Today’s reading draws us further into the world of the early Church, giving us more insight into the climate in which the gospel was preached. It also acquaints us more with those who contributed to the distribution of the gospel.
The same day Stephen is martyred, widespread persecution occurs, with Saul actively pursuing and persecuting believers, throwing them in jail (Acts 8:1–3). The persecution intensified, but the resolve of Jesus’s followers to share His message only grew.
Philip’s encounter with the eunuch was more than being in the right place at the right time. It was a divine orchestration from God, who was ready to meet the eunuch’s desire to know more about Him. Philip meets a perplexed man, who does not understand who the subject of the passage from Isaiah was talking about. But Philip did.
Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture. —Acts 8:35
Here we see God’s saving power in action. As Philip directed the eunuch to Jesus through the Word, the eunuch accepted everything that he heard. It’s a monumental moment in the eunuch’s life, the eagerness evident in his immediate request to be baptized. As regal and important as his position was in Queen Candace’s court, he now had a more prestigious status as a member of God’s family.
This roadside conversion points back to God’s promise in Isaiah 56:3–5, where God specifically promised that His salvation would extend to foreigners and eunuchs, who generally did not have families of their own. Better than a biological family, the eunuch now had a place among God’s people and family. What joy he experienced, as he returned to Ethiopia, forever changed.
The same joy-inducing, life-giving gospel at work in the eunuch’s conversion is the same gospel that has transformed our lives. The eunuch’s story highlights the beauty of God’s grace. Because of sin, we were far from God, but because of Jesus’s sacrifice, we now belong to Him. The gospel welcomes all, without discrimination; the only requirement is that we accept His gift of salvation (Romans 10:13). In God’s household, strangers are bonded together as family, and we all experience God’s blessings.
The eunuch’s conversion during the church’s persecution emphasizes that nothing will stop God’s plan for us to be His people. Our lives are forever marked with a deep joy that outlasts any situation we face, knowing that we are accepted by Him.
Traci G I will see you Saturday at 10:30 am. Harbinger :) My brother Keith, lives in South Dakota, they got 16 inches of snow yesterday. This might be the only reason I would need to change plans. If you need to, please post in the morning to let me know, I will do the same. Hoping we don’t get that much snow for quite a while. Stay warm Sisters.
Praying that God would use me to spread the Good News at my new job. There’s no way He gifted me this job merely as a fulfillment for my own desires. It’s very easy for me to have blinders on and go about my business and do what I need to do. I’m praying that God would divinely orchestrate encounters with people at this school who are ready to know more about Him. I’m so afraid of saying the wrong thing (or actually saying the right thing, in the wrong way…I’m so not eloquent, but I want the Good News to be compelling and winsome!). But I know all I have to do is speak about “this Jesus” (as Christine Caine says), and the LORD will give people eyes to see and hears to hear. I took a screen shot of Tameisha’s devotional where it says it wasn’t about Philip being in the right place at the right time, it was a DIVINE orchestration of GOD who was READY to meet the eunuch’s DESIRE to know more about Him! It’s encouraging to remember that God is in control of who we encounter along the way as we follow Him. Lord, help me to not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for IT is the power of God for salvation to all who believe!
@Phoebe – I do the same! This summer I would listen while I worked in my garden. Sometimes I find my mind wandering so I just hit the 15 second rewind a couple of times. I love the podcast!
So good SRT and HRT this morning. Thankful for all of you and your comments. I love Phillip’s obedience to the Spirit of God, and that he gets to speak into what the Ethiopian Eunich is already reading in scripture. I believe the Holy Spirit empowers us in so many ways to listen, to discern and to speak of our Lord. Praying I am ready to bless others like this when called to do so. What a blessing, that Phillip gets to baptise this man and connect him to Jesus love and grace. Lauren, praising God with you, will be praying. Our God is so GOOD. Hugs and love Sisters, praying His love mighty in your day. Please pray for my brother Fred, sil Shano and daughter Bailee, all have covid. And Bailee is in the hospital because she has ulcerative colitis and they are doing an colonoscopy, once they have the results of this they believe they might have to remove part of her colon. Thank you for your prayers.
In Acts 8:15-17 there is a clear example of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Verse 16 says “They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
I always found it astonishing that Philip suddenly disappeared and appeared somewhere else continually spreading the gospel. And what a tender heart the eunuch must of had to accept the WORD immediately.
Searching- I listen to the podcasts when I’m walking. Typically I walk about an hour. A time of no distractions for me. If I take a shorter path I split the podcast into two days. Has worked really well for me.
MIRIAM, that Kings passage does seem a little random. I thought maybe it was giving an idea how Phillip was carried away like Elijah was carried away.