“Led by the Spirit”
(Acts 8:26-40)
Series: Back to the Basics (Acts 1-9)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
- Please open your Bibles to Acts, Chapter 8.
While you’re finding your place in Acts, let me say that I am thrilled that Dr. Coppenger will be our interim! He is a good man and a good leader. Remember to turn in your ballots this week for your nominations for the pastor search committee.
We’re nearing the end of our short series on the first section of the Book of Acts, our series “Back to the Basics.” We’ve been looking at the early church and seeing where was their focus, and how they operated. In recent weeks we noted the church went from murmuring to multiplying and that deacons were established largely to put an end to murmuring. Then, last time we noted the church went from being sheltered to being scattered. The church began its missional movement outward from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, to the ends of the earth.
We read about Philip last time who had gone down to Samaria—verse 5—and he “preached Christ to them,” the word preaching better translated gospelizing, sharing the good news about Jesus, something every follower of Christ does every day of his or her life. So the gospel has gotten from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria.
Today, we see the gospel getting to what was then considered part of the ends of the earth. The gospel going down South of Egypt. So far we have read about multitudes of people being converted. Today we read for the first time in Acts the conversion of an individual person. And not just any individual, but a full-fledged Gentile from outside the area where everyone looked the same. This is a guy who was dark-skinned and would have been banned from worship at the temple.
What I really want to ask you to listen for as I read the passage is the focus upon the Holy Spirit. One of the characteristics marking the early church was that it was a church led by the Spirit. How many of you want to be led by the Spirit? Want our church to be led by the Spirit? Alright, let’s learn from Philip and also see how God orchestrates the events of this encounter as the Spirit of God moves!
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
- Let’s pray.
I’ve shared with you before about a time Billy Graham was in a city holding evening worship services. One afternoon he was walking down the streets of the city and he met a little boy. He asked him, “Little boy, do you know where I can find the post office?” The little boy looked at him funny and said, “Yes,” and he pointed in the direction of the post office—right down the street. And Billy Graham thanked him and then he said, “Little boy, if you’ll come to our worship service tonight you can hear me telling everyone the way to heaven.” The little boy shook his head and replied, “I don’t think I’ll be coming.” Billy Graham said, “Why not?!” He said, “Well, you don’t even know your way to the post office!”
Well, Philip knows the way to heaven—and yet he has no idea exactly where the Lord is leading. Philip is led by the Spirit, and obedient to the Spirit, and so he will go wherever the Lord leads even if he doesn’t know how it will all turn out. Now I want us to note from this passage at least three things that are true about the church when the church is led by the Spirit. This is true not only of the church collectively, but true of every real Christian who is part of the church individually. Your a Christian, this should be true of you and me, true of every person led by the Spirit. Here we go, number one:
**When We Are Led By The Spirit…
- We have a Love for Sinners
We have a love for the lost, for those who are not yet saved. Sinners. I remember the first time our family went on a mission trip to Brazil. The boys were much younger then and Nicholas was just 8 or 9 years old. And he’d heard about taking the gospel to those lost in sin. And I remember when we finally landed in Brazil and got off the plane and we’re heading into the crowded area of the airport and Nic saw a crowd of Brazilians and he asked, “Are those all the sinners?!”
Well we’re all sinners, aren’t we? Some of us are saved sinners and some of us are—what?—lost sinners. But if we’re saved sinners, we’ll have a love for lost sinners. And when we’re led by the Spirit, we’ll be quick to gospelize the good news about Jesus to any lost sinner in our path. And may it be so for each of us today. A love for sinners; really just another way of saying that we love people who are just like us.
We learned from last time that there was a major move of God in Samaria. People were getting saved left and right. The way Luke puts it back up in verses 6 and following is that “multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip,” and “many who were paralyzed and lame were healed” and “there was great joy in that city.” Scores of people coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
And then God moves his man—Philip—takes him away from the multitudes all the way down into a deserted place to talk to one, single, solitary, outcast. I don’t know many preachers who would want to leave place where hundreds if not thousands were coming to know Christ and go all the way down into a desert just to talk to one person he would probably never see again.
Johnny Hunt, “Many would like to leave the one and move to the multitude, but the Lord called Philip from the multitude to one.” Look at it again now in verse 26:
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.
Now if you were to write a book of the New Testament and you really wanted folks to believe it, you probably would write it in such a way as to minimize the supernatural stuff. Nobody believes in angels talking and stuff like that. So why does Luke write in verse 26 that an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip? Anyone know? Because an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip! It really happened and we’re reading the historical record of that event.
Remember what the writer of Hebrews said about angels? He said that often Christians entertain angels without even realizing it. “Angels unawares” as he puts it in Hebrews 13:2.
The angel spoke to Philip and told him to go south along the road down to Gaza. It’s a deserted area some 60 miles out of the way. Philip doesn’t yet know why he is going, but he goes. Of course he’ll be going to share the gospel with a fella down there known as the Ethiopian eunuch.
By the way, why didn’t the angel of the Lord go talk to the Ethiopian? He could have, right? I mean, that would have been something! It’s not the angel’s job, is it? God gets the gospel out through you and me. Through His children. He wants us to be obedient.
Besides, you know what angles don’t know? They don’t know what it’s like to be saved! Peter said in 1 Peter 1:12 that angels want to know about salvation, but they don’t. They desire to look into these things is the way Peter put it.
Now the angel of the Lord was, as one commentator (John Polhill) puts it, “the functional equivalent to the Spirit,” who continues leading Philip throughout the narrative.
27 So he arose and went…
He arose and went. He head not yet been told what he was going to do. God said “Go” and he arose and went. Just like that. Sometimes God tells us to go without giving all the information up front. He’s looking for willing hearts. So Philip travels with sealed orders, not yet aware of the extent of his mission.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, (28) was returning.
The Ethiopian was not from what is today Ethiopia. He was from an area just South of Egypt, just into the northeastern region of the continent of Africa. He was dark-skinned; he was black, he was an African.
Incidentally, I was encouraged last week to hear from more than one of you regarding a statement I made Sunday morning as we talked about the gospel getting into Samaria and how God’s people were racist regarding the Samaritans. You’ll recall I asked whether you gave any thought to the ethnicity of your future pastor. Did he have to be white or fit some kind of preconceived stereotype? Or did you even think of it, at all? And I was encouraged that a number of you said how God had just sort of worked that into your thinking and praying. And I think that’s the main thing. It’s not that the committee necessarily go after one particular ethnicity or other. God’s man is the one who will come. But being open to any ethnicity is essential.
This Ethiopian man here in verse 27 is called a eunuch. This means, of course, that his body was physically altered such that he might serve as a royal official under the queen. I trust that’s all I need say about eunuchs. Common practice in those days. So he served under the queen. The word “Candace” is not her name, but a title like “Caesar” or “Pharaoh,” better translated the “Kandace,” referring to the queens. Because he was a eunuch, he was therefore regarded by the Mosaic Law as unfit for worship at the Jewish Temple (Deuteronomy 23:1). He could visit, but he was not aloud inside.
Well, that’s precisely what he had done. He had gotten close to the temple in Jerusalem, but he was not aloud to get too near. Yet, he had gone their to worship and hoped to learn something about God. We get the sense as we read the passage that the Ethiopian was what is sometimes called a “God-fearer,” someone who acknowledged God more than likely exists, but they were not yet actually saved through faith in Christ.
So here is this man, a royal official of some sort. An esteemed man of power. Respectable. But Lost. You may have some sense of power at work, held in high regard by others for your skill, talent, and even your morality—but be lost. This is the case of the Ethiopian eunuch. He had been to Jerusalem and was now returning:
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
Now this is remarkable! Somehow the eunuch had gotten hold of a scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. He likely purchased it while in Jerusalem, somewhere, who knows—it’s not like there were Lifeway Christian Stores in the Upper Nile! But God is at work in this incident so all the moving parts are guided by the Sovereign, Providential Hand of Almighty God.
And how providential that this eunuch would be reading not just the Prophet Isaiah but, as the narrative goes on to demonstrate, the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the quintessential chapter of Isaiah that most clearly points to Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant and Messiah, Savior of sinners! And what is more—just a few more lines down the scroll from where the eunuch was reading was a glorious passage about how God promises to grant eunuchs a heritage “better than sons and daughters (Isaiah 56:3-5).” How wonderful it must have been for the eunuch to read that God has something special for those who are considered outcasts by society, broken folks, disenfranchised, lost sinners in need of a loving Savior.
And the eunuch just happens to be reading this section of the scroll of Isaiah!
I tell you, nothing is accidental, but providential. Nothing is happenstance, but rather is providence. Remember that and be encouraged that God is doing exactly what needs to be done in your life, no matter what!
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
God’s people are led by the Spirit, listening for the Spirit of God. And the Spirit says to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” In other words, “Philip, here’s your assignment: See that chariot over there? I want you to run up next to it and you’ll see why I’ve called you here.” Go near and overtake this chariot. Most of us today are led by the Spirit’s prompting. While hearing actual words is rare, the Spirit definitely talks to us, impressing us, moving upon us, leading us. We know when He’s speaking. Yes, sometimes like a still small voice and sometimes like a megaphone, but He is speaking. Ours is to obey, verse 30:
30 So Philip ran to him…
Philip ran. Some say that’s textual evidence that Philip was not a Baptist! The Spirt said go and he ran. And he must have been a fit man in order to run alongside the chariot and talk while he was running! He jumps up on the running board alongside the chariot and hangs on and, verse 30:
30 …and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
It was customary in those days to read the Scripture aloud. So Philip hears the eunuch reading from God’s Word.
Again, a eunuch doesn’t “just happen” to have a copy of the scroll of Isaiah. And it is not accidental that Philip finds himself right there at the precise moment in time the eunuch is reading God’s Word. The Spirit of God is at work on both sides of the equation! Working in the eunuch and working in Philip. The Spirit Who works in your heart, prompting you to share with another—is already at work in the heart of the one with whom He’s prompting you to share. This is why can be so encouraged! God doesn’t send you on your own. Remember what Jesus says at the end of the Great Commission text, “And I am with you always.”
We just need to be obedient led by the Spirit, having a love for sinners. Willing to share with anyone and everyone—even the people with different backgrounds, ethnicities, folks who are outcasts and broken. When we’re led by the Spirit we’ll have a love for sinners.
Here’s another mark of true believers. Not only do we have a love for sinners, but when we are led by the Spirit:
- We have a Love for Scripture
Philip runs alongside the chariot. He hears the eunuch reading from Isaiah and he asks this question in verse 30: “Do you understand what you are reading?” Great question, right? “Hey, Mr. Eunuch! You know what you’re reading about there?!” By the way, what is the implication here? The implication is, “Because if you don’t know what you’re reading—I can help you.” Put another way: “I know what that Scripture means.”
Philip wasn’t ordained. He hadn’t been to seminary. And yet he knows the word of God. You know things you love. I love my wife. The more I love her the more I really know her. And the more I know her the more I love her. Same is true of God’s Word. The more you love God’s Word the more you know God’s Word. And the more you know God’s Word, the more you love God’s Word!
God’s people led by the Spirit have a love for sinners and a love for Scripture. Now what is the eunuch’s response to Philip’s question? Philip had asked in verse 30: “Do you understand what you are reading?” and, verse 31:
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
The Hand of God at work! I don’t understand what I’m reading here! I need someone to guide me! And here comes Philip. So the eunuch says, “Why don’t you just come on inside this chariot and help me out.” And this deacon, Deacon Philip, is ready to go. Good deacons love the Scripture! They are committed to knowing their Bibles, life-long students of the Word. Verse 32:
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this (and this is from Isaiah, Chapter 53, a prophecy about Jesus Christ, given 700 years before Christ):
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”
And the eunuch has been reading this passage and scratching his head. He doesn’t know what he’s reading. Verse 34:
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”
Good question! We have the benefit of hindsight, don’t we? We know the answer to this question. No, the Prophet Isaiah does not say this of himself, but “of some other man” and who is that man, church?! That man is Jesus!
This passage is all about Jesus! You read the Scripture later, read the end of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and you’ll read about Jesus who was “led as a sheep to the slaughter” a man who did not loudly protest, defending His ministry, but was silent “as a lamb before its shearer” and justice for Him “was taken away” through His mock trial and in His crucifixion “His life is taken from the earth.”
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
He preached Jesus to him! What a wonderful phrase. He preached Jesus to him. That’s the third point, by the way: When God’s people are led by the Spirit, they have a love for sinners, a love for Scripture, and a love for the Savior.
- We have a Love for the Savior
Philip said, “Mr. Eunuch, the Prophet Isaiah does not say this of himself, but of some other man—and I’m here to tell yo about that other man: His name is Jesus. And he preached Jesus to him.
By the way, I like the way verse 35 begins: “Then Philip opened his mouth.” He “opened his mouth!” I like that. You’ve got to open your mouth to witness. We must be open to the Spirit, we must open the Scriptures, and we must open our mouths!!
Philip knew the Bible. Verse 35 says “and beginning at this Scripture (he) preached Jesus to him.” Beginning at this Scripture. He began at the passage where the eunuch was reading and the phrasing suggests that Philip included much more. He just began where the eunuch was reading. I suppose Philip went on to show the eunuch other ways Isaiah 53 points to Jesus, that Jesus is the one about whom the prophet is speaking. He shows the eunuch from the Word that God laid upon Jesus the iniquity of us all. He died for us. He took our sins upon Himself. He took care of our sins, died in the place of sinners.
He “preached Jesus to him.” This is crucial! He preached Jesus—not race-relations. Not the political situation in Ethiopia. Not his opinions on socio-economic situation in lower Egyptian Nile region. Not a solution to poverty. He preached Jesus to him.
You’re led by the Spirit, you’re full of Jesus. Just full of Jesus! You love Jesus! A love for sinners, a love for Scripture, and a love for the Savior! The rest of the passage shows us that the eunuch believed in Jesus Christ and received Him as Lord and Savior.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Again, how providential! Here they are in the desert, no watering holes anywhere and then—boom! The eunuch asks, “Hey, can I be baptized? What’s stopping me from being baptized?!” And the King James and New King James has a verse 37 there that reads:
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
This verse is not in the oldest Greek manuscripts and that’s why it is not included in most of the newer English translations. And while verse 37 is not in the oldest manuscripts, it is obviously a true and biblical statement! Some Jewish scribes apparently added it in the margin because it embodies an early Christian confession uttered at baptism. When a new believer was baptized he or she was asked, “Do you believe with all your heart?” And the new Christian would reply, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he (the eunuch) commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
And this remarkable work of God in verse 39:
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away (like Elijah in 2 Kings!), so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
Much like Elijah 2 Kings 2:11
The eunuch embodies the final truth from last week. We said following Christ is frightful, sorrowful, missional, and—remember?—joyful! Here it is again: this eunuch “went on his way rejoicing.”
The Bible does not say that the eunuch would never have any more problems. Yes, the eunuch will stay have to work for a living. Yes, the eunuch will still have bills to pay. Yes, the eunuch will still get sick sometimes. Yes, the eunuch will still experience tragedy and sorrow, but he is now full of joy. He’s singing! Maybe he sang something like:
I heard and old, old story, how a Savior came from glory.
How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me:
I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood’s atoning,
Then I repented of my sins and won the victory!
Philip’s singing a different song, probably something like, “Wherever He leads, I’ll go!” Verse 40:
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
The word “preached” there is that word we said is better translated “evangelizing” or “gospelizing,” telling others the good news about Jesus Christ.
cf Acts 21:8, Philip the Evangelist; 20 years later still faithfully gospelizing about Jesus
Michele’s “one” passed away last week. We’re not sure if she ever trusted Christ. We had both witnessed to her, given her gospel tracts, invited her to church. We don’t know. We hope so, but we just don’t know.
Carl Henry famously said, “The Gospel is good news only if it gets there on time.”
- Let’s pray.
RESPONSE:
Take up thy cross and follow Me
I heard my Master say
I gave My life to ransom thee
Surrender your all today
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Wherever He leads I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads I’ll go
He drew me closer to His side
I sought His will to know
And in that will I now abide
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Wherever He leads I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads I’ll go
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.