Interdenominational Sunday School lesson
Good News (or Outsider*
Act! 8:25-34
Great and miraculous things were
happening in the first New
Testament Church at Jerusalem. The
Apostles, and other believers,
numbering in the thousands, were
worshiping, praying and witnessing
daily. The Holy Spirit was upon
them. Many people, including Jewish
Priests, were being converted to
Christianity and the church was
growing fast, but there was trouble
brewing for those early believers.
This new and powerful Gospel of
Jesus, able to heal the sick and cast
out demons, was quickly becoming a
thorn in the side of the Orthodox
religion and their leaders. Something
just had to be done to stop it. They
had already put Peter and John in
jail, only to have them released by an
Angel. They were arrested again.
beaten and warned to stop preaching
tile Gospel; however, these fearless
men of God continued. Stephen was
arrested on false charges, brought
before the ruling court and, after
preaching and witnessing to those
present, was ordered stoned to death.
Up to this point practically all the
Gospel preaching and teaching was
taking place in the Jerusalem area.
The Gospel had not begun to spread
beyond this area to any extent.
However, following the death of
Stephen, the religious authorities
started a reign of imprisonment and
beatings of the believers in order to
stop the spread of the Gospel. The
disciples fled from the impending
persecution, except for the Apostles,
and were scattered over the coun
trysides of Judea and Samaria. The
Gospel would now move out of the
Jerusalem area, for those who were
dispersed began teaching and
preaching to people as they went,
eventually it would go into all the
world.
Philip is lad to the Eunuch
AcU?:25-2#
Philip left Jerusalem and went to
Samaria. As we read this today it
seems of little note. In the first
century; however, this was a
reemendous move. You see the
Jewish people and the Samaritan
people hated one another. The
Samaritans were not pure Jewish,
they were half breeds, or mix breeds,
and the two peoples would have
nothing to de with one another. The
fact that Philip, a Jew, went there to
preach indicates that something had
happened to him to knock down this
inherent barrier. We know, of course,
it was God's love, and Philip's zeal
for the Gospel. Great numbers of
Samaritans believed the Gospel
which Philip preached, and were
baptised. It is here in the story of
Philip that a strange thing happened.
An Angel appeared and spoke to
him (Verse 8:28) directing him to
travel toward the south. Philip arose
and did so and eventually met a very
important Ethiopian who was a
prosolyte Jew, a person converted to
Judiasm. When Philip encountered
him. he was sitting in his chariot
reading Isaiah, the prophet. When
Philip approached him, saw that he
was reading the Scriptures, he asked,
"Do you understand what you are
reading?" The eunuch replied, "How
can I, except some man should show
me ?" This gave Philip the opening
he needed. An invitation to preach
and a text for the sermon. So Philip
proclaimed the Gospel to the eunuch
and witnessed to him about Christ.
The Eunuch Responds to
The Gospel Acts 8:36-38
We wish that we knew all that
Philip said to the eunuch, but It U
evident that he mentioned baptism.
To preach the Gospel is to preach
Jesus. His death, burial and
resurrection, but these simple facts
have the power to move people to
commit their lives (b the Lord. That
is what the eunuch did, (or he said to
Philip, "I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God." Philip then and
there baptised him. The eunuch
would cary the Gospel message hade
to his home country of Ethiopia. The
Gospel was spreading in ever
widening circles.
Lesson based on International
Sunday School Lessons by the Lesson
Committee.
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