We’ve been talking about the beauty of baptism for several weeks now. We have fairly scrupulously avoided all the typical arguments about baptism and focused instead on the simple declarations we’re making as we joyously plunge ourselves into a fully baptized Christian life. We’ve tried as much as possible to talk about baptism with a capital “B”; baptism as a beautiful, sweeping metaphor for all we truly are and all we truly want to be as followers of Jesus. And now today we finally come to the lovely waters. Today everything comes down to the one simple question. Open your Bibles to Acts 8:26-40 (page 1001 in your pew Bibles), the story of the powerful, early church evangelist Philip and a powerful foreigner seeking God.
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 Candace, 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. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the 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. 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. 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.
This is yet another of my very favorite Bible moments. We could explore this passage together for hours, (I hope one day to actually have the honor and the time to write a book on this man Philip and this very pregnant Scripture passage!), but today there are only two simple elements of the Bible story I believe the Spirit would have us consider. There are two distinct callings for us in this passage, reflecting two different baptismal embraces. Let me explain.
The Disciple
The first element we absolutely must notice in this story is the glorious disciple in it; the powerful evangelist Philip. It would be criminal to ignore the significance of this disciple. As far as I can tell, this fellow did absolutely everything correctly. By all accounts, according to verses 6-8 of this same chapter, Philip was enjoying a powerfully, successful ministry when God called him into the wilderness for completely unknown reasons. Leave your very successful ministry behind, hit the lonely road and embrace risk and insignificance! Embrace your demotion! God never told him why he was going to the lonely road, but good Philip obeyed. The great Philip encountered a powerful, wealthy man (probably accompanied by a reasonably scary protective detail) and Philip risked approaching that scary man’s caravan only when he sensed the Spirit ordering him to do so. He heard the Ethiopian seeker reading from Isaiah and Philip opened the conversation by asking the man a question driven by the man’s needs. He not only met the eunuch where he was on the road, he met him where he was in life and in the Word. And then wonderfully, this great disciple Philip was wisely familiar enough with the full Word of God to explain everything the Ethiopian needed to know about Jesus the Messiah. This is one of the most perfect illustrations of evangelism and discipleship in the entire Bible.
If you’re here as a baptized believer this morning, this disciple is God’s call to you. In a general sense, this is what our lives are supposed to look like. Obedience, risk, and powerfully guided by the Spirit; constantly engaging the world with the Word of God at specifically the world’s desperate point of need. Philip is a gorgeous example of a fully embraced baptism. If you’ve already embraced these waters, then God is calling you to demonstrate that embrace. In your own uniquely gifted way and place in the world, God is calling you to be a Philip.
The Question
But the second, far more important element of the text for us today is found in verse 36. After Almighty God did all His cool stuff with Philip, after Philip obeyed, after the Spirit moved into the seeking heart of the Ethiopian eunuch, there was only question remaining. There is always, ultimately only one question ever remaining in our conversation with God.
Here’s water, why not?
I believe God wants us to notice the disciple Philip. But I believe His heart breaks for some of us to finally embrace this moment and fully answer this question.
Our entire lives are nothing but a string of critically important questions Almighty God places in front of us. Every single day offers us another collection of questions; opportunities to either obey or rebel, rejoice or reject, go forward or grow more deeply entrenched where we are. Every time Almighty God brings another powerful Philip conversation into our lives, every time the Spirit quietly whispers something precious into our heart, we are given the question.
Here’s water, why not?
What are you going to do with the question? While the ripple effects of this question affect many things, while the symbolic waves of these waters should end up changing your life dramatically, this question isn’t about what people around you might think. This question isn’t about what a good or bad Christian you are. This moment isn’t about some class you’ve now completed. This moment isn’t about settling some religion argument with others or rejecting someone else’s religious beliefs. And even though our church emphasizes the importance of baptism by connecting it to church membership, this moment isn’t about church membership or some sort of church status. While the ripple effects are huge, this moment is simply about all the wonderful things the Holy Spirit has been whispering in your ear this month about how and for whom you’ve been living your life. This question simply asks what kind of Christ follower you truly want to be and what declarations you want to make for the rest of your life.
Here’s water, why not? That’s it. Every day, for the rest of our lives, resolving to wholeheartedly answer yes to God’s questions. What is your life going to be about?
Some of us are Philip, called to fully embrace the baptism we have received. But some of us are not. Some of us have been met by God on the road. You know who you are. If you sense the Holy Spirit nudging you with this question today, if God is offering you this baptismal moment, don’t hold back for any reason. We have robes, towels and extra clothes available today for anyone who wants to respond; you are as prepared as you’ll probably ever be. The Ethiopian eunuch in our story today never took a baptismal class or sent an RSVP to his pastor! And you don’t have to either. Just listen and obey what the Spirit is saying to you today.
Here’s water, why not?
Amen.
