Unexpected appointment

Acts 8:26-40 (New Living Translation)

26As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

29The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”

30Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

32The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.

And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,

he did not open his mouth.

33He was humiliated and received no justice.

Who can speak of his descendants?

For his life was taken from the earth.”

34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

36As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” 38He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.40Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.

How can you find an opening in sharing your faith with others?

Philip found the Ethiopian man reading scripture. Taking advantage of this opportunity to explain the gospel, Philip asked the man if he understood what he was reading. Philip followed the Spirit's leading and, beginning the discussion where the man was (immersed in the prophecies of Isaiah), explained how Jesus Christ fulfilled Isaiah's prophecies. When we share the gospel, we should start where the other person's concerns are focused. Then we can bring the gospel to bear on those concerns.