Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch: Reflection over their encounter

Ac 8.26-40, “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… 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. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.”

There are many strange or supernatural things happening here. First of all, an angel spoke to Philip. Was it physically like those who appeared to Abraham and Peter (Gen 18, Ac 12) or in a dream? I don’t know. But what I’m sure of is that he had no wings and no white clothes. He appeared to him and asked him to rise and go toward a certain direction. Philip obeyed immediately, contrary to many of us who would have never budged without knowing WHY they had to go there. It’s important 1) to be able to recognize GOD behind his guise and, 2) Not to argue with Him but be diligent to obey.

Then, the Holy Spirit told Philip to go and join the chariot -which was probably ridden by one or more horses- and so, Philip had to run. This means that the LORD must have multiplied his strength and speed for him to accomplish such exploit in the heat of the day. And He can do the same for you, today.

Also, this Ethiopian was reading the Scriptures written in Hebrew and Aramaic; other languages than his own. Where and when did he learn those? We know that he had converted to Judaism, because he actually went to Jerusalem to worship. however, after the public religious duties, he continued to dig in the Scriptures. He had a hunger for GOD and so, GOD fulfilled His promise in Isaiah 56:3-7 for him: “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Hallelujah! GOD is Faithful. If you seek Him wholeheartedly, He’ll send someone to you, naturally or supernaturally, who will help you get out of any difficult situation you may find yourself in. He did it for the Ethiopian Minister of Finance and He did it for Cornelius as well (Ac 10). The key is in the hunger. Those who thirst and hunger (after GOD) will be satisfied.

The eunuch invited Philip into his chariot. Imagine yourself on a desert road, in a foreign country; and all of a sudden, you see this man running towards you at an incredible speed. What will you do? The Minister invited the stranger in. This can only be GOD. What prevents me from being baptized? Nothing, if you believe with all your heart. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And Philip baptized him. Can it be that we have overcomplicated things in our churches? Anyway, it’s just a question…

After this, the Spirit of GOD carried Philip away and the eunuch saw him no more. How? No idea! Why didn’t He use the same means of transportation the first time around, instead of making him run on a desert road? Still no idea; but GOD is Sovereign and polymorphic. He doesn’t have just one way of doing things. Let’s not try to fit Him into the mould of our experiences. He is ready to do something new every day, week or month. It all depends on our cooperation. My pastor often says that we are spirits and another one of my pastors used to say that we are spirits who have a soul and who live in a body. It’s normal for spirits to go from one place or plane to the other in the knick of time, isn’t it?  Wizards have understood and mastered this. They allow devils (other spirits) to use them at will in teleportation trips. They go from one place to the other, at night, by the power of Satan. But this story shows us that the Holy Spirit can also carry us from one place to the other, in the middle of the day, not for us to gloat about our newfound ‘spiritual powers’, but for the sake of the Gospel. Again, it all depends on the way that we cooperate with Him. It all depends on the diligence with which we react when He first tells us: “Rise up and go to so and so”, without any other detail.

This week is an exceptional week. It is the week that the LORD has made and it is pregnant with opportunities. If you really hunger for GOD and if you are docile, diligent and willing to serve, you will not fail to see GOD's hand on you in an unusual way this week.

GOD bless you all.

Happy and wonderful 15th birthday to my daughter Christelle. Like Christ, you truly are. May the good hand of the LORD continue to rest on you as you continue to grow in faith, in knowledge and in favour. Much love.

One temple hides another…

Lk 19.45-46, He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers. 

In a similar passage in John 2, we learn that these were people selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers (vs. 14). He drove them all out of the temple saying: “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” Most of the interpretations of these passages are often very literal:

•       The local church should not be a place of trade at all.
•       Jesus is speaking against those whose minds are filled with cares about worldly business when attending religious exercises, or who perform divine offices for love of gain. 

But let’s look at the historical context of these scriptures. Back then, the Temple of Jerusalem was the centre of the religious activity. That’s where people came to offer the sacrifices prescribed by the Law of Moses. Those who lived far away from the Holy City would turn the value of their sacrifice into money and then, travel to Jerusalem and spend that money in the Temple, buying oxen or sheep or pigeons etc. (Deut 14:22-26). Besides, the only currency allowed in the Temple was the Jewish money (Mat 17:24); but it the rest of the empire, it’s the Roman money –with Caesar’s effigy– which was in use; hence the presence of the money-changers in the temple. The Law made provision for all of this and thus, it’s clear that it’s not the mere acts of buying and selling in the temple’s courts which are condemned here, but the traffic; the illegal trade which was now taking place there. Indeed, some unscrupulous chaps were exploiting the situation by using exorbitant exchange rates and overpricing the animals destined for sacrifice. And unfortunately, the poor pilgrims had no other choice than to exchange their money and buy what they needed for the sacrifices. It is against this organized theft and vile exploitation of their fellow-citizens that Jesus protested. Therefore, there is no harm in selling stuff in church; but it all depends on the nature of what we sell and how we price it. We should not exploit the brethren and we should be cautious about what we put in the holy treasure. The Jews would not accept Roman money… Selling religious articles or food and drinks is one thing; selling clothes, shoes or Kung-Fu DVDs is another thing…

Now, when asked what gave Him the right to behave like that, Jesus answered: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” and John adds that He was speaking about the temple of his body (Jn 2:18-21). In other words, behind this Temple story, there is another temple story. Jesus goes from the Temple of Jerusalem to the temple of His Body; and, likewise, we are to go from our local churches to the temples of the Living GOD that we are (1Cor 3:16). We are called to be ‘houses of prayer’, ‘houses of worship’; places wherefrom sweet smelling fragrances go up to the LORD. But we often, way too often, turn our temples from their original and intended use; and let all manner of thieves and traffickers in –bad habits, bad thoughts, sin, and even demons…

Enough is enough! Let’s get rid of all these intruders. Let’s go back to the source. Say with me: May the zeal of His house [my local church] and the zeal of my house [the temple that I am; the fulfilment of my destiny] consume me afresh, in Jesus Name! 

Good riddance, good cleansing and great week in HIM.

Cheers!