The book of Acts records many instances where God spoke to lost souls through the preaching of the gospel and brought them into communion with Himself. Today, let’s travel to a desolate place south of Jerusalem and listen in as Philip the evangelist explains the way of salvation to an Ethiopian eunuch.
Luke records that as the eunuch rode along in his chariot toward his African home, he was reading Isaiah 53 out loud to himself. However, the man had a serious problem. He didn’t understand a word he was reading! This man was highly educated. He understood the Greek language in which the scroll was written. He was extremely gifted and in fact he was in control of the entire Ethiopian economy! So, why couldn’t such a talented man grasp such a clear, gospel passage about Jesus Christ? Because understanding the gospel is not a matter of intellectual ability but spiritual enlightenment. I Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned”. Elsewhere we read that Satan blinds “the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ”. This brilliant academic needed the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of his mind before he could grasp the Scriptures and see salvation in Christ.
However, our inability to understand the gospel is not a hindrance to God! God had set his love on this lost soul and had determined that the gospel would go to Africa through him. So, God sent Philip, a man who was fluent in Greek and filled with the Holy Spirit, to teach this man about Christ. What did Philip say? In reading Isaiah 53, we find several key points. First, everyone has despised and rejected Jesus Christ and, like sheep, we have gone astray each to our own way. By nature, we hate God’s rule in our life and desire self-rule. This is a deliberate choice we make. Secondly, Jesus came to be a suffering substitute for the sins of all of his people. We read, “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed”. That means that Christ took the penalty for sin, which is death, upon himself in order that all who believe in him and trust in him alone for salvation may enjoy the forgiveness of all of their mountain of sin against God. But also, we read that Christ will “make many to be accounted righteous”. This means that all who come to Christ will have his perfect law-keeping credited to their account and stand justified before a holy God.
No wonder the Ethiopian eunuch rejoiced upon hearing this good news! He finally understood what he had been reading! May the Lord bless you and open your mind to see the gospel as you read his word.
— Allen Beardmore