Even to the remotest part of the earth

Acts 8:14-40 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”²⁰ But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. ²² Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” ²⁴ But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵ So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶ But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) ²⁷ So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.³² Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

“He was led as a sheep to slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth. ³³ “In humiliation His judgment was taken away;
Who will relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” ³⁷ 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.”  ³⁸ And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

Isaiah 60:1-3 says:  “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.  Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.”   In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   We see the fulfillment of the prophetic word in Isaiah and the declaration of Jesus in today’s text, as the gospel message spread around the world, to the nations. First it says: Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,  who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.  Then we see:  An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He does not open His mouth.  “In humiliation His judgment was taken away; Who will relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.” The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.  Philip’s obedience to the Holy Spirit allowed the gospel to go beyond where he was, all the way to Ethiopia, in fulfillment of what Jesus says in Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Most of us don’t see ourselves as missionaries to other nations sharing the gospel message in foreign lands.  Yet, if we too will yield to the Holy Spirit, like Philip, He will lead us and guide us to people who need to hear our testimony of Christ. In the prophetic word from Isaiah 60, Jesus is the light that has come to the world. In John 8:12 Jesus says:  “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” We are those who are to arise and shine because we are the ones who now carry the light of Christ to the world. When it says nations will come to the light, it is not speaking of political entities or geographic boundaries. The word nations, in Isaiah refers to Gentiles, all who are not Jewish. The word nations, in the New Testiment, comes from the Greek word ethnos, meaning those of every ethnicity, race and lineage. Who among us does not interact with people of diverse ethnicities daily as we live and work in our own neighborhoods and cities? Beyond that, which of us does not have people on our social media accounts, who either themselves or as friends of friends, spread around the world to places that many of us will never see?

The text ends saying:  When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.   Whether Philip was actually taken up in the Spirit and moved to a different location or he simply followed the leading and direction of the Spirit does not really matter. He was taken by the Spirit to another region to share the gospel; to shine the light of Christ to the world. We today, if we will be obedient to the Holy Spirit have a unique opportunity. Without walking outside of our normal daily lives, we can in an instant, shine the light of Christ around the world, to the nations that we interact with. Nations will come to the Light of the World, to Christ. God said and it will happen. If we will be faithful to be the light; if we will Let our light shine before men in such a way that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father who is in heaven.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the World; precious Holy Spirit, my guide; thank You for Your prophetic word that was and will be fulfilled. Thank You that we live in such a time that we can shine the light of Christ to the nations, even from our own living rooms. Thank You that each day we have the opportunity of touching people from various ethnicities where we live and work. May I never hide Your light, but as the Holy Spirit leads, may the Light of Christ shine brightly through me, to the glory of the Father in heaven.  Amen.