Acts 8:26-40

 Acts 8:26-40

 

The contrast between two people could not be more dramatic than the contrast between Simon, the former sorcerer, and the Ethiopian treasurer. Simon the Sorcerer had an agenda of power and self-aggrandizement the treasurer is seeking from an apparently honest and sincere heart. The humility of the treasure is seen in verse 31. This is profound and should not be too quickly overlooked. 

The treasure was in the right place: the word of God. He was doing the right thing: honestly seeking. Into this combination the Lord sends the right man: Philip. That is God's consistent pattern. The treasurer is humble enough to admit it, but he couldn't understand without someone's help. We need to take a moment and remember who these two people are. All the symbols and evidence of power rested solely with the treasurer. Who was on foot and who was in the carriage? Who was wealthy enough to own a personal copy of scripture? Who was a royal official? Who had attendants to drive while he read? Who had the financial recourse to take a trip from Ethiopia to Jerusalem? This was a trip of about 1500 miles, or roughly from Tampa, FL, to Portland, ME. The treasurer was, by all visible measures, the superior in this encounter. Nevertheless he was humble enough to admit that without help he would not understand what he was reading.

We often have difficulty in seeing beyond the externals. We look at a person and have a hard time seeing beyond their race, gender, age, class, etc., to perceive their situation. It is not uncommon for us to have the same difficulty in seeing beyond our own externals. Because of the externals we have or perceive, we can’t see our own need. The wealthy, powerful, accomplished royal adviser asked a lowly, humble, lone, itinerant preacher to explain the Bible to him. That was a mark of great humility. That is lost on many of us. Which explains why so many of us are lost. 

"Lord, grant me the grace of humility in the life of faith. AMEN"