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LESSONS FROM PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH

Boyce Mouton · 9 pages · 5,320 words

LESSONS FROM PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 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, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 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. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 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?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 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. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.” (Acts 8:26-40)

  • LESSON
  • 1 – GOD GIVES GUIDANCE

From the very beginning God has provided guidance and direction to His people. God spoke to Adam and Eve in person, but later spoke to His people through prophets, angels, dreams, and visions. In the wilderness God guided His people with a pillar of a cloud by day and a pillar of a cloud by night (Exodus 13:20-22). The primary command of Jesus to His disciples was “follow me.” According to W. E. Vine this command is found 77 times in the Gospels of following Christ, and only once otherwise (Mark 14:13). When Jesus ascended into heaven where they could not follow, He promised that he would not leave them like orphans but would return to them in the person of the Holy Spirit (John 14:18). He continued “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) It is obvious that our Good Shepherd wants to guide His sheep!

The apostles were inspired men whom the Spirit guided to write inspired Scriptures. These godly men did not write their own words, but words given to them by God (1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21). Every Christian has the Holy Spirit. Remember! “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9). But the Holy Spirit does not guide all believers to write Scriptures. Not all are apostles, prophets, or teachers, etc. (1 Corinthians 12:29) but if God is our Father, then His Spirit will guide everyone of His children to do His will! “Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

Both Philip and the Eunuch were therefore being guided by God. An angel commanded Philip to go south to a deserted road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. Going to a deserted road may not seem rational to some, but Philip was a child of God and immediately obeyed. The eunuch was also submissive to the leading of the Spirit for he had gone to Jerusalem to worship God and was returning

to his home reading from the Scriptures. Like different members of the same body each was doing what the “Head of the Body” wanted them to do!

God wants to be sensitive to his leading and so obedient that He can guide us with His eye. He does not want us to be like a horse or mule that has to be forced to obey - “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” (Psalms 32:8-9)

Please be sensitive to the leading of God!

  • LESSON
  • 2 – IMMEDIATE OBEDIENCE

Jesus taught us to pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) In heaven the angels do not argue with God but immediately obey Him. That’s the way we should be! When Daniel was in the lion’s den, for example, God sent an angel to shut their mouths (Daniel 6:22). If the angel had tarried Daniel would have died.

For those who have been in the military it is unthinkable that your commanding officer could command - “ATTENTION!” and the private could disobey merely because it was inconvenient!

Therefore, when an angel told Philip to go south he immediately obeyed. If he had tarried he would have arrived too late to meet the eunuch. When the Spirit told Philip to go near Philip immediately obeyed and “ran” to the chariot.

When the eunuch understood that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit commanded him to be baptized, he immediately obeyed saying: “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized? And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.” (Acts 8:36- 38) We have no example in the Bible of any believer postponing baptism until it was convenient!

  • LESSON
  • 3 – TRUST GOD WHEN WE DON’T UNDERSTAND

“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. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.” (Acts 8:39-40)

Why would the Spirit do this? Jesus had previously told His disciples: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

After someone is baptized the disciples were told to teach this new convert everything Jesus commanded! Why didn’t the Spirit allow Philip to do this? Why didn’t Philip go with him or send the eunuch back to Jerusalem to be “discipled”?

Even if we never understand why God does something, we must continue to trust! Job expressed it beautifully when he said: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” (Job 13:15) Here are some facts to consider when trying to understand why the Spirit caught away Philip and prevented him from continuing to teach the eunuch.

First, we must remember that it was dangerous to be a Christian in Jerusalem. Stephen was stoned to death for being a Christian and other Christians were scattered so they wouldn’t also die. Philip himself fled from this persecution (Acts 8:5).

Second, it seems evident that the Christians in Jerusalem at that time did not believe that Gentiles could be saved without first becoming a Jew. This critical error continued in Jerusalem for many years. The church in Jerusalem began around A.D. 30 and the question about Judaism was not formally decided until the Council of Jerusalem was convened about A.D. 50. Even then some refused to agree with the Council for when Paul came to Jerusalem around A.D. 59 with offerings for the poor saints in Judea, he was told: “You see brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.” (Acts 21:20)

When Paul was in Antioch certain came from James and influenced Peter to withdraw from Gentiles believers. Their bad influence even led Barnabas astray (Galatians 2:11-16) Perhaps the Holy Spirit was protecting the eunuch from this error.

  • LESSON
  • 4 - NO CHURCH ON EARTH IS A PERFECT CHURCH
  • Please do not be discouraged that the church in Jerusalem was not perfect. No church on earth is perfect!
  • It is easy to assume that any church started by inspired apostles would be a “pure” church without any problems. This is not so! Every church has problems regardless of who starts it!
  • The church in Jerusalem did many thing well and set a good example in many ways. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
  • The church in Jerusalem also set a good example in evangelizing other Jews. They began with 3,000 converts and soon grew to about 5,000 men besides women and children. They filled Jerusalem with the teaching of Jesus to the point that a large company of priests became obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7).
  • After Stephen was stoned “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went! Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ there.” (Acts 8:4-5)
  • Jesus had promised His disciples that after the Holy Spirit came upon them they would preach in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
  • Even before the church began the Jews were also extremely evangelistic in converting Gentiles to become Jews. Jesus said to the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees: “You travel over
  • land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. (Matthew 23:15)
  • Please consider: “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews.” (Acts 11:19) This was in direct contradiction to the command of Christ to preach to all nations.
  • Even though the Jews normally had no dealings with the Samaritans (John 4:9, the Samaritans were still half Jews.
  • When Jesus converted the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39)
  • THE PROBLEM IS, THAT WHILE PHILIP WOULD PREACH TO THE SAMARITANS HE APPARENTLY WOULD NOT PREACH TO PURE GENTILES!
  • THE SAME WAS TRUE TO PETER AND JOHN. THEY TOO MINISTERED TO THE SAMARITANS LAYING HANDS ON THEM THAT THEY MIGHT RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT (ACTS 8:14-17)
  • WITH MATURITY, HOWEVER, PHILIP AND ALL OF THE APOSTLES PREACHED TO THE GENTILES IN ALL NATIONS JUST AS CHRIST COMMANDED THEM TO!
  • We should not be surprised that converts and churches have problems. This is completely normal! That’s why holy men of God were inspired to write letters to individuals and churches that needed to mature. Some of these letters, as you know, are found in the Bible.
  • Revelation chapters 2 and 3 contains 7 letters to 7 churches. All of these churches had problems and 5 of them were specifically commanded to repent!
  • As we have already mentioned, even years after the Jerusalem Council there were still thousands that believed in Jerusalem that were still zealous about the Law of Moses (Acts 21:20).
  • Sadly, Jewish people from the church in Jerusalem were causing problems in the church at Antioch - “Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1)
  • We have already mentioned a problem caused in Antioch when certain came from James and were a bad influence on Peter and Barnabas. This happened around A.D. 57-58. Paul wrote: “When Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified”. (Galatians 2:11-16)
  • If the influence of those in Jerusalem was bad for Peter and Barnabas, perhaps it would also be bad for the eunuch.

CONSIDER THIS TIME LINE

(All of these dates are approximate)

  • A.D. 30 - Jesus commanded His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to “all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
  • A.D. 30 – The church began at Pentecost when 3,000 were baptized. Peter commanded them: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39) All of these converts were Jews (Acts 2:5).
  • Peter apparently believed that the “promise for all who were far off” involved the Gentiles first becoming Jews.
  • A.D. 33 – Saul of Tarsus is converted and charged with preaching to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 26:15-18, etc.). Saul, who became Paul however, did not do this for over ten years!
  • A.D. 39 – Peter was commanded by God to preach to a Gentile Centurion named Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48). He was extremely reluctant to do so!
  • It is interesting that Peter was at Joppa when God sent him to the Gentiles and it was also from Joppa that Jonah was also reluctant to preach to the Gentiles (Jonah 1:3).
  • Just as Peter was the first to preach the Gospel to the Jews, God wanted him to also be the first to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. God did not want the Gentiles to be considered as inferior to the Jews in any way.
  • Peter reluctantly obeyed and preached to Cornelius just as Jonah had reluctantly obeyed and preached to Nineveh.
  • Some time later, around A.D. 41, the Jews were still not preaching to the Gentiles- “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:19-21)
  • A.D. 42 - “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” (Acts 11:25-26)
  • Note! The first church to receive Gentiles was not Jerusalem, but Antioch!
  • A.D. 47-49 – Barnabas and Saul set out on their first missionary journey preaching to everyone, including the Gentiles (Acts 13:1 – 14:28).
  • A.D. 50 – When they returned to Antioch - “Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1) (This was possibly when Paul rebuked Peter for not eating with Gentiles)
  • A.D. 50 – THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL MET TO DISCUSS PREACHING TO THE GENTILES - The apostles, elders, and the whole church agreed that Gentiles could become Christians without first becoming Jews. They wrote a letter to the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia saying: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to
  • idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” (Acts 15:28-29)
  • A.D. 50-53 – Paul’s second missionary journey. In addition to explaining the decree of the Jerusalem Council Paul also was charged with receiving money for the poor saints in Judea (Galatians 2:10). Paul makes reference to this offering in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8 – 9; and Romans 15:30-33, etc.
  • A.D. 58 – Paul is ready to return to Jerusalem with money for the poor saints in Judea, but he is not certain his Jewish brethren will accept money from Gentile sinners: He wrote to the Romans: “I urge you brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join with me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. The God of peace be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 15:30-33)
  • A.D. 59-61 - GOD ANSWERED BOTH PRAYERS! First, God protected Paul from the Jews. More than 40 Jews took a vow that they would neither eat or drink until they had killed Paul (Acts 23:12-22). God, however, delivered Paul from these wicked men. Even though Paul was innocent of any crime he was still imprisoned. Paul was in such danger that 470 soldiers made sure that he would be safe while being transferred to a prison in Caesarea (Acts 23:23-24).
  • When Porcius Festus wanted to send Paul back to Jerusalem to please the Jews Paul, as a Roan citizen, appealed to Rome because he knew they would kill him (Acts 25:10-11).
  • A.D. 62-63 - Paul wrote four inspired letters from prison in Rome (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon).
  • Paul’s letter to the Ephesians revealed that the Gentiles had finally been fully accepted as a part of the church. It was with a great sense of relief when Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:11-22)
  • PRAISE GOD! THE BIGGEST PROBLEM DIVIDING THE EARLY CHURCH WAS COMPLETELY SOLVED! HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A CHURCH DIVIDING OVER WHETHER ONLY JEWS CAN BECOME CHRISTIANS?
  • Therefore: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were

called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:3-6)

  • LESSON
  • 5 - JESUS GUIDED THE APOSTLES INTO ALL TRUTH
  • Jesus promised to guide his disciples into all truth, AND HE DID! (John 16:13).
  • Jesus, of course, guided them step by step and was patient with them when they made mistakes. The fact that Jesus was patient with His inspired apostles leads to the believe that He will also be patient with us!
  • Eusebius was a famous church historian (A.D. 260 – 339). He reports that when the disciples finally correctly understood the Great Commission they did precisely what Jesus had commanded them to do, Eusebius wrote: “The holy apostles and disciples of our Savior were dispersed throughout the world. Parthia, according to tradition, was allotted to Thomas as his field of labor, Scythia to Andrew, and Asia to John, who, after he had lived some time there, died at Ephesus. Peter appears to have preached in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia to the Jews of the dispersion. And at last, having come to Rome, he was crucified head-downwards; for he had requested that he might suffer in this way. What do we need to say concerning Paul, who preached the Gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and afterwards suffered martyrdom in Rome under Nero?”
  • All of the original apostles except John died as martyrs. Our word “martyr” comes from the Greek word “martus” which means “witness.” Even when threatened with death not one of these apostles ever denied any of the miracles Jesus, including his resurrection. That’s why they are known as “martyrs” or “witnesses.”
  • The Apostle John described himself as the apostle whom Jesus loved (John 13:23). He was the only one of the Twelve who stood by the cross of Christ and was given the responsibility of caring for Mary, the mother of Jesus (John 19:25-2) Tertullian, the 2nd-century North African theologian, reports that John was plunged into boiling oil from which he miraculously escaped. He was also exiled to the Island of Patmos where he received visions incorporated into the book of Revelation. He is believed to have died of old age in Ephesus around A.D. 98.
  • LESSON
  • 6 - DON’T WORRY!

By acknowledging problems with preachers and problems with churches, there is a danger that some might start worrying for fear that Christ is no longer in complete control of His Body! PLEASE DON’T WORRY FOR JESUS IS IN COMPLETE CONTROL AND THE GATES OF HADES WILL NEVER PREVAIL AGAINST HIS CHURCH! (MATTHEW 16:18)

Jesus encouraged all believers: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’

or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

Don’t worry about the church in Ethiopia. The Holy Spirit guided the eunuch so that he was successful. Even after 2,000 years the church in Ethiopia is still strong and 67.3% of the Ethiopians identify as Christians.

Don’t worry about preachers like Peter. Like Solomon said: “Though a righteous man falls seven times he rises again!” (Proverbs 24:16) Out of all the apostles the Scriptures list more mistakes by Peter than by any other and yet Jesus helped him to triumph over every problem. The success of Peter encourages all of us that we too can be successful in spite of the many mistakes we have made.

Please consider:

  • Every time the 12 apostles are listed, Peter is mentioned first. (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:12-16; Acts 1:13)
  • Peter is mentioned 191 times in the Bible. This is more than any other apostle. John is second being mentioned 48 times in the Bible.
  • Thought Peter was considered “unschooled and ordinary” (Acts 4:13) he was still honored to be the first to preach the Gospel to the Jews (Acts 2:14-41) and also the first to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1-48).
  • The first Gentile to become a Christian, without first becoming a Jew, was Cornelius. He lived in Caesarea, which was also where Philip the evangelist lived (Acts 8:40; 21:8). Yet the angel of God told Cornelius to send to Joppa and get Peter. (Joppa is 40 miles away from Caesarea)
  • The ministry of Peter was so powerful that people brought their sick into the streets of Jerusalem with the hope that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by (Acts 5:15).
  • An angel miraculously delivered Peter from the same prison where James was beheaded (Acts 12:1-19).
  • In addition to writing two inspired books of the Bible it is thought that Peter was also responsible for the Gospel of Mark. Papias, a famous Christian leader (A.D. 60 – 130), quoted John the Elder as saying: “Mark, in his capacity as Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately as many things as he recalled from memory—though not in an ordered form—of the things either said or done by the Lord.”
  • Peter had a long and successful ministry even taking with him his faithful wife (1 Corinthians 9:5).
  • Jesus, as you know, predicted that Peter would die as a martyr (John 21:18-19). Historians indicate that Peter was martyred in Rome by the emperor Nero. Peter humbly told his executioners that he was not worthy to die like Jesus and requested to be crucified upside down.
  • As we have said, Peter wrote two inspired books of the Bible. Many years before Peter had criticized Jesus for saying he was going to suffer (Matthew 16:21-23). In his first letter, however, Peter made many references to suffering that brings glory to God. (See 1 Peter 1:6; 2:19-25; 3:13-15; 4:12-19; 5:1; 5:10)
  • In 2nd Peter we find instructions on God’s very great and precious promises that can enable us to triumph over temptations just as Peter did: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self- control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:3-11)
  • LESSON
  • 7 – GOD IS WORKING EVERYTHING TOGETHER FOR GOOD!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Friday, the day when Jesus was crucified, was probably the saddest day the followers of Jesus ever experienced. Two of them were walking to Emmaus with their faces downcast and discouraged. Luke tells their story in Luke 24:13-35. When Jesus began walking with them they did not recognize Him and assumed He did not know what had recently happened in Jerusalem. Ironically, Jesus knew exactly what had happened! They were the ones who didn’t know what had happened!

Jesus explained to them: “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

THE DEATH OF JESUS WAS NOT A MISTAKE FOR THROUGH DEATH JESUS DESTROYED HIM WHO HAD THE POWER OF DEATH, THAT IS THE DEVIL (HEBREWS 2:14)

Now - “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and for evermore! Amen.” (Jude 24-25)