Philip

Philip

Q: What passage of Scripture was an Ethiopian man reading when Philip met him in the desert?

• a. Isaiah 53
• b. Matthew 1
• c. Exodus 20

Philip helped distribute the food among the early Christians. But then he left Jerusalem to take the gospel to other places. Philip shared the Good News with everyone he met, but unlike many others, he took the gospel to the Samaritans, the people many Jews were prejudiced against. Philip knew that they needed to know Jesus as their Savior too.

One day God sent Philip out into the desert. Philip met an Ethiopian traveling in a chariot. The Ethiopian invited Philip to join him. The man was reading from Isaiah 53, but he didn’t understand what he read, so he asked Philip to explain it. The Ethiopian believed what Philip told him about Jesus. As the chariot passed by some water, the man asked Philip to baptize him.

God was able to use Philip to reach many people because Philip was willing to share the gospel with anyone he met. He didn’t just tell other Jews about Jesus; he took the message to foreigners. He reached out to people despised by other Jews, because he knew God’s salvation was for anyone who believed.

For You

Do you take the first step in sharing the gospel? If you wait for someone to ask you about Jesus, you may not have many opportunities to share your faith. Look around you for one person who needs to hear about Jesus. Ask God to prepare that person’s heart for the gospel and to help you look for an opportunity to talk to him or her.

Answer: a

The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”   Acts 8:32-33

(The Whole Story: Acts 8:4-8, 26-40)