Acts 8:26-39

            {Prayer}

            With songs like “Everyday is a Winding Road” and “Life is a Highway”, it’s easy to think of life as a journey. And with songs and hymns like “When We All Get to Heaven”, “I’ll Fly Away” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” … it’s no surprise that people think the destination is heaven.

            We like the image of life as a journey. We like it because it puts us in control. We choose the route. We determine the pace. We decide how well we’re doing.

            Spiritually … that’s often how we think too. If I just keep moving forward, keep trying harder, live an obedient life, believe in and follow God, eventually I’ll arrive in heaven.

            But Acts 8 with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch invites us to see something deeper. It teaches us that sinners don’t find Christ by becoming better travelers. Christ comes and He comes looking for sinners.

            You see, like the Ethiopian, we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus. We cannot understand apart from someone being sent to us by Christ.

            “An angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26). Philip listens and goes. As he is going along, Philip comes upon this Ethiopian eunuch who is stopped along the side of the road. Sitting there in his chariot, the Ethiopian is reading the book of Isaiah. The Holy Spirit says to Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it” (Acts 8:29).

            Nothing about this encounter is accidental or coincidental. All of this is orchestrated by the risen Christ.

            Last week with Esther, we saw how Christ was preserving His people through hidden means. This week … Christ is seeking someone through hidden means. The Lord working in Esther is the same Lord working here.

            Here’s the thing … while reading the prophet Isaiah, the Ethiopian is looking for answers. He’s asked if he understands what he’s reading. He says, “How can I unless someone explains it to me?” (Acts 8:31).

            How many of us imagine that if we just read enough of the Bible, think enough, search enough … we’ll eventually figure God out? But how can we if no one explains it to us?

            The Ethiopian is sincere. He’s religious. He even has the Scriptures open before him. Yet he still asks, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” Left to ourselves, we cannot come to Christ. Christ must come to us. Long before the Ethiopian was searching for Christ, Christ was already seeking him.

            You and I can look back and see where a conversation, a friend, a teacher, a parent, a pastor, or a circumstance that seemed ordinary at a time was really something divine. Through that person or through a particular event, God was working on you. Leading you into a relationship or into a deeper relationship with Jesus. One that has helped shape and mold you into the person you are today.

            And while Christ was there, walking with the Ethiopian, with Philip, with you along the road … He hasn’t stopped. Christ continues to walk the road and He does it through His Word.

            Luke wants us to see something important. In Luke 24, Jesus opened the Scriptures for the disciples on the road to Emmaus and later opened the minds of the disciples in the Upper Room. In Acts 8, Philip does the very same thing. He opens the Scriptures and proclaims Jesus. Philip is not replacing Jesus … he is simply participating in Christ’s continuing ministry.

            You see, I think when we study the book of Acts we look at as a story about the disciples and what they did to help start the early church. In reality, the book of Acts is about what Jesus continues to do through the people He chooses to lead. The heart of this encounter with the Ethiopian is not Philip but how Christ is speaking through His Word. Through the hearing of the Word of God is where faith comes from.

            Paul talks about this in our reading from Romans 10. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (10:17).

            The Ethiopian is not converted by Philip’s impressive personality, some sort of emotional experience, or even a miracle. He is brought to faith through the hearing of God’s Word.

Christ sent Philip to the Ethiopian. Through Philip, Christ opened the Scriptures. Through His Word, Christ created faith in the Ethiopian’s heart.

            And then something remarkable happens. As they travel down the road, they come to some water.

            Now think about everything that has happened to the point. The angel sends Philip. The Spirit directs Philip. Isaiah is open. The Gospel is proclaimed. Faith is created. … None of this is accidental. And now, on a desert road, there is water. The risen Christ has been guiding this whole encounter every step of the way.

            Seeing the water, the Ethiopian asks, “What is stopping me from being baptized?”

            Remember who is asking this question. He’s a foreigner. He’s a eunuch. He has spent much of his life hearing reasons why he doesn’t fully belong. Reasons he’s different. Reasons he’s excluded. Reasons he stands outside. And now he asks … “What is stopping me?”

            The answer … nothing. Not his nationality. Not his past. Not his status. Not his failures. Not his distance.

            Christ sought him. Christ has found him. Christ has spoken to him. Christ has given him faith. What could possibly prevent him now?

            Baptism is not merely a symbol of what the Ethiopian decided. Baptism is Christ’s gift to the one He has sought. In Baptism, Christ places His name upon him. In Baptism, Christ washes away sin. In Baptism, Christ joins him to His death and resurrection. In Baptism, Christ declares … “You are mine.”

Martin Luther writes, “Whoever is baptized in Christ is baptized through His suffering and blood.” The Ethiopian is not simply getting wet. He is being united to the crucified and risen Christ.

And the same things is true for you. Many of us can point to our Baptism only be looking at a certificate or asking our parents. We don’t remember the day. But Christ does. Before you sought Him, He sought you. Before you chose Him, He chose you. Before you could walk toward Him, He cam to you through water and His Word.

The greatest moment on that desert road is not Philip’s teaching. The greatest moment is when an outsider discovers that nothing stands between him and the saving gifts of Christ. …

And having found us through His Word and through His gifts, Christ continues his work through us.

Christ still sends people out today. Not just pastors and missionaries. He sends parents, grandparents, teachers, neighbors, friends, and coworkers. Christ continues to seek people out through the people He sends.

            The roads of your life matter. The people you encounter matter. There are places you go that Pastor Ethan and I can never go. There are people you know that we will never meet. Yet Christ has placed you there.

            Know that as you interact with these people, as you go into these places … the same Jesus who sought you out … He now places you where He may seek others through you.

            Not because their salvation depends on you. Not because you have all the answers. But because Christ still seeks people through His Word and through the people He sends.

            We often think the Christian life is a road leading us toward heaven. And it is. But Acts 8, Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, remind us that something even more important is happening. The risen Christ is on the road. Seeking. Speaking. Gathering. Saving.

            The Ethiopian thought he was traveling home. What he didn’t know was that Christ had already come looking for him.

And the same is true with you. Long before you sought Him, Christ sought you. He came to you through His Word. He claimed you in your baptism. He still walks with you on the road. And because He has found you, He continues seeking others through the ordinary roads of your life. Amen.

            Let us pray … Heavenly Father … along the road of life, You have sought us out. You have blessed us with Your Spirit and have given us the gift of faith. As we travel along, embolden us to speak about You so that others may come to the saving knowledge of Jesus as their Savior. Move Your Spirit within us to continue to seek the outsiders among us. May our lives be a reflection of Your love. In Jesus’ name we pray … amen.