God Loves Africans

Acts 8:26-40
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, August 30, 1998
Copyright © 1998, P. G. Mathew

God seeks and saves elect sinners from the ends of the earth, and every sinner chosen by him will be saved. In this passage, Acts 8:26-40, we read how God sought and saved an African VIP, the finance minister of the kingdom of Ethiopia, through Philip’s proclamation of the gospel.

The gospel was now going beyond Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and multitudes of people were coming to faith in Christ. In this passage we see the gospel progressing to the uttermost parts of the earth, specifically Africa, through the conversion of one man, an Ethiopian eunuch. God so loved the world, and the One who saved multitudes of people in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria was now saving just one man, who would then carry the gospel with him back to Ethiopia.

We want to examine three points: First, the eunuch sought God; second, God sought the eunuch; and, third, God saved the eunuch.

The Eunuch Seeks God

The first point I want to make is that this Ethiopian eunuch was seeking God. Who was this Ethiopian man? The word for Ethiopia in Greek means “burnt face.” Also known as Nubia or Cush, Ethiopia was south of Egypt, stretching southward from Aswan to Khartoum in Sudan. Black people lived there, as we read in Jeremiah 13:23.

The king of Ethiopia was considered to be descended from the sun. Because he was considered to be most holy, he did not engage in the secular affairs of ruling his country. That task in Ethiopia belonged to the queen mother, known by the title Candace, which is a title similar to Pharaoh, Caesar, Ptolemy, and Abimelech.

This eunuch was the minister of finance for Candace. He probably was an emasculated official in the royal court, similar to Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the royal harem, whom we read about in Esther 2.

This eunuch was also called Dunastos, from which we have the word “dynasty.” Dunastos can be translated as “prince,” and we find instances of this word applied to God himself. In other words, this Ethiopian eunuch was a VIP, a high official of the royal court of Candace. As the minister of finance, we can deduce that he was highly educated and a person of great moral integrity, because one must be trustworthy to be the head of a treasury. I am sure he was also well-born, powerful, and very rich.

Yet we can also deduce that this Ethiopian eunuch was thoroughly disappointed and dissatisfied with his life. His education, nobility, power, position, and temporal riches had all failed to satisfy him and he was unhappy and restless, longing for joy and internal peace. But the eunuch could find no peace in Ethiopia, so in this passage we see him traveling from his own country in search of a cure for his problem, just as Naaman the Syrian did, whom we read about in 2 Kings 5. Naaman was a mighty general, the commander of the army of the king of Syria, but he was also a leper. Because no one could heal him in Syria, Naaman obtained permission from his king and traveled to Israel to see if he could be cured there.

In the same way the Ethiopian eunuch–this spiritually miserable, unhappy, restless, hopeless man–began to search for God. In Ethiopia he abandoned his pagan idolatry and became a worshiper of the God of Israel. I am sure he had become a monotheist and probably attended a local synagogue in Ethiopia as a God-fearer, hoping to find salvation of his soul. But he had no lasting peace, so he went to his queen and obtained permission to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, hoping to find peace there.

When I was growing up in southern India, I saw many Muslims going to Mecca for pilgrimage. In the same way, this great man from Ethiopia began a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to search for salvation, peace, and joy. I am sure he thought he would find rest for his soul if only he could worship the God of the Jews in the temple of Jerusalem. Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” This eunuch had everything, but his soul was lost.

In Jeremiah 29:13 God says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The eunuch was seeking God with all his heart. Without reference to cost or troubles, he began his pilgrimage to faraway Jerusalem because, as a hart pants after the water brook, this man’s heart was panting after God. He willingly spent huge amounts of money and time and suffered serious hardships to make this pilgrimage. He was determined to receive forgiveness of sins and find rest for his soul.

The Eunuch Comes to Jerusalem

When the eunuch reached Jerusalem, he was probably prohibited from joining the company of Israel in the temple for worship because Deuteronomy 23:1 prohibited eunuchs from worshiping God in the temple. But eunuchs could still be proselytes and worship as the Gentiles did at the gate of the temple. Most likely that is what this eunuch did.

God encouraged foreign Gentiles to come to Jerusalem and pray, as we read in Solomon’s prayer of 1 Kings 8:41-43, “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name–for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm–when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.”

Somehow the Ethiopian eunuch also secured a copy of the book of Isaiah. He may have brought it with him from Ethiopia, because there were many Jewish people in Egypt and other places near Ethiopia. In fact, the Hebrew Bible was translated in Egypt into the Greek Septuagint version. In his relentless quest for God, I am sure he would have spent quite a bit of money to buy this papyrus scroll containing the great prophecy of Isaiah.

Those who seek God must seek him in the word of God, which is his special revelation. It may be that the eunuch’s pilgrimage was inspired by Isaiah 56:3-7, which speaks about the great hope a eunuch or foreigner can have in God: “Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.’ And let not any eunuch complain, ‘I am only a dry tree.’ For this is what the LORD says: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant–to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant–these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.'” No doubt as the Ethiopian eunuch read this passage hope rose in his heart, especially as he came to the temple of Jerusalem.

But just as the king of Israel failed Naaman, those worshiping at the temple in Jerusalem failed the eunuch. It seems from this passage that no one at the temple spoke to him about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which had recently occurred in Jerusalem. I am sure that there were still Christians congregating and praying regularly in the temple courts at this time, but they failed to speak to the Ethiopian sinner about Jesus Christ. The Pharisees and Sadducees failed to speak to him also.

Only Jesus can save a sinner, but this man was not told about Jesus. The Ethiopian eunuch came to drink living water at its source in Jerusalem, but it was not given to him. He came to eat living bread at its source in Jerusalem, but it was not given to him. So he began his homeward journey to Ethiopia just as he had come–without comfort, without hope, without peace, without rest, and without the joy of salvation. He had traveled all the way to Jerusalem to find light, but all he found was the deep darkness of materialism, externalism, and politics. Not one person in Jerusalem told this eunuch about Jesus.

God Seeks Sinners

The second point I want to make is that God himself seeks sinners. There is a Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to seek and save that which is lost. He was seeking this Ethiopian, and so he directed an angel to tell Philip the evangelist to go after this African official and speak to him about Jesus. Here we see how God will move everything, even bending heaven and earth, for the sake of saving one person.

We must realize that there is a supernatural realm which includes heaven, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and myriads and myriads of holy angels. Stephen saw this supernatural realm as he was being stoned. He saw heaven open and Jesus standing on the right hand of the glory. The apostle John saw it also, as we read in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 4 we read that John saw heaven open and heard a voice saying, “Come up here!”

A materialist is blind and cannot see this supernatural realm. But this realm definitely exists, and there we find the triune God–the Father, Son and Holy Spirit–and holy angels who are always doing his will. We don’t see God and his angels with our eyes, but they do exist, and they are always worshiping God and ministering to his people, and we read about their activities several times in the book of Acts. Remember how the angel of the Lord delivered the apostles from the prison and commanded them to go and proclaim the gospel in the temple? It was an angel who also delivered Peter from prison and an angel who killed Herod King Agrippa I for his arrogance in Caesarea.

There exist myriads of holy angels who delightfully, continually perform their duties before God. But just as the triune God cannot be detected with a microscope or telescope, so also God’s holy angels cannot be discerned using scientific instruments. But the Bible tells us that whenever the church gathers to worship God, myriads and myriads of holy angels are present, as we read in 1 Corinthians 11:10 and Hebrews 12:22. The church in heaven and the church on earth worship the same God at the same time.

God Directs Philip

From the supernatural realm, God sent an angel to Philip so that he could be a part of this great miracle, the salvation of the Ethiopian eunuch. In Acts 8:26 we read, “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south,'” and that word “south” could also be translated, “Go at twelve noon.” In Acts 22:6 the same word is translated “noon,” so it may be God was speaking about the time Philip should go as well as the specific road he should take and the destination he should go to. In other words, the angel may have been saying to Philip, “Go at noon and begin to travel on the road from Jerusalem that goes south and then southwest to Gaza.”

Gaza was one of the five Philistine cities which was located on the southernmost end of the Mediterranean coast. The other cities were Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath. Gaza was destroyed in 95 B.C. and rebuilt in 57 B.C. by the direction of Pompey.

There were two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, but the angel wanted Philip to take the road that went south to Hebron and then southwest to Gaza–the desert road. Why do you think God specified which road Philip should take? Because this sinner, the Ethiopian eunuch, was on that road.

The Obedience of Philip

The angel told Philip, “Arise and go,” and the text tells us Philip went. That is one way we know Philip was a Christian. A Christian doesn’t negotiate or argue; he simply obeys God. If you are a true Christian, filled with the Spirit of the living God, you will submit and yield to God, and you will obey him.

This is an important point. Philip didn’t say to the angel, “Not now. I have something else to do,” nor did he tell the angel, “I don’t want to go at this time,” meaning noon, if indeed the word “south” does mean noon. Noon was the time of great heat, and Philip could have told the angel, “Don’t you know this is when everyone sleeps? It would be crazy for me to go to the desert at this time.” Or Philip could have simply said, “Go to Gaza? No, not now. Not I. Not there.” But he didn’t say that either.

The angel told Philip, “Arise and go,” and Philip arose and went. He took the road God said to take and left at the time God told him to go. And as he went, he saw a man in his chariot, reading the book of Isaiah.

Now the Holy Spirit, not an angel, began to speak to Philip. I believe in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Some people do not, but I do. At the same time, I don’t always believe it when people say, “The Holy Spirit told me.” But I do believe in a Holy Spirit who guides his people.

The Holy Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it”–be glued to it, in other words. How did Philip respond? He ran. He had already responded quickly when the angel said, “Arise and go.” Now the Holy Spirit said, “Go near” and Philip ran.

Philip responded like Abraham did when he was told to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Bible tells us Abraham got up early the next morning to obey this command of God. May God help us to be so quick to do the will of God! Why? That is Christianity. That is the life of one who is a new creation in Christ. You may want to negotiate, argue, delay of refuse to do the will of God, but if you do so, it will prove that you are not a Christian.

Philip ran to the chariot, eager to obey God and zealous to do his will. Why? Philip was full of the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Holy Spirit means to be controlled, to be led, by the Holy Scripture and the Spirit of the living God.

God’s Method of Evangelism

As we said, God was seeking the Ethiopian eunuch. He did so not only through Philip, but also through his word, the Holy Scriptures.

When we examine the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, we can conclude that Philip was well suited to minister to this Ethiopian. Not only was Philip full of the Holy Spirit and knowledgeable of the gospel, but he was a Hellenistic Jew who had become a Christian, and thus he could speak to the eunuch in Greek.

Additionally, we know that Philip was not prejudiced. He had already gone to Samaria to preach the gospel, and as a result, multitudes of people had believed in Jesus Christ and been baptized. The whole city of Samaria was filled with great joy because of Philip’s lack of prejudice. He did not discriminate, in the evil sense of the term, but ministered to the Samaritans, who were despised by so many others. Philip loved all sinners, not just Jewish sinners. He was truly a cosmopolitan Christian.

The Ethiopian had probably chosen the desert road from Jerusalem because he wanted to be alone to read the Bible. Even though he had traveled all the way to Jerusalem, no one had shared the gospel with him. He was still confused and did not understand how to be saved. So he decided to read the Bible on his way home, still hoping to find the salvation he so desperately was seeking. Despite his long journey to Jerusalem, this high African official was still a sinner with no rest in his soul. Yet he was doing the right thing by reading Isaiah 53.

We Must Understand the Gospel

The eunuch’s problem was that he did not understand what he was reading. Let me assure you, without understanding the gospel no one will be saved. Christianity is not mysticism, a kind of direct hookup with God with no intelligent apprehension of biblical truth. That is what cults teach, but it is not Christianity. Many people are only interested in experiencing some kind of phenomena, but they have no interest in the Bible. But no one will be saved unless he or she understands the Bible and God’s plan of salvation revealed therein. Christianity speaks about the gospel of Jesus Christ–his person and work. We must understand it, and God has given us preachers and other believers to make his word understandable.

A sinner is characterized by an inability to understand God’s word.. Why? Because natural man is flesh, not spirit, and he cannot receive things that are spiritual. It is like showing a blind person a beautiful sunset–he cannot see it. It is like taking a deaf person to a concert–he cannot hear the music. Natural man is helpless, dead in trespasses and sins. Unless God opens his heart to understand the gospel, a sinner cannot be saved.

Remember the two dejected disciples who went back to their hometown of Emmaus after the death of Jesus Christ? They were depressed, confused, hopeless, miserable, wretched, disheartened, and gloomy. But the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ joined them and began to explain the scriptures to them. He opened the eyes of their hearts, and all of a sudden they understood the gospel, believed in it and were saved.

In the same way God was going to open the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch so that he could understand the gospel. Why? Because God had chosen this African VIP from before the foundation of the world to be saved, and God would save him. Just as Naaman went home to Syria rejoicing for God cured his leprosy, soon the eunuch would go home to Africa, rejoicing in God’s cure for his sin.

Philip Explains the Scriptures

Philip ran to the chariot and heard the eunuch reading Isaiah 53 aloud in Greek from the Septuagint. Then Philip asked him a question, which required great boldness on the part of Philip. The Ethiopian was a high government official, an educated, rich prince, but Philip was just an ordinary person, like Peter–uneducated and ordinary. But the Spirit of God came upon Philip, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Philip boldly interrupted this sophisticated, cultured, politically powerful man, and asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

“How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” the eunuch replied. In other words, “No, I don’t understand it at all. I am so confused by all of this. I don’t know what I am reading. Please come up here and help me out.” Here we see that God was preparing this man to be born again.

The eunuch needed someone to explain the scriptures to him. In Romans 10:13 we read, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” But then Paul writes, “But how . . . can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” We cannot call upon the name of the Lord unless we believe, and we cannot believe in the Lord Jesus Christ unless we hear the gospel explained. We cannot hear the gospel unless a preacher preaches it, but it must be a preacher sent by God. Here we see that God does send preachers.

The Ethiopian eunuch went all the way to Jerusalem, but he didn’t find a preacher there. Now he was going home through the desert, and I am sure he thought all hope was gone. So God sent a preacher, Philip–sent by the angel, sent by the Holy Spirit–to explain the gospel to this man. Why? As we said before, without knowledge of the gospel no one can be saved. The gospel must be declared and explained. Remember how Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself”?

God Saves the Eunuch

So now we see the sinner, the Scripture, and the Holy Spirit. Additionally, we see Philip there to preach the gospel to the eunuch. Something mighty was about to happen: The Spirit of the living God was about to come upon the eunuch and he would be instantly regenerated.

God seeks, and he also saves. Don’t you think that if God seeks sinners, he will also find and save them? He does. God never fails to save those he has determined to save.

So the eunuch asked Philip, in essence, “Who is this man I am reading about in this chapter? It says he is despised, rejected, a man of sorrows and sufferings. Who is this man who took up our infirmities, was pierced for our transgressions and was crushed for our iniquities? Who is this substitute who was led to slaughter, silent as a sheep? Who is this man who did not get his justice? Who is this man who justifies many? Who is this man who makes intercession for sinners? Is it the prophet himself, or is he speaking about someone else?”

Those are good questions, aren’t they? What did Philip say? “No, Isaiah was not speaking about himself. The man Isaiah was prophesying about eight centuries before was the suffering Messiah, the Seed of the woman–the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Philip Preaches Christ

From that text Philip began to preach Jesus, and that is what we should do also. Don’t preach about your own experiences. Don’t tell people, “I was blind, but now I see.” Don’t say, “I was poor but now I am rich.” Don’t say, “I was sick, but after I had dreams and visions and jumped up and down, I was healed.” Why? None of these testimonies will save anyone. We must preach Jesus.

What do you think Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch? I am sure he told him that Jesus was the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of David. I am sure he said that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was God-become-man, perfect man and perfect God, the God-designed substitute who died for our sins.

Why do you think Philip speak like this? Because he had devoted himself to the apostles’ doctrine, as we read in Acts 2. Even in his first great sermon preached on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter had preached about one who is God/man, the Prince, the Savior, the Holy One, the Righteous One, the Prophet that Moses spoke about, the Christ, the Deliverer, the Son of Man Daniel spoke of. This one, Peter said, is Jesus of Nazareth, the most unique man who ever lived on the face of the earth. Born to save sinners, born of a virgin, one who performed great miracles, the one who raised to life Lazarus from the dead–this Jesus is the one who was crucified recently in Jerusalem.

So Philip told the eunuch about Jesus. I am sure he said something like this: “Mr. Eunuch, sir, it was Jesus Christ of Nazareth that Isaiah was speaking about. Jesus was the one who was despised and rejected for our sake. It was he who did not get justice. It was he who was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and punished in our place as he was crucified on the cross. It was he who bore our wrath, endured our hell and paid the debt for every elect. It was he who cried out, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ Oh, many martyrs rejoiced when they were dying, but Jesus cried out, ‘Why hast thou forsaken me?’ Do you think he was worse than a martyr? No. Every martyr died rejoicing because God was with him when he was dying, but Jesus died, forsaken by God. Why? Because he took our sin on himself. He had become sin for us.”

“But,” Philip would have continued, “Jesus was crucified and buried, but on the third day according to the Scriptures he was raised up from the dead! Many of us saw him before he ascended into the heavens. Now he is seated on the right hand of God the Father and his business now is to conquer all his enemies and make them submit to him. And this Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead.”

And then I am sure he said this to the eunuch: “So, Mr. Eunuch, Isaiah is not speaking about himself. He is speaking about another man–Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is he and he alone who can give you peace. The Holy Scriptures tell us that. When Isaiah said, ‘the punishment of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed,’ that means we can be completely and totally saved. He gives peace, Mr. Eunuch. It is he who will give you peace and healing and justification and eternal life and forgiveness of sins.” And then Philip would have concluded, “If you repent and believe in Jesus Christ alone, you will be saved. And then, be baptized. Wash away your sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.” That is what Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch.

The Eunuch Is Saved

All of a sudden a miracle happened to the Ethiopian eunuch. The Holy Spirit opened his heart, his eyes, and his understanding. No longer blind, he was regenerated by the Spirit of the living God. No longer was he flesh. Now he is spirit, and he understood, he repented, and he trusted savingly in Jesus of Nazareth. Hadn’t God promised, “If you seek me with all your heart, you shall find me”?

The eunuch was now a new creation. Full with joy, he looked from his chariot and saw a body of water, possibly Wadi el-Hesi near the city of Gaza. He turned to Philip and said , “Please baptize me. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. I believe that he is the Savior even of an African who has come from the ends of the earth. Please baptize me.”

Philip went with the eunuch into the water and baptized him. They both came out, and the Bible says the eunuch, this prince of the Ethiopians, went away, rejoicing. And I believe that he was also baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Just as Naaman came out of the Jordan, healed and rejoicing, this Ethiopian came out of the water rejoicing. Let me tell you, this is the joy of salvation. If you are truly saved, you are a new creation, and you will rejoice. Why? Your sins have been forgiven and now there is no hell for you, no wrath of God for you. You are God’s child, free to rejoice in Christ, safe and secure forever. You will experience great peace and joy. Additionally, you will have no problem obeying the Holy Spirit and the Scripture.

This is the joy of salvation–the joy of having your burden of guilt removed and all sins forgiven. This is the joy of eternal life. This is the joy of being justified by faith. This is the joy of becoming a new person. It is not just mental assent to a set of propositions. It is being made a new person inside out.

This is the joy the Samaritans experienced, as we read in Acts 8:8, “There was great joy in that city.” This was the joy the Philippian jailer experienced in the middle of the night. The Bible tells us when he believed and was baptized, he was filled with joy.

Are you burdened, gloomy, miserable, wretched, confused, and without hope? Let me present to you Jesus, who alone brings joy. Remember what the angel Gabriel spoke to the shepherds on the Christmas night? “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” That newborn baby was the Savior, the Deliverer, and the word “Lord” means God. Jesus Christ is God. He is the one who gave great joy to the Ethiopian eunuch.

What happened to Philip when he came up out of the water? He disappeared. God had other work for him to do, so he was raptured to Azotus so that he could preach the gospel to the people of the coastal cities.

Philip and the eunuch came out of the water, and Philip was gone. But imagine how the eunuch looked as he went back to his chariot. I am sure his servants were watching him as he came back. He was filled with such great joy that they asked him, “Why are you so happy? What happened?” What do you think he said? “Praise God, I’ve just been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ!”

This eunuch went back to his country and shared the good news of great joy, and Irenaeus tells us he became a missionary to the Ethiopians. The gospel was going out to the ends of the earth.

Practical Application

Let me ask you: Are you trusting in paganism? It will fail you. Are you trusting in philosophy? It will fail you. Are you trusting in education and materialism? They will fail you, just as they failed this man. Are you trusting in science? Science will fail you. What about cults? They will certainly fail you, because they all are lies. Not only that, religions will also fail you, because they are also lies. All of these leave men disappointed, dejected, and restless. All of these leave men in their guilt, burden, and confusion. The gospel of Jesus Christ alone saves sinners.

Let me ask you: Are you a Christian? Many of us would say we are. But then let me ask you: Are you like Philip? Do you know the gospel and are you preaching it? Don’t preach about your own experience. Don’t tell people that your ulcer was healed. Why? That won’t save anybody. Remember how some Greeks came and spoke to the apostle Philip in John 12? They told him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus” (John 12:21). Philip must have been disappointed that they did not come to see him. But why do you think they didn’t want to see Philip? Because Philip cannot do much. Jesus alone can save sinners. But Jesus is now in heaven, seated on the right hand of God the Father. So how can we show Jesus? By preaching the gospel and living a life in conformance with it.

How tragic that the Ethiopian eunuch came all the way to Jerusalem, the birthplace of the gospel, but no one spoke to him! So I encourage you, first, to know the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and preach it. Study the word of God and preach the word of God, whether it is convenient or not. Don’t get caught up in preaching your own experience, because it is Jesus Christ who saves, not our experience. Be like Isaiah, who spoke not about himself but about the only one who died for our sins and was raised for our justification, the one who justifies many and intercedes for the transgressors.

Second, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why? Because people can intimidate you. Didn’t this Ethiopian official travel in a chariot and have servants to accompany him? I am sure Philip thought he was just a nobody and had no right to speak to such a powerful person. But if you are a Christian, you are an ambassador for Jesus Christ, which is a greater position than being finance minister of Queen Candace. Therefore, be filled with the Spirit and be ready to obey him as he leads you to sinners. Learn to boldly declare the name of Jesus to all people!

Third, speak about the only true treasure, Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 39 we read about an embassy from Babylon which came to see Hezekiah. Hezekiah was supposed to share about the God of Israel who had delivered him and healed him. But Hezekiah was very proud, so instead of talking about God, he showed the envoys his silver and gold and all his other treasures.

Isn’t that what we do? When we meet people we proudly show them our cars, our modems, and our computers, but do we talk to them about Jesus? No. Do you know why? Because where our treasure is, our hearts will be also, and whatever we are speaking about is what we treasure. We must speak about God’s indescribable gift, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Are You Sharing the Gospel?

We meet people every day from every part of the world. Like this eunuch of Acts 8, and like the Greeks of John 12, they will be placed in our way. What is their request? They want to see Jesus. So I must ask you: What are you talking about? Are you waxing eloquent about the new bed that you just bought? What about that powerful automobile you just acquired? What about that Ph.D. you just earned? Let me tell you, these will not save anyone. I pray that we will not disappoint those who come to us seeking the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we are honest, we must confess to God that we have failed many times to share the gospel with others. We have met people like this Ethiopian eunuch who come to us, seeking to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, but we did not open our mouths to share our faith. We spoke about many things, but we showed no concern for their souls.

May God help us to share Jesus! May we become like John the Baptist who said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). May we lift Jesus higher, because he alone can save sinners.

The eunuch came to Jerusalem. He was confused, miserable, hopeless, and burdened with guilt, but no one in Jerusalem shared with him. But God saved him, and he went home rejoicing, witnessing to others about the Lord Jesus Christ. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Are we rejoicing in our salvation? May we rejoice, not in money or things, but in the forgiveness of sins and perfect righteousness God has granted to us freely. When we do that, people will ask us, “Hey, what is this? What happened to you?” Then we can tell them the good news of great joy about the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world.

May God forgive us our sin of indifference toward people. May God forgive our seeking of treasure that is material, not spiritual, and our concern about money, pleasures and the cares of this world. All of these things choke the very vitals of the gospel. May God deliver us from all these things and help us to be evangelists, freely sharing the greatest news in the whole world, that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification and that he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. Amen.