Fantasy Football Challenge - Football Fanatics Library

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Men of the Bible

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more the solemn words of Jesus: "_Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven_." "And that voice still soundeth on From the centuries that are gone To the centuries that shall be! From all vain pomps and shows, from the pride that overflows, From all the narrow rules and subtleties of Schools, And the craft of tongue and pen: Bewildered in its search, bewildered with the cry: 'Lo here, lo there, the Church!' poor, sad Humanity Through all the dust and heat turns back with bleeding feet By the weary road it came Unto the simple thought by the Great Master taught, And that remaineth still: 'Not he that repeateth the Name But he that doeth the Will.'" PHILIP, THE EVANGELIST BY REV. GEORGE MILLIGAN, M.A., D.D. Philip the Evangelist must be carefully distinguished from Philip the Apostle. And though it is little that we are told regarding him in Scripture, that little is very significant. He first comes before us as one of the seven chosen by the early Church at Jerusalem to take charge of the daily ministration of charity to the poor widows (Acts vi. I ff.). And when this work is hindered by the outbreak of persecution following on the death of Stephen, we find him at once departing to enter on active missionary work elsewhere (Acts viii. 4 ff.). The fact that he should have selected Samaria as the scene of these new labours, is in itself a proof that he was able to rise above the ordinary Jewish prejudices of his time. And this same liberal spirit is further exemplified by the incident in connection with which he will always be principally remembered. In obedience to a Divine summons, Philip had betaken himself to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza. And if at first he may have wondered why he should have been called upon to leave his rapidly progressing work in Samaria for a desert road, he was not for long left in doubt as to what was required of him. For as he walked along he was overtaken by an Ethiopian stranger returning in his chariot from Jerusalem. This man, who was the chamberlain or treasurer of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, had heard somehow in his distant home, of the Jewish religion, and had undertaken this long journey to make further inquiries regarding it. We are not told how he had been impressed; very possibly the actual fruits that he witnessed were very different from what he had expected. But one treasure at least he had found, a Greek copy of the prophecies of Isaiah, and this he was eagerly searching on his return journey, to see if he could find further light there. One passage specially arrested his attention, the touching passage in which the prophet draws out his great portraiture of the Man of Sorrows. But, then, how reconcile the thought of this Messiah, suffering, wounded, dying, with the great King and Conqueror whom the Jews at Jerusalem had been expecting! Could it be that he had anything to do with our Jesus of Nazareth, of whom he had also heard, and whom, because of the Messianic claims He had put forward, the Jewish leaders had crucified on a cross? Oh, for some one to help him! Help was nearer than he thought. Prompted by the Spirit, Philip ran forward to the chariot; and no sooner had he learned the royal chamberlain's difficulties than he "_opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus_" (Acts viii. 35). We are not told on what particulars Philip dwelt; but, doubtless, starting from the prophetic description of the man of Sorrows, "_despised and rejected of men_," he would show how that description held true of the earthly life of Jesus. And then he would go on to show the meaning and bearing of these sufferings. They arose from no fault on the part of Jesus; but, "_He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities_." And yet that was not the end. The life which had thus ended in shame had begun again in glory: the cross had led on to the crown. And as thus he unfolded the first great principles of the Christian faith, Philip would press home on the eunuch's awakened conscience that they had a vital meaning for him. "_Repent_," can we not imagine him pleading as Peter had pleaded before, "_and be baptised . . . in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost_" (Acts ii. 38). The eunuch's heart was touched, and he asked that he might be baptized. Satisfied that he was in earnest, Philip agreed to his request. And when they came to a certain water, "_they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him_." Thus "the Ethiopian changed his skin," and "_went on his way rejoicing_" to his distant home, to declare in his turn to his countrymen the tidings of great joy. There are many points of view from which we might regard this beautiful incident, but it is with it in its bearing on the person and character of Philip that we are alone at present concerned. And in considering it further in this light, it may be well to confine ourselves to noticing in what way it gained for Philip his distinctive title of "_the Evangelist_," and consequently what it has to teach us still regarding all evangelistic and missionary work. I. The Evangelist. With regard to the evangelist himself, one truth stands out clearly from the whole narrative, his work is _given_ to him to do. He is first and foremost a missionary, one sent. It is a pity, perhaps, that in our ordinary speech, we have come to limit the name "missionary" so much to the man who carries the gospel abroad. No doubt he is a missionary in the highest sense of the word; but still the fundamental idea in every minister or evangelist's position is the idea of one sent--sent for a particular purpose, with a particular message to proclaim wherever God may place him. He has no power, no authority of his own. All that he has comes from Him whose servant he is, and whose truth he has to announce. You remember--to appeal at once to the highest example--how ever-present this thought of His mission was to the mind of our Lord and Master. His meat, so He told His disciples, was to do the will of

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