The Aftermath Of Easter - Philip And The Ethiopian Eunuch

April 24, 2022 Sermon - Acts 8:26–40 The Aftermath of Easter - Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Today we are going to have a look at an early convert to Christ, after the first Resurrection Sunday, one of the first who came to Jesus in faith. We had an amazing Easter Sunday last week. What a joyful time that was.

The joy of Jesus Christ’s resurrection - that monumental event that changed the course of history. And of course we were witnesses to 7 who followed Jesus in the waters of baptism in that same service. God is good.

We feel the impact, or we remember the impact of our own baptisms, that moment when we ourselves first made that very clear public profession of faith in Jesus.

And we remember how our own lives have been shaped and impacted so profoundly by the victory of Jesus over the cross, over sin, over death.

We remember our own faith beginnings. We remember, and that is a good thing.

After the Resurrection was Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples. We’re told that 3000 people gave their lives to Jesus that day.

Many more followed, as the church grew and grew. And then as the book of Acts unfolds we’re given a line of sight into the work of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, and we’re witness as we read, fairly up close, to the conversion of some individuals.

And today we are going to reflect on the experience of one of the early converts to Christ, one of the first disciples whose life was changed completely after encountering the gospel and after his own baptism.

There are things we can pick up from this passage that can be helpful to us.

Both in Philip the evangelist and in the Ethiopian Eunuch.

Listen to the Voice of the Spirit

Philip was one of the Apostles who had travelled with Jesus for the three years of Jesus' public ministry.

He had experienced the miracles, the teachings of Jesus, the ups and downs of those three years. He had just recently shared the experience of the very dark day of Good Friday.

Like the other disciples he had abandoned Jesus and had spent the rest of Good Friday and Saturday very confused and very depressed. Lost, broken up, directionless.

Then he had experienced the great reversal of the resurrection, he had been with the disciples as the news first came of the empty tomb, and then as Jesus appeared to them after the resurrection.

Like the other Disciples Philip had received the commission from Jesus, recorded in Matthew 28, to go into all the world, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit

Now we don’t know what Philip was doing right before this moment, but more than likely he was active and engaged in serving the Lord, sharing the gospel, doing the healings that the early Apostles did.

The resurrection of Jesus had completely altered the course of his life. And he was in the early stages of his own new life.

Then, apparently out of nowhere, 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went.

So a messenger, an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. Not much detail was given to Philip. He wasn’t told why. He was told where to go, and so of course where to be, at the right time.

The angel didn’t, you’ll notice, inquire of Philip if he had some free time. It wasn’t a conversation per se.

Philip was in full-obedience mode, something he had learned from Jesus who taught His people to be ready, to live with an anticipation of God moving, of God giving direction.

If Philip wasn’t ready, if his heart wasn’t yielded fully, a thing that he learned over his time with Jesus, he might have argued, he might have demanded more information before he left for that dessert place.

But we’re told that he simply got up - he rose, and went about 50 miles to the road from Jerusalem which led via Bethlehem and Hebron and joined the main road to Egypt just south of Gaza.

That the word “Gaza” means “treasure”. That was not lost on Luke, the author of the Book of Acts that we are looking at today. The Ethiopian who was in charge of the treasure of his government was to find real treasure on the road to Gaza! There’s all kinds of intricate details like that in the text of Holy Scripture. Takes some unpacking. Anyway, Philip arose and he went.

How cool is it to live listening to the voice of God's spirit, I've learned to be ready so that when God has an assignment for us we're prepared, we're in the right frame of mind. We are pumped, energized and ready to be obedient.