October 18

Acts 8: 26-40
26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 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 silent before its shearer, so he does not open 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 The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" 35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" 37 38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Philip is one of the Hellenists that, like Stephen, had been appointed to make sure that their widows received their food. We also hear of him in John’s gospel. He is a bridge between the Hellenistic Jews and Jesus. Now he will begin the movement of the church into all the world.

The decision to go to Gaza is not his. A messenger of the Lord directs him to the road. Often the mission of the church is not decided by strategic planning, as important as that is. The opportunity to share the faith in Jesus just happens or so it seems.

We have some historical evidence of a relationship between Ethiopia and the people of Israel. The Queen of Sheba had come to Jerusalem during the time of King Solomon. There may have been some who went to Ethiopia from Judea at the time of the Babylonian captivity. There is a pre-existing relationship between these peoples. So the fact that the treasurer of Ethiopia is coming to Jerusalem is not that unusual. The fact that he is a eunuch is. Deuteronomy 23 prohibits eunuch from the assembly of the Lord.

This literate court official is more than just casually interested in the God of Israel. Reading Isaiah 53 he asks Philip for help. The response is a question that appears obvious to us, but was ground breaking then. “What is to prevent him from being baptized?” So the church now includes a Gentile brother from Ethiopia. The full implications of this act have yet to be realized. The path is set for the church and change is coming.

Reflection questions:
1. How do we decide to whom our proclamation is shared?
2. Are we open to God’s movement in people we do not expect to be interested in the Gospel?
3. What are the things we might think would prevent someone from being baptized?