Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH.
Thank you for
being with me today.
Jesus stated in
our Gospel lesson that His disciples were clean because of the Word He had
spoken to them. In addition, He urged the disciples to abide in Him and
promised that His Word would abide in them. In our reading from Acts this week,
we find a man who hears the Word about Jesus came to faith through that Word.
A little
background might be helpful. One of the main characters in this account is a
man by the name of Philip. This Philip was not one of the Apostles. He was a
believer, obviously, and he was one of the leaders of the early church; a man
who preached the Gospel as he served the needs of God’s people – particularly the
widows in the early church who relied on the generosity of the community for
their daily living.
The Reading:
Acts 8:26-40
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. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of
Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had
come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his
chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit
said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." 30 So
Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do
you understand what you are reading?" 31 And he said, "How
can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit
with 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 before
its shearer is silent, so he opens not 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 And the eunuch said to
Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself
or about someone else?" 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and
beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36
And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch
said, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 37 38 And he commanded the chariot to
stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he
baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on
his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he
passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to
Caesarea. (ESV)
Comments
Okay, there are
several things to unpack in this lesson.
First, the
Ethiopian eunuch. This was an important official. He was a eunuch in service of
the queen – which means that he had been sexually sterilized to avoid any
romantic connection with the queen. This medical condition would have kept him
for being allowed to enter the Temple as a worshipper. The man might be a
believer, converted to believe in the God of Israel, but he cannot be a full
convert – he may not have even been able to receive the covenant of
circumcision as a eunuch … depending upon how thoroughly they sterilized him. So
we want to notice that God is using Philip to show that because old covenant is
fulfilled through Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection all people are
truly welcomed into God’s kingdom under the new covenant.
Second, the man
was reading from the prophet Isaiah. He had a copy of at least part of that
scroll. That indicates a great deal of wealth. Books were not affordable at this
time. The word of God recorded by Isaiah created a bit of confusion for the
eunuch. And we need to see that God was working through the Word to draw this
man to faith, and God was using Philip to testify about the meaning of the Word
– to help the eunuch see that these words were about Jesus.
Third, the
passage in question was Isaiah 53:7 & 8. It is a prophecy about Jesus’
suffering and death for the sins of the world. This became the starting point
for Philip to tell the eunuch about Jesus. Remember that, in the end, all of
the Scriptures – the whole Bible – is about Jesus, and is a call for all who
read it to believe in Him.
Fourth, the
eunuch was baptized right away. Obviously, Philip told him about baptism. It
isn’t talked about in Isaiah! Baptism is an essential part of the life of
faith. It is more than a mere act of commitment or obedience. It is a means of
grace that God uses to deliver forgiveness of sins, faith, life, and salvation
into people. The eunuch was not saying that he wanted to make a commitment. He
was saying that he wanted God to work in his life to make him a disciple.
Finally, after
the baptism the Spirit “carried Philip away.” The eunuch went home rejoicing in
Jesus’ salvation, but Philip seems to have just disappeared. I find the words
of the text fascinating, “Philip found himself at Azotus.” The words imply that
he didn’t know how he got there … he was just … there! This shows that God uses
us when and where He will for His mission. We get to be there to enjoy the
people He brings us into contact with and to share the hope we have in Jesus,
but God is the one doing the real work to bring people to faith.
Meditate on this
today: God called the Ethiopian eunuch to faith through His Word, and He used Philip
to help the man understand the Word. In the end, God gave Him His gifts through
the Word and Sacraments … the same way He gives you His gifts.
Prayers
O God, you used
Philip as a witness and a person to speak Your Word for the Ethiopian eunuch. Thank
You for Philip’s faithfulness and for the eunuch’s new found faith. Forgive us
for our fear and restraint at sharing the hope we have in Jesus with others.
Help us to have ears to hear what others are saying and eyes to observe their
needs. Give us courage to step up to them as Philip did to the eunuch, and to
come along side of others to share Jesus with them, because He is the risen
Lord and our only hope for salvation. Amen.
Memory Verse: John 15:5 - I am the vine; you are the
branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit,
for apart from me you can do nothing. (Jn. 15:5 ESV)
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
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favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
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God bless you!
Devotions
for Worship: Acts 8:26-40 - audio: https://soundcloud.com/pastor-tritten/april-25-acts-8-26-40
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