Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (ESV)
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. 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 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
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What I love about this passage are the three things that Philip did once he started walking the way God had directed him.
He heard (from the Holy Spirit)
He ran (to do what he was asked)
He shared Jesus (in a way that applied to the specific situation)
How often do we hear from the Holy Spirit and then run… away… from what we’re being prompted to do? Philip had a faith that obviously met the definition found in Hebrews 11:1 because he acted like someone who was certainly sure about what he heard and what he had to share.
It is true that sometimes we don’t position ourselves to hear from the Holy Spirit and that is a completely different issue. But when we do hear from him, we need faith like Philip to RUN to that place or person and share Jesus.
