Acts 8:26-40

Ustedes son mujeres hermosa y hombres guapo. Les quieres mucho. Wasn’t that nice, what I said about you? What? You don’t know what I said about you? Oh, you missed it. I said the nicest things about you. Too bad you don’t know how to speak Spanish. What I said would have made your day.

It’s not very nice for me to speak in a language that most people here don’t understand. It’s a little rude. It leaves you out. And this is how people see the church. As we’ve been worshipping here this evening, people have been driving by, people who haven’t stepped inside a church in years. They’ve seen our cars parked in the parking lot. They’ve maybe heard the music and the singing through the windows and walls. And they try to imagine what might possibly be going on inside. They might have had some experience, long ago, that gives them an idea. But what we do and what we say, and even how we say it, is strange to them. It doesn’t make sense. No one, anywhere, gets together and sings songs anymore. Closing our eyes and talking to Someone we can’t see, this just doesn’t make sense. Putting money on a bag, and not getting anything back for it, what is that all about?

And even more than that, what we talk about doesn’t make sense. A week doesn’t go by without us talking about a dead man who came back to life. We never get together without talking about what the resurrection is doing in our lives. Resurrection? A dead man living? What in the world are you talking about?

If only they had someone to explain it to them. If only someone could translate. If only someone could make them understand. That someone is you. That someone is us. They need us, more than just to satisfy their curiosity…They need us, more than just to answer a few questions…They need us to tell them the good news of Jesus.

As we continue to allow the ripples of the resurrection to shape us and form us through this season of Easter, we have to face the fact that there are so many people who can’t understand. The good news may be in English, but it’s still a foreign language to them. There are confused people all around, just waiting for someone to show up and explain it, just like Philip.

And Philip showed up, in the right place at the right time to the right person. Verse 26:

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.

There are three individuals interacting here at the beginning of the story. We have Philip, one of the first deacons chosen in Acts 6. Philip has been on the run ever since Stephen was stoned to death, and has been hiding out in Samaria, until he gets the message from the angel of the Lord.

The angel is the second person at work here in this story. But don’t pay too much attention to the angel. They don’t like it when we pay them too much attention. They want us to notice who sent them. Angels want us to notice the Lord, because it was the Lord that sent Philip. And the Lord didn’t explain Himself to Philip when He gave the command to go. The Lord sent Philip out on a road. And isn’t it funny that God emphasizes that it’s a desert road. “Go south to the road, Philip. Yes, that’s right, the road in the middle of nowhere. The desert road. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I don’t have to explain myself to you. I tell you where to go, and you do the going.”

And Philip agrees. That was good enough for him. If God wanted Philip to go and wait on the side of the road, if that was how Philip could give glory to God, then great. Philip heads out. But sitting on the side of the road wasn’t the plan. Meeting the third individual of the story was what God had in mind. As he’s walking on the road, Philip meets a man who is far from home. He’s a man from the same country that Gilo is from, from Ethiopia. He’s an important man, someone famous. He and the queen of Ethiopia talk regularly. In fact, this man calls her by name, Candace.

But who this man is isn’t important. What is important is that he’s searching for the true God. Verse 27:

This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship

He had heard of the God of Israel. And He had heard enough to want to give worship to Yahweh, the true God. He has worshipped, but he wants more, so, verse 28:

and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.

He’s doing the right thing. He went to church. He’s reading the Bible. He’s on the right track, except it doesn’t make sense to him. He can read the words, but something doesn’t fit.

So God, as He works His providence, moves Philip into place. Verse 29:

The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

I want to stop a moment here. The Spirit told Philip. God spoke to him. And when we hear that, sometimes, we think, “Sure, if God spoke to me and told me to go somewhere, I’d do it. But God doesn’t speak to me, not like that.” But let’s remember where we are. Philip and the official are alone on the desert road. There’s no one around for miles. Of course Philip and the official are going to at least greet each other. Of course Philip will say something to the man. But that doesn’t take anything away from the fact that God sent Philip out there. Just because it’s normal and natural doesn’t mean God’s not behind it. Philip finds himself in a position to talk to someone about Jesus. That didn’t just happen. God made that happen.

And Philip obeys. Verse 30:

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

Philip has been given the truth. It’s not that Philip was this brilliant scholar who had searched and studied and memorized, and now was able to pass on his amazing wisdom. Philip had just been given the truth, the truth about God. It’s a safe question Philip asks. If the man knows what he’s reading, if he understands, then Philip has just found another believer. Great! Then they praise the Lord together.

But if the man doesn’t understand what he’s reading, then he’ll say something like this. Verse 31:

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

And that’s all that Philip needs. God made sure that Philip was on the road at the exact time that the official was traveling by, and Philip uses this opportunity that God created to talk about Jesus. The official has been reading Isaiah 53, and he’s not sure if Isaiah is talking about himself, or someone else. And Philip knows enough, he understands enough to respond, in verse 35:

Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

Philip told him about Jesus. Philip talked about the Man, the God that he knew, Jesus. Philip started where the man was, he started with Isaiah 53. But the point wasn’t to explain Isaiah 53. The point, Philip’s object was to make sure the man knew Jesus. He explained that Isaiah wasn’t talking about himself, there. He explained that the one who would be punished was God Himself, in the divine human Jesus. He explained that both he and the official deserved that punishment, but instead Jesus took it for them. He explained that Jesus is offering His life to the man, for their lives to be joined together. He explained the good news about Jesus.

And then Philip baptized him. The official has recognized the truth. He worshiped God in Jerusalem. Now he knows God, through Jesus. And he wants his life to show it. And that begins with baptism. He wants to join Jesus in His death, so that he can join Jesus in His life. He wants to be buried with Christ, through baptism, and be raised with Christ to new life. So Philip baptizes him. Philip, the deacon, baptized. Not a pastor, not an elder. A deacon. Philip did what Jesus told each of us, to go and make disciples, baptizing and teaching.

And that was the end. Suddenly, verse 39:

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

The Lord had other things for Philip to do, so He brought Philip to another place to tell other people about Jesus. The Lord had things for the Ethiopian official to do, so the Lord brings him to another place, back to Ethiopia.

And where is the Lord taking you? Is there someone out there on the road, or in the office, or in the house next door, or in your family, that is not understanding what God is saying to them? The answer, of course, is that there is. Each one of us here knows someone, somewhere, that doesn’t know Jesus. Each one of us has someone in our lives who needs us to tell them about Jesus. Maybe it doesn’t seem like it. Maybe we can’t think of anyone. There’s only two reasons why we can’t see them. It’s possible that God hasn’t sent us to anyone. It’s possible God doesn’t want us to tell someone about Jesus. But it’s not very likely. He sent us out into the world to make disciples. So then, the only reason we don’t know who to talk to is that we haven’t listened to the Lord. We haven’t paid attention. Of if we have noticed, if we did hear, then we chose to ignore God.

God has sent each of us into the life of someone who needs our help. So, the first step is to pay attention, to notice who is on the road with us, to notice who is in the office, in our neighborhood. Then, when we’ve noticed, then the next step is to go up and ask them if they understand? It’s a great question to ask. On break time at work, standing out on your lawn at home, ask them if they understand? Do you understand what you are seeing in the news? Do you understand what’s happening in the world? Do you understand why things don’t work the way they should? Do you understand what you’re seeing? Do you understand what you’re feeling? Do you understand what you’re missing? Do you understand why you’re afraid? Do you understand why the world doesn’t make sense to you? If they do understand, then you’ve found another believer, and you can rejoice together. But if they don’t understand, then explain it to them. Tell them the good news about Jesus. Tell them that nothing works right, that bad things happen, because we have tried to push God out of our lives and do what we want to do. Tell them that that only results in pain and suffering. But tell them that Jesus took the pain and suffering that we deserved. Tell them that He died our death for us, so that He could give us His life.

And if that makes sense to them, if they want the life that Jesus offers, then it’s time to baptize them. That sounds strange, doesn’t it? But baptism is more than just putting water on someone’s head. It’s more than just the sacrament. Baptism is helping the person recognize the parts of their lives that need to die. Baptism is helping the person recognize the parts of their lives that are coming to life, new life. Baptism is a process that can take a long time.

Someone that you know doesn’t understand Jesus. Someone you know needs you to translate. Someone you know is lost and confused, and they might not even look like it. God is sending you. Maybe you haven’t heard His voice actually talking, but look, that person is right in front of you. God is sending you over to ask them if they understand. God is sending you over to them to explain the good news about Jesus. Tell them what you know. Tell them that Jesus will take whatever is dead and rotten in their life, and make it new and healthy. Tell them. They don’t understand. Tell them about Jesus.