Teachers Needed

Introduction

In Acts 1:8, Jesus instructs his disciples that the gospel will spread. It will begin in Jerusalem, then proceed to the surrounding area in Judea, then to Samaria, then to the ends of the earth. Acts 8 demonstrates the completion of Jesus’s plan from Acts 1:8. Philip who we met in 6:3 leaves Jerusalem and begins spreading the gospel. He goes to Samaria and teaches these people about Jesus. Many believe and are baptized. Then in 8:26-40, Philip teaches an Ethiopian. Since Homer’s “Odyssey” in the tenth century B.C., Ethiopia had been considered the “ends of the earth.” Luke is demonstrating the fulfillment of Acts 1:8—Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

Through the Ethiopian the gospel will go southward. He is an important official. He is the treasurer for the queen of Ethiopia. Her name is not Candace (Kandake). That is a title. Much like Caesar was a title for the king of Rome. The name Candace means queen mother. Pliny the Elder tells us this in his “Natural History” completed in 77 A.D. This Ethiopian is a God believer. He has been in Jerusalem to worship. According to Deut. 23:1, he is not allowed into the temple proper. There is an outer court surrounding the temple which allows believing non-Jews to worship, but he must remain on the outside looking in.

Can you imagine being denied access to God based on nationality? Or a physical condition which you may or may not have chosen? Can you imagine traveling hundreds of miles so that you can stand on the outside of a building knowing that your faith is not sufficient to allow full entrance into the presence of God? Denied access. Denied acceptance. Denied relationship. Told to keep your distance. But the Ethiopian didn’t give up his faith or his allegiance. He continued to serve God in the only way he knew. And the travel wasn’t so bad. It gave him time to catch up on his Bible reading.

Philip as directed by God’s angel joins up with this Ethiopian. The Ethiopian is reading aloud from his Isaiah scroll. This would have been a common practice. Since words would have been written without spacing between them and in all capitals, reading aloud helped in the understanding. Philip asks the Ethiopian if he understands what he is reading. “No,” he says. “I need a teacher.” And he invites Philip to assist him. Listen to what he was reading. [Isaiah 53:1-12]. The Bible says Philip began at this passage and told him the good news about Jesus. Don’t gloss over that sentence. Philip began with Isaiah and told the Ethiopian about Jesus. Today, we are going to learn the good news about Jesus from Isaiah. Philip did not have a Bible all he had was this scroll. So what did he teach him?

Isaiah

From the very beginning, the reader sees the hand of God at work. Verse 26 says that an angel directs Philip to a desert road. Then in verse 29, the Spirit of God tells Philip to get next to the chariot and walk with it. God is directing this whole process. First of all, it would be unlikely for a commoner such as Philip to have a conversation with a dignitary from another country. But it happened because God is directing this process. Second, this is a deserted area. This is not a coincidence that Philip meets this man. God is directing this process.

Starting with Is. 53 Philip would have explained that Jesus was the fulfillment of this passage. He would have talked about his miraculous birth. About Jesus’s ministry of healing. He would have talked about his teachings perhaps even quoting a bit of the Sermon on the Mount. But mostly he would have talked about the crucifixion. The Ethiopian may not have known about the event or been limited in his knowledge about the crucifixion. He would have talked about his burial and most assuredly about his resurrection. The Ethiopian would have been perplexed. He may have had a difficult time accepting all that was said.

But Philip would not have stopped with Isaiah 53. Philip would have turned the scroll to the next column and read from Isaiah 54. Here God proclaims his love for his people who have turned away from him. Philip would have read verse 8 and talked about God as Redeemer. He would have returned to Isaiah 53 and talk about Jesus’s death as God redeeming his people. How that Jesus’s death paid the price for sin. And then he would have read 54:9 and talked about baptism. How do you get baptism from Is. 54:9? Take the time this afternoon and read 1 Peter 2:21-3:21. Peter quotes Is. 53 in 2:22 and then alludes to Is. 54:9 in discussing the importance of baptism in bringing us into relationship with God. I suggest that if the Holy Spirit could help Peter understand the connection, he could certainly help Philip in a one on one teaching situation.

Then there is 55:1 in which God invites all who thirst for spiritual refreshment to come to him. Philip would have yet another opportunity to speak about baptism. Why am I insistent on a discussion about baptism? Because in Acts 8, as Philip and the Ethiopian approach a body of water the Ethiopian wants to be baptized. With a single scroll, how would this man from the ends of the earth know about baptism and its importance in coming into relationship with God unless Philip discussed baptism with him? But don’t stop there. Mentally turn the scroll one more time. Stop at chapter 56. Look at the personal invitation which would have been given.

[Read 56:3-8] The man who had bound himself to God felt excluded from fellowship at the temple. God is talking about allowing the Ethiopian inside the temple. Full access. Welcomed into fellowship. The invitation is simple—come to me and choose to please me and hold on to my covenant. Philip would have told him that access to God was now possible through Jesus, the suffering servant of chapter 53. Philip would have told him that access to God was possible through baptism. As the waters saved Noah, so now they could save him. No longer did he have to feel excluded and without access. God was inviting him to place his faith in Jesus.

And seeing water, the Ethiopian says he wants to be baptized. He and Philip enter the water. Philip baptizes him and is immediately taken away to another place and another preaching appointment. But the Bible says that the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. Is. 56:7 says that the eunuch would be given joy. Isaiah 56 is now fulfilled.

So What?

So what does all this mean? First, God uses us to explain to others what they need to know. Be a Philip at work, at home, and in your neighborhood. Join yourself to the caravan of life and listen for those times to offer help. This is not the time to be shy or afraid. Be the one who shares. Be the one who listens. Be the one who says something that demonstrates there is something greater than COVID; something more definite than the latest relationship; something that is faithful in a world of faithlessness.

Our world is filled with anxiety. There is fear of dying. There is fear of disease. There is fear of lost freedoms, discrimination, racial divides and tension.

Anxiety may be real but it doesn’t have to be the source of our choices. Death is a foregone conclusion. We will die. Only two people never died—Enoch and Elijah. No one has gone to be with the Lord without leaving this earth. So since death is going to occur, let us find ourselves engaging life so that when death comes we have left a legacy of faith, love, trust, and hope that convinces one more person that Jesus is real.

Second, when the opportunity to respond was given, the eunuch did not hesitate. We can only assume how much he knew about Jesus. Whatever he knew, it was enough to convince him that this Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s plan for bringing people to him. No longer excluded. No longer on the outside looking in. No longer feeling isolated. No longer having to profess faith through another set of laws. Free access. Complete relationship. The offer was too good to pass up. This same Jesus wants to be your redeemer. This same Jesus went to the cross to pay the penalty for your sin. He now wants to be your Savior. He issues a personal invitation to come to him. Will you accept it?

Follow Jesus

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