Acts 8:26-40 | Helping People SeeSample

In Jesus’s day, it was customary to read scripture aloud, and Philip notices that the Ethiopian is reading Isaiah. Responding to the moment, Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading. Like many people trying to read the Old Testament prophets today, the Ethiopian answers with a resounding no. You can almost hear the exasperation in his voice: “How can I unless someone explains it to me?” These are the words of someone burning to see the truth of God but unable to discern it. Philip was able to show the Ethiopian what this passage was about, and the Ethiopian’s life was changed forever.

There are two things we can extract today.

First, we never know what opportunities will arise when someone asks about faith in Jesus or the Bible. Philip took the time to learn it. And so, he picked up on what the Ethiopian was reading. Would you have recognized it? Have you taken the time to understand what God is trying to show you on the pages of the Bible? Are you seeing similar opportunities and able to respond to them?

Second, the Ethiopian would never have come to see if he wasn’t humble enough to admit he wasn’t understanding it. Seeing God often starts there. Humility is a posture that allows blind men to see. How about you? Would you have asked? Or would pride (aka embarrassment) have gotten too much in the way? Many today miss what God is saying because they’re too ashamed to simply ask for help in seeing what God is saying. Where might you need to say: “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about?”