Acts 8:14

That Samaria had received (oti dedektai h Samaria). The district here, not the city as in verse Matthew 5 . Perfect middle indicative of decomai retained in indirect discourse. It was a major event for the apostles for now the gospel was going into Samaria as Jesus had predicted ( Matthew 1:8 ). Though the Samaritans were nominally Jews, they were not held so by the people. The sending of Peter and John was no reflection on Philip, but was an appropriate mission since "many Christian Jews would be scandalized by the admission of Samaritans" (Furneaux). If Peter and John sanctioned it, the situation would be improved. John had once wanted to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village ( Luke 9:54 ).