Notes from a Sermon based on Acts Chapter 8 vv26-40

Look at story from 2 aspects – from Philip’s perspective and then from the Eunuch’s perspective.

First of all Phillip  -  appointed in Acts Ch 6 as one of ‘the seven men of good standing’ to help in the daily distribution of bread to the followers, freeing up ‘the twelve’ to devote themselves to prayer and to serving the word’.

Philip is guided by the Holy Spirit to go to the road going down from Jerusalem to Gaza. He does not know what the Holy Spirit has in mind for him, but when he gets to the road, the Spirit tells him the next step to take. And this is a learning point for us all - the Spirit’s guidance often comes one step at a time.

And for Phillip’s next step the Spirit says, "Go up and join this chariot." That's all it says.

Not what for.

Nor who is in the chariot.

Just go up and join this chariot......

And from there the story unfolds as Phillip is given the opportunity to explain the scriptures to a total stranger, open the stranger’s eyes to their meaning, and then when the stranger believed, he then baptized him alongside the road and watched as he went on his way rejoicing.

It is a lovely story and I must be honest, until I was asked to say some words today, I’ve invariably read it from the point of view of Philip, the Christian believer. The teaching I have always taken from it is that when we wait on the Spirit, we may be called upon to be available to people just when they need us. This is not always an easy task, particularly in the secular workplaces and environments we spend most of our time. However, on the occasions when we are able to share our faith with someone, regrettably it is often an all-too-brief discussion or shared moment, and we sometimes never get to know how the other person’s particular story turns out. We just have to trust God and let them go – trust their future in His hands, not ours.

But let us now look at the story from the perspective of the other main character – the rich and exotic stranger on the road - the Ethiopian Eunuch. My image of this man is probably miles from the truth – but was formed many years ago when I read the Hamlyn Children’s Bible. The picture, similar to the one behind me,  appears to be of a rich man in a luxurious chariot travelling down a tree-lined country road. I suspect the illustrators who worked for Hamlyn may have taken some liberties with how this scene actually was - because this story is about a man with, to put it mildly at least, an interesting history and a challenging personal and physical situation! Noting that we are in a Church and it is a Sunday afternoon, I won’t go into the details of how a man becomes a Eunuch (although I’m sure Richard will tell you over a coffee if you wish!) – but I suspect it is likely that our man never asked to become a Eunuch, but  rather was deprived of his manhood in order to save his life and secure himself a career at the court of the Ethiopian Queen. However, the choice made, either by himself or by his parents, came at the cost of a terrible mutilation that must have caused him psychological agony as well as considerable physical pain. His pride and dignity were taken away from him and he was forced to live a life restricted by limits that were not God-given but placed on him by other human beings. And sadly, this is a story that is not unique to 2000 years ago - so many people in our world today are held back from living the life that God intends for them by racism or sexism or poverty or disability.

However, the thing we must learn from our Eunuch is that he didn't give up in despair. He made the best of the options that were available to him.

He was clearly an educated man because literacy of any kind was a minority skill in biblical days. We also know that he was a man in a position of trust and authority. In fact, he was the controller of the Queen's fabulous wealth. He was her right-hand man. He must have proved his worth through years of faithful, hard work.

Another thing we know about him is that he was a man on a spiritual quest. In fact, he was so interested in Judaism that he travelled from Africa to Jerusalem to worship in that city and find out more about the faith of the Jews.

However, the physical deformation that made him a Eunuch meant that he could never be a Jew. Old Testament Law decreed that he was not allowed into the temple. At best, he could only have been a “God-fearer”, who could go to synagogues, pray, and read scriptures, but nothing else.  

But our Eunuch was a genuine searcher, eager to find out more. He was humble enough to know when he needed to seek help. And although he was in sole charge of huge amounts of money on behalf of the Queen of Ethiopia, he was a beginner in terms of understanding the things of God. So he knew that he needed a spiritual adviser when he tried to read about the Hebrew prophets.

So our Eunuch had both an open heart and an open mind. When he heard the Good News from Philip, the news that made sense of the Hebrew scriptures, he responded immediately!

He was a man of decision and action, and he acted at once. He commanded his charioteer to stop beside the first water that he saw, and he requested Philip to baptize him without delay.

After his baptism, the reading tells us that Philip was snatched away by the Spirit and found himself somewhere else altogether. But however much this may have surprised Philip, it doesn't seem to have disturbed our Eunuch, who simply went on his way rejoicing - he too was now filled with the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, legend has it that he returned to Africa and founded the Ethiopian Coptic Church, the oldest continuing Christian Church in Africa. Thus, through the power of God, this man who was abused and enslaved by human beings was empowered to do great things for the Kingdom of God.

So I believe there are two different lessons to learn from this story, depending on the different characters in the passage

We can learn from Philip, the Christian believer. We must wait on the Lord, to hear His direction, so that we can be available to those who need us, without worrying about how our story will come out, but trust that the Holy Spirit will guide us. Phillip didn’t question God – he was prepared to follow God’s will whatever He wanted. God doesn’t tell Philip why He wants him to go south along the road to Gaza. Even so, he obeyed and was walking south in the heat of the day, just waiting for God’s next step. What would you have done if you were Philip?

And we can learn from the Ethiopian Eunuch. Whatever life or human oppression can do to bring us down, the power of God is available to set us free. Not only to set us free,  but to give us the gifts we need to make a difference in the world. This man went to Jerusalem seeking God, seeking hope, seeking something to fill the emptiness in his life that all his power and influence could not fill. And that hope came alive!

It is always good to finish a talk in Church with a personal challenge - and so what is the challenge I’ve found in this reading? Philip was the tool in God’s hand to accomplish His will on earth. And so are WE! How amazing would it be if we were to speak to someone next time we were in town, or in church, and to share our Faith with them. Then after doing this, for them to be so excited about our faith that they too wanted to share in it and came with us to the font to be baptized! Now that would be an amazing 4:30 praise service!