“And Philip opened his mouth….and preached unto
him Jesus.” Acts 8:36
Philip, as sent by the Lord, encountered an Ethiopian in a chariot
who was reading the scripture. Philip inquired of the man,
“Understandest thou what thou readest?” The Ethiopian responded by
saying “How can I, except some man should guide me?” At his
invitation, Philip sat down with the man and began to preach unto
him Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is the chief teacher and leader, but God also
desires to use people as vessels to share the wonderful message of
salvation. While people should always be directed to the Holy Spirit
to be their guide, it is natural for people to look to others to
help them understand the Word of God and the way of truth. When
faced with the opportunity to minister to others who are hungry for
the knowledge of God, what will we share?
Some will share the traditions and spiritual culture of the time.
Some will share the history of their religious movement; and some
will share their own spirituality. But thank the Lord for the
example of Philip. He didn’t preach himself and he didn’t point the
Ethiopian to Jerusalem where the elders lived. Philip preached
Jesus.
It is Jesus that people need to hear about. All of the religion in
the world can’t minister to the needs that people have. It is Jesus,
the Son of the Living God, that can transform a life. Let us be more
ready to preach Jesus to those who are hungry for truth. Let us
never fail to point people to Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
When Philip preached Jesus to the Ethiopian, the Lord confirmed the
message and the Ethiopian believed and was baptized. He wasn’t
baptized into a group or movement; he wasn’t baptized in the name of
the apostles or of Philip; but he was baptized into Jesus Christ.
Philip and the eunuch were then separated and saw each other no
more. It is interesting to note that the birthplace of Christianity
in Africa was Ethiopia. I believe this was due in part to the fact
that the Ethiopian went back home and had a wonderful message to
share to those around him. He had not a message of man, of a
movement, or of a group of holy men in Jerusalem to follow, but he
had a simple message of Jesus Christ. Philip had given the Ethiopian
a message that would stand through the ages and changes of time.
Let us follow the example of Philip and ‘preach Jesus.’
