Divine Appointments (Acts 8:26-40)
Why are you here today? What happened in your life that led to you being a follower of Christ, or you randomly showing up at this church building today? My conversion story is an interesting one. Jeff Harville, my father-in-law, asked me to come to Wednesday night Bible class with their family. I didn't know him, but I was over at his house teaching his daughter math. Two months later, Jenna was about to throw my number away. If she had, I would have never seen her or heard from her again, but instead, she decided to call and invite me to a gospel meeting. Less than a year later, I obeyed the gospel. Now, seventeen years after that, I preach full-time. It all started with an invitation and that phone call to the right person at the right time. I consider that to be God's work in drawing me to him. It happened initially through Jeff and Jenna.
Today, we are going to study an opportunity that God orchestrates in the book of Acts, and I hope that we will all be encouraged to step out in faith to share the gospel with those around us.
The Spirit's Intervention
Shortly after the church at Jerusalem had been scattered by persecution, Philip traveled north to the region of the Samaritans. He wanted the truth spread to people who were outcasts and rejected by the Jewish nation. When he got there, he found that the people paid close attention to the things he was teaching them about Jesus. The people there had tender hearts for the truth; many believed and were baptized.
But Philip doesn't stay in this region. We read that Philip is visited by an angel of God who told him to head south. He is given a particular assignment south of Jerusalem to a desert place. Pause and think about that instruction for a moment. One of the most successful evangelists outside the apostles is told to go to the desert. Can you imagine how much work that would be to travel back to Jerusalem and take the road down to Gaza into the desert? He just left a heavily populated city of Jerusalem and went to a heavily populated city of Samaria. Why not move to another heavily populated city? What use would he be on this desert road? Philip might have wondered whether this is a good idea or not. But, we read that he rose and went. There was no hesitation in Philip.
Meeting The Eunuch
When he got there, he saw a carriage on the road. Carriages would indicate wealth. Philip sees the chariot, and the Spirit tells him to join it. Imagine that for a second. Philip doesn't know this man, and this man doesn't know Philip. He is wealthy, and Philip is ordinary. A carriage is not a synagogue or a place where someone would typically seek the truth. Furthermore, Philip doesn't have his chariot to catch him with. He must run alongside this chariot and speak loudly to get the man's attention.
As Philip comes upon this man, he finds him reading the scroll of Isaiah out loud. He's on the exact text we studied last week, Isaiah 53. What a coincidence! There is no doubt that God knew the timing and made all of this workout.
This man is fascinating. It turns out that this man is heading back to Ethiopia. There is some debate over whether Ethiopia was located where we know Ethiopia is located now. Some believe that it was closer to Egypt at that time. But if it is where Ethiopia is now, people in that time would consider this man to be from the end of the populated world. This man is a eunuch. A eunuch is forced to be castrated, or he chooses to be so that he can be around the royal family. We read that he serves as the treasurer for Candace, the queen of Ethiopia. What in the world is a eunuch from Ethiopia doing on this road reading a scroll of Isaiah? The text tells us that he was traveling to Jerusalem to worship. Eunuchs can't go into the temple to worship. We can only assume that he is a proselyte or a Jew who was sold into slavery like Daniel or Joseph. We have no further information. But this man is a sincere seeker, and God wants him taught.
What are you reading?
Philip approaches his carriage. I imagine that this would be a little bit intimidating. This is a wealthy man with a nice chariot, and he's from a region far away. He asks him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" The man replies, "How can I unless someone guides me?" Then the man invites Philip to sit with him in the chariot, discussing Isaiah 53.
Acts 8:32--34 (ESV) --- 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”
It's too easy for Philip to connect this text to Jesus. God has given him an excellent opportunity to share the truth with this man. He shows how this text refers to Jesus, the Messiah, who was despised and rejected by Israel. The rest of this text tells them that this Messiah makes an offering for the transgressors. If he were to continue reading Isaiah 55:1-2, he would hear the most beautiful invitation from God to come into the kingdom and receive the blessing of God. But if he read Isaiah 56, he would find an exceptional invitation.
Isaiah 56:3--8 (ESV) --- 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. 6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant--- 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” 8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”
The eunuch then looks out the window in this "desert place" and sees water. What are the odds of that? How many times in a desert place are you going to come upon water? God makes a way. When this eunuch sees water, he asks, "What prevents me from being baptized?" Philip doesn't hear these words and says, "You don't have to be baptized if you don't want to." He doesn't tell the eunuch to wait until his family can watch this happen. Philip has mentioned the need to be baptized. So, when he hears that the eunuch wants to obey, he commands the chariot to stop, and they get down into the water together so that Philip can baptize him, immersing him in water.
After this, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away to preach in other towns, and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. The eunuch still has joy even though Philip left because he did not have joy in the teacher. He had joy in the gospel.
What's The Message?
God's Providence
So what is the point of looking at this conversion story, and what do we learn from it?
First, we must point out that many things about Philip and the eunuch are unique. It is unique that this man is Ethiopian. We hear almost nothing about the church's growth in Egypt or Ethiopia throughout Acts. This is it. I imagine Luke didn't have much to say about that work because he wasn't a part of it. Also, this is unique because, in all of the conversion stories in the book of Acts, we rarely see a single person being converted because the Holy Spirit told someone to talk to them. We have that in the conversion of this eunuch, Saul, and Cornelius. But, outside of these specific instances, we seldom see the Holy Spirit telling one man to go to another and teach him the gospel. Plus, the man being taught usually has had a vision or experience that prepares him for this truth. The eunuch has just been reading Isaiah after traveling to Jerusalem. We don't know anything else. Finally, notice that this one seems to have the lowest impact in the story compared to the other individual conversions. Saul becomes the Paul we read about throughout the rest of this book. Cornelius is the first of the Gentiles. We don't even know the name of this eunuch, but he is a treasurer for the queen of Ethiopia.
The point of this story is to tell us that God gives attention to the outcast and the foreigner. God sees and knows those who want to serve him. He doesn't care about the social barriers that men create. He doesn't care about the way you look on the outside. He cares about the heart.
Many might claim that God works miraculously like this for everyone. But I think the story of the Ethiopian eunuch is a miraculous event that reassures us of God's providential ability. We could say that the angel's appearance was miraculous, but notice that the angel told Philip to leave Samaria at the perfect time to find this Ethiopian as he reads Isaiah 53. That's pinpoint accuracy. That Ethiopian would have been reading for over two hours to get to that section. God knew the timing right down to the second.
Do we have faith in God's providential work? He may provide us with the perfect opportunity this afternoon.
Our Submission
Notice that God didn't send the angel to the eunuch. God always includes men in his plan for reaching the lost. He knew that the eunuch was good soil and that the moment was right for someone to step in and explain the truth to him. But God has decided to let us spread the message to our neighbor.
Consider what we learn from Philip. Philip went on this long journey for one man to hear the gospel in the desert. Philip put his faith and trust in God to make this journey. He doesn't assume that he knows better and relies on his intellect. God calls for us to step out in faith and teach those who might be outcasts. But will we do it? Are we willing to show a mustard seed of faith? Philip is allowed to teach and takes advantage of it, knowing that God can make something small into something big.
Are we offering God's invitation to those around us? There is not one mold or type of person we are looking for who might be a good prospect. Throughout the book of Acts, we will see multiple events like this. God expects his evangelists to push through barriers and reach out to those who are not like them. This goes against the way of the world around us.
I love how God paved the way for Philip. He made it evident that Philip was right where he needed to be and made it easy. Don't you wish that God would make it that easy for us? I'm sure many of us want God to do that for us all the time, but this does not indicate what is expected. We may not have this same experience as we try to evangelize. Some will be good soil like this man, but others will be rocky, thorny, or hard soil. God is not asking us to change the soil. He's expecting us to spread the seed.
Sincere Seekers
As we study this text, it is apparent that the eunuch was a sincere seeker. He was rich soil and ready to accept the truth. Who knows how often we are around sincere seekers with opportunities to share the truth? Who knows what kind of opportunities God will give us this afternoon? From all those I have talked to, those who stick are the ones who are interested enough to ask questions.
Remember, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." This man was hungry. He was willing to sacrifice in seeking God out. His journey to Jerusalem might have taken him over a year to complete. When he got there, he would have been excluded to some degree. He was unlike any of the people there because he was likely a black man and a eunuch. But he doesn't hate God for that. He would not have fit in, but he was hungry. He was spending his time in the chariot reading the OT. He sought to understand God and accepted the truth when he heard it. That's why he was studying God's word, and God sent him Philip.
How does it make you feel when we study a conversion story like this? This guy is hungering and thirsting for God. What about you? Does his zeal shame you? Do you care about who God is and what he has done for you enough to attend services and study? Consider how many people complain about having to study their Bible or neglect it to study Netflix. Consider how many people are too lazy to drive thirty minutes to services. This eunuch spent a year of his life traveling to worship. Why would he do that? Because he is hungry to know more. Is that you?
Have you accepted the truth of the gospel of Jesus? He died and was resurrected to give you spiritual life. Do you have joy because you now have a promise in heaven? You can today if you will come forward, put on Christ, and submit to life in his service.