While We Rejoice (Acts 8:26-39)
I’m convinced the most joyful day of my life was the day I had my wisdom teeth cut out. Once I got in the chair, I got some laughing gas and then I got an IV of “sleepy” medicine. I don’t remember having my teeth removed at all, but I remember how great I felt afterwards. After the procedure, Mom and Dad took me to get my pain meds. When we arrived at the pharmacy, I still had a lot of drugs in my system. When I started to get out of the car, I just fell back in the seat and started cackling—it was the funniest thing in all my life. Mom was so tickled that she couldn’t even help me get out of the car. I remember looking up at her and saying, “I’m gonna call the dentist and tell him to give me some more of that medicine.”
What about you? Have you ever needed drugs which made you happy as a lark? What great joy did you have on your wedding day? What about the day your children were born? What about the day you purchased your home or the day you were hired for a good job? What about the day you were baptized into Jesus?
Luke told about a eunuch’s joy. From this Ethiopian, learn: “Christians rejoice.”
Scripture (Acts 8:26-39)
verses 26-28:
Philip was guided to a desert place where he found an Ethiopian eunuch returning from worship in Jerusalem. The eunuch’s journey showed great devotion. What Luke called Ethiopia is the modern Sudan, a far piece from Jerusalem. Because he was a eunuch, this Ethiopian would have had to worship from afar (Deut 23:1).
The man was an Ethiopian, not a Jew. He would, therefore, have been either a proselyte—a Gentile convert to Judaism—or a God-fearer, a Gentile follower of Yahweh.
verses 29-31:
When Philip ran next to the chariot, he heard the eunuch’s reading from Isaiah; ancient people read aloud, not silently. The eunuch admitted he couldn’t understand Isaiah’s words unless he had help.
verses 32-35:
Philip preached “the good news about Jesus” to the eunuch.
verses 36-38:
The eunuch desired to be baptized, and he and Philip went into the water so Philip could baptize him. Yes, this is desert; however, there are dry creek beds throughout this region which fill with water during the rainy season.
verse 39:
When he came up out of the water, the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing.” The eunuch did not rejoice before he was baptized; he rejoiced after he was baptized.
Application
In his rejoicing, the eunuch set an example for us: “Christians rejoice.” The Philippian jailer “rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God” (Acts 16:34). Jesus told his disciples, “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Lk 10:20). “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Phil 4:4). “Rejoice always” (1 Thess 5:16).
Why rejoice? When the doctor gives you a dreaded diagnosis or you’re heartbroken or you don’t have enough money or you’ve just had a big argument with your spouse, why rejoice?
One: You rejoice for your Schooling.
The eunuch learned much from Philip. He learned a new way to honor God. He learned about Jesus’s death for him—he was, after all, reading a text about Jesus’s death—and what Jesus required of him. Without his Schooling the eunuch would not have rejoiced.
With your Schooling—you have good news. A terminal illness just means you get to go be with Jesus sooner. In sorrow, the God of all comfort will be with you. When money is low, he who feeds the sparrows will feed you. After a big argument, God will forgive your careless words.
Because Schooling brings rejoicing, you need all the Schooling you can get. When he was in prison, John the Baptizer sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he really were the Messiah (Matt 11:2-6). At the end of his life, Paul still wanted Schooling—“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments” (2 Tim 4:13).
How much Schooling do you get? How much time do you spend in private reading Scripture? How much time do you spend in Bible class? How much do you pray for wisdom? How much do you rejoice because of your Schooling?
Two: You rejoice for your Saving.
Prior to his baptism, the eunuch had no hope. However, his baptism put him into Christ (Gal 3:27) and saved him (1 Pet 3:21). His Saving caused rejoicing.
Your Saving also brings rejoicing. Why rejoice for your Saving? Your Saving allows you to escape God’s wrath: “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by [Jesus’s] blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Rom 5:9). Because of your Saving, you don’t need to fear when Jesus comes again: “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Heb 9:28). Because of your Saving, you don’t bear the guilt of your sin: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (Rom 4:7-8).
Does the Lord count your sin against you this morning? Do you need to come this morning and leave here rejoicing?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.