Acts 8.4 An Extraordinary meeting

End of the chapter, commencing at the 26th. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority, under Candacy, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet.

Then the spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.

In his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water.

And the eunuch said, See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. He answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more.

And he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through, he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. Amen.

Now you might find it helpful to have your Bibles open at the eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. And also perhaps to keep one finger in the Bible at the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. As we shall be looking at that chapter, and one or two references around that part of the Bible in a moment or so.

Now I have for you this morning, which I offer in the name of the Lord, a very simple and non-controversial address, on a subject that I think I shall call an extraordinary meeting, an extraordinary meeting. And once again I remind you that we are pushing our way through the Acts of the Apostles in our successive series on a Sunday morning, with an idea of trying to capture a glimpse of the emerging Christian church, and to understand something of its success, and discover something of its secret. And we do praise God for such an accurate record of the expansion of Christianity, as is found within the pages of the Acts of the Apostles.

So many things that hold our attention, that impress us, and need to be thought upon more and more, particularly in these days of godlessness and apathy. So then I want to talk to you about an extraordinary meeting. And I want to use as, if you please, my window text, the 35th verse of this eighth chapter.

We're going to peer through this verse, as it were, and see the panorama that meets our gaze as we look into the scripture at this point. And I have to take you in your imagination to a road that runs through land that is really akin to a desert, certainly scrubland. For we're south of Jerusalem, and the road itself is heading towards Gaza.

And coming down that road, there's a caravan, the term to be understood in its ancient, and not in its modern setting. Probably quite a number of people. And attached to that caravan, there is a very important person, a dignitary, from the country of Ethiopia.

A man who has been to Jerusalem, and is now returning to his own land. A man who is riding on a covered wagon, probably drawn by a couple of horses. And there's someone else that I want you to see, as you gaze through our window text.

And that is someone who has just arrived on the scene. A man who previously was in the northern part of Palestine, at least in the land of Samaria. And now divinely directed, he's come to this southern part of the land, to this arid desert area.

And his name, his name is Philip. So we look at these two men, who are brought together in a most remarkable fashion. And we see them having their encounter in this 35th verse.

Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him, Jesus. I say this speaks of a remarkable meeting. But before discussing this in some depth, let me talk to you, first of all, about these incredible men, who engage in conversation.

For there is something remarkable, both concerning Philip, and also the Ethiopian. There are certain things that they have in common, I suppose. Both of them are travelers.

In one sense, both of them are stewards. And in another, both of them are men under authority. But at that, I reckon, the common denominator has to stop.

For we then see a number of things that they have, which do not complement one another. For example, the Ethiopian is a very rich man, whereas Philip is a poor man. The Ethiopian is on his way back to his own land, and there he's going to take over, once again, his job as the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

A man, therefore, who's responsible for the handling of great sums of money. Philip, on the other hand, is responsible for handling no sums of money. True, it was at one stage that he was looking after the purse of the church at Jerusalem, when he was a deacon, but now he's an itinerant evangelist.

And there is no material wealth that he possesses at all. He's destined to go down to Gaza, and there he's going to be preaching the gospel. So you see, these two men, though they have some things in common, there is a lot that would make you come to the conclusion that their experiences are diametrically opposed, one to the other.

And this is the amazing thing, my friend, if I can break off just at this moment, how the gospel of Jesus Christ brings together, causes to meet people who come from different walks of life. I say Philip and this Ethiopian are completely different, and yet within the providence of God, they are brought together. There is something that they have to contribute, the one to the other, and particularly Philip, towards the Ethiopian.

And so often in the history of the Christian Church, God in his providence has caused remarkable men to have extraordinary meetings, as others have been brought to an understanding of the implications of the gospel. So then, see these two men as they engage in conversation. And let me make another observation at this point, and say that remarkable circumstances really brought about their meeting.

Remarkable circumstances, for as their backgrounds generally were dissimilar, so were the things that had happened a few days ago in their lives. Take for instance the Ethiopian, this man who was probably a black man, a Negro. Let's imagine what has happened to him during the last few days.

He's come down from Jerusalem. Why was he at Jerusalem? Well, you see, he inquired after God. He was disenchanted with the type of religion that was practiced in Ethiopia.

He was attracted to the monotheism of the Jews, that is they worshipped only one God, and this seemed to him to be sensible. But he couldn't make himself into a Jew, but he could become a God-fearer. He could show his interest in Jewish practices, and this he did by going to Jerusalem, and there taking part as best he could in temple services.

In going into that court that was specifically reserved for God-fearers. And yet there was something in his understanding of God that was deficient. He had a certain amount of truth, but he didn't have the full understanding of God's revelation.

And in Jerusalem, although he was grateful to the Jews for being able to go into certain parts of the temple, he still had a quest, a thirst for a greater revelation of God. And we see him leaving the temple and perhaps going into one of the bazaars as he goes down the narrow cobbled streets of Jerusalem, and there he stops and he buys a manuscript, part of the Old Testament, a scroll, the prophecy of Isaiah, and this is in his possession, and this the man wants to read as he returns on his homeward journey to Ethiopia. So those are his circumstances, the things that have happened to him just before Philip meets up.

He's been to Jerusalem, I say, and there he's worshipped the God of the Jews, and he's bought part of the Old Testament scriptures. But what about the other man, the man who's joined himself to his wagon, to his chariot? What about Philip? What's he been doing? Well, completely different sort of things have occupied Philip. He's been conducting an evangelistic campaign.

He has done something that is quite extraordinary, at least at that time in the history of the church. He's taken to the gospel, to a non-Jewish community, to the land of Samaria, and there in one of the towns he's preached about the Lord Jesus Christ. Remarkable things have happened.

There have been miracles, there have been healings, there have been mass conversions. And then suddenly, towards the end of his campaign, as two disciples have come down, two apostles have come down from Jerusalem and said that the work that he is doing is indeed in the name of the Lord Jesus. It is a genuine one.

Suddenly, at the end of his ministry there, the Spirit tells him to leave this town of Samaria and go into the desert. Now, if people were as unspiritual in those days as they are perhaps today, I reckon that some of the new Christians would have said to Philip, haven't you got it all wrong? Here you are in a revival situation in Samaria, and what do we gather you're going to do? You're going to up anchor and go down there to the desert, to the scrubland of Gaza. Why not stay with us? Why not stay with them? Well, because the Holy Spirit has directed Philip otherwise.

The Holy Spirit has told him that he has to leave this particular town in Samaria, and he has to go south of Jerusalem, and he has to make his way down the Gaza Road. So, here are these two men, joined together, seemingly on the human level by chance, but with those who have sensitive spiritual eyes, we understand that they're joined together by the providence of God. Go back to the Ethiopian, to the eunuch for a moment, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

What do we find him doing? Well, he's reading the Scriptures. He's reading the prophecy of Isaiah. He's reading it aloud.

You may say, well, that's extraordinary. Why didn't he read it quietly? Well, you try reading a manuscript written in Hebrew, or written in one of the Middle Eastern languages, like Syriac, quietly to yourself, and you'll find that it's rather difficult to do so. Indeed, it's only because the characters of our own letters are so easy to read that we, in our sophisticated age, can read quietly and in our minds.

No, here is this man, following a practice that was normal in his day. He's reading the Old Testament Scriptures. He's reading Isaiah out loud, as he's standing up in his wagon, as he's going back towards Ethiopia.

And it's at this stage that Philip draws alongside him. And I like the way the Scripture tells us that Philip ran towards this Ethiopian. He recognized that this is a man in need.

So we read in verse 30, Philip ran thither to him. And as he heard the Ethiopian eunuch read the prophecy Isaiah, Philip puts to him a blunt question. Do you understand what the Prophet's talking about? Do you understand what you're reading? And the man has to concede he doesn't.

This is new to him. He's already indicated his religious interest, his desire for God, by going to Jerusalem. But now he's showing that he has not fully understood all God's revelation.

Certainly nothing concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Remarkable was it not that the Ethiopian was in Jerusalem and apparently had never heard of the name of Jesus, when the bazaars perhaps were ringing with his name. And lots of Jewish people were talking about what the Sanhedrin had done and how this man from Nazareth had been executed, had been crucified.

But this Ethiopian himself had heard none of this. He didn't understand what he was reading. And yet Philip did.

And so Philip comes along and he climbs up on the wagon and together they go down the Gaza Road. And here is Philip engaging in expounding the Scriptures to this Ethiopian. What a contrast.

What a contrast in backgrounds. These two men brought together, not by chance, but by the sovereign dictate of a holy God. And have you noticed how remarkable it is that the Ethiopian had the Scripture open at Isaiah chapter 53? Because this speaks so clearly and so distinctively about the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If someone had only got the Old Testament, could you think of a passage that was more choice than this one to describe the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ? Was it by chance that the Ethiopian was reading at this particular point? Of course not. The Lord was going to open his eyes. Undoubtless, before he had been, before he had encountered Philip, he had been reading quite a lot in this particular scroll, in this particular prophecy, Isaiah.

And if that was the case, then one can imagine how excited he must have been as, for instance, he came into the 54th chapter. And there in the third verse he reads, thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. The Gentiles? But I'm a Gentile and I'm really longing to know God and here is a prophecy that speaks of the Gentiles and God's interest in them.

Can this really apply to me? Surely by reading these chapters, the interest of the Ethiopian must have been heightened in the Jewish religion. Perhaps he came down to the 55th chapter and he read those words and there was a sparkling in his eyes when he had done this. Oh everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye buy and eat, yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

He knew what it was to thirst, to thirst after God. That's why he'd been to Jerusalem, but his thirst had not been slaked, it had not been satisfied. He wanted to know more.

Incredible that here is a prophecy which he's reading that speaks of a man having his hunger satisfied, his thirst slaked. Come down to the fifth verse of the sixth verse of Isaiah 55 and what do you read? Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Now wasn't the Ethiopian trying to do that? And wasn't it logical to go to Jerusalem to find this Lord? After all the Jews had a greater understanding of God than the Ethiopians, so why not go to the headquarters of their religion if you're going to discover more of God? How excited the Ethiopian must have been then when he reads this invitation to seek the Lord and the possibility of discovering him, of calling upon him and getting a response.

And what about the Ethiopian when he comes to the third verse of the 56th chapter? Have you noticed this? Do you not, and here I digress for a moment, recognize times in your own experience that when the Word of God virtually in front of your eyes took on a personal meaning as though the text was directed just for you, addressed to you and to none other? Well what do you think the Ethiopian eunuch, how do you think he reacted when he read this third verse in the 56th chapter of the prophecy? Neither let the son of the stranger that hath joined himself to the Lord speak saying, the Lord hath utterly separated me from his people. Neither let the eunuch say, behold I am a dry tree for thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths and choose the things that please me and take hold of my covenant. Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. It's a wonder the Ethiopian didn't fall out of his wagon when he was reading that bit. It fitted his experience.

I will give to the eunuch an everlasting name. There will be a place within my walls. No wonder his curiosity is heightened.

No wonder he offers his wagon to Philip who runs alongside and claims to be able to expound this particular passage more fully. No wonder with eager ears he listens to Philip talk about the Lord Jesus Christ and how in the 53rd chapter the prophet Isaiah was dead right when he said that God the Father had laid upon the sun the iniquity of us all. One can imagine the warmth in the heart of the Ethiopian as he listened to the gospel being explained from the 53rd chapter of the prophecy in particular.

As he hears of the Lord Jesus Christ led as a lamb to the slaughter. The Lord Jesus a willing victim going forth outside the city of Jerusalem to be crucified on behalf not only of the sins of the Jews but also on behalf of his sins too. Making a place within the walls of God's city not only for Jewish believers but for an Ethiopian black man.

And so this chancellor of the exchequer the servant of Kandese the queen mother of Ethiopia responds to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This extraordinary meeting brought about by remarkable circumstances featuring two remarkable men has been turned to spiritual account as Philip explains the things of the gospel to this man in the desert around Gaza. Is it not interesting that precisely the same term is used to describe Philip's ministry in the 35th verse to this one man as was used to describe the evangelist ministry to the city population of Samaria.

Jesus Philip preached unto him Jesus precisely the same message I say as he had proclaimed in the Samaritan city not so long ago. And what is the result of all this? Well the man responds to the gospel and Philip's very happy about this this incredible meeting it terminates I say in a very blessed fashion. This man is so excited about the Lord Jesus Christ so excited about the gospel that he commits his life into the care of the Savior and Philip tells him more about the Christian way of life.

And by the time you get down to the 36th verse what you discover the Ethiopian is taking the initiative and what a God that more people would take the initiative along this line in these days as they went on their way they came onto a certain water and the eunuch said see here is water what doth hinder me to be baptized. Fantastic isn't it? He leaves Jerusalem as a God fearer a technical term describing those who are interested in the God of the Jews and can enter into certain of the courts of the temple but by the time Philip's through with him the man is a Christian and wanting to be baptized. Philip didn't say well go back and think about it you know write me a letter in Caesarea and in three or four months time if you've really made the grade then I'll baptize you.

No there's very little time lapse in the acts of the apostles between commitment and water baptism. And so this man realizing that baptism in water indicates the spiritual experience that is already his of having been baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ wants the wagon to be stopped and he wants to get out and Philip to immerse him in water thus indicating outwardly what has happened inwardly the man has become a Christian. You know there are some who say that it was Peter who turned the key to the opening into the kit so that the Gentiles could enter into the kingdom of God and Peter did this when he got to the house of Cornelius.

The incident being recorded in the 10th chapter of the acts of the apostles but it seems to me that Philip beat Peter to it as Philip beat the rest of the apostles to the proclamation of the gospel in Samaria. Here is a man who it appears to me at any rate must have been a Gentile and Philip preaches the gospel to him and he responds and so earnest is he in his desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ that he's baptized in water. And what's the net result of this? Well he continues to praise God.

This is what we read in the 39th verse. When they will come out of the water the spirit of the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch saw him no more and he that is the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. And this is what you would expect in the experience of a man who has been apprehended by the truths of the gospel.

He's responded to the claims of Jesus Christ. The spirit of God has entered his life. That must be the case because if a man hath not the spirit of God he is none of the Lord Jesus.

He doesn't belong to the Lord Jesus at all but this man clearly belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ and he has responded to him. He's baptized in water and the net result is with his infilling of the spirit there is this manifestation of joy which of course is one of the fruits of the spirit and a characteristic that you often find recorded concerning the Christians in the acts of the apostles. So he goes on his way rejoicing.

What does he do when he gets to the court of Candacy? Well the scripture doesn't say and yet I reckon Charles Spurgeon was right in postulating that this man engaged in gospel evangelism. This man went around the court proclaiming the good things of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's amazing isn't it how history sometimes ties up its ragged ends.

What do I mean by that? Well a long long time ago before this incident someone had come from that area of Ethiopia to be geographically specific from Nubia and they had come I say to Jerusalem itself to hear about a man who had been greatly used by God filled with the wisdom of God. I'm referring to the queen of Sheba and her encounter with Solomon. Sheba came from the same area as did this Ethiopian and according to tradition there was always a kindly feeling on the part of many of the folks in that area towards the Jewish religion ever since Sheba went to Jerusalem to encounter Solomon.

And here is the tying up of the loose strands of history as this man comes from Sheba's country to Jerusalem and on his way back to Ethiopia on his way back to Nubia he is reconciled to God through expressing his faith in the Lord Jesus. And I suggest that Spurgeon is very right when he suggests that this man goes back preaching the gospel to those who are in the court of Candacy. And what about Philip? What happens to him? Well he continues to preach.

He goes towards the end of the Gaza road to a place called Azotus which actually is the equivalent of the Philistine city Ashdod. And there he proclaims the gospel and he makes his way up the coast to Caesarea probably stopping off at Joppa and maybe when he preached at Joppa he excited the interest of Cornelius in the things of God. I'm jumping a little bit here but have that piece of information in your mind for when we come into the 10th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

Moving up from Joppa he comes to Caesarea and there it would seem he settles down because by the time you get to the 21st chapter of the Acts of the Apostles you read of Philip with four adult daughters, daughters who've been filled with the spirit, Christians themselves, and it would seem that Philip made Caesarea his headquarters for proclaiming the gospel further to those who were ignorant of it. So this is what happened as a result of an extraordinary meeting between two people who came from different circumstances in life, Philip and the Ethiopian treasurer. What principles, what practical principles can I send you away with from this story? Well doesn't it underline to us the need for guidance in our own Christian lives? Here is Philip at Samaria and God tells him to go down to Gaza because there is a man in need.

And Philip is so sensitive to the promptings of the spirit that he doesn't react against what I suggest were the criticisms of the new Christians in Samaria. No, he is so sensitive to God's own will that he's prepared to do what the Lord would have him to do. Oh God will you give to me that same sensitivity as Philip had so many years ago.

And then there was his willingness to evangelize. He saw a man down on the Gaza road who was in need, need of the gospel. So when Philip realizes this he rushes to him and he tells him about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you ever get in a hurry in telling the gospel message to others? Are you so burdened as was Philip in unloading his heart before the Ethiopians so the Ethiopian might come to an understanding of the gospel. And then surely from this passage one cannot but conclude the promises of God are absolutely, the promises of God remain intact throughout the Christian dispensation. The Ethiopian has already read that if a man seeks the Lord he shall find him.

And here he is seeking the Lord I say on the Gaza road and he finds the Lord as Philip is directed to inform him concerning the things of God. And what about the obedience of the Ethiopian? The obedience in this business of water baptism indicating a greater obedience than many of us are prepared to give the Lord to this very day. And then finally what about the variety of experience and the variety of the ministry of the Holy Spirit here? The Holy Spirit moves Philip from out of Samaria.

The Holy Spirit ministers to Philip concerning the need of this man and when the man has been baptized in water the Holy Spirit brings joy into the man's heart as he indicates that the Spirit of God has taken up residence in the man's life. Well I say so many things that can be deduced from this particular account but we thank God most of all for the way that in his sovereign fashion he so manipulates the circumstances of men and women not only in the early days of the Christian church but today to the extent that all those who seek for God shall find him. To the extent for that all those who require information shall receive it.

And what happened to the Ethiopian can happen to you as it happened to me when I responded to the message of the Lord Jesus Christ. One can be made a Christian through confessing one's faith in the Savior. One can be filled with the Spirit by confessing one's faith in Jesus Christ.

One can be and should be baptized in water as one confesses one's faith to those who are standing round about and who are concerned to to hear what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. Well then through looking at this extraordinary encounter may God have ministered to our hearts through his word this morning. Amen.

Our father we do praise thy holy name for a gospel tailor-made for sinners such as ourselves. We recognize how in a very convenient and in a very wonderful fashion you met the need of the Ethiopian through the ministry of thy servant Philip. And Lord thou hast met our needs.

Now we pray use us likewise that we might meet the requirements of others and inform them of the good news of the gospel. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the friendship and fellowship of the Holy Spirit continue to be our experience until our Savior returns. Amen.