Life in the Desert: A Call
to faithful Witness
Acts 8:26-40
Introduction: I checked the News this morning, and the short
cease fire between Israel and Hamas had ended. The News from Gaza in these days is
heart-breaking - it is marked by violence and death. Its heart wrenching to see
the aftermath of rocket attacks and bombings, realizing that there are bystanders
and women and children that are caught in the cross fire, “collateral damage,”
almost every day. In that same region,
in the desert between Jerusalem and Egypt, there was a day nearly 2000 years
ago when that dry place saw a miracle of life in the desert.
There are some things that are different in this situation from what we
normally experience today. We don’t normally have an angel of the Lord speak to
us, or the Spirit of God audibly telling us what to do. Usually the Spirit doesn’t
miraculously transport someone from one place to another as we see at the end
of this account. All of these things
happened to Philip in this context. God still does speak to us, however, and He
still does move us. Having lived in NJ
for the first 40 years of our lives, then moving to Brazil, and from there to
mid-coast Maine, the path God has brought us on is not one I would have
envisioned, yet God has clearly led us at each point to be where He wanted us. Do
you believe that it is true for you as well, that is, that God has placed you
where you are? He has a plan for each of
us! Are we listening?
The
Big Idea: God will arrange “divine
appointments” for each of us, and He will use us as He brings life through His
Word.
I.
A Divine Appointment : God
will bring us to those He has prepared
(26-29). The ministry of Philip is a
beautiful illustration of God’s sovereign direction in carrying out His plan.
We are reminded that God really is “Lord of the harvest.”
Earlier
in chapter 8, Philip had had a fruitful ministry in Samaria. To set the
context, in the aftermath of the persecution that arose after Stephen’s death,
Philip made his way to Samaria and preached Christ. There was a tremendous response, but God
maintained the unity of the church by delaying the pouring out of the Spirit on
the Samaritans. The apostles came to Samaria and confirmed the ministry of
Philip by laying hands on those who had been converted. This was no small thing.
The apostles were Jews and like all Jews in that day they routinely avoided
contact with the Samaritans. But they were obedient to God and they went, there
would not be a Samaritan Church and a Jewish Church, but one Church of God
under the authority of the apostles. This was a major step in the outworking of
the plan Jesus had revealed in Acts 1:8, the witness bearing activity of the church
would include “all of Judea and Samaria” and eventually go out to the ends of
the earth. The initial response was
tremendous, the apostles returned to Jerusalem, and from our human perspective
we could imagine Philip settling in for an extensive period of evangelism,
discipleship, and church planting right there. But God had another plan for
Philip at this time.
God had other sheep that needed to hear
the truth, and it would begin with a lone traveler on a desert road. The word
of the angel to Philip is specific in terms of what he was to do, but short on
details as to why:
“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Rise and
go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is
a desert place” (8:26).
Like Abraham in Genesis 12, Philip heard God’s call
and he was obedient. Leave a fruitful ministry and head for the desert? It
might not have made sense from a human perspective, but God said it, and that
settled it. As far as we know Philip had no clue as to what he would encounter
on the desert road. God said “arise and
go,” and Philip “arose and went.” There he found someone, possibly traveling
with a caravan as was common in those days, or at least with a couple of other
people to drive the chariot and watch out for danger…
…And
there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the
Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to
worship 28 and was returning,
seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah…
An official from Ethiopia returning home
from worship in Jerusalem. We get several bits of information about this
traveler. He was Ethiopian. Somewhere from the northeast of Africa this man had
come to believe in the God of Israel. It may be that he was the son of proselytes,
Ethiopian parents who had been converted by diaspora Jews who had reached his
homeland. It may even be that his mother was a diaspora Jew and his father an
Ethiopian, we are just not told. In any
case, he had obviously been on a pilgrim journey to Jerusalem to worship the
one true God, and was now returning home. Later in Acts we will see that much
attention is given to the conversion of Cornelius, an uncircumcised gentile
“God-fearer”, in Acts 10 and 11. In view of that, it seems probable that this
man had been more closely identified with Judaism than Cornelius was. He is
also described as a eunuch and court official of Candace, queen of the
Ethiopians. In the ancient world, in many cultures, it was common for servants
and officials, especially those who served the queen, to be eunuchs, and they
were valued and respected men of authority in these societies. In Israel his physical condition would have
limited his full participation in the Temple Worship, but the Scriptures
anticipated a day in which there would be no such barriers:
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to
the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from his people"; and
let not the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." 4 For thus says the LORD: "To
the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold
fast my covenant, 5 I will
give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and
daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off” (Isa
56:3-5).
Could it be that God
arranged this meeting to show that this Scripture was in the initial phases of
being fulfilled? This trusted official of the Ethiopian queen was returning
home in a chariot, reading from the prophet Isaiah. We are not told, but it is
probable that He was traveling with others. More noteworthy is that he was
reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. This is remarkable in that 1)
not everyone could read, so this was clearly an educated man, 2) he had a
personal copy of at least the prophet Isaiah. Most of us have a copy of the
entire Bible – some of us have multiple copies. Such was not the case in
ancient times. Books were copied by hand and would have been quite expensive. It
could have been a scroll of vellum or parchment, or even a codex, a kind of
book, of papyrus sheets (I’m pretty sure he wasn’t reading from his I-phone or tablet!).
He
was reading from the Prophet Isaiah, from one of the most gripping messianic
passages in the Bible, Isaiah 53! In
God’s timing, this man was reading from perhaps the most poignant text in the
prophets, describing the “Suffering Servant.”
It is clear that he was searching for understanding, he wanted to know
the God of the Bible and he wanted to understand better what God expected of
him, and God found a way…
Likewise, each us has been placed by
God exactly where he wants us. Nothing is mere chance. There are people
around us, walking through the desert, desperately in need of the water of life. Most won’t admit how needy they are. Many are
in denial when it comes to their spiritual need. Some will have had their
hearts prepared, they are fertile soil, ready to receive the Word that gives
life. God will arrange “divine
appointments” for each of us, and He will use us as He brings life through His
Word.
II.
A discerning witness: Meeting
them where they are (30-35).
Philip
is where God wanted him and that allows God to direct him more precisely to
respond to this specific opportunity: “And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and join this chariot.’ 30 So Philip ran to him and heard
him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are
reading?’" The Spirit does not usually speak to us in an
audible voice, but part of the message of Acts is that in this age the Holy
Spirit leads the people of God. Paul, for example, will say in Romans 8:14,
“For all who are led by the Spirit of
God are sons of God.” How does He lead? 1) Through Scripture first of all.
What does the Bible say about it? 2) Secondly,
He leads us through the godly counsel of others that He brings into our path. 3)
And he will also work providentially through the circumstances of life. Our God
is that big. If we trust Him, He will make our paths straight.
Notice
Philip hears him reading the text aloud (as would have been the norm) and begins
by asking questions, “Do you understand…?”
He knows God had led him to this encounter, so he is not going to leave the
question unasked. “Do you understand what
you are reading?” Questions are a
good way of getting a sense of where someone is spiritually. For many years
I’ve used two questions I learned in the Evangelism Explosion Equipping
ministry nearly 30 years ago that really helped me in trying to discern where
someone is, spiritually.
1) Have you come to a place in your
spiritual life where you know for sure that you are going to heaven? That question gets different responses, some
depending on the theology of the person, their understanding of eternal
security and the like. Some are surprised to learn that this kind of assurance
is even possible, and that it is one of the reasons the Bible was written. John said in I John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have
eternal life…” Notice, he wrote “so that they might know…” There is
no need to worry, have doubt or linger in uncertainty about eternity. God wants
us to have the assurance that we are saved. So one good diagnostic
question to ask is straightforward, “Do you know for certain you are going to
heaven?” Do you?
2) The second question is even more
pointed, “If you were to die today and stand before God, and He was to ask you,
‘Why should I let you into my Heaven?’, what would you say?” This really gets
to the heart of the matter. What is the basis of your hope of eternal life? If
Jesus was correct in that “the way is narrow that leads to life, and few there
are that find it,” what is the correct response, the answer that means life
instead of eternal separation from God?
The
eunuch was clearly ready to hear the truth about Jesus. He admits he needs
someone to show him the way, to guide him in his understanding, and he is ready
to receive the truth. Starting at the scripture he was reading, Philip shows
him the truth about Jesus. This was a
“divine appointment” to be sure, and Philip was ready with a “discerning
witness.” God will arrange “divine appointments” for each of us, and He will
use us as He brings life through His Word.
III.
A Decisive Moment: A Response
of Faith - The Biblical Pattern is to believe and be baptized (36-40).
“Now as they went down
the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water.
What hinders me from being baptized?’" The implication is that the eunuch has
received the words of Philip with faith, and put his trust in Jesus as
Lord. He asks, “Why can’t I be baptized?”
Really what he was saying is “I want to be baptized right now!”
Verse
37 is absent from most Greek manuscripts, appearing only in some Latin texts.
It is probably something that was added later to clarify what was probably said in response to the
question in v.36. Not having it doesn’t change what is implicit in the context.
The text has Philip give the requirement for baptism: faith (in Christ). The
answer the Eunuch gives shows a right understanding of who Jesus is, that is, the
Christ, the Son of God: “Then Philip
said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said,
‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’" With or without v.37 the point is clear
enough: baptism is a response of faith
in Jesus. Now this is not the main point, but I think its clear enough.
What kind of baptism was this?
1) It
was believer’s baptism (he believed and then was baptized).
2) It
was baptism by immersion. When they came to some water, clearly a stream or
river, he asked about being baptized. They were going through a desert place,
it was a long trip, surely they were traveling with water in some kind of skin
or jar for drinking. If sprinkling or pouring was in view, there was no need to
wait until they came to some “water”! Also
notice that Philip and the eunuch went down into
the water. That is the plain sense of the Greek preposition used here. The
normal usage of the word is “into,” i.e., they entered the water together which
would not have been necessary if this was sprinkling or pouring. And third of all, the word “baptizo,” “baptize,” means “to immerse
or dip.” So we read,
“So he commanded the chariot to stand still.
And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him”
(8:38).
Philip’s job was done, and God
moved him onto another place, in this case miraculously. The eunuch went on his
way rejoicing… “Now when they came up out
of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw
him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.” There is reason for rejoicing when we know we are
right with God, not based on our feelings but based on the truth of the Word of
God.
What
is God saying to me in this passage? God
will arrange “divine appointments” for each of us, and He will use us as He
brings life through His Word.
What would God have me to do in response to this
passage? First, let me talk to those who are seekers, who are
here and curious and who might want to know more about Jesus, about who He is
and what He has done. You are not here by chance. God has planned this exact moment
in your life. You have heard the truth: “All
we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and
the Lord has laid on Him, [on Jesus] the iniquity of us all.” You can
receive forgiveness because of Him, if you will believe He is the Son of God
and trust that He died for you, for your sins, and rose again. It may be that someone here has believed and yet
you have not been baptized. What hinders you from being baptized? Jesus tells
us to do it, to do it after we believe, to do it soon
after we believe as it symbolizes our new life through faith in Him, it even
shows us that it should be done by going down into the water, by immersion. What
hinders you from taking this step and publically professing your faith in Him? There may be others who are believers and who
are baptized, but who are hesitant to accept the truth that God wants you to be
His witness. You are not on the Gaza
road. Thankfully these days! But you are in a desert place, surrounded by
people who are desperately thirsty, whether they know it or not. God will arrange the “appointments,” the opportunities.
Our part is to be available, our calling is to be His witness. Think about that. AMEN.
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