Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Evangelist At Work

Acts 8:26-40

Philip, the only person referred to as an evangelist in scripture, had started a church in Samaria. Peter and John had come down to help establish the church, with the result that the people were filled with the Spirit. We have no indication how long Philip or the apostles spent building u the church, but once they had accomplished their purpose, the apostles preached in various villages on their way back to Jerusalem. Philip appears to have remained in Samaria for a time, teaching them, until God directed him to leave.

“And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.” (Acts 8:26)

The city of Samaria was a large city. There were many people being saved and the church was growing spiritually. Now God instructs Philip to leave it and go to a desert place where nobody lives? It makes me think of the people who told my dad he was wasting his time going to the Navajo reservation because there weren’t enough people to build a big church. It would be better to go to a country with a larger population so he could reach more people. Thankfully, Dad, like Philip, listened to the Lord, rather than to human wisdom.

“And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.” (Acts 8:27-28)

There was only one person in that place, and he was an Ethiopian, a black man, and a powerful leader of the country, traveling in the equivalent of a modern day Rolls Royce. Ordinary people walked or rode donkeys. He had a definite desire to know God, having just been to Jerusalem to worship, and was reading the scriptures in an effort to understand what God expected. Perhaps, he’d heard enough in Jerusalem to want to go beyond just what the scribes and priests were teaching.

“Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?” (Acts 8:29-30)

Philip did approach the man because he was the only one there, but because the Holy Spirit commanded him to. When he approached the chariot, the man was reading aloud in an effort to understand what the scriptures were saying. Frequently reading aloud, observing the punctuation and ignoring verse divisions will clarify confusing passages, but it wasn’t working for this man. Philip asked if he understood what he was reading.

“And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? ” (Acts 8:31-34)

He was reading the prophecy in Isaiah 53, and recognized he had no basis to understand what the scriptures were saying. It is a key element of going as a missionary to people who have never heard. Even the Samaritans had an understanding of who Isaiah and the Messiah were, and would naturally assume that Isaiah was speaking of the Messiah. The Ethiopian eunuch had no such background. We were surprised when we came to the reservation that many Navajo’s only concept of a god was some historical being who gave them some benefit or caused a problem. Before they could understand what we were talking about, they needed a clear concept of who God was.

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.” (Acts 8:35)

Teaching, like traveling, has to start from where one is. It is not possible to start from New York if I am in Albuquerque, nor is it possible to learn about God without starting with what we already know. Philip started where the man was, and taught him who Jesus was and what the prophecy was talking about, in a one on one setting. Clearly, the man had heard about or seen people being baptized, from his next question.

“And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” (Acts 8:36-38)

The eunuch asked what would be required for him to be baptized. Philip’s answer was that he had to believe in Jesus Christ with all his heart he could be, implying that baptism is meaningless unless one truly believes. John 3:36 declares, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

The eunuch’s response clearly fulfills Romans 10:9-10. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Since Philip could have simply dipped up some water to sprinkle or pour it over the man’s head, as many do today, it seems obvious that immersion is what the passage is referring to.

“And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:39)

The Eunuch returned to Ethiopia and is believed to have started the Coptic church which, while having departed from the scriptures, endured until the communist took over of Ethiopia in the 1970’s. Though it appeared to have limited potential, Philip’s ministry to that man had a huge impact on Ethiopia for 1900 years, with Emperor Haile Selassie begging for missionaries to preach the gospel and turn Ethiopia back to God during the 1960’s.

“But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8:40)

The Holy Spirit then took Philip to Azotus, where he began teaching in every city along the way, eventually arriving in Caesarea, the home of Cornelius, some time after Peter preached there in Acts 10. His ministry is our only example of an evangelist’s office.

3 comments:

  1. Wow dfish,

    And what an example he was! I see so clearly how the Angels are watching and working to help people be saved. When the man picks up the Bible and is trying to understand, God sends His Angel, and not just any angel, but the Angel of the Lord.How blessed was he?!
    Also I bet in Jerusalem eveybody was still talking about Jesus, and that they affected him and now he was trying to understand for himself. Clearly he had a hunger for God, and he was humble enough even in his high position to invite Philip to sit with him. It will be fun to talk with him in Heaven.If I go there first, I'll be sure to tell him you said Hi!
    Gerie

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  2. Thank you for visiting my blog

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  3. Phillips obedience to God is one of my favorite stories in the Bible.

    The story of your dad's calling to the Navajo reservation must be an interesting one too.

    Take care Don and have a great weekend

    ~Ron

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