Acts 8:26-28
26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get ready and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)
27 So he got ready and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet.
The Salvation of the Ethiopian Eunuch (1)
Introduction
(1) The ministry of Philip the Evangelist was a ministry that crossed boundaries. (a) The major boundary was between the Jews and the Samaritans. Philip crossed that boundary and evangelized to the Samaritans. (b) A smaller boundary was between the Jews and the Ethiopian converts, but Philip crossed that boundary as well. (2) The gospel spreads to the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles. Let’s focus on two points. (a) The main subject of evangelism is the resurrected Jesus. (b) The Lord Jesus uses various methods and people. These two principles remain unchanged even today.
The passage about the salvation of the Ethiopian eunuch can be divided as follows: (1) Guidance through an angel (v 26-28). (2) Guidance through the Holy Spirit (v 29-31). (3) Guidance through the Word (v 32-35). (4) Guidance through God’s invisible hand (providence) (v 36-40).
Guidance by an angel
“But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, ‘Get ready and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a desert road.) So he got ready and went.” (1) Regarding the evangelism to the Samaritans, there was no command from God to Philip. Philip voluntarily preached Christ to the Samaritans. However, in this case, the angel commands Philip (this is the command of the resurrected Christ). (2) Originally, Philip should have stayed with the apostles and continued evangelizing in the cities of Samaria. But the angel commanded Philip to change direction. (3) This is a move from a fruitful mission field to the wilderness. Humanly speaking, this is not a desirable move, but Philip obeyed the command. (4) From Jerusalem to Gaza is about 50 miles (80 km) distance. The ancient Philistine city of Gaza was destroyed in 93 B.C. and rebuilt in 57 B.C. The road Philip walked on passed through the ruins of Gaza and led to the new Gaza via a desert road. Philip was obedient to the angel’s command. Every day, we are faced with choices of which path to take. Let us develop the habit of setting aside our own desires and seeking God’s guidance. Even if the path seems like a wilderness, there is always a blessing prepared by God waiting there.
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, there is blessing in the path You lead. I will follow Your will. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.