Acts 8:35
It is not uncommon today to hear people say “Let’s just preach Jesus...!” Often this statement is given in response to those who preach and teach on baptism, which many modern preachers rarely mention in their preaching. But what does it mean to preach Jesus...? Should it include baptism? If so, what else should be included? In Acts 8, we read of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch who on his return from Jerusalem was met by Philip the evangelist - Ac 8:26-29 “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot."’
The Ethiopian eunuch invited Philip to explain a passage from the book of Isaiah - Ac 8:30-34 “So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth." And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?"’ Beginning with the passage (Isa 53:7-8), note that Philip preached Jesus to him - Ac 8:35 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.”
We can learn what it means to preach Jesus from what is written regarding the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch! For example, consider what we can glean from Isaiah’s quotation. Jesus died for our sins… The passage from Isaiah reveals the reason for the Messiah’s suffering - Isa 53:4-6 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”, 10-11 “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” Christ’s death for our sins was fundamental to the gospel Paul preached - 1 Co 15:1-3 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,” -- Preaching Jesus therefore proclaims His death for our sins.
Jesus has been exalted... Isaiah’s prophecy begins and ends with the exaltation of the Messiah - Isa 52:13 “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.”; 53:12 “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” The theme of Jesus’ exaltation permeated Peter’s preaching - Ac 2:36 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."’; 5:30-31 “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” -- Preaching Jesus therefore pronounces that He has been exalted by God. From Isaiah’s Quotation, we learn that preaching Jesus includes preaching how Jesus died for our sins, and has been exalted to the right hand of God!
Now let’s consider what we learn about preaching Jesus from the Eunuch’s question. The importance of baptism. Notice the first question asked by the eunuch - Ac 8:36 “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Preaching Jesus clearly included preaching on baptism! Indeed, baptism was important to Jesus and His apostles. Jesus commanded it in giving the great commission - Mt 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."’; Mk 16:15-16 “And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” The apostles commanded it in their preaching - Ac 2:38 “And Peter said to 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.”; 10:47-48 ‘"Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
Act 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.” The apostles also wrote of its value in their epistles - Ro 6:3-4 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”; 1 Pe 3:21 “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” -- Preaching Jesus therefore includes preaching baptism! We can't preach Jesus and ignore preaching baptism.
We also learn of the immediacy of baptism. The Ethiopian was anxious to obey. Let us also be careful to note what we learn about preaching Jesus from Philip’s qualification, the necessity of faith. We will examine the qualification of faith, heartiness and repentance in the second part of this lesson.
