We often hesitate to share Jesus with people who are different from us. Don’t let differences hinder your witness. Philip was on assignment from the Holy Spirit at noon on the desert road between Jerusalem and Gaza. The Holy Spirit had instructed him to go alongside a chariot.
Acts 8: 27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. [1]
Many Differences between Philip and the Eunuch
Philip was a Greek Jew (Acts 6:1-5), while the eunuch was a Gentile Ethiopian. The eunuch had to be wealthy to purchase a handwritten scroll of Isaiah. He was also able to read it while the carriage was moving. This meant that he had an expensive driver. Philip was relatively poor as an evangelist. Philip had walked down to the road and run alongside the carriage. He was probably hot and dirty from the physical exertion. Meanwhile, the eunuch would have been cool and clean in the chariot.
The Jerusalem – Gaza road would have been relatively deserted. The wealthy eunuch may have thought Philip could be a robber or a beggar, but he didn’t. The eunuch would have been reading out loud because that was the standard way to read then. Philip wisely listened and asked if he understood the passage. This gave an open door for Philip to teach.
How Willing Are We to Cross Boundaries?
It would have been easy for Philip to use all the differences as excuses not to engage the eunuch in conversation. How well do you share Jesus across social, racial, economic, and ethnic boundaries? Our culture tells us that we can’t be friends if we are different from someone. Just because someone doesn’t act or believe like us doesn’t mean we can’t have meaningful conversations.
Philip is a great model for us. First, he just watched and listened to the eunuch. He was patient and didn’t immediately begin a monologue telling about Jesus. Philip was interested in the eunuch and asked a question. The eunuch showed his openness by inviting Philip into the carriage. Their conversation developed from a simple question. We would do well to share Jesus similarly.
Don’t let differences hinder your witness. To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/philip-and-the-ethiopian
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ac 8:26–31). Tyndale House Publishers.