changing hearts

...just trying to stay afloat.

did you know.....(bible trivia time) that there's a black man in the bible?

yeah, maybe that's random. i never noticed it on my own, actually. i'm pretty sure it was pointed out to me in a sermon or a book, maybe rob bell?. but i think it's pretty neat, especially now that i'm a howard student and all! (j/k, i kid. i kid.) my real interest in it is that Jesus wanted his disciples to go to the ends of the earth, and he commanded them to do so.

in Acts chapter 8:26-40, philip does just that.


"²⁶Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." ²⁷So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
 ³⁰Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
 ³¹"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
 ³²The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
   "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
      and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
      so he did not open his mouth.
 ³³In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
      Who can speak of his descendants?
      For his life was taken from the earth."
 ³⁴The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" ³⁵Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
 ³⁶As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" ³⁸And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."

at that time, ethiopia was pretty much the ends of the earth. i don't think people could travel too much further away via chariot! because of philip's boldness, and his obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he shares the gospel with this ethiopian eunuch, and the eunuch takes the gospel message back with him all the way to ethiopia, to share with others.

there are a lot of things that make this passage incredible when you sit down and actually look at it! one thing that stands out here, is that this man is the first gentile to be converted in the book of acts. at least, he is the first one that is mentioned. this is worth nothing because Jesus spent time and energy making it clear that his gospel wasn't meant just for the jews, but for all people.

luke 2:32 "a light, for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
isaiah 42:6 "I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations."

the man had also just been to jerusalem (to visit the holy land most likely), and yet, he wasn't saved there. God saves him by divine appointment, way out in the middle of the desert (wouldn't it have been easier for him to find out about Jesus somewhere else? a little closer to civilization perhaps?). but way out there is where philip happens upon him, by God's specific directions. God intended to save this man. God sought him out.

finally, if this man is really a eunuch (which means he has been castrated), this whole account shows how the disciples hearts were changed by Jesus and shows how different Jesus' message was from what the old testament law preached. this was one of many things Jesus did to turn people against him, and to put the self-righteous in their places. the disciples hearts at this point in time, have already been changed by Jesus' powerful gospel message. they changed from obedience to the old law, to obedience to the new law. according to the old law, philip shouldn't have baptized the eunuch at all.

as deuteronomy 23:1 states, "No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord."

but philip defies the old law! as soon as he is finished telling the eunuch about Jesus, the eunuch asks to be baptized, and philip baptizes him right there (and how crazy is it that they come upon water in the desert?)

all in all, it's an incredible account when you really take a deep look at it. this man, who at one time would not have been able to approach God because of his race and his deformity, is now sought out by God in a desert. this is exactly what Jesus does for us today- he seeks out each one of us; for me, in this arid, concrete jungle of DC, trying to win my heart and keep it as his own.

(disclaimer: some of the above isn't my own- some of the thoughts and ideas are taken from sermons, books, and other people's writings, but they touched my heart, so here i share)