Engage: Anywhere, Anytime
November 12, 2017
Summary and Goal
We always assume that conversations about Jesus happen on Sunday in churches. But as we know, if we’re observant, these conversations can happen and must happen all of the time and anywhere. Are we ready to do that?
Main Passages
Acts 8:26-36
Session Outline
1. Divine Interruptions (Acts 8:26-28)
2. Divine Situation (Acts 8:29-33)
3. Divine Appointment (Acts 8:34-36)
Theological Theme
There is no way to predict when God will open the door for a conversation about Jesus, so we need to constantly be ready and listening.
Christ Connection
Jesus sent His followers to be His witnesses throughout the world. Opportunities to have Jesus conversations, orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, could come at any moment.
Missional Application
As believers live as emissaries of Christ, they must be vigilant in listening and looking for opportunities for Jesus conversations all around them.
Historical Context of Acts
Purpose
To give an accurate account of the birth and growth of the Christian church
Author
Luke (a Gentile physician)
To Whom Written
Theophilus and all lovers of God
Date Written
Between A.D. 63 and 70
Setting
Acts is the connecting link between Christ’s life and the life of the church, between the Gospels and the Letters.
Key Verse
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” –Acts 1:8
Key People
Peter, John, James, Stephen, Philip, Paul, Barnabas, Cornelius, James (Jesus’ brother), Timothy, Lydia, Silas, Titus, Apollos, Agabus, Ananias, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, Luke
Key Places
Jerusalem, Samaria, Lydda, Joppa, Antioch, Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Caesarea, Malta, Rome
Special Features
Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Because Acts ends so abruptly, Luke may have planned to write a third book, continuing the story.
Introduction
In March 2008, Ron Hall and Denver Moore released an autobiographical book, Same Kind of Different as Me. The book details how the two men met, which is particularly astonishing given the two worlds from which they emerged. Denver Moore grew up picking cotton as a sharecropper in Louisiana, a life of virtual slavery. After he left the plantation, becoming a homeless drifter, his path led him to Fort Worth, Texas.
Ron Hall was a successful art dealer in Watauga, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth. When his wife began serving in a homeless shelter, Ron begrudgingly joined her as a way of avoiding the conflict inherent in refusing. In a crossing of paths that only God could orchestrate, the Halls met Denver Moore in that homeless shelter. A relationship that began turbulently launched into a gospel journey that borders on the unbelievable.
Their story is so remarkable that a movie based on the book opened a few weeks ago. The polar opposite backgrounds of these two men make it seem impossible that their lives would become so intertwined. While it would be easy for most believers to assume something so fantastic will happen in their lives, the truth is that when believers are yielded to God’s direction, Jesus conversations can happen anywhere in the most unthinkable ways.
- Describe the most unusual or unexpected situation in which you had a conversation about Jesus. Who initiated the conversation? Why was it so unexpected?
- How does knowing that God orchestrates our conversations about Jesus inform the way you view your relationships and everyday encounters? Why?
- What description would you use to characterize your awareness of God at work around you? What are some ways that awareness shapes your intentionality with others?
Session Summary
In this week’s session, we will consider Philip’s conversation with the Ethiopian official as a model for the sometimes unexpected ways that God leads us into Jesus conversations with others. It is of particular interest that when God called Philip to go and meet the Ethiopian official, Philip was already hard at work evangelistically among the Samaritans. While it is odd to think about God calling Philip away from a season of fruitful ministry, the circumstances that Philip discovered as he faithfully followed God validated God’s leading.
1. Divine Interruptions (Acts 8:26-28)
This section in Luke’s account marks the second time the reader meets Philip. The first introduction to Philip’s apostolic ministry occurs earlier in Acts 8:4-13. Due to the persecution that broke out against the church led by Saul of Tarsus, many believers fled from Jerusalem, including Philip. As they did, they took the gospel of Jesus with them, teaching and preaching along the way. Philip went to Samaria, in no small part because the Jewish men who were persecuting the church would resist going to Samaria at all cost. When Philip arrived in Samaria and began preaching Jesus, many of the Samaritans believed.
The harvest of new believers in Samaria was so significant that the church in Jerusalem dispatched Peter and John to go and investigate the validity of what was happening. It was unimaginable to the apostles that God would go to the Samaritans. Having been satisfied of God’s moving among the Samaritans, Peter and John joined in the itinerant evangelism of the villages in Samaria as they traveled back to Jerusalem. At that point, a great movement of God among the Samaritans erupted. This was the state of ministry for Philip at the point when God called him and sent him to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza.
- How do you think you would have responded in Philip’s situation—being called to leave a thriving, fruitful ministry season to go stand next to a desert road? Why do you say so? How have you seen similar responses in your journey with God up until this point?
- How would you describe Philip’s awareness of God’s moving around him? Why was that particularly important in what we learn of Philip in Acts?
Philip’s obedience is described concisely and definitely: “So he got up and went.” Philip, having been convinced of God’s direction in going to the Jerusalem-Gaza road, did not delay or argue. He left where crowds of people were coming to Christ to go and stand beside a road, an act that would be hard to reconcile rationally. Philip was plenty busy with the ministry work he was already experiencing.
Philip realized the purpose of his summons when he observed the Ethiopian official reading Isaiah aloud. These combined circumstances reflected a host of rarities. First, the official was the treasurer of Ethiopia, returning from worshiping in Jerusalem. The king of Ethiopia was regarded as a pseudo-deity, so going so far to worship someone else is significant. Second, as a God-fearer (Gentile who sought to worship God), it would be out of the ordinary for him to possess a scroll of the prophet Isaiah, as he was not Jewish. Third, as a eunuch, according to Jewish law he would have been banned from most religious privileges (Deut. 23:1). The circumstances surrounding the meeting of Philip and the Ethiopian can in no way be explained away as a coincidence.
2. Divine Situation (Acts 8:29-33)
Reading Luke’s description of the scene as Philip arrived leaves the reader understanding that, in our verbiage, God had teed up this situation perfectly for Philip. Under the Spirit’s direction, Philip approached the carriage of the Ethiopian treasurer. While it would not have been the full royal entourage, it is impossible to imagine the treasurer traveling without a security detail of some sort. Nevertheless, Philip approached and engaged the man in conversation by asking him if he understood what he was reading.
In an amazing moment of frank honesty, the foreign official admitted that he did not understand what he read. Even more, he noted that the only way he could understand would be for someone knowledgeable to explain it to him. Recognizing that Philip was just such a person, the Ethiopian official invited him into his chariot to have a conversation about what the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah 53:7-8 means.
- Notice how Philip began the conversation with a simple question of what he knew about the official. How do you feel most natural in initiating conversations about Jesus with others?
- What does the set of circumstances that Philip walked into tell us about the role of the Holy Spirit in our conversations about Jesus? Why is that especially encouraging?
It would be incorrect to assume that every conversation a believer has with someone about Jesus will proceed along the same lines as Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian official. The main thing to be gleaned from these verses is how much the Holy Spirit guided and orchestrated the entire encounter. This particular aspect is the same for every conversation a believer has with someone about Jesus. He prepares the heart of the believer to share and the heart of the other to receive. For this reason, it is important that, during those conversations, the believer is listening to God’s leading, obeying His promptings, and trusting His moving.
3. Divine Appointment (Acts 8:34-36)
Having leaned into the Spirit’s leadership, Philip climbed into the chariot and saw the evidence of the Spirit’s preparation of the official’s heart. Specifically, the official was burdened to know exactly who this Suffering Servant was. This was the moment of divine appointment, when the official stood on the cusp of salvation waiting for someone to tell him about Jesus.
The reason Philip was chosen for this particular moment is evidenced in the response to the Ethiopian official’s question. Beginning with the text that they read together, Philip was able to use that same prophetic Scripture to share the gospel of Jesus.
- What does Philip’s response indicate about the importance of knowing God’s Word?
- Describe the last time you shared the gospel with someone, whether they accepted Christ or not. What Scripture passages did you find especially helpful? Were there any questions that you felt uneasy answering?
The culmination of the encounter was the Ethiopian official’s salvation. With great joy, the new believer insisted on his immediate baptism. The tone of his question implies that he had already answered the question for himself. Nothing in the world was significant enough for him not to be baptized as soon as he saw water. The dignity of a royal official, the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of the water, nor any other hindrance would have proven strong enough to discourage his exuberance for obedience.
Conclusion
In this passage, there are a number of elements that believers can apply to their daily practice of following Christ. Obviously, the foremost point of application is the response of obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, even when it seems strange. It made no rational sense for Philip to leave his vibrant work with the Samaritans to go to a desert road. However, God moves as He wills and prompts us to join Him. The joy is ours when we are faithful to hear and obey with a willing heart.
Second, when we engage others in conversations about Jesus, it is a great way to ascertain what God is already doing in their hearts. Like the Ethiopian official, the Holy Spirit had already been preparing his heart for the encounter with Philip. When Philip began asking questions, the appropriate way to share the hope of Christ became clear. The Spirit works in the same way with us today.
Finally, being prepared for those unexpected conversations is crucial. As we’ve seen throughout this series, being able to talk authoritatively and compassionately about the whole gospel prepares us for conversations about Jesus. However, like so many other preparatory disciplines, we must discipline ourselves now for the unexpected to come. What a tremendous feeling if, instead of feeling remorse for not having an answer or knowing a Scripture for a certain situation, our preparation in having intimately studied God’s Word leads to confident, pastoral conversations with those who have yet to know Christ as their Savior.
- While routine is a good thing in many ways, it can make us resistant to following God’s promptings that take us out of routine. With that in mind, how interruptible would you say you are? Do you look for ways to follow God throughout your day?
- There was no way Philip could have guessed that he would spend part of the day in the chariot of an Ethiopian official. Why is it important to free ourselves from those “we usually talk to” for the sake of the gospel? When was the last time you deliberately spoke to someone whom God prompted you to speak to?
Commentary
Acts 8:26-36
8:26. The southernmost of the five chief Philistine cities, Gaza lay about fifty miles southwest of Jerusalem. It was destroyed about 98 b.c. and then later rebuilt by Pompey. Philip, sent by an angel, would soon enter a new phase of ministry.
Surely the place and timing seemed inappropriate. Why would God move him from an area-wide evangelistic campaign just getting underway in Samaria, down to this lonely desert road? Luke wants us to see what the early Christians were really like. Contrast Philip with Jonah. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, this lay evangelist went wherever God sent. Philip was on his way to the end of the Palestinian world of that time. South and west of Gaza the desert trailed off across Sinai into Egypt. There was nothing.
8:27-28. Philip was in God’s plan again and functioning through the Spirit. Gaza was not the target at all, but rather an Ethiopian eunuch, treasurer to the queen, on his way home from temple worship, presumably in an ox-drawn chariot. Both eunuch and Candace are probably government titles.
In that case the man probably was, like Nicolas in 6:5, a proselyte or full convert to Judaism. This would mean he was a Gentile who had embraced the Jewish religion and Scriptures which he now read. Some commentators believe that because Luke uses both eunuch and the title of treasurer, that the two terms mean different things: physical castration and political office. If that is the case, the Ethiopian could not have been a full participant in temple worship (Deut. 23:1) though he was certainly a full participant in God’s promise (Luke 14:12-14).
8:29. How easy we find it to picture Philip plodding southward on that desert road, casually observing the common sight of a foreign visitor returning from Jerusalem and, in the custom of the day, reading aloud, this time from Isaiah 53. What might the evangelist have been thinking? Perhaps mixed emotions—the loneliness of the place, possibly regret at leaving the thriving effort in Samaria, and even a wish that this stranger could really understand the Messiah of whom the prophet had written.
Silent musings appealed neither to Philip nor Luke. This is an action story, and since an ox-drawn vehicle hardly moved at blazing speed, the Spirit can easily say to Philip, “Catch that chariot!”
8:30-31. Philip’s question, doubtless placed in his mind by the Holy Spirit, illustrates a basic theme in Luke and Acts—how to find Jesus in the Old Testament. Luke had already written to Theophilus that Jesus is the key to understanding that ancient Scripture (Luke 24:45).
This problem has never disappeared. People caught up in religion of various kinds not only fail to understand the intricacies of their chosen religion, but make no connection between that dogma and God’s genuine revelation through the Bible. Has there ever been a better invitation to proclaim the gospel than this? He invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
8:32-33. Imagine the exhilaration in Philip’s heart as he realized why the Spirit had sent him to the desert. Here is a good man in need of grace, a serious searcher whose religion had not satisfied his quest for reality. God had prepared not only his heart but his mind. What better Old Testament text from which to preach Jesus than Isaiah 53:7-8. Indeed, it is so dramatic, Luke spells out the verses. This common messianic text in Judaism was hardly interpreted by the rabbis in light of God’s suffering servant, an unthinkable concept in first-century Jewish theology.
Jesus had said repeatedly he had not come to wrest power from the Romans and build an earthly kingdom. “The Son of Man had not come to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45) and even to die. This Christian interpretation of Isaiah Philip knew well. He was quite prepared to explain Jesus from this venerable text.
8:34-35. Not only did the eunuch invite Philip to sit with him and explain the text, but he asked the very questions that lead to an introduction of the Savior. Could Philip have begun somewhere in Deuteronomy or Job and explained the new covenant gospel to this man? Quite probably. God made it much easier. Jesus had repeatedly quoted portions of Isaiah 53 as being fulfilled in his death (Matt. 8:17; John 12:38; Luke 22:37), and the disciples certainly passed that information on to the Christians in the early church. With joy Philip explained, and with joy Luke recorded this good man hearing for the first time the good news about Jesus.