Embracing Inclusivity: The Transformative Power of the Gospel
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He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot and was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, do you understand what you are reading? And he said, how can I unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. [00:21:51] (26 seconds)
This eunuch, this eunuch was a man who could never be a full part of God's people. He had been essentially castrated as a slave so that he would be blessed. Progressive so that he wouldn't have the ability to have kids and could be trusted with things like treasure. And so this was a man who had been broken by the greed and the sin of the world around him, who was being used by others for their own purposes. [00:22:40] (42 seconds)
And so he would have always been both an insider and an outsider, an outsider who desperately wanted to be part of God's people, but who was prevented from doing so because of the damage that had been done to him by other people. And I think that it's pretty obvious. That he was longing to be in God's people, right? He traveled thousands of miles for some sort of a festival just to come to the temple and to worship, even though he would not have been allowed in anything except that outside court of the Gentiles. [00:23:14] (38 seconds)
And we also see Philip. And Philip in this passage is a model of obedience to the Spirit. The Spirit says, go. And he just goes. It's kind of reminiscent of Abraham. If you remember, when God speaks to Abraham for the first time, he says, get up and go. And Abraham basically says, where are we going? And God says, I'll let you know when you get there. And Abraham gets up and he goes. [00:25:15] (30 seconds)
The passage he was reading was this. Like a sheep, he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent. So he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation for his life is taken away from the earth. And the eunuch said to Philip, about whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this? About himself or about someone else? [00:26:23] (27 seconds)
And then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, see, here is water. Remember, this was a dry place, but at just the right time, God provided water. See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. [00:28:15] (30 seconds)
And his faith compelled him to be baptized. He said, what's stopping me from being baptized? What's holding me back? What's keeping me out? Because remember, for the majority of his life, under the old covenant, the physical damage that was done to his body prevented him from being a full part of the people of God. What's to prevent him? [00:30:20] (24 seconds)
You're too broken, essentially, under the old covenant. That's what prevented him. But under the new covenant, established by the blood of Jesus Christ, there is nothing that is preventing him from being baptized. Because all of the brokenness of his body was healed by the broken body of Jesus on the cross. [00:30:43] (23 seconds)
And so this man, who had spent his life on the outside looking in at God's people, desiring to be a part of God's people, but prevented by the brokenness of his body, now, by the brokenness of his body, the broken body of Jesus Christ on his behalf, has been made whole and healed and is now welcomed into the kingdom. What is preventing him from being baptized? What is preventing him from becoming a part of God's people? Nothing. Nothing at all. [00:31:15] (32 seconds)
But now Philip has arrived saying, you don't have to be on the outside anymore, but you are welcomed in. You are embraced. And as he went on his way rejoicing, I think eventually he would have returned to his scroll and he would have kept reading. And just a few chapters later, he would have come to Isaiah 56, where the prophet says, let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, the Lord will surely separate me from his people. [00:33:02] (40 seconds)
And let not the eunuch say, behold, I am a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant. I will give in my house and within my house, I will give in my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. And even those who are broken and wounded. [00:33:29] (25 seconds)
So even those who are broken and wounded by the sinfulness of this world will be welcomed into the kingdom of God and given the legacy in the kingdom that this world could never possibly give them. God is going to do what he said he would do. He had sent Jesus to be the savior, not just of the Jews, but of the Samaritans to satisfying that prophecy. In Ezekiel 37. [00:34:48] (36 seconds)
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This eunuch, this eunuch was a man who could never be a full part of God's people. He had been essentially castrated as a slave so that he would be blessed. Progressive so that he wouldn't have the ability to have kids and could be trusted with things like treasure. And so this was a man who had been broken by the greed and the sin of the world around him, who was being used by others for their own purposes. [00:22:40] (42 seconds)
And so he would have always been both an insider and an outsider, an outsider who desperately wanted to be part of God's people, but who was prevented from doing so because of the damage that had been done to him by other people. And I think that it's pretty obvious. That he was longing to be in God's people, right? He traveled thousands of miles for some sort of a festival just to come to the temple and to worship, even though he would not have been allowed in anything except that outside court of the Gentiles. [00:23:14] (38 seconds)
And we also see Philip. And Philip in this passage is a model of obedience to the Spirit. The Spirit says, go. And he just goes. It's kind of reminiscent of Abraham. If you remember, when God speaks to Abraham for the first time, he says, get up and go. And Abraham basically says, where are we going? And God says, I'll let you know when you get there. And Abraham gets up and he goes. [00:25:15] (30 seconds)
The passage he was reading was this. Like a sheep, he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent. So he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation for his life is taken away from the earth. And the eunuch said to Philip, about whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this? About himself or about someone else? [00:26:23] (27 seconds)
And then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, see, here is water. Remember, this was a dry place, but at just the right time, God provided water. See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. [00:28:15] (30 seconds)
And his faith compelled him to be baptized. He said, what's stopping me from being baptized? What's holding me back? What's keeping me out? Because remember, for the majority of his life, under the old covenant, the physical damage that was done to his body prevented him from being a full part of the people of God. What's to prevent him? [00:30:20] (24 seconds)
You're too broken, essentially, under the old covenant. That's what prevented him. But under the new covenant, established by the blood of Jesus Christ, there is nothing that is preventing him from being baptized. Because all of the brokenness of his body was healed by the broken body of Jesus on the cross. [00:30:43] (23 seconds)
And so this man, who had spent his life on the outside looking in at God's people, desiring to be a part of God's people, but prevented by the brokenness of his body, now, by the brokenness of his body, the broken body of Jesus Christ on his behalf, has been made whole and healed and is now welcomed into the kingdom. What is preventing him from being baptized? What is preventing him from becoming a part of God's people? Nothing. Nothing at all. [00:31:15] (32 seconds)
But now Philip has arrived saying, you don't have to be on the outside anymore, but you are welcomed in. You are embraced. And as he went on his way rejoicing, I think eventually he would have returned to his scroll and he would have kept reading. And just a few chapters later, he would have come to Isaiah 56, where the prophet says, let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, the Lord will surely separate me from his people. [00:33:02] (40 seconds)
And let not the eunuch say, behold, I am a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant. I will give in my house and within my house, I will give in my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. And even those who are broken and wounded. [00:33:29] (25 seconds)
So even those who are broken and wounded by the sinfulness of this world will be welcomed into the kingdom of God and given the legacy in the kingdom that this world could never possibly give them. God is going to do what he said he would do. He had sent Jesus to be the savior, not just of the Jews, but of the Samaritans to satisfying that prophecy. In Ezekiel 37. [00:34:48] (36 seconds)
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