Sermon Idea: God advances the gospel through obedient servants who go to the nations equipped with the Word and Spirit.
Introduction: “Last words are lasting words.” This was the frequent reminder that Dr. Danny Akin, the president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I have the privilege of being a student, would give us in chapel regarding the Great Commission. I believe he borrowed it from the late Howard Hendricks.
In Jesus’ final days before his ascension, he said many things of great importance, the most vital of which have been recorded in the New Testament for us. Jesus’ last words are lasting words for the church. They serve as a compass that never fails to direct us on the way of faithful ministry.
God’s work through Philip to save the Ethiopian Eunuch is a glorious account of God’s grace. And it shows that Jesus’ last words had a lasting impact on the church.
Jesus taught the disciples to read Scripture with Christ at the very center of their interpretation. In Luke 24, Jesus gave what I can only believe was the most significant Bible study of all time. We read in Luke 24:27 that the risen Lord Jesus, “…beginning with Moses and all the Prophets…interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Lk 24:27)
Jesus gave the church a clear mission in Matthew 28:19-20. The church’s mission is not any work that it might do, but the specific work of making disciples of all nations.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:19–20)
Then there is, of course, the last words of Jesus in Acts 1:8.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Ac 1:8)
All three of these converge in the book of Acts in many places, and very clearly here in Acts 8. The gospel has spread in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. The gospel reaching the Ethiopian eunuch marks the beginning of its advance to the ends of the earth.
And how does it happen?God advances the gospel through an obedient servant who goes to the nations equipped with the Word and Spirit.
In obedience to God, Philip goes to the desert of Gaza equipped with a Christ-centered view of Scripture and filled with the Holy Spirit.
There is much that we can learn from this passage—about the nature of God’s plan, the makeup of God’s people—but what I want to press upon us is the work of God through obedient servants to advance the gospel.
God is still at work to build his church, and we, the saints of Waldo Baptist Church, should be obedient servants immersed in the Bible, filled with the Spirit, and ready to be used as God wills for the advancement of the gospel in Massac County, Southern IL, and wherever our resources may reach.
To do this, the first truth I want you to see in this passage is that God’s Spirit advances the gospel among the nations.
I.) God’s Spirit advances the gospel among the nations (Acts 8:26, 29, 39-40)
From beginning to end, this entire narrative is marked by God’s sovereign providence and divine initiative. First, notice that it is the angel of the Lord who commands Philip to go to the desert of Gaza.
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (Ac 8:26)
Twice more, we see God’s Spirit leading the way: when the Spirit pressed upon Philip to speak to the man in a nearby chariot in vs. 29, and when the Spirit took Philip away to preach the gospel in every town from Azotus to Caesarea in vs. 40.
God, through the reign of the risen Jesus and the power of the Spirit, is assuring his people will be witnesses for Christ to the ends of the earth.
In this case, God wants to send Philip to Gaza for reasons Philip does not yet know. God is going to reach an outcast in the middle of the desert.
27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. (Ac 8:27–28)
The details are extensive, aren’t they? Indeed, we are meant to learn something about God and his ways from them. We can learn about God’s promises and his providence in fulfilling those promises. Both of these support the idea that God is the one who leads in advancing the gospel.
The details surrounding the man in the chariot are not inconsequential. He is an Ethiopian (Cush in the OT), a eunuch (an emasculated/castrated male), an official treasurer of the Queen, and someone who worships the God of Israel. Oh, and he happens to have a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
The word eunuch has a range of meanings in the ancient world, referring to those who were impotent from birth, those who were castrated, or, sometimes, simply to treasurer, becasue the practice of appointing eunuchs to serve as treasurers was so widespread.
In Acts 8, Luke draws attention to the fact that he is both a eunuch and a treasurer, indicating that this man was truly a castrated male. This is significant because, although he was a worshipper of the God of Israel, he could never become a full convert. Men like him were not permitted to enter the temple under the Old Covenant.
“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the LORD. (Dt 23:1)
Here is the cool part! Ready? In Isaiah, just a few chapters after the eunuch is reading, there is a new covenant promise that God will welcome foreigners and even eunuchs to be among his people.
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” 4 For thus says the LORD: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, 5 I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. (Is 56:3–5)
God is sending Philip, unknownst to him, to the Gaza desert so these promises can now be fulfilled. He was prohibited from the temple and was not genuinely a member of God’s people under the Old Covenant, but through faith in Jesus, he can be a full member of God’s temple in the New Covenant.
Consider with me how God works by his providence in the details. This eunuch holds a position that gives him access to something few people have: a scroll of Scripture. He has a scroll of Isaiah, a book rich with God’s new-creation promises. The early church fathers called it the fifth Gospel.
God ordains the ends, and God ordains the means. If we have received the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have experienced the benefits of God’s gracious providence. Considering this would be a fruitful exercise, wouldn’t it?
I wonder how encouraging it would be if you took time to sit and try to note all the details, people, events, and their consequences that led to you hearing the gospel and being saved.
There is one final point I want to draw out before turning our attention to Philip. Evangelism and Missions are God’s idea. He cares about the nations, and so should we. I wonder if so much of the discontentment, bickering, and division in local churches has its root, at least in part, in an apathy toward or neglect of the great commission. A congregation focused on evangelism and missions won’t be perfect, but they will have fewer problems.
Philip was not apathetic toward the great commission, and his obedience proved it. God works through obedient servants who go to the nations equipped with the Word and Spirit. Now, as we’ll see when we study Jonah, God can advance the gospel through disobedient servants as well, but there are storms and whales involved. It’s a mess. Let’s not go that route. Philip obeys, and so should we.
II.) Philip obeys, equipped with the Word to share the gospel with the nations (Acts 8:27, 30-35)
It is easy to pass over these statements of obedience quickly without much thought, but listen to how Philip responds to the commands he is given.
27 And he rose and went (Acts 8:27)
29And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Ac 8:29–30)
Before we get to Philip’s question and the quotation from Isaiah, let’s revisit one detail. Up to this point, Philip has no idea why God is sending him down the road into the desert. He obeys, and he goes, but he knows not why.
Beloved, you may not always know what God is doing or why. You can, though, choose obedience and faithfulness where God has you for as long as he has you there. God is at work in your life and will use your faithfulness for the good of others and for his glory.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Philip obeys, and as he stumbled upon the chariot, he could hear the man reading from Isaiah. I have to wonder if, at this point, Philip is starting to understand why he’s on this journey.
30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Ac 8:30–31)
Questions are such a powerful way to open the door for spiritual conversations.
The Eunuch is reading from the Servant Song of Isaiah 53, one of the Old Testament’s richest messianic chapters. The verses quoted in Acts 8 it refer to the servant’s humiliation.
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” (Ac 8:32–33)
The Eunuch wants to know who this refers to: the prophet or someone else?
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. (Ac 8:34–35)
Philip connects the Scripture to Jesus. The lamb silent before its shearer was the spotless lamb Jesus Christ, who opened not his mouth in defense before his crucifixion.
No doubt Philip referred to the rest of Isaiah 53 in his answer. As Jesus was humiliated and suffered on the cross, he suffered not becasue of his own sin, but becasue of our sin.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Is 53:5)
No doubt Philip appealed to later portions of the text that promised that the suffering servant would be vindicated through the resurrection, and how through the suffering servant’s death, many will be made righteous.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of man and makes intercession for the transgressors (Is 53:11–12)
This is how Philip shared the gospel. He showed how passages in the Bible were connected to and about Jesus Christ. In the desert, Philip is a reservoir of living water.
This is what we should prayerfully aim for. We want to be so filled with a Christ-centered reading of Scripture that we are like reservoirs of living water.
The church cannot quench sinners’ spiritual thirst if we minister from dry wells. We want to be full, overflowing, and ready to pour the good news of the gospel into others.
Let’s be a people that truly love the Word and the Christ who is revealed on every page of the Word. May we become a people who can begin with a passage of Scripture and share the good news of the gospel.
God advances the gospel through obedient servants who go to the nations equipped with the Word and Spirit.
III.) Philip obeys, equipped with Water to make disciples among the nations (Acts 8:36-38)
Philip not only shares the good news of the gospel but is also prepared to obey Jesus in making a disciple of the Eunuch. Look with me at verses 37-38.
36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. (Ac 8:36–38)
As Philip shared the gospel, he must have done a good job of explaining what the proper response is. That is precisely what we should aim to do.
Baptism is a way that truly repentant and believing people respond to the gospel. Baptism is the way that we publicly profess our faith in Jesus, identify ourselves with Christ, and with his people. It is the initial sign of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.
If in our gospel sharing, people don’t understand how to respond and, in particular, the importance of baptism in the Christian life, and their regular observance of the Lord’s Supper, then we have failed to obey Jesus, who told us in the great commission, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
“Last words are lasting words.”
The saints of Waldo Baptist Church should be guided by the lasting words of Jesus, just as Philip was. We want to be a people who love the Word, immerse ourselves in it, and obey God in evangelism and missions. We want to be disciple makers who baptize, teach, and send because the church is God’s plan A for fulfilling the great commission.
What about individually? Might God be calling you to commit your life to take the gospel to unreached peoples?
Let’s do it together, for the glory of God, the good of our church, and for the sake of the lost.
Nathaniel R. Martin 