A Man, Some Man, and Some Other Man

Introduction

Acts 8:26–39 (KJV 1900)

26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

When you look at Acts 8, we find three men are mentioned.

• Verse 27 talks about “a man” who was a sinner that needed Christ and was burdened about his sin.

• Verse 31 talks about “some man” who was a servant of God and pointed “a man” to Jesus Christ.

• Verse 34 talks about “some other man” who was the Savior, saved this man’s soul, and forgave him of his sins.

I want to preach a while this morning on the thought of “A Man, Some Man, and Some Other Man...”

Philip was in Samaria doing the work of God and many people were being saved, but God had an appointment for him on the road to Gaza.

Philip left a multitude in Samaria where a mighty awakening was taking place to go to the desert to minister to one person.

The one emphasizes the importance of one soul to our Lord Jesus Christ. He desires to save one just as He does a multitude.

Right here is one of the most interesting examples of Our Lord's interest in individuals. Perhaps nowhere in all the Scriptures is there such a wonderful picture of Personal Soulwinning.....

Notice with me...

A Man

Acts 8:27 KJV 1900

27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

Here we find the sinner in this story...

Notice with me:

His Position...

Acts 8:27 (KJV 1900)

27 ...a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure,...

This was a powerful official of a huge region. He served under Candace the queen mother. A queen mother was very powerful. She handled the affairs of the kingdom. Her son was considered a god who was too great to mess with menial affairs. Candace was not her name. It was the name of her title just like the word Pharaoh, Caesar, or President is a title.

His Tradition...

Acts 8:27–28 KJV 1900

27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

He went to church…This man was returning from church, and sitting in his chariot reading Esaias the prophet. That is, the book of Isaiah.

His Condition...

Acts 8:29–31 KJV 1900

29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

He was religious, but lost... This man traveled over 200 miles to worship God in Jerusalem, yet, his heart was still empty and not satisfied. This Ethiopian represents billions today who have religion, but not the Savior. They are people who are sincere, but they are sincerely lost. They may read the Bible and seek the truth, yet, they do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Friends, you can go to church, be a member, read the Bible, and still be empty on the inside. You can still die and spend eternity in Hell because Jesus is the only One who saves a person. You cannot save yourself.

Some Man

Acts 8:31 KJV 1900

31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

Here, we find the Soulwinner in this story...

Following the Spirit got him to the right place...

Acts 8:29–30 KJV 1900

29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

Philip was in tune with the Spirit of God. The Spirit led Philip from Samaria to a sinner on the road back home who had come all the way to Jerusalem to worship. The eunuch was a seeker in need of guidance. God put Philip in the right place at the right time!

I sure am glad Philip was following the Spirit…Many of us would have said, Lord wait til I’m done this, or done with that…I’m glad Philip made it a priority to do the will of God.

Familiarity with the Scriptures gave him the right power...

Acts 8:32–35 KJV 1900

32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

God’s challenge to us is to get into the Book! It is not dead! It is a living, powerful book.

You need to know the Scriptures!

Thank God for the Spirit of God and the people of God that are able to share and explain the Gospel for those who do not understand.

Faithfulness in sharing gained the right profession...

Acts 8:36–39 KJV 1900

36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

The Ethiopian testified that he believed that Christ was the Son of God. The chariot was stopped and they went down into the water.

If you have put your faith in Christ, then the next step of obedience is baptism. It is an outward picture of what has happened in your heart. It is a declaration of your faith in Christ.

Now, let’s look at...

Some Other Man

Acts 8:34–35 KJV 1900

34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

It’s here that we find the Saviour…The eunuch was reading in Isaiah, and he asked Philip, who’s Isaiah talking about? Himself, or some other man…So, Philip began at the same Scripture and preached Jesus!

Phillip must have told him about:

The Suffering Saviour...

Isaiah 53:3–5 KJV 1900

3 He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.

Philip must’ve told him about...

The Substitutional Sacrifice...

Isaiah 53:5–6 KJV 1900

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Oh friend, think about our substitute!

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 KJV 1900

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Hebrews 2:9 KJV 1900

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Oh, think about it!

Philip must’ve told him about...

The Simple Salvation...

Romans 10:9–10 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

You know what Philip was doing that day!? - He was doing the same thing we are to do today and what should be going on all over the world today in pulpits all over…Lifting up the Son of Man!

John 3:14–16 KJV 1900

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Conclusion

In October 1857, J. Hudson Taylor began to minister in Ningpo, China, and he led a Mr. Nyi to Christ. The man was overjoyed and wanted to share his faith with others.

“How long have you had the good tidings in England?” asked Mr. Nyi one day. Taylor acknowledged that England had known the Gospel for many centuries.

Mr. Nyi said, “My father died seeking the truth. Why didn’t you come sooner?” Taylor had no answer to that penetrating question.

Friends, how long have you known the Gospel?

How far have you shared it personally?

Understand that God may arrange a divine appointment with someone. He may put someone on your path that needs the Lord and may want you to point them to Jesus Christ.

God wants us to be a nobody, telling everybody about the SOMEBODY, the Lord Jesus Christ.