November 9, 2025 – Acts 8:26–39

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Hope Lutheran Church
Manhattan, Kansas
November 9, 2025
Acts 8:26–39

Acts 8:26–39 – 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 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, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 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. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

36 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?” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 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.

Back when I was in seminary, one of my professors often made a point to remind us that the people we would be serving likely wouldn’t be “theology nerds.” It wasn’t that he was saying people aren’t interested in these kinds of things or that we shouldn’t go deep. He simply wanted to remind us that pretty much everyone we cross paths with doesn’t have a seminary-level education when it comes to the Bible and God’s Word.

And we all have things like that. We all have things that we get excited about or “nerd out” about. Maybe for you it’s cooking or trains or cars or books or gardening or Star Wars. Most of us have something we care a lot about! And we probably know more about that specific thing than the average person. And when we’re talking to people about those things we’re passionate about, it’s easy to forget that not everyone has those interests.

And so I have to remind myself that not everyone is a pastor. Because, as a pastor, I can assume people have learned the same things I’ve learned. I slip into using words and terminology that aren’t familiar to most people. I cite Bible passages and biblical accounts that some people have never heard of. I’ll assume people have the same worldview and approach I have when it comes to a variety of topics. I assume different things about a person, and then instead of being clear and understandable, I can end up causing people to feel confused and maybe even a little offended.

It might not be exactly the same for you, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we all do the same thing to a certain extent when it comes to sharing our faith and what we believe. We make assumptions about other people and what they know, and the result is that we never get to the place where we actually share God’s Word with them in a way that is clear and they can understand and tells them what they really need to know.

I’ll give you some examples: 
• A neighbor down the street that we talk to every once in a while. And in one of the conversations we had with them somewhere along the line, we’re pretty sure they said they have a church. But we never really dug deeper to learn more about their church. And so we assume they must still have a church and be active in that church.
• A co-worker that we like and get along with well. They’re a hard worker. They’re dependable. Everyone likes them. They step up when something needs to get done. And we assume that because they’re a good person, they must be Christian.
• A person we see in a public place – a store or restaurant. And through the things they’re doing and some of the things we overhear, we can tell they’re living in a way that’s the opposite of what God’s Word says. And so we assume they must know what the Bible says about this or that and they’re simply choosing to ignore or go against it.

And here’s why we need to be aware of the assumptions we make: if we are Boldly Building the Kingdom of God, like we’re thinking about in this sermon and study series, then we’re likely going to have to accept that people know less than we think they know. To put it another way, we can’t take it for granted that people know the Gospel and what Jesus has come to do for them. We need to Explain the Gospel Clearly.

I mean, your neighbor might have a place they call their church. But statistics will say that roughly half of all people – Christian or otherwise – right here in Manhattan would say that there is a way to be saved through something other than Jesus and his work for us.

Your co-worker might be a good person and do all the right things, but that doesn’t mean they know the Gospel and the good news of sins forgiven in Christ.
Those people you see at the grocery store or restaurant might be living contrary to what God’s Word says, but just because it’s obvious to you, it doesn’t mean it’s obvious to them.

And the only way any of that is going to change or be addressed is if someone in their life tells them otherwise. That’s why we Explain the Gospel Clearly. Because the Gospel is the only thing that cuts through all the noise and tells people what they really need to hear. And we get to see exactly that kind of thing playing out in those verses I read in Acts 8.
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Now, we can’t unpack everything that’s going on here, but it is helpful to know a little about this man Philip and what brought him to this point. Philip wasn’t one of the original Twelve Disciples. As the early Christian Church in Acts grew and more people were coming to faith, the Apostles recognized that they needed more people to help with the work they were doing. And Philip was one of those men chosen to help them.

But then, as the church was growing in Jerusalem, a persecution broke out against the Christians. And the result was that many of them were driven out of the city and into the surrounding areas. Philip was one of those people driven out of Jerusalem when that persecution began. And even though it likely meant risking his life, Philip continued telling people the good news about Jesus. 

And that’s where we pick up his story in Acts 8 as God sent an angel to Philip to tell him where he should go next. And it leads to him crossing paths with this Ethiopian man.

And we actually can learn quite a bit about this man. In short, he was a successful, smart, prominent individual. He was essentially the account for the Queen of Ethiopia. And then an additional detail: “This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,” and he had his own personal copy of the book of Isaiah. Evidently, this man was someone familiar with his Old Testament and a believer in the true God of the Old Testament.

And when Philip finally meets the Ethiopian and has a chance to talk with him, the Ethiopian is reading from his copy of Isaiah. And when Philip sees this, rather than assume anything, he asks a simple question: “Do you understand what you are reading?” 

And the Ethiopian’s response? “How can I unless someone explains it to me?” And the passage? It’s Isaiah 53: “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.”

You and I hear those verses and I bet you know who it’s talking about – Jesus. But this man didn’t. And remember, this was a successful, smart, prominent man. This was a man who had his own personal copy of Isaiah. This was a man who, round-trip, was willing to travel something like 5000 miles on foot to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. And yet he didn’t understand something that is likely so clear to us.

And how did Philip respond? Did he make assumptions about this man? Did he leave him to figure it out on his own? No, Philip Explained the Gospel Clearly to this man. “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” 

And that changes everything for this Ethiopian man. He gets the chance to see how the Scriptures all point to and center on Christ. He gets to hear what Jesus had done for him. He gets to be baptized and made an official member of God’s family. And it all happened because Philip took the time and did the work to Explain the Gospel Clearly.

And what was that clear gospel? We don’t have the exact words written down for us that Philip said to that Ethiopian man. But at its core, I know what he told him.

And that’s because it’s the same clear gospel that we hear all the time: Jesus came into the world for you, lived in your place, took your sin, suffered and died in your place, and rose from the dead, and now we have forgiveness and eternal life as a gift.

Now, we can read an account like this and be amazed at what happened here. And there are certainly amazing things that are happening all along the way in the account. But the real heart of the story isn’t the angel that spoke to Philip or that, when everything was said and done, Philip was miraculously whisked away. The heart of this account is Philip having a conversation with another person about Jesus and Explaining the Gospel Clearly.

And that kind of thing still happens all the time today. And I know that because I’m looking out at a group of people who have heard the Gospel Exaplained to Them Clearly.

Because somewhere along the line, God sent you people into your life to make sure you knew what Christ has done for you. He sent you pastors and teachers and parents and friends who gave you Christ, so you would know what Jesus did for you.

And they didn’t just give you information and facts about Jesus. They told you that Christ died for you, he rose for you, and he has forgiven you. They Explained the Gospel Clearly because you wouldn’t know it on your own. They knew that someone else had to tell you about it. And it’s that powerful Word of the gospel that created faith for each of us and changed everything for each of us.

And now God sets us loose to go Explain the Gospel Clearly to others. Rather than making assumptions about what our neighbor down the street or our co-worker or the people we meet by chance encounter know or don’t know, we just give them the gospel. We Explain the Gospel Clearly. 

And maybe we start talking to those people and we learn that they really do already have a great church. They really do believe that Jesus has done everything for them. Great! That’s not wasted time! I just got to remind another person that Jesus loves them and that he’s forgiven them. I mean, I get to do that every Sunday and you all keep coming back. Because that’s something we all need to hear over and over again.

But maybe we start talking to those people and we learn that they don’t know anything about any of this. Or maybe they have some ideas, but haven’t ever had someone who genuinely wanted to take the time to talk to them about these things. And now, there you are, ready and willing to Explain the Gospel Clearly.

You know, you and I have so much to offer when it comes to all this. And it’s not because we’ve done so much. It’s not because we’re better than other people. It’s because we’ve received so much from God. He’s given us the Gospel Clearly in his Son, Jesus Christ, who came for us. And while it might be obvious to us, it might not be for everyone. So may God bless us as we Boldly Build God’s Kingdom and Explain the Gospel Clearly. Amen!

Questions for Further Discussion
1) Why is it understandable that people today – even those who are perhaps interested in learning more about Christ and the Bible – find it difficult to understand what Christianity is all about?

2) There were clearly some “supernatural” things that occurred in the interaction we heard about today with Philip and the Ethiopian. But there were some pretty ordinary things that happened, too. What were those ordinary things? How might those ordinary things guide us when it comes to sharing the gospel clearly?

3) It’s easy for us as “church people” to fall into using certain words and phrases that aren’t familiar to outsiders. What are some examples of words and phrases that could be confusing to people unfamiliar with Christianity? Why is it so important to clearly define those terms?

4) Read 1 Corinthians 1:18–31. As you read those verses, have in mind these three questions:
• Why do people not understand the gospel?
• What are we to do in light of this?
• Even when we do our best to explain the gospel clearly, some will believe and others won’t. Finally, why is it that someone will come to see, understand, and place their trust in the gospel?

5) When starting a new mission effort or church plant, it’s common for the congregation to NOT hold public worship services for its first year or more. Some might question how they’re supposed to reach out to people if there’s no worship service to which to invite them. At Hope, we DO have public worship services. And yet, can you explain why a public worship service might not be the best first gospel experience for an unchurched/unbelieving individual? What might be some other first (and second and third) gospel experiences?