Philip and the Eunuch
Acts 8:26-40; 7/2/2023; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
Thank God! We have followed the line of Acts 1:8, from Jerusalem, Judah, Samaria, to the ends of the earth, to Chapter 8. The Holy Spirit moved Philip again, and he turned from Samaria in the north back to Jerusalem, and went south to Gaza. This was a very unreasonable assignment, with no reason, no logic, and only obedience. So what will happen to Philip? Let’s look at the first point:
Meet a bible reader
Meeting someone who reads the Bible in any era is a wonderful thing. First, who is the Bible reader? The Bible says he was a eunuch from Ethiopia, and a powerful eunuch. This Ethiopia is what we usually call in different pronunciations. According to the notes given by Luke, Ethiopia is the Cush mentioned in the Bible, and Luke also specifically quoted Isaiah Chapter 18 verse 1 as an allusion. In fact, the Bible has an earlier memory of the record of Cush, which is in Genesis 10:6, which says: “The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan. (Genesis 10:6)” So Cush should be the grandson of Noah. Cush was once ruled by Egypt for 500 years, and it belongs to the same era as the exodus of the Israelites in terms of time. In Africa, Ethiopia may be the oldest and most Jewish and Christian country. So it’s not surprising that this powerful eunuch had a copy of the Old Testament in the Septuagint, is it?
Second, what does the Bible reader read? It was not easy for people at that time to have a Septuagint. It was the Egyptian Pharaoh Ptolemy II who built the library of Alexandria in the second and third centuries BC. In order to enrich the collection, he invited the then high priest Elisha to write it, and six scribes from each of the twelve tribes translated it into Greek, so it is called the Septuagint. The eunuch was going back to Ethiopia in a chariot from Jerusalem, the Bible says “He was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.” Ever wondered how he happened to be reading the book of Isaiah? We know that Isaiah is the most prophesied or spoken book of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament. What is important is that when the Holy Spirit inspired the eunuch to read Isaiah, He simply said to Philip directly: “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” This is to achieve one goal, that is, to share the same spirit with the person who read the Bible and to know the truth.
Finally, what does the Bible reader know? The eunuch’s problem is also our problem, isn’t it? It’s just that we are afraid of reading the scriptures. It’s not easy to read the bible, but we still can’t understand it. From a humanistic point of view, the eunuch, who did not leave his name, could have made less effort to read the scriptures. He is a popular person under the queen’s esteem, in charge of all the treasury and he is free to go abroad, and he still returns to his home country to celebrate the Passover. It’s a bit like many of our workplace Christians today are rich, successful, famous, profitable, and hold high positions in the church. How would it feel if we met a successful person who was reading the Bible on a plane, train, or ship? Will you immediately drag him to the workplace conference to give a testimony or something, will you? As for whether he can understand what he read or not, who cares? Anyway, you probably can’t understand what you read, either. Right? But, Philip asked him: “Do you understand what you are reading?” Let’s look at the second point:
Testify to some scriptures
I don’t know if you ever had such a feeling, that is, when we understand the truth of the Bible, the satisfaction in our hearts is beyond words, do you? First, the attitude of reading the Bible. Whenever we open the Bible, we must ask ourselves: Do I love God? Because God is love, fellowship with God must be based on loving God. The direct expression of loving God is longing for God, and because of this longing, the Bible says: “So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:31)” We know that although the eunuch was physically and mentally unsound and extremely inferior due to castration. However, when they hook up with the royal relatives, their inferiority complex turns into arrogance. You can know a thing or two by looking at the virtues of Wei Zhongxian in the Dongchang of the Ming Dynasty. To this powerful eunuch, Philip was just a passer-by, not worth mentioning. But he was willing to condescend to ride in the same car with a stranger, a passer-by, Philip. Ever wonder why? Because at this moment the eunuch’s life driving force is already the Bible alone, the core value of life is already Christ alone. His attitude took him to a new spiritual height, which is not understood by the world.
Second, humility in reading the Bible. With attitude, there may not be altitude. The premise or bridge for transforming attitudes to altitude is humility, which is the ability to serve and learn by imitating the Lord’s image. The eunuch said to Philip: “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” This great eunuch usually has his nose upturned when talking to people, and no one would look down on him. However, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he even admitted his ignorance and incompetence. Note that Philip was invited into the car by him. Then, the Holy Spirit led him to read the Bible: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” With a humble attitude, understanding is not far away.
Finally, the comprehension of reading the scriptures. The Bible says: “The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ” The eunuch spent this Passover in a cloud of mist. After a while, Jesus was crucified. After a while, the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost. After a little while, Peter led three to five thousand people to believe that Jesus is the Christ. These experiences were also the reason why the eunuch was eager to read the Bible. What he wanted to know most was, who is this Jesus? Is Jesus the Messiah mentioned in the book of Isaiah? All Philip had to do was to correctly handle the word of truth, and the Bible records: “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” What Philip was talking about was the truth of the gospel, that is, Christ gave his life for sinners so that people in the world could believe in Jesus and have eternal life. Let’s look at the third point:
Walk the path of the gospel
Godly people do spiritual things, and signs and wonders follow them. First, the Holy Spirit prepares for baptism. How can they come across a place with water after preaching the gospel? God really makes all things work together for the benefit of those who love God. Not only water, but also the Holy Spirit moved the heart of the eunuch. “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” Clearly, Philip was a responsible and mature missionary. He had to ascertain the authenticity and determination of the eunuch’s beliefs, so he said: “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” This is the bottom line of faith, not just believing, but believing with all your heart. The point is not baptism, but faith before baptism. May I ask you: Do you believe it wholeheartedly? The eunuch replied: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So, that’s it. Philip took the eunuch into the water and baptized him. So, what’s next?
Secondly, the focus after believing in the Lord. So, what’s next? What the Bible says here is very interesting, dramatic, but straight to the point. “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:39)” In the Bible’s record here, the focus is not on miracles but on teaching. Human nature tends to worship idols, for example, there will be a controlled plot for the person who leads us to believe in the Lord, to be called, etc.. Some kind of blind obedience may even occur, and even lose spiritual principles and sell ourselves to Satan. This is good, the Holy Spirit simply took Philip away, and the eunuch couldn’t see Philip even if he wanted to see him. The eunuch was not depressed because of this, but continued to walk on his way rejoicing, because no one can take away the peace and joy of God’s children.
Finally, until Caesarea. Regarding the sudden disappearance of Philip, the Bible still has to give an explanation: “Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. (Acts 8:40)” The heavenly path, especially the path of evangelism and missionary work is a path of no return. The path Philip walked had direction, life, mission, and focus. Caesarea has a seaside palace built by Pilate for the Roman emperor, which is very magnificent and majestic. The Bible didn’t say it, so I wondered, would Philip actually go to the emperor’s palace to preach? In short, preach the word in season and out of season. As long as we have breath, we should imitate the Lord and go through every city and village, always trying to save some people.
Conclusion
Alright, dear brothers and sisters, that’s all for today’s sermon on “Philip and the Eunuch”. The Bible leads us to see that Philip, led by the Holy Spirit, left Samaria and turned north and south. For a eunuch from Cush, the Holy Spirit sent Philip to work tirelessly and go back for more than 100 kilometers to chase the eunuch who was going to Gaza, Egypt, and Cush. This is God’s will, not wanting anyone to perish. May I ask, with such a mindset, are you willing to follow?
Let us pray……
Acts 8:26-40
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”
35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37]
38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
