The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 8:36-39,
“As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 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.”
As the gospel began to spread we read of an Ethiopian eunuch Philip shared the gospel with. While we find the circumstances surrounding the account to be astonishing, there is an observation here to be made that I never want to loose sight of.
An angel of the Lord tells Philip to go down a certain road. That is pretty amazing by my standards. I don’t know that I have ever heard an angel speak to me. Then the Holy Spirit talks to Philip and tells him to go to a certain chariot, in which this Ethiopian eunuch is riding in. Likewise, I don’t know that the Holy Spirit has ever audibly told me to do something as specific as to go to a vehicle. Then following the exchange between the two of them we are told that the “Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away” and was next seen in Azotus. It makes me think of the “transporter” in the Star Track series. Quite an astonishing account! But what grabs my attention is the heart and soul of the account: the Ethiopian eunuch went on his way rejoicing because of what happened to him!
The passage of Scripture the eunuch asked Philip to explain was from Isaiah 53. In that passage we are told, “He [the “servant”, Jesus Christ] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Just like us, this eunuch was lost in his sin, estranged from God and facing the God’s certain judgment. Now that he has heard the good news contained in Isaiah’s prophecy and explained by Philip, this man had found forgiveness for his sin, a healing in his standing before God and the promise of a wonderful hope in the resurrection! This man went on his way rejoicing!
We go on our own way rejoicing as well! We have received everything this eunuch received and have every cause for rejoicing as he did. It is only when I allow the things of this life to crowd out my clear view of the wonderful hope I have that my rejoicing dims. What an important point to pray for today: Lord, help me to set my heart and my mind on things above where Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God! Help me to fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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