The book of Acts has much to teach us about corporate spiritual renewal. Corporate spiritual renewals have a lot of conversions to Jesus, because conversion is what happens when people discover that Jesus is real and good. Christian conversion is not embracing a religious philosophy or committing to a moral code; it is a life-changing encounter with the living Jesus.
Luke narrates three conversion stories in Acts 8-10. The first conversion is of the Ethiopian eunuch. There are three key characters in this story: the Ethiopian eunuch, who is returning home from Jerusalem, Philip, a Jewish Christian who has been in Samaria, and the main character, the risen Jesus. Read Acts 8:26-39. It is easy to get stuck on the unusual details of this story — the angel’s voice, the desert road, or even this sort of interaction with a stranger from a different culture — and decide that it has no relevance for people like us today. But that would be a big mistake, because this story contains two important lessons about Christian conversion that are universal even still:
Through the eunuch, we learn that Jesus draws all kinds of people to Himself.
Through Philip, we learn that Jesus works through His followers to help the people He is drawing to Himself.
Let us consider each of these two lessons in greater detail.
The Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion illustrates Jesus’ promise to take the initiative to draw all kinds of people to Himself (see John 12:32). We might expect that Philip, who was a working-class Jew from a family with a biblical heritage, would become a follower of Jesus. But a black, sexually-altered treasury secretary for the royal family of a distant and totally pagan country? Yet the story emphasizes how far Jesus will go to draw people to Himself. The passage narrates the culmination of Jesus’ drawing; but it also provides hints at how Jesus had been drawing him long before this time.
A reasonably safe assumption about this particular Ethiopian man:
The fact that he was a eunuch meant that he was from a lower class and worked his way up into this position of influence. Such people were required to become eunuchs because the royal class did not want them polluting their blood lines and diluting their inheritances. In a culture in which marriage and family were everything, this man gave all this up for career advancement. In this respect, he was like people today who sacrifice their marriages and families to prioritize success in their careers.
Yet his career success evidently did not fulfill him. Somehow, maybe through Jewish businessmen, he became aware of the God of Israel — and something about what he heard about this God created a desire in him to know more. So he made a long and dangerous trip to worship this God and learn more about him.
While in Jerusalem, he was probably disappointed, because Judaism forbade non-Jews and eunuchs from entering the Temple (see Deuteronomy 23:1). He was undoubtedly turned away from full participation in worship and instruction, and this could have disillusioned him about the God of Israel.
But he purchased, probably at great expense, either the whole Old Testament or at least the scroll of Isaiah, and he was reading it on his way back home and this text gave him great hope. He would have read a passage that promised that God would one day welcome eunuchs as his own sons, and when people from all nations could have the joy of knowing Him (see Isaiah 56:3-7)!
At any rate, he was reading a passage that had caught his attention (see Isaiah 53:7-8). Who was this person who was like him, without descendants, yet who was so unlike him that voluntarily gave himself up as a sacrifice for others? What was the connection between this Person and God’s promise in Isaiah 56:3-7? When would this day come? Maybe he was praying to God, asking him these questions. And just at that moment, Philip, who was guided by Jesus’ Spirit, ran up alongside him to answer the very questions he was praying about!
Before we see how Philip helped the eunuch understand these connections, let us consider how we can identify with this eunuch whom Jesus was seeking. I believe that everyone can do this, either as a Christian in retrospect, or as a seeker in process.
Separated from the love relationship with our Creator which was designed to be our center, we seek to fill this void and validate ourselves with good things in the created order, such as career, romantic relationships, social advancement, religious paths, or political causes.
These good things provide only a temporary sense of meaning and identity, but they cannot ultimately fulfill the desires of our hearts. As Augustine said in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are not at rest until they find their rest in you.” Inevitably, and often very painfully, these earthly ambitions disappoint us.
It is usually in the midst of this disappointment that God begins to draw us to Himself. Somehow, God fills our hearts and souls with the hope that He is real and that He can fill the void we have within us. We find our hearts opening to this possibility, and as a result of His prior initiative, we begin to seek Him. We may be aware of dysfunctional religious people, but we no longer use them as an excuse for discrediting God because we want spiritual reality.
Sometimes, like this eunuch, we come across biblical truths that deeply resonate with us, even though much of the Bible remains confusing or even disturbing. We may even begin to pray to God and ask Him to reveal Himself to us.
In this setting, God brings you into contact with someone who knows Jesus and who helps you understand those Biblical truths. You may have known this person for a long time, or like Philip he or she may be a total stranger. Perhaps they are like you culturally, or very different, like Philip was. They may converse with you personally and privately as Philip did, or they may give a public message that speaks to you as though you are the only person in the room. Through their words, God illuminates your soul and enables you to understand that Jesus is the way to God — and you sense Jesus is summoning you to personally entrust yourself to Him as your Savior and Lord. And when you do this, you want to tell others, especially the person who shared with you, and you begin to experience the joy of knowing Jesus that transcends your relationship with His messenger.
Do you identify with the eunuch? Are you disillusioned with what you depended on for meaning and identity? Are you seeking God? Are you beginning to recognize how God has been seeking you? Do you understand how Jesus provides the way to God? Do you hear His voice, calling you to entrust yourself to Him? How will you respond to Jesus’ drawing?
Now, let us think about Philip, who Jesus worked through to help the eunuch complete his search. You and I can be like Philip, because the secret to his helpfulness was not how great he was, but rather, how wonderful the gospel is and how wise Jesus’ Spirit is!
First, Philip exemplifies the importance of knowing how to apply the gospel. I mean this in two ways — one way that you probably expect, and one way that you probably do not expect.
He knew how to apply the gospel to the eunuch. He did not have a scripted sermon; he started with the eunuch’s questions, and helped him understand how Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 53 through His own death (see Isaiah 53:6,8b-12). In the same way, we need to be able to begin with whatever spiritual need the person recognizes, such as guilt, loneliness, or meaninglessness, and explain how God meets that need through Jesus. Read through the Gospel of John to see how Jesus did this.
Maybe more importantly, Philip knew how to apply the gospel to himself. Otherwise, he would not have been willing to speak to this man. As a religious Jew, he would have been disgusted by this black eunuch. As a member of the working-class, he would have been intimidated by this politically powerful person. But because Philip was centered in the gospel, he was free from both of these barriers and compelled to help. He understood that his standing with God was based not on his ethnic identity, moral record, or religious heritage, but through Jesus’ death alone. He understood that he was no better than anyone else — including this sexually altered black man from a pagan country. He understood that Jesus loved this eunuch and was able to give him new life just as He did Philip. This made him both humble —“I am just as deserving of God’s judgment and just as forgiven by grace alone as anyone else”— and confident — “If Jesus can reach me, He can reach anyone, no matter how intelligent or rich or powerful.” This humble confidence in the gospel is one of the most important keys to being an effective witness for Jesus. That is one big reason why it is so important that we keep growing in our understanding and appreciation of the gospel!
Second, Philip exemplifies the importance of being alert and responsive to Jesus’ guidance. Philip would likely not be very popular with many Christian evangelism trainers in today’s time. He did not have a scripted presentation that he used on everyone. He did not have a master strategy for how he was going to focus on a certain market segment. He did not have a rigid follow-up strategy for those who responded to his witness. He simply stayed in close touch with Jesus, trusted that He was drawing people to Himself, and responded to His guidance, even when it felt counterintuitive, and left the rest to Jesus.
This changes everything! Jesus is with us, giving us all the guidance we need to show and/or share His love with the people He brings into our lives. We do not have to know the answer to every question, we do not have to figure out how to get a person from seeking to accepting, we do not have to know what needs to happen next. We just need to ask for and listen for the Spirit’s guidance, and respond to Him when He guides us — even when His guidance seems counterintuitive.
It must have seemed counterintuitive for Philip to go to Samaria, since he was Jewish. Once the Samaritans responded, it must have seemed counterintuitive for him to leave this “responsive field” and go to a desert highway. Once he was on the highway, it must have seemed counterintuitive for him to run alongside the chariot of a wealthy stranger. But Philip simply responded to the Spirit’s promptings, and he left the rest to Jesus.
What seems counterintuitive to you may look something like helping your unappreciative neighbor with a household project. It may be to initiate a conversation with a stranger at the park and show them God’s love by being sincerely interested in him. It may be to tell a distant relative that you are praying for a problem he has shared. It may be to invite a friend to read a certain Christian book or come to a Bible study. It may be to offer to pray with someone about their recognized need for God’s forgiveness. It may be to give a needy person physical aid with an attitude of genuine love and respect.
When you respond to Jesus’ guidance like Philip did, you may help a total stranger pray to receive Christ. But through your Spirit-led words and deeds, you may help someone move closer to a life-changing encounter with Jesus, and that is just as important!
If we just started each day like Philip, rejoicing in God’s grace, telling God we are available to show and share His love, and then responding to His promptings as we recognize them, we will have lots of “Philip” experiences, maybe not as dramatic as this, but still helpful to seekers and fulfilling to us! This is one of the things that makes following Jesus the greatest adventure!
