Journey Through Acts (Part 6) Series

The Journey: Following Jesus through Acts (6)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Scripture: Acts 8:26-40

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 7/30/2017

As most of you know, we’re six weeks into a ten-week journey through the book of Acts. The purpose of this journey is to follow in the footsteps of those who followed in the footsteps of Jesus, who continued the journey that Jesus started them out on. Hopefully, this first generation of followers can pave the way for us on our own spiritual journey.

Last week we zoomed in on the first part of chapter 6, where conflict and complaints arose in the early church. The Apostles responded to the situation by establishing a division of labor and new leadership roles in the church. While the Shepherds committed themselves to prayer, preaching and protecting the flock, the servants (or deacons) would organize and implement the specific ministries and programs of the church.

Seven men were originally chosen for the role of deacon and Acts 7 spotlights one of them in particular—Stephen. In Acts 7, Stephen preaches to a hostile crowd of Jews. Sadly, his impassioned pleas fall on deaf ears and the enraged mob seizes Stephen and stones him to death, making Stephen the first martyr of Christianity. Among the frenzied crowd, stood a dogmatic young man, named Saul. We’ll circle back to Saul next Sunday. In the meantime, the stoning of Stephen emboldened Christianity’s enemies and the Bible says:

“A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Act 8:1 NLT).

Among those believers who retreated to Samaria was Philip, another of the seven original deacons. In Acts 8, Philip takes center stage. In the first part of the chapter, he preaches to the people of Samaria and leads many men and women to put their faith in Jesus, including a one-time sorcerer named Simon. But it’s the second half of this chapter that I’d like to focus on this morning. If you have a Bible or an app on your phone, please open it Acts 8:26-40.

This passage tells the familiar tale of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. It’s the story of one man’s journey—both literal and figurative—as he comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ. And I believe this encounter provides a pattern for believers today as we try to share our faith in Jesus one-on-one with our friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. This morning I want to highlight three essential ingredients in the Ethiopian Eunuch’s journey to Jesus.

The first ingredient is the witness.

• THE WITNESS

Fresh off a successful preaching circuit in Samaria, the Bible says:

As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Candace, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” (Acts 8:26-29 NLT)

I’m going to ask the obvious question. An “angel of the Lord” has appeared at various times in Scripture to give direction to certain people. An angel appeared to Hagar, Abraham, Moses, Balaam, Gideon, Elijah, Mary and Joseph, Zachariah, Peter, and many others. So, why didn’t this angel just talk to the Ethiopian eunuch himself? Certainly, the angel was capable of proclaiming the Good News about Jesus. So, why tell Philip to do it?

The obvious answer is—sharing the Gospel is our job, not the angel’s job. Remember what Jesus said in Acts 1: “you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere” (Acts 1:8 NLT). He wasn’t talking to angels; he was talking to his disciples and that includes you and me. Jesus intends for his followers to be his witnesses—that’s Plan A and there is no Plan B.

It’s not easy to share your faith though, is it? Maybe you’re just not an extroverted person. Neither am I. Maybe you don’t know what you’re supposed to say or how to broach the subject. And, of course, there is always the fear of rejection. What if they’re offended? What if it turns into an argument? What if I ruin an otherwise perfectly good friendship?

The first generation of Jesus-followers had a lot of the same concerns and, even worse, they had the threat of persecution to worry about. But they didn’t let that stop them. Take Philip, for instance.

There were plenty of differences between Philip and the eunuch that may have caused a less resolute person to shy away. There were racial and cultural differences, possible religious differences, vocational differences, socio-economic differences (the eunuch was obviously rich, while Philip was essentially homeless). Not to mention, Philip was a total stranger. The Ethiopian might have thought Philip was a robber, or a beggar, or a fool. Philip could have backed down for any one of those reasons. But he didn’t. Philip listened to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and approached a total stranger. Christians would do well to ask ourselves, “Do I follow God this simply and completely? Do I share Christ as boldly or do I back down?”