Over the last few weeks, we: learned about Philip, a follower of Jesus who took the gospel into Samaria, to a people long separated from and long despised by the people of Israel. learned of the expanding embrace of the church, enveloping even those not born into ethnic Israel. encountered a man by the name of Simon, who showed us that it is possible to possess a superficial and insufficient faith in Jesus.

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.

The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.” “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

“The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot.

“Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When 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. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”

This passage introduces to us three “beautiful collisions”; three instances where things come together in a particularly interesting way. The first collision or coming together that we encounter is the collision between Philip’s conscience and the voice of God in his life. We ought to ask what does being “full of the Spirit” look like in Philip’s life. Rather than departing on a whim, Philip leaves Samaria under the direction of God.

The Greek word in verse 26 can mean both an angel – the heavenly envoys of God – or it can mean a messenger – one sent of God. What form did this communication actually take? Was it: a conversation with a physical “angel”? a message communicated through a dream or vision? a message communicated through a fellow believer? Luke is seeking to communicate here is that Philip is being divinely guided; being “full of the Spirit” then can mean an experience of God’s guidance in life.

Have you ever experienced the pull of your own “conscience” against the drawing of God’s Spirit? Just as God communicated with Philip supernaturally, God desires to communicate with each one of us. Do you believe that God is providing for you right now an indication of what you are meant to do? Philip was simply a man who was aware and responsive to the Spirit of God, and the result was that he was used mightily by God.

The second collision in our text this morning is the collision between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip left Shechem in Samaria for a well-known road some 70 kilometers away, while the eunuch was on a journey route from Jerusalem, to Gaza, and into Ethiopian territory. What are the chances are that a Greek speaking Christian travelling by foot from Samaria might happen upon an Ethiopian eunuch travelling by chariot in the middle of a desert road? These two men who have no earthly reason ever to bump into each other are being guided toward a beautiful collision by the Spirit of God.

Do you ever consider whether some of your daily interactions are ordained by God? Might the pathways walked by some to the people you bump up against have been divinely aligned to intersect with yours? There are daily opportunities put before us that have been arranged by God and coordinated by His Spirit. Are we ready to respond when one of those moments occurs … are you, like Philip, aware of the Spirit’s leading and obedient enough to follow them?

The Ethiopian eunuch has a number of different strikes against him as it were. He is: a Gentile – he’s non-Jewish. a eunuch. “No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord”, (Deuteronomy 23:1) Because of both ethnicity and physical realities, the Ethiopian eunuch would have forever been on the outside looking in, no matter how obedient or religiously pious he became.

Adventures in the Book of Isaiah “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant— to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever. And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.” (Isaiah 56:4-7)

The thought of faithful eunuchs and foreigners experiencing a joyful place within God’s temple described his hope! Seizing the Spirit-ordained moment, Philip began to explain to the eunuch to whom these words pointed, and he helped him understand the final collision in our text; “when our depravity meets his divinity, it is a beautiful collision”. When the divinity of Christ met with the depravity of the Ethiopian eunuch, the result was a beautiful collision; salvation and full inclusion in God’s people for this emasculated Gentile.

A Gentile – albeit one engaged in the worship of the God of Israel - was now a part of the church, counted among the people of God! This is a massive development. Have you noticed the trajectory of the book of Acts yet? The church began a public witness in Jerusalem, filling the city with her teaching. Persecution then forced the church out of Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria, expanding the reach and embrace of the church. Today, we learned of a God-fearing Gentile eunuch, being baptised into the church. Quite literally, to the first century mind, the message of Jesus had now reached “the ends of the earth”. The task of Acts 1:8 was being accomplished.

Philip’s story ought to teach us something about the embrace of the church, something about the reach of the message of Jesus. When the divinity of Christ intersects with our depravity – no matter how far we’ve descended into it – something beautiful emerges; salvation, forgiveness and eternal life in Christ Jesus are possible. We all start on equal ground, separated from God by our sin, but through faith in Christ, this chasm is bridged and we are drawn into life eternal; how beautiful is that!

Reflection Questions Who are the Samaritans and Ethiopian eunuchs in our experience? Or more gut level, who might you be reluctant to embrace in the church? Who do you believe are outside the reach of the church, even if you might not too readily verbalize it? If the Spirit of God leads you across the pathway of a “Ethiopian eunuch” in your life, would you be willing to share with that person the good news of Jesus? Would you be willing to invite them to church and do all you can to make them feel welcome?