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23.03.2023
Leading verses 34-35: "Then the eunuch answered Philip, saying: I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet these things, of himself, or of some other?
And Philip opened his mouth, and began with this word of Scripture, and preached unto him the gospel of Jesus."
Persecution of Christians is hard for every Christian. But God is alive. He spreads the Good News to the world through this persecution, so that the gospel is spread and brings many people to divine blessing.
When the Christians of the early Jerusalem church were persecuted, they had to flee. But these Christians who fled spread the gospel everywhere. So the persecution had the effect of spreading the gospel far and wide. This passage tells how the gospel is spread through Philip in Samaria.
Regardless of whether one is persecuted or not, every Christian is a spark of the Gospel. He brings the Good News of eternal life to others. Therefore, every Christian is very precious to God and to other people.
Today's Bible text tells about God rekindling a eunuch from Ethiopia with the Gospel through Philip. So the eunuch became a child of God and became a spark of the Gospel for Ethiopia.
May God help us personally to accept the gospel and act as a spark of the gospel for other people.
1. The Queen of Sheba believes in God
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Fig. 1: Ethiopia[1]
How could the people of Ethiopia come to believe in God?
From the Old Testament, we are told that the queen from Sheba, that is Ethiopia, came to know faith in God through King Solomon.
From history we learn something concrete about this.
About 1000 years before Christ, Mekada, the queen of Sheba, visited King Solomon (reigned 961-922 BC) in Jerusalem. She met him and was amazed at his wisdom. She adopted the Jewish faith and rejected the worship of the sun, moon, and stars.
In Ethiopia, the following story has been handed down:
The Queen of Sheba became pregnant by Solomon in Jerusalem. Nine months later, after her return home from Jerusalem, Menelik I was born. As a young man, her son traveled to Jerusalem to meet his father. The latter was delighted and declared Menelik king of African Zion with the name David II. Menelik was thus the first male head of Ethiopia. Menelik is thus the founder of the Aksumite dynasty, whose kings are called Solomonids after their root.
2. The eunuch from Ethiopia believes in Jesus Christ
We have just learned how the people of Ethiopia came to the Jewish faith in God.
Now how could they come to the Christian faith?
I would now like to tell about the conversion of the chamberlain in the court of the queen of Ethiopia and about the Christianization of Ethiopia.
Tab. The History of the Christianization of Ethiopia
10 c. B.C. | Makeda, Queen of Sheba ( = Ethiopia) visits Solomon in Jerusalem (Her sons become kings, Aksumite dynasty in Ethiopia) |
around 33 A.D. | The eunuch from Ethiopia becomes a believer in Jesus through Philip |
61-68 A.D. | Evangelist John Mark missionized Egypt. He died there as a martyr. |
about 100 A.D. | Egyptians are practically completely Christianized (Coptic Church ) |
Do you know that the first country to put the cross on its coins was African?
It was Ethiopia.
And who knows which African country, third after Osrthoene and Armenia, made Christianity the official state religion and sent its black missionaries to foreign lands to preach the Gospel among the local (among others white) pagans?
That was Ethiopia!
The Bible tells us about the conversion of the Ethiopian queen's chamberlain by Philip. The eunuch, who had now become a Christian, went back to Ethiopia and spread the faith in Jesus Christ among his countrymen, so that there are early reports of Ethiopian Christians.
Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, went to Egypt about 30 years later and preached the Gospel there. He died there as a martyr a few years later.
Abb. 2: Johannes Markus[2], der Evangelist
Despite these setbacks, Ethiopian people gradually became Christians. Finally, in 350 AD, Ezana (or Aisanas), the then ruler of the Aksumite (Ethiopian) Empire, was baptized by two Syrian slaves named Frumentius and Aedesius, who were in charge of his education, and became a Christian.
He then proclaimed Christianity the state religion in 350 AD. This was the third nation to declare Christianity as the state religion.
The first Christian nation was called Osrthoene in Orient, which proclaimed Christianity as the state religion in 200 AD.
Armenia is the second Christian nation in the world; Christianity became the state religion in 301.
The third Christian nation was Ethiopia.
The fourth Christian nation was Rome. Although the Roman Emperor Constantine proclaimed the Edict of Tolerance in 313, Christianity was not declared the state religion until 391.
Ethiopia is therefore one of the oldest Christian nations. These Christians are called "Copts." The Ethiopian Coptic Church is under the authority of the Coptic Church of Alexandria.
Ethiopian missionaries went to the surrounding countries, including of course in Europe. Some of them died as martyrs. For example, Felix and Regula were beheaded in Zurich.
Fig 3: An Ethiopian Deacon[3]
Today's sermon text talks about the chamberlain of Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia, becoming a Christian through Philip the evangelist.
Philip had previously been engaged in evangelism in the capital of Samaria. He had worked diligently to bring Samaritans to faith in Jesus Christ.
Then the angel of the Lord said to Philip:
"Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desolate."
Philip obeyed the voice of the Lord.
"And he got up and went.
And behold, a man from Ethiopia, an eunuch and a mighty man in the court of Kandake queen of Ethiopia, who had charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship. Now he returned home and sat in his chariot reading the prophet Isaiah" (27-28).
The Spirit of the Lord said to Philip, "Go and keep to this chariot."
Philip obeyed the Lord.
He went to the chariot and heard that the man sitting on the chariot was reading the book of Prophet Isaiah.
Philip asked the man, "Do you also understand what you are reading?"
But he said, "How can I unless someone instructs me?"
And he asked Philip to get on his chariot and sit beside him.
The book this African was reading was an Old Testament book, Isaiah 53:7-8.
It reads,
"Like a sheep led to the slaughter, and like a lamb that falls silent before its shearer, he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was suspended. Who can enumerate his descendants? For his life is taken away from the earth."
This Bible passage says that one willingly accepted his own death at the hands of the unrighteous people and died.
The Ethiopian eunuch was greatly amazed at the man's willingness. He did not know whom the prophet Isaiah meant.
So he asked Philip who the willingly died man in the book of Isaiah was: Isaiah himself or someone else?
Then Philip first explained to him the Bible passage from Isaiah (35).
The Bible passage does not speak about Isaiah, but about the Messiah.
Philip explained from this passage the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Who would gladly accept his death without guilt?
Jesus Christ gladly died as a sacrificial lamb for your sin and my sin. Because of his sacrificial death, we can receive forgiveness and eternal life for free. We can receive forgiveness and eternal life through faith in His sacrificial death.
This is the Gospel, the Good News!
Believing in the Gospel means that we believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died for our sins and rose from the dead.
This is the Good News for all people.
Everyone who believes in this Good News will experience forgiveness of sin, become a child of God and have eternal life.
Believing in the Gospel is the way to truly blessed life.
On his way back, the Ethiopian eunuch read the Bible, namely Isaiah chapter 53. Unfortunately, he did not understand who the servant in Isaiah 53 meant.
Then God led Philip to him. Philip explained to him who the servant was in Isaiah chapter 53. He explained to him that the servant is Jesus Christ and told him about Jesus Christ.
The eunuch now understood the Bible passage and believed in Jesus Christ.
The way of eternal life opened to him. He, a minister of finance in Ethiopia, was sought and found by God. He was free from all guilt and had become a child of God. He accepted the blessing of God. He himself had become a blessing for all Ethiopia. The Gospel changed his life.
While the two were still talking, they came to a river.
The eunuch said to Philip, "Behold, there is a river; what hinders my being baptized?"
The eunuch made the chariot stop. The two stepped into the water. And Philip baptized the eunuch in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
As soon as the two of them came up out of the water after the baptism, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away so that the eunuch could no longer see him. But the eunuch went on to his home happily. He was now a great blessing to everyone in his homeland.
Not only this Ethiopian eunuch, but all who believe in Jesus Christ become joyful and a great blessing to many.
Andereas, Stephan and Timothee and I were in Stuttgart many years ago for the wedding of Sarang and Mathew Thaker.
Mathew is an Englishman, a gentleman. Sarang is a typical Korean woman, petite and delicate. Korean woman generally has a special love for her children. She is a spark of blessing and will surely encourage her children and many English people to believe. God will make this family into a great people of God in England and bless all England.
God will use each family of ours precious as a spark of blessing like the eunuch from Ethiopia. He will use future families of Stephan, Timothee, Yurim, David, Mariela, Darya, Oriel, and so on as a spark of blessing and bring blessing to many people.
[1]http://www.ipicture.de/landkarte/landkarte_aethiopien.html
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