I write about Stuff

“So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.” —Acts 8:35 NLT

The New Testament introduces us to two men named Philip, both followers of Jesus, but with different callings. One was among the twelve disciples. The other—Philip the Evangelist—was a Spirit-filled preacher, likely one of the seventy-two Jesus sent out in Luke 10. Acts tells us he was also one of the first seven deacons in the early church, a man trusted with both practical service and spiritual leadership. Later, Paul and Luke would even stay in his home, a quiet testimony to his faithfulness and hospitality.

But the moment that defines Philip’s legacy unfolds in Acts 8. After persecution scattered the believers from Jerusalem, Philip traveled north to Samaria. There, the gospel took root with astonishing power. Crowds hung on his words. Evil spirits fled. The sick were healed. And joy—deep, contagious joy—spread through the city. Philip preached with the confidence of someone who knew the risen Christ was still at work.

Then God redirected him. An angel gave him a strangely specific command: “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” No explanation. No details. Just a road in the middle of nowhere. But Philip didn’t hesitate. He had seen too much since the resurrection to doubt that God was orchestrating something meaningful.

And indeed, He was.

On that lonely road, Philip encountered an Ethiopian official—an influential man, a seeker, a worshiper returning from Jerusalem. As he rode in his carriage, he read aloud from the prophet Isaiah, wrestling with words he longed to understand. Philip heard him and asked a simple, Spirit-prompted question: “Do you understand what you are reading?” The official’s response was an open door: “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” He invited Philip into the carriage, into the conversation, into the moment God had prepared.

The passage was Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering Messiah—Jesus Himself. Philip began right there and unfolded the Good News. The official listened with a heart ready to receive. When they came upon water, he asked to be baptized, eager to seal his faith with obedience. Philip baptized him, and the man continued his journey rejoicing.

According to early church tradition, that encounter became the spark that carried Christianity into Ethiopia, planting seeds that would grow for generations. One man’s obedience on a desert road became the doorway for an entire nation to hear the gospel.

Philip’s story reminds us that divine appointments rarely come with advance notice. God places us in conversations, workplaces, friendships, and unexpected moments for reasons we may not see at first. But when we stay attentive to His voice and willing to step forward, He uses us—just as He used Philip—to help others understand the hope found in Scripture.

Even a single conversation can ripple outward in ways we may never fully know.

Reflection: Who might be waiting for you to help them understand the message of Scripture—someone God has already placed along your path?