City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“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.’ This is a desert place. 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 worship28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And 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?’ 31 And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”

Acts 8:26-31 ESV

Reflection

An angel of the Lord told Philip to go to the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, a remote desert road. “To the south” can be interpreted as at noon, or the time when the desert would have been the hottest (Marshall, 1980). The command to go down a remote desert road at a time when the heat would have been the most brutal made no sense whatsoever. But still, Philip rose and went. The road was 48.5 miles, or a 16–24-hour walk to complete. If Philip had Spotify or Apple Music, he would be listening to Horse with No Name by America and Desert Road by Casting Crowns.

Surprisingly, on this desert road at peak heat, Philip saw a high-ranking Ethiopian eunuch who was returning from Jerusalem. Due to his occupation as a eunuch, he was forbidden to enter the temple (Deuteronomy 23:1) (Marshall, 1980). Why did God through Moses instate this rule? Castration was a pagan practice for those who served in royal courts to ensure the eunuch would be completely devoted to the pagan king and not a family. As Elder Jay Ross said last Sunday, eunuchs had great power by close access to the throne in exchange for their sacrifice. The Israelites were very easily impressionable and God wanted them to stay far away from their neighbors’ ungodly ways. About 1,400 years had passed between Moses’ time and the Resurrection, and the Israelites had forgotten the point of Deuteronomy 23:1. As the eunuch was studying Isaiah, he would have read Isaiah 56:3-8, which states eunuchs who worship God and do what pleases Him will not be excluded from His Blessings (Marshall, 1980).

I admire the eunuch’s perseverance. He not only faced exclusion from the temple of God due to his career (whether by choice or force), but also faced exclusion due to being a Gentile. Despite these barriers, he wanted to understand who the Jewish God was. Why was he on this lonely desert road? In the Tanakh (Old Testament), the desert (or wilderness) was a place of spiritual cleansing due to the isolation and great silence. The eunuch was a faithful scholar of the Word, and he sought the desert road for peaceful silence and to clearly hear God’s Word. He was hoping for clarity in what he was reading.

The Holy Spirit told Philip to go to the eunuch. Philip not only obeyed the Holy Spirit, but he ran to the eunuch. Philip witnessed to someone who had a different skin color, culture, upbringing, and social class. Keep in mind, in those days, people considered “lower class” were not allowed to approach those of “higher class” (Marshall, 1980). Despite all of the barriers, he still obeyed the Holy Spirit.

The eunuch recognized Philip as a Jew from his accent and clothes and invited him up to help him interpret the Scriptures. Marshall writes that “the Old Testament cannot be fully understood without interpretation (1980, p. 172)” and Jesus Christ is the key (Luke 24:25-27, 44-47) (Marshall, 1980). Philip helped the eunuch see Jesus Christ as the key, and nothing prevented him from knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and being baptized (Acts 9:35-38).

Application

What barriers do you see in your life? When we see barriers, Jesus sees open doors.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to see my barriers the way You see them, as open doors. In Your Name I pray, amen.

References

Marshall, I. H. (1980). Tyndale New Testament Commentaries–Acts. Williams B. Eerdmans Publish. Pp. 171-172)