Text:
Philip asked him “Do you
understand what you are reading ?”
Acts 8.30 (NIV)
Philip
The Book of Acts - if you
wanted to sum up the book of Acts, if someone asked you to say in a few words
what the Book of Acts is all about - it’s this: in the Book of Acts, we see
Jesus Christ creating the Church through His Spirit and His Word.
Now, at first sight, the day,
the late morning when Philip and the Ethiopian or Sudanese court official met
on the road from
that
it is through Jesus Christ that these men have been brought together,
through
the living Jesus Christ, the Ethiopian official comes to hear the gospel, and
is saved...................
Philip and the
Ethiopian..............
What do we know of Philip ? First, he appears on the list of apostles of Jesus
in Acts chapter 1. This means, that Philip was a member of the original
community of twelve that Jesus gathered around himself. This group of twelve
was, over the years with Jesus, they saw the miracles of Jesus, and Philip was
there; they were given the secrets of the kingdom, and Philip too shared in
that; the apostles were there at the Last Supper, when Jesus revealed to them
the meaning of the Cross, as the bringing in of the new covenant, through His
own sacrifice. Philip was there that night. And Acts 1 tells us that Philip was
among the apostles who met Jesus, risen from the dead.
And on the great day of Pentecost, when the Spirit came pouring into that house
in Jerusalem with a sound like that of a rushing wind, Philip was there and received
the Spirit too. So, there are great depths and dimensions behind this man,
Philip, as we read about him in Acts 8.
Philip, we read, is down near
the desert road between
Elizabeth
Elliot, the South American missionary, tells of two explorers who visited her
house. They were loaded with equipment and maps for a trip into the rain forest
east of the
Philip
has a guide, there in the desert - Acts 8 declares it to us...........
Jesus Christ, by His Spirit is
his guide............. the Spirit of Christ leads, directs Philip on his way ! Philip has a guide there in the desert. As you and I
do too !
Have you noticed how often in
the Bible the Spirit and the desert are spoken of ?
Ezekiel the prophet is given a
vision of the dry bones brought to life by the
Spirit, in the desert. We read in
the Gospels that at the very beginning of His work, Jesus was led into the deser by the Spirit. And as we read Acts 8, we
find the Spirit of Christ calling leading, guiding Philip into the desert - to
the desert road, through the waste land.
And do we not find this ourselves ? In the desert places of life, the desert times of
our existence, in
the days of dread dryness of soul, the Spirit comes, Christ leads us to the
living waters. How often in the Bible the Spirit and the desert are spoken of together ?
Here, the Spirit of Christ
guides Philip into the desert, and it is there he
meets with the chancellor, the Ethiopian from the court of the
Kandake...........
The Ethiopian
And here he is, in a chariot, reading
a scroll from the Scriptures, reading verses from the Book of Isaiah ! How extraordinary ! He has
just reached chapter 53, verses 7, 8, and he is deep in solitary reflection !
Philip, runs up alongside and asks
him “Do you understand what you are reading ?”
As far as the Ethiopian is
concerned Philip is a stranger appearing out of nowhere here in the middle of
the desert, and perhaps a little taken aback, he is a government minister after
all. he might
well have said - yes, I’m fine.
But not at
this moment, not in this place. His answer is direct and deep, honest.
How can I understand, he says,
if I have no one to explain ?
Now, what is deep about this ? What is deep is this: that the official knows he does
not understand. He cannot grasp what he is reading. He sees the letters there
on the scroll, but he sees no deeper. He knows there are
depths
there, but he can only see the surface. There is a key, he knows, but he does
not have it. He reads the words, but they make no inner sense to him.
He who knows the things of state, cannot hear the things of God,
He
who with a word
commands a land - cannot hear the Word
of God
Journeying through the desert, he comes to a halt before
a sublime mystery.
How can I understand, says the
Ethiopian official, if I have no one to explain ?
And this means that the Spirit
is already at work in him, this man from
for
this is how the Spirit works in us - to bring light to us from the Bible, to
bring us to understand the deep things of the Gospel.........
To show us, yes, to show us
the beauty, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in the
gospel, that is the work of the Spirit. And the light of the Spirit shows us
the dullness of our understanding too. So that we too, say,
How can I understand if I have
no one to explain ?
It is the great and wonderful
work of the Spirit to explain, to unfold to us the majesty, the glory of Jesus Christ........ and this is what we will see in a few moments.........
How can I understand, says the
Ethiopian official, if I have no one to explain ?
Jesus, once said to the
teachers of the law - You say that you see ! you claim you understand ! this
makes your blindness all the worse.
But you see,
the difference with this man, the Ethiopian, is that he says
‘I am blind, I cannot see what
all this means, how
I long to see the meaning of these words’
His not-knowing is a blessing, for:
He knows he cannot see, but his eyes will be opened.
He knows it is dark... but the dawn is near !
For Philip now begins to
explain. The passage this man is reading from Isaiah 53 says this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and
as a lamb before the shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.........
his life was taken from the earth
Philip now begins to explain -
This is Jesus Christ - He it is, who is the Lamb, the sheep
led to the slaughter
in His death on the cross, our sin
has been laid on Him...........
He it is who is the Lamb who takes away the sin of all
the world.
and so in Him is God’s glorious healing remedy for all the sin of the world
through
Him God has established
righteousness on the earth
and restored us to Himself.........
So Philip explains to this Ethiopian
man, the gospel message - shows how this passage is speaking of Jesus Christ
and His cross.
And so the words of the
prophet Isaiah, once dark, are now filled with light
they
fall into place, they make glorious and holy sense in Jesus Christ.
And, so they bring
life............... and light
the scriptures are unlocked through Jesus Christ !
now
baptised, the Ethiopian goes on his way in a new and deep joy ! Why ? Because in those moments he has received the message
of salvation - he has heard that at the cross, his sins, all of them, his deepest
rooted sin, all of this, his guilt and his sin has been taken away. He is
loosed from the burden of sin. Now he knows the free flow of God’s mercy in
Jesus Christ. And all of this, through the Spirit moving,
guiding...............
And The Spirit, who has
brought them together, now parts them - Philip goes on his way - and the
Ethiopian continues his journey. How different both men are !
Philip: he has had the joy of
being able to speak the gospel of Jesus Christ and to see a man coming to faith; and the
Ethiopian: he has experienced in himself
the deep working power of God through Spirit and the Word of Christ.
Jesus Christ has brought the
apostle Philip and the Ethiopian together
through
His Spirit, on that desert road, for those unfolding moments...........
the
Ethiopian official comes to hear the gospel, and is saved...................
this
is the way, this is the way, the Church grows.......
AMEN.