How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” – Romans 10:14-15
Every time I read this passage from Romans, I think of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian official in the Book of Acts, chapter 8. That story is one of my favorites in all of the New Testament. And there’s lots more going on there than meets the eye!
Philip (not the apostle – but who eventually became known as Philip the Evangelist) appears in Scripture only on three occasions. But they all give us a good glimpse of the overall role he played in spreading the Gospel message in the first century.
- The first instance is in Acts 6, where he is selected as one of the seven (along with Stephen) to distribute food to the Hellenistic Jewish widows who are being neglected in the early church. I think in today’s view, we might see Philip more as a faithful church deacon here.
- The second occasion is in Acts 8, where Scripture talks briefly about his ministry in Samaria, and then later describes his encounter with the Ethiopian official. This was such a pivotal event!
- And the final occasion is in Acts 21, which briefly talks about his later life and his ministry in Caesarea, where he is formally called an “evangelist.”
Like I said, there are so many interesting aspects to Philip’s story. And perhaps I’ll offer some more thoughts later on. But today, I just want to look at a couple of things in particular.
Back when I served in the US Army, all of us had different occupations. Some of us were mechanics, others were cooks. Some worked in finance and administration, while others were carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. We all served in our unique roles side-by-side, and we each had one unifying mission: to serve and protect our nation’s sovereignty and security.
As my platoon sergeant often said, “First and foremost, you are an infantryman! Your individual occupations are secondary to knowing how to properly engage a target with your weapon!”
I think about that a lot today. Not as a soldier, but as a Christ follower. I may teach Sunday School at my church and sing in the choir, but Jesus says that my primary mission in life is to “go and make disciples” (Matt. 28:19).
In other words, we’ve all been called to be evangelists, in one way or another. That is the “Great Commission” that Jesus talks about in Matthew 28.
We can clearly see that transition in the life of Philip, can’t we. He was selected to serve in a specific capacity early on – making sure widows were being fed and taken care of. But then we read of him having a very fruitful ministry, in Samaria of all places… a place where outsiders weren’t exactly welcome. But Philip’s experience was far different.
Acts 8:5 tells us that Philip “proclaimed the Messiah there.” The crowds he attracted were eager to listen and carefully considered everything he said. Impure spirits were being cast out of people. The sick and the lame were being healed. And the people in Samaria were overcome with joy about all of this!
It would seem that Philip was precisely where he was supposed to be. But suddenly, God called him to go someplace different… someplace unexpected, and well off the beaten path. A place that really didn’t seem to make much sense, at least compared to the success he was currently experiencing in Samaria.
As we continue reading the passage, we begin to understand why. God was at work preparing the heart of a foreign man whom most people would have considered an outsider. He was from a different region and nationality, and he was both a Gentile and a eunuch. Because of this, when he traveled to the temple in Jerusalem, he would have been restricted to worshipping in the outer courts, never being permitted to enter the temple itself.
God wanted this Ethiopian man to know Jesus personally. And not inside a temple built with human hands, but inside of his heart. And through all this the Gospel message would continue to spread “to the ends of the earth.”
Considering all of this, I can’t help but wonder what our response might be when God calls us out of our fruitful ministries to do something different.
Could our desire to do “good things for the Lord” sometimes keep us from recognizing other things He might be calling us to do? And even when we do recognize those opportunities, is it possible that we view them as obstacles or distractions rather than opportunities to serve Him—simply because we’re so convinced that we “already know” what He wants us to be doing?
Philip understood what his primary mission was, which was ultimately to serve God in whatever capacity was needed. Sometimes that meant serving food to widows. Sometimes it meant sharing the gospel in a specific town. And sometimes it meant going places that didn’t seem to make much sense to explain the truth about Jesus to a single person.
Do we truly understand our mission? I wonder sometimes.
One last thing and I’ll leave you alone for today.
About that encounter with the Ethiopian official… (you can read it here. )
I love the simple way the Bible teaches us to approach evangelism. Philip didn’t preach to the man, didn’t lecture him, didn’t try to explain the Five Tenets of Calvinism.
He just had a Spirit-led conversation with a person who was eager to hear about Jesus. So simple!
But let me ask you: What do you think made Philip so effective? Feel free to comment below.
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