Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Acts 8:26-39

Theme: No obstacle can place a person beyond the saving call of the Good News.

God the Spirit brings all the essential elements together to bring a man to Christ.

Date: 07/09/2017 File Name: TheyWalkedWithGodEunuch.wpd ID Number:

The Royal Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Kush walked with God.

You know him better as the Ethiopian Eunuch.

It’s something he thought he’d never get to do.

His story is part of the larger story of the gospel going to the ends of the earth.

Prior to his ascension, Jesus instructed his disciples to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Before the events recorded in chapter 8, the disciples had been successful as witnesses in Jerusalem, but they had not ventured far from the city.

The situation changed, however, with the martyrdom of Steven.

His execution sparked a severe persecution against the church in Jerusalem that was led by none other than Saul of Tarsus.

It forced many believers to abandon their homes in Jerusalem, and scatter to other parts of Israel — principally Judea and Samaria.

Wherever they went they shared the good news of Jesus.

Our text for this morning reveals that God was going to use a believer named Philip to get the gospel to “the end of the earth.”

The providential will of God is going to put Philip on a collision course with a black man from Africa who needed to hear the good new of Jesus.

I. THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH ... A PUZZLED READER

1. let me give you the back-story of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

A. THE EUNUCH’S CIRCUMSTANCES

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, [KAN duh see] queen of the Ethiopians.

This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,” (Acts 8:26–27, NIV84)

1. it has been perhaps a year since the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus

a. the Church has experienced phenomenal growth

1) on the day of Pentecost, three thousand Jewish pilgrims are saved, most of whom are from other nations

a) they head home and the story of Christ begins to spread

2) in Acts, chapter four, we read that, with great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus

a) thousands are being saved — even Jewish Priests and Pharisees are coming to the faith

3) at the same time the Jewish religious authorities are doing their best to keep a lid on the great awakening that has broken loose in Jerusalem

a) the Church is persecuted, believers scatter which only widens the territory of Gospel proclamation

b) the other major character in our story — Philip — goes to Samaria where the Holy Spirit opens a door of ministry and evangelism to him

b.

into this spiritual milieu arrives an entourage from the Ethiopia

1) at the head of that entourage is the main character of our story — the “Ethiopian Eunuch”

2. The Eunuch Is the Treasurer from the Royal Court of Kush

a. Ethiopia in the time of Jesus is not the East African country known as Ethiopia today, but included most of what are now the African countries of Sudan, Eritrea, and the part of Ethiopia known as the Ethiopian highlands

1) in the Old Testament it is known as the Land of Kush

2) Meroe was its capitol

ILLUS.

It was a wealthy metropolis situated on the Nile River, and located at the crossroads of major trade routes.

The city flourished for a thousand years.

It is referenced in the Book of Genesis (10:6) as Aethiopia, a name applied to the region south of Egypt in antiquity meaning "place of the burnt-faces."

b. this man was a powerful official that represented a kingdom rich in iron ore, gold, and silver

1) the kingdom was a conduit for these metals and many other commodities from the rest of the African continent

c. for 1,000 years his people have traded with the Israelites — ever since the Queen of Sheba established relations with King Solomon

1) they exported to Israel their gold and silver, ivory and fine fabrics

2) they imported the Hebrew faith in Jehovah God

ILLUS.

Judaism has a long, rich history in Ethiopia.

Today we know them as Bēta Israel, also known as Ethiopian Jews.

They are a Jewish community, that developed and lived for centuries in the area of the Kingdom of Aksum and the Kush Empire.

Because of the distance — 1,500 miles — and the rough geography, they became isolated from mainstream Judaism.

It wasn’t until the late 20th century that Ethiopian Jews made contact with Jews outside their community, and they were astonished to discover so many fellow Jews in the world, and that Israel still existed.

d. the eunuch would have be well-educated, well-placed, well-off

1) he is “ ... an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace [KAN duh see], queen of the Ethiopians.

... ,” (Acts 8:27, NIV84)

3. The Eunuch Is a God-fearer

a. vs. 27 also tells us, “ ... This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship.”

1) the Treasurer of the Kingdom of Kush may have been either a proselyte or a God-fearer

a) a proselyte was a person who had fully come into the Jewish faith, obeying all the laws of the Torah, and being circumcised

b) a God-fearer was a person who sympathized with Judaism observing certain Jewish religious rites and traditions without becoming full a convert to Judaism

b. whichever he is he has come to Jerusalem to worship

1) but his worship would be limited which leads to our last characterization of the man

4. The Eunuch Is a Eunuch

a. the Treasurer of the Kingdom of Kush had been castrated, probably before puberty

1) as a result his voice would have remained high and thin

2) he would have had no facial hair

3) it seems cruel to us, but was a common occurrence in some ancient cultures

4) these were men who would never marry, and never have children and could devote their entire lives to service of the royal family

5) they often rose to high government positions, and became wealthy

b.

Jewish law allowed foreigners to convert to Judaism, but, because the Ethiopian was a eunuch, he could not fully participate in the temple worship

“No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD.”

(Deuteronomy 23:1, NIV84)

c. but he has hope ... the Old Testament predicted the day when foreigners and eunuchs would no longer be excluded from the fellowship of God’s people

“Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.”

And let not any eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” 4 For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant— 5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant— 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.””

(Isaiah 56:3–7, NIV84)

5. that time has come because of Christ’s atoning death of the cross and his resurrection from the dead

B. THE EUNUCH’S CONFUSION

1. the Treasurer of the Kingdom of Kush is on his way home

a. he has with him a “souvenir” so-to-speak of his visit to Jerusalem — a copy of the scroll of Isaiah — and passes his travel time reading it

b. the bible tells us that he is reading from the fifty-third chapter of the Prophet Isaiah — specifically he is reading Isaiah 53:7-8

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

And who can speak of his descendants?

For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.”

(Isaiah 53:7–8, NIV84)

2. unfortunately, this highly educated, sophisticated man does not understand the scope and breadth of this passage that is part of the most magnificent chapter in the Old Testament

a. as he will discover, the passage is all about a man named Jesus

3. it’s at this point we have to introduce Philip

a. Philip first comes to our attention in the Book of Acts, chapter six

1) he is one of the seven men chosen by the Church to meet the growing congregation’s ministry needs

b. when the Church is persecuted by the Jewish religious authorities Philip is part of those who scatter to other parts of Israel

c. in Acts, chapter eight we find the Philip has gone to Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there (Acts 8:5)

1) revival breaks out so there was great joy in the city (Acts 8:8)

4. in the midst of this great awakening in Samaria, an angel of the Lord appears to Philip with an announcement ...

“Now 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, NIV84)

a. there is no explanation, no instructions beyond simply head for the wilderness road that leads to Gaza