Sunday School on Philip, the Evangelist ()

Announcement and Prayer Request.

Introduction:

You probably are surprised at finding a fake Sunday school teacher this morning. The fact that I am standing here to lead this class in English is a new milestone for me, but I think that it fits today’s lesson well. In many ways, it is kind of a replay of what we are about to learn. More importantly, such a replay does not just happen to me, but should happen continually to everyone in this room.

Let me give you a personal illustration before we look into today’s lesson. About two years ago, the church we used to attend for 27 years was closed for a reason that we still could not understand to this date, so all of a sudden we were churchless. Desperately trying to find a place to worship, Joyce and I visited this church several times in a come-and-go fashion, not knowing anyone except for casual hand shaking. We would go straight home after service, lamenting the loss of fellowship with other . We have been praying that someone would kindly open a door for us; otherwise, we might just continue visiting different churches. Then, one Sunday morning during the greeting, without any hint, a lady suddenly asked us whether we would like to join her Sunday school class. Joyce and I looked at each other with the mutual understanding that a prayer has just been answered. So, we showed up in this class. I seemed to have sensed the question or curiosity shown on your countenance, since we parachuted in from nowhere and you knew nothing about our background. So, what is this to do with our lesson today? I mentioned to that lady sometime later about the story of Philip, because her name is Phyllis. I said to her that to us she was like Philip, coming down to a specific person at a specific moment and place for a specific purpose.

About My Approach:

I began to teach Sunday School at twelve, maybe just as a pack leader of some small children then. But over the years my passion for teaching has never faded, only to be rekindled time and time again when I become an experienced learner. I envisage that my role as a teacher is to guide students to discover, construct, and extend themselves and their abilities to a greater understanding. So that is my approach I am going to adopt today. I sometimes call it the zoom in and zoom out approach.

The Detailed (Zoom in) Picture:

• Who is Philip?

1. We first learn of him as one of the seven chosen by the early Church at Jerusalem to take charge of the daily ministration of charity to the poor widows. (:5) {He is not the same Philip who told Nathanael to come and see . (John 1:43-46)} 2. Then, when the persecution breaks out following on the death of Stephen, we find him at once departing to enter on active missionary work elsewhere. (Acts 8:5) 3. The fact that he should have selected as the scene of these new labors is in itself a proof that he was able to rise above the ordinary Jewish prejudices of his time. {Why?} 4. And this same liberal spirit is further exemplified by the incident by which he will always be remembered.

• From where and to where was he called?

1. His ministry at Samaria was doing very well. {Name some of his successes: paying close attention to what he said, casting out impure spirits, healing the paralyzed or lame people, and the great joy. (Acts 8:6-8)} 2. Philip was told to down from Jerusalem to Gaza – the desert road. (Acts 8:26) {KJV: which is desert.} {Distance from Jerusalem to Gaza is 60 miles, but Samaria is 30 miles farther north.}

• Why was he called?

1. He was called at the height of his ministry. {Or, there is a higher call that we are not aware of?} 2. Did he ever wonder why he should have been called upon to leave his rapidly progressing work in Samaria for a desert road? {How did he respond? And he arose and went. (Acts 8:27)} 3. Did he ever doubt as to what was required of him. {Psalms 119:60.}{Is this somewhat different from the saying of estimating the cost first? (Luke 14:28:32) What should we really calculate about?}

• Who is this unnamed eunuch?

1. He was the treasurer of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians. So he must be influential in his land and trusted by his Queen. He must have seen enough and have some thoughts to himself. 2. He can read a book, probably written in either Aramaic or Greek, so he must be knowledgeable. 3. He has heard somehow in his distant home of the Jewish religion. {There were Jewish communities throughout northern and eastern Africa. Some claim that their ancestors were from the tribe of Dan. Another legend, so called Kebra Nagast, claims that they are descendants of Israelite who came to with Menelik I, alleged to be the son of King Solomon and the . Also, some exiled to Egypt after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE the time of the Babylonian exile. One significant difference is that the Beta Israel lacked the festivals of Purim and Hanukkah, probably because they branched off from the main body of Judaism before these non-Biblical holidays began to be commemorated. Indeed, in 1975, the Israeli religious authorities and government recognized the Beta Israel of Ethiopia as legally Jewish.} 4. He was a eunuch. Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, he might have several strikes against him. First, he cannot actually enter the Temple. No Eunuch was permitted to enter the Temple (Deut. 23:1). Second, he was a Gentile, and at best could have only entered the Court of the Gentiles, but that too was now unattainable. {Did he know these rules beforehand? If yes, why did he still go? If no, what would he do?} {Read Isaiah 56:4.}

• Why was he in Jerusalem?

1. He undertook this long journey to worship. {Air distance from Cairo to Jerusalem is 265 miles. Highway distance is 461 miles. War can move at 20 mph, but only for a short period of time.} 2. He might want to make further inquiries regarding this religion.

• What did he know?

1. He might not know much about the truth, but he had a heart of reverence and a heart of pursuing. 2. His thirst was satisfied later because God does know his attitude and send His servant to show him the way. {Psalms 51:16-17.}

• What did he do?

1. He took the long journey to worship, to seek, to learn. 2. Later, he read the Scriptures. 3. When later he understood, he accepted the truth and chose to be baptized.

• What did he see?

1. We are not sure how he had been impressed. 2. Very possibly the actual things he saw in that society did not satisfy him. {What things might he have seen? Do they meet his expectations?} 3. He might also have witnessed something very different fruits from what he had expected. 4. He did have found a copy of the of Isaiah, and this he was eagerly searching on his return journey, to see if he could find further light there. {It is not clear whether this is the first time for him to see the book of Isaiah, since the African Jews even to this date use a that is different from the Jewish sacred scriptures known as TaNaKh.}

• What did he learn?

1. One passage specially arrested his attention, the touching passage in which the prophet draws out his great portrait of the Man of Sorrows. 2. If he has read other chapters in the book of Isaiah, he must wonder how to reconcile the thought of this Messiah, who suffered, wounded, and put to death, with the great King and Conqueror whom the Jews at Jerusalem had been expecting! 3. Could it be that somehow he had a gut feeling, but not sure, that this so called Jesus of Nazareth, of whom he might have also heard in Jerusalem, and whom the Jewish leaders had crucified on a cross? 4. Also, has he found this reading in Isaiah 56:5, which speaks of his own particular situation, comforts him in this world, and gives him hope in the new world?

The Larger Picture:

• Who is in control?

1. Ever since the creation, the entire Bible records the wars and cooperation between God and men. 2. History is His story. 3. Either we are the clay and molded into a tool in His hand, or we conspire and plot against Him. {Psalms 2:1-3} 4. Ultimately, the One enthroned in heaven reigns. He laughs, scoffs, rebukes, and terrifies them. {Psalms 2:4-5, Psalms 90:11} 5. And, on the hand, He makes his covenant known to them, keeps them, hides them, exalts them, shepherds them, and leads them. {Psalms 25:14, 27:5, 78:72}

• Divine appointment – the perfect timing.

1. The eunuch had a need and Philip had a heart to serve! 2. Help was nearer than the eunuch thought. 3. Usefulness was greater than Philip could have imagined. 4. Prompted by the Spirit, Philip ran forward to the . 5. And, no sooner had he learned the royal chamberlain's difficulties. 6. Than he "opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus" (Acts 8:35).

Take Home Prayer: The criterion for our intercessory prayer is not our earnestness, nor our faithfulness, nor even our faith in God, but simply God Himself. He has taken the initiative from the beginning, and has built our prayers into the structure of the universe. He then asks us to present these requests to Him that He may show His gracious hand. Charles H. Troutman (1914-1990)