Part 4: “The Strangers and the Pharisee” // Acts 8:25–9:12

Overview:

This story in Acts about Philip and the Ethiopian shows us the inclusivity of Christianity; the exclusivity of Christianity; and the grounding for both. Most people see Christianity as either inclusive or exclusive, but the fact is Christianity is both.

Then we come to perhaps the most famous conversion story in the history of the world: the conversion of Saul (who becomes Paul). This is the man who sought to do the most harm to the earliest Christians, but then God saves him and he becomes the writer of about a quarter of the New Testament.

Jesus uses no uncertain terms regarding conversion; in Matthew 18:3 he says unless you’re converted, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Conversion means that we turn and trust.

Summary:

Peter and John have returned to Jerusalem but Philip, a lay minister, was led further south through Samaria, down a desert path where he meets an Ethiopian eunuch. There could hardly be more differences between these two men: Philip, a Jew, could enter the Jerusalem Temple without issue but Deut. 23:1 prohibits castrated people from entering which means, although this man desired to worship YHWH, he was not permitted into the Temple. As a court official for the queen of the Ethiopians, this man was extravagantly wealthy but at the cost of never having a family. Philip does not possess financial means but, in keeping with cultural norms of 1st c. Judaea, has more siblings and cousins than he can count. These are two people who would never meet each other in the ordinary course of their days, and yet God brought them to a providential meeting. This man had been reading about the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53:7–8, a passage that leads to the promise of an everlasting name––i.e., family heritage––within God’s Temple for faithful eunuchs (Isa. 56:4–5), and had begun to hope in the God described in the Hebrew Scriptures. He was an ‘outsider’ who was actually an insider, one whom God had been calling to faith in His Son. Immediately following their encounter, Saul discovers firsthand how closely Jesus identifies with His Church: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (9:5b). Saul was an ‘insider’ who was actually an outsider, but one whom God providentially and miraculously brought to faith in Jesus. In both stories we see how serious God is about the Gospel of grace; He will not abandon a man abandoned by others, nor will He leave behind even one who supervises the murder of innocent Christians.

 

Key Passages:

  • The Ethiopian ‘Outsider’

    • vv. 32–33, cf. Isa. 53:7–8; 56:4–5

    • vv. 34–8, A New Family for a Eunuch

  •  The Religious ‘Insider’

    • vv. 10–4, Ananias and Saul raised in the same faith but opposed on Jesus

    • v. 18 A Family Renewed

  •  How to be Aware of Both:

    • Luke 10:6–7, Look for “people of peace,” persons who exhibit some manner of receptivity and openness to Jesus, the Scriptures, and/or your personal testimony

Key Ideas:

There is no doubt about the value of “everyday Christians” being witnesses as a means of growing God’s Kingdom today. We Christians come into contact with non-Christians in a way that paid church-workers do not, and can often identify with the lifestyle and circumstances of their colleagues and co-workers in a more natural way than vocational ministers. Philip and Ananias provide two different ways to look for opportunities to share our faith; as an act of worship and obedience to God (Ananias) and across cultural divides (Philip). Furthermore, the story of Saul is a reminder that even at our worst, God’s grace and embrace will meet us. To those of us who struggle with a past that feels unforgivable, Saul’s personal journey into Paul shows us that none of us is beyond the redemption God has provided us in Jesus. And for those of us who have made decisions and/or life-choices that places us on the margins of Christian communities, someone who often feels wrongly judged or unwelcome in Christian circles, the Ethiopian eunuch’s story reminds us that God has always held an open door for us and that if we continue seeking Him, we will find a person or community He already prepared to reach us and welcome us home.