gives suited gifts whether to men or women... Certainly He did clothe these four daughters of Philip with a very special spiritual power. They had one of the highest characters of spiritual gift — they prophesied. And if God gave them this power, it was certainly not to be hidden away but used: the only question is how.
So how did they use it? Knapp answers that the verse gives no sign of public speaking.
The case of Philip's daughters who prophesied is often brought forward as proof that it is right for a woman to preach. But this scripture does not say, nor does it even hint, that these women exercised their gift in public. They evidently spoke their prophecies in the privacy of their father's house.
Commentators differ on how to class what the daughters did. Kelly puts prophecy above teaching. Another writer separates the two, and points to what happens next.
The four daughters of Philip prophesied but did not teach (Acts 21:9). Note that the Lord did not use them to warn Paul, even though there seem to have been no men present who could have done this in their place. Instead, He specifically arranged for a prophet from Jerusalem, Agabus, to travel to Caesarea and deliver this prophecy (Acts 21:10-11).
Some call this note a stray detail with no link to the story around it. One writer answers that its place is the point.
One cannot say that this account of Philip's daughters stands in no immediate connection with the events related here. Why should we make our own ability to see such things the measure of what is really in them?... The Church is losing its great apostle. Is it not fitting that God should show us how fully the gift of the Spirit is still upon it, even in its weakest members? that the Lord's care for it neither fails nor is cut short; and that it need neither fail nor fear because of this?
- Guest — Philip's home at Caesarea gave Paul rest and hospitality, and quiet days before the storm at Jerusalem.
- Gift — prophesying is more than predicting the future. It is speech that builds up, encourages and comforts, and it ranks among the highest gifts.
- Given — God gives such power to women as well as to men, and He does not give it to be hidden.
- Guided — the question is not whether they had the gift but how they used it. The verse gives no hint of public ministry, so they spoke in the privacy of their father's house.
- Guarded — as the church loses its great apostle, four unnamed women show that the Spirit's supply does not fail. The church need neither fail nor fear.