Acts 8: 26-35
Now an angel of the Lord said To Philip, “Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he meet an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to the chariot and stay near it.”
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand and what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
A Thought
A friend of mine believes that he is a transgender person, which some people believe that this Ethiopian eunuch was a transgender. A eunuch was a man that had been castrated or an impotent man who was unable to have children and some considered them to be a weak man. In today’s Scripture reading Philip while preaching a mighty revival in Samaria with miraculous signs, healings and many accepting the word of God, an angel told Philip to leave and go south on the desert road. After starting out, he met the Ethiopian eunuch reading the Scriptures from Isaiah. Can we imagine that God in his mercy would tell Philip to leave a revival, where many people were becoming believers, to journey to give the good news of Jesus to just one eunuch man? Yes, this is the good news of Jesus Christ. Christ died and rose again to life that all people can believe and receive new life with forgiveness of sin, regardless of how small or great our guilt has been. With this new found life in Christ, we must leave the sinful nature of our old man behind, be obedient and live by God’s Word.
Our Prayer
Father thank you for your love for mankind that you offer forgiveness and a new life to all who will accept and obey your Word who came into the world that we might be brought back into fellowship with you. Awaken us to the power of your Holy Spirit that we will receive your light and overcome the darkness of this world. Fill us with your love and grace that we will be the light to reveal the good news to this world of darkness and deception. We ask in Jesus name, amen.
