"But blessed is
the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” (Jeremiah 17:7
NIV)
Reading these passages
I am struck by a few things. Firstly, our need to put our faith in our own
strength, knowledge or understanding is overwhelming at times. Jeremiah brought
a warning to God's people to turn from their trust in other gods and their own
rules. But despite the destruction and difficulties that befell them, they were
still doing it when Jesus came, as we see in John 4. Similarly, Simon the
Sorcerer heard Philip preach the good news and believed, but when he saw great
miracles performed by Peter and John he wanted that 'ability' for himself
believing he could purchase it through his own means.
Secondly, the Eunuch
demonstrates a humility that we often struggle with in our culture today. Asked
whether he understood what he was reading, the eunuch replies that he needs
someone to explain Isaiah to him. Sometimes I wonder whether we take too much
pride in knowing too much: perhaps occasionally, honestly, laying ourselves
bare to "I don't know, please could you explain" would be a
refreshing change.
Finally, Philip gladly
takes the opportunity to explain. I wonder how much time Philip had to make a
sufficiently convincing explanation of Isaiah to lead to the good news about
Jesus resulting in a commitment by the eunuch in baptism. If you were asked a
similar question with the same text by a non-Christian friend, family member or
colleague, what would you say?
(member of a homegroup)