Character Studies #16 - Solomon

“Solomon – The King Who Had It All”

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—King Solomon—

1 Kings 3:1-14

INTRODUCTION:

Most of us consider ourselves to be reasonably intelligent. But have you ever done anything colossally stupid that you regretted later? I certainly have—more times than I care to admit. You probably watched the movie, “Forrest Gump,” starring Tom Hanks. In that film, Hanks plays the part of a guy who is not very smart but who is good to the core, does kind deeds, and says wise things. That is an interesting combination because we expect that a dumb guy would act stupidly and say stupid things. It just proves that wisdom and intelligence do not necessarily always go together. 

Then, of course, there is Solomon in the Bible—the son of King David. He was heir to the throne of Israel, born into wealth, power, and opulence. Yet soon after he was crowned king, he had one of those “Ah-ha” lightbulb over the head moments in which he realized that he was not up to the task of ruling over Israel. This is all explained in 1 Kings 3:1-14. Let’s look at that to get the context.

¹ Then Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. ² The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. ³ Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ⁴ The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵ In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.” ⁶ Then Solomon said, “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷ Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸ Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. ⁹ So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” ¹⁰ It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. ¹¹ God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, ¹² behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. ¹³ I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. ¹⁴ If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.” 

So far, so good, but Solomon is well known to us, not only for his great wisdom, but also for exercising incredibly bad judgment in his personal life. Oh sure, we all remember his wisdom in deciding the case between the two women who both claimed to be the mother of the same little baby. But this is the same Solomon who according to 1 Kings 11:1-8 ended up with 700 wives and 300 concubines! Any married man will tell you that was a serious lapse in good judgment! No wisdom there! Let’s look at that passage: 

¹ Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, ² from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love. ³ He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. ⁴ For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. ⁶ Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain, which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. ⁸ Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 

So how are we to understand and evaluate Solomon? The Bible says he was the wisest man who ever lived (at least in some areas). But that same Bible paints a picture of him as a total moron regarding spending money, and in marital and family relationships. Yet through it all he seems to have learned some important life lessons through his experiences. That, in and of itself, is admirable. Too many of us go bumbling through life without learning anything worth passing on to the next generations. 

TRANSITION:

Despite his lapses in judgment and his outright screw-ups, God thought enough of Solomon to use him to write three books in our Bible: Canticles (aka Song of Solomon), Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. When looked at together, these three books serve as a rough outline of Solomon’s life. The ancient Jewish scholars tell us that he first wrote the Song of Solomon at the very beginning of his reign, while he was still young and still very much in love with his first wife and lover, identified as “the Shulamite maiden” in that book. It is a tender and intimate love story from the perspective of a man who was crazy-in-love with his wife. Next, in mid-life he wrote the Book of Proverbs, a collection of observations on life, interspersed with one-liner wise sayings that sum up his views on many subjects and situations. 

However, toward the end of his life, Solomon penned the Book of Ecclesiastes. It is strikingly different from his first two books. It is dark and depressing, filled with bitterness and cynicism. It is hard to read. It is hard to preach and teach. In fact, most of us have never heard a sermon from the Book of Ecclesiastes because most preachers bypass it in favor of more uplifting texts. However, there is much in that book that serves as a mirror for our own follies and foolishness. You will discover that Ecclesiastes is amazingly up to date in terms of the worldviews in which we are constantly stewing and simmering. Jesus said that we are “in this world” but should not be “of this world.” The life of Solomon and the Book of Ecclesiastes help us better understand why Jesus made that statement. 

NOTES on the Text:

In Ecclesiastes, we have an accurate record of Solomon’s foolish search for life’s meaning, but we can readily see that he was looking in all the wrong places. The inspired text accurately records the thoughts of a man who was walking far from God, doing life on his own terms. I tell you this because while Solomon makes many true observations in Ecclesiastes, you must be careful not to absorb everything he says at face value, because some of his conclusions are just plain wrongheaded. The doctrine of inspiration does not put God’s stamp of approval on everything in the Bible, only that it is recorded correctly. In Ecclesiastes Solomon makes some claims and draws some conclusions that are patently untrue about God and about life. 

Solomon was a complex character. Raised in the palace, heir to the throne, given everything his heart could desire, yet apparently, he still felt empty on the inside. He even had an encounter with God in which he was told to ask for anything he wanted, so he asked God for wisdom and insight into how to rule over Israel. The Bible says that God answered that prayer, in spades. Throughout his reign he was a wise and beloved leader of his people. However, his personal life was a shambles that whole time. He seemed unable to apply his wisdom to the realm of human relationships, including marriage and family.

In the Book of Proverbs, we can see the incredible wisdom of Solomon. In the Book of Ecclesiastes, we see the boundless stupidity of Solomon. They form a fascinating contrast, with both coming from the pen of the same man. In Ecclesiastes 1:12-14 Solomon lays out for us his thesis. He says: “I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. ¹³ I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. ¹⁴ I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind” (NLT). In chapter 2 we find Solomon following yet another course to find satisfaction in life. This route he chooses is also a popular route for modern man who seeks to know the meaning of life. 

Solomon searched through a variety of “pleasures” (1-3):

¹ I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So, enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. ² I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” ³ I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.

 

1. Solomon seems to have tried everything known in the way of pleasure, including all kinds of laughter, mirth, and even substance abuse (v. 3).
1. “Pleasure” – The implication here is sexual pleasure. Solomon makes this even clearer down in verse 8. He explored every form of human sexuality, in the end being left empty and dissatisfied. Surely this should resonate with our society and generation.
2. “Laughter” – I cannot help noticing the upsurge in the last few years of people wanting to be “stand-up comedians.” That phrase did not even exist a few years ago. Now we have thousands of people just trying to make us laugh as though laughter and hilarity were the most important things in life. I imagine that Solomon surrounded himself with funny guys to try and take his mind off his troubles. However, it does not work!
3. “Stimulate my body” – Solomon would have fit right in with my generation—the Woodstock kids, the flower children, the LSD crowd from the Summer of Love. Solomon would have loved Timothy Leary. He was limited to using alcohol to get high but if he had found anything stronger, he would have certainly tried it. He says in verse 3 that he actually “explored with his mind how to stimulate his body with wine.” He’s telling us that he applied the scientific method to the study of how best to get bombed out of his gourd!
2. Notice that he claims to have done all this, all the while retaining his perception (vs. 4, “…while my mind was guiding me wisely”). That is debatable! That is what every drunk says when he gets stopped by the police for swerving all over the road.
3. Solomon’s conclusion: All these things he found to be devoid of true meaning and heart satisfaction (cf. verse 12). 

Solomon searched for satisfaction in his great achievements (4-7):

⁴ I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; ⁵ I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; ⁶ I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also, I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

1. Like a lot of people, he tried to cover up his unhappiness with lots of activity. He took up carpentry, winemaking, gardening, and horticulture. These became hobbies for Solomon. He built great buildings. He established huge irrigation systems and undertook huge public works projects. It is now known that snow was brought down from Mt. Hermon so that he could have cold drinks in the summertime. He obviously was trying to exceed all who had come before him and claimed that he succeeded in this.
2. He sought satisfaction in “things.” He apparently got into both human and animal husbandry, raising livestock (horses, cattle, sheep, camels) and breeding slaves.

Solomon describes his search for satisfaction in wealth and fame (8-10):

⁸ Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines. ⁹ Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. ¹⁰All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.

 

1. He accumulated servants, possessions, and riches. He believed that these material things would satisfy him, so he went for them in a big way. Of course, the only way he could get all this wealth was through taxation of the people. In Solomon’s case he also had some huge gold mines.
2. He even tried the music scene. He hired the best musicians that money could buy. He surrounded himself with music. That sounds disturbingly modern, doesn’t it?
3. He gave all his energies to a full gratification of the flesh. He is very forthright here in admitting that he gave himself whatever his evil little heart desired. He had the money, and he had the power to make it happen. Who could tell him, “NO”?
4. The last part of verse 9 is a head-scratcher: “My wisdom also stood by me.” I do not think so! He is fooling himself here. Any sane person can see that he was acting like an entitled little spoiled brat.
5. In verse 10 he claims that all these goodies were in a sense his right due to his hard work. They were his rightful wages. But is that true? Is that how God would look at this? I do not think so. Kings have always had the idea that they were somehow entitled to their wealth by a divine right. But did God ever say that? No! 

Solomon sums up the conclusion of all his experimentation (11):

¹¹ Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.

 

1. He concludes that life is devoid of ultimate meaning and without real profit, despite all his material possessions and accomplishments. In the end those things meant nothing to him.
2. Solomon says that at the end of this long search all he had to show for it was emptiness and chasing after the wind. There was no profit gained. He found that even the world’s absolute best things cannot satisfy the heart. The sad thing here though is that a lot of people will not take Solomon’s word for it; they will insist on making the same mistakes all over again. But eventually they will come to the same conclusions. They will say with Solomon: “Life is empty and has no meaning.”  

CONCLUSION:

We humans are wired up in such a way that we think, “If I can just do this, or have that, then I will be truly satisfied and happy. If I just had a little more money so that I could buy that thing I have been craving, then I know that my life would be truly complete.” The thing about Solomon—he had all the money, power, sex, good looks, fame, and toys that anyone could ever want. He tried it all. He had it all. He did it all. He bought it all. But at the end, he concluded, “It is all vanity—smoke, mirrors, hot air, a waste of time. It does not satisfy. It did not fill this gaping hole in my soul. It did not bring me any real happiness.” 

The danger for us is to think to ourselves, “Yeah, but maybe he just did not find the right thing. Surely, he was mistaken. Otherwise, it would mean that the things I have been chasing all my life are not going to satisfy me either and that is unthinkable.” 

Oh, dear Lord, may we have the courage to stop the crazy race long enough to consider whether we too are, as Solomon puts it, “just striving after the wind.” 

Satisfaction and meaning in life are only to be found in a personal, life-giving relationship with the One who is Life, and Light, and Love. Only when we know the One who made us can we find fulfilment and meaning in this life. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Do you know Him?

Character Studies #15 - Philip

“Philip – The Evangelist”

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—Philip—

Acts 8

INTRODUCTION:

·       Jesus gave us an example to follow, that we should follow in His steps. In John 13:15 Jesus said, “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”

·       Peter urged leaders to set an example for others to follow. “…not lording it over those allotted to your charge but proving to be examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:3)

·       Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” To Timothy he said, “Be an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

·       The New Testament gives us many examples of people, good and bad, to help guide us. One of those is the man we meet today – Philip, the Evangelist.

TRANSITION:

Acts 6 Scenario:

·       There was a growing crisis in the expanding Jerusalem church. There were hard feelings between the widows with some thinking they were being shorted in the daily food distribution due to imagined or real cultural bias. This was a clash between Israeli Jews and Hellenistic (i.e., Greek speaking) Jews.

·       The Twelve, learning of the problem, called for a congregational meeting to discuss the issues and find a solution, saying that it was not good for them to abandon the teaching of the Word to wait tables. (N.B. This was not a slur against the job of serving.)

·       The Apostles established this 7-fold criteria for choosing the men needed for this job:

1.    “Select from among you” in other words, don’t hire outsiders.

2.    “Seven” – Determined not as a magic number but based on the size of the job.

3.    “Men” – Not women. God has placed the onus for church leadership on the shoulders of men, despite cultures to the contrary.

4.    “Of good reputation” – Well-spoken of both in the church, and in the community; no moral or ethical stains, nothing sketchy about them.

5.    “Full of the Spirit” – Guided and directed by God’s Spirit rather than by human emotions and human reasoning.

6.    “Full of wisdom” – Wise, not merely knowledgeable; Solomonic-type men with good judgement.

7.    “Whom we may put in charge.” That is, men possessing management skills. There are many fine, lovely Christian people that you do not want to put in charge of anything because they never get anything done for one reason or another.

·       The congregation chose 7 good men, among them Stephen, and Philip. By the way, the other 5 fellows are never heard from again in Scripture or in history. Notice that the church elected them, then the Apostles ordained them to the task, all after much prayer. This is the biblical pattern we should still follow in choosing leaders for the local church.

·       The result of this wise handling of the situation is in verse 7, namely, the food distribution problem was solved, the Word kept spreading, and the number of conversions continued to grow in Jerusalem, including a “great number” of priests who believed and were added to their fellowship. 

NOTES on the Text:

So, to recap what we know about Philip’s character so far:

1.    He was chosen by the group based on his godly character and proven leadership ability.

2.    He was a man of sterling reputation.

3.    He was full of the Holy Spirit and guided by Him.

4.    He was full of godly wisdom.

5.    He was a man who could be trusted to be put in charge of difficult tasks.

6.    He had a servant attitude and a heart-concern for the well-being of people.

7.    He was a layman, not an Apostle.

8.    He lived in Jerusalem, although he later moved to Caesarea.

9.    He was probably single at this point, although he later married and had four daughters. 

Acts 8 Overview:

The chapter begins with the death of Stephen and the beginning of serious persecution that ensued.

·       Verse 2 – To avoid persecution the Christians scattered into Judea and Samaria.

·       Verse 4 – Those who left continued to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel. They did not let their fears shut them down. Rather, the persecution emboldened them to speak out even more.

·       Verse 5 – Philip also left Jerusalem and traveled north into Samaria, to the old capital city of Samaria, later renamed Sebaste (or Neapolis), modern Nablus. He began “proclaiming” (i.e., heralding) Christ to them.

·       Verse 6 – Philip drew “crowds” of listeners, probably preaching in courtyards and wide streets in the old city. They paid attention because of the content of his preaching and the miraculous “signs” that accompanied the preaching.

·       Verse 7 – Luke here describes these “signs” as (1) exorcisms, and (2) healing of the sick, lame, and paralyzed citizens.

·       Verse 8 – Luke tells us that there was “much rejoicing” in the city due to spiritual conversions and physical healings. It was a great evangelistic crusade with Philip at its center being used by God in a wonderful way. By the way, there is always great rejoicing when people hear the Good News, and put their trust in Christ, and get saved.

·       Verses 9-11 – These verses are about the conversion of Simon (Magus), the sorcerer. We will skip these for now as they are not relevant to Philip’s story.

·       Verse 12 – Philip was preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God and about Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Those who believed gave public testimony of their new faith by being baptized (including Simon).

Parenthesis to explain verses 13-24: (N.B. This is not really part of Philip’s story.)

Although the Holy Spirit came upon the believers in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost there were pockets of places where the Holy Spirit had not been manifested. This was one of those cases. Two of the Apostles, Peter and John, came from Jerusalem and began laying hands on these new Samaritan converts and then they too received the Spirit, thus leaving no question that they were genuinely converted and part of the infant yet growing Church.

·       Verse 25 – “So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem and were preaching the Gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.” After a rich time of fellowship and witnessing the awesome power of God in Samaria, Peter and John headed back to Jerusalem, preaching along the way to the Samaritans they met. This is interesting because some of those hated Samaritans were among the Church’s first converts.

·       Verse 26 – “But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)” At this point in the story God sent an angelic messenger to give Philip his next ministry assignment, and this amid a thriving, successful evangelistic campaign. I find this especially fascinating. Through somewhat nebulous, non-specific orders, the angel told Philip to head down to the old desert road that connects Jerusalem to Gaza but did not give him more information.

·       Verse 27 – “So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship.” Notice Philip’s immediate unquestioning obedience. 

Now we need to pause for a moment and look at Philip’s target audience, the Ethiopian.

·       A “eunuch,” possibly to be understood literally, but probably not in this case. The term was often applied to high-ranking civil servants whether castrated or not.

·       A “court official… in charge of all of Candace’s treasury.” In those days, the North African nation of Ethiopia (also called Cush or Abyssinia) was one of the most powerful kingdoms on earth. This man was the Treasury Secretary serving one of the world’s most powerful monarchs. Therefore, he was a very powerful man, probably rich, and he had the ear of the Queen of Ethiopia, known at the Candace. That was not her name, but her title, like King, or Emperor, or Caesar.

·       He “had come to Jerusalem to worship.” Therefore, he was almost certainly a Gentile “God-fearer,” convinced that the God of the Jews was the true God, but he had not yet gone all the way to become a Jewish proselyte by submitting to circumcision. He had come to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple and was now headed back home, having not found what he was searching for, leaving frustrated, disappointed, and angry. 

Background information: Religious art invariably depicts this scene incorrectly. Paintings always show the eunuch in a Roman-style 2-wheeled war chariot. That is preposterous if you know anything about war chariots or high-paid officials of that period. Powerful national leaders always traveled in comfort and luxury with servants, cooks, guards, and soldiers, etc. Moreover, they traveled in well-protected caravans with 4-wheeled courtly wagons pulled by matched teams of splendid horses, handled by expert drivers. Verse 28 says, “…and he was returning and sitting in his chariot and was reading the prophet Isaiah.” Notice that he was “sitting in his carriage” probably with the scroll open on his lap. And he was reading aloud, as was the custom of that period. Silent reading is a much more modern practice. 

·       Verse 29 – Now the camera turns back to Philip. “Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Up until now he had probably been sitting on a hillside where he could easily watch everyone coming along the road, wondering exactly what he was doing there. Suddenly, “the Spirit” spoke to him again saying, “Go up and join this carriage.”

·       Verse 30 – “Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” So, Philip jumped up and “ran” to catch up with the carriage, which tells me that the caravan was probably moving along at a pretty good clip. As he got close Philip could hear exactly what the man was reading. The fellow was probably surprised at Philip’s sudden appearance at the side of his carriage, but Philip wasted no time. He asked the man, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

·       Verse 31 – “And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” The man’s frustration is evident in the clipped, curt way he responded to Philip’s question. He was confused. He understood the words but not the meaning. He was reading from Isaiah 53:7-8, which refers to the Suffering Messiah, whom we know to be Jesus himself. The man, in exasperation confessed his confusion and invited Philip to join him in the carriage. Read verses 31-33: “How can I [understand],” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So, he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ³³ In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For His life was taken from the earth.”

·       Verse 34 – The eunuch then opened the door wide for Philip to witness to him by asking: “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?”

·       Verse 35 – This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible about evangelism: “Then Philip opened his mouth (that is the first hurdle) and beginning from this Scripture he preached JESUS to him.” We do not know how many hours this conversation lasted, but probably several. But at some point, the man’s heart and mind were opened to the Gospel and he put his faith and trust in Jesus to be his Savior and Lord. He was born anew. He passed from death to life. The scales fell from his eyes and became a new creation in Christ. And immediately he became Philip’s new brother in the faith.

·       Verse 36 – As they went along, they came to some water; possibly a brook in the Valley of Elah, or the Wadi el-Hasi just north of Gaza, or one of the various ponds in that area. The man cried out. “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”

·       Verse 37 – Philip’s immediate answer to him was: “IF you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch gave a clear testimony saying, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God!”

·       Verse 38 – The eunuch ordered the driver to stop the carriage. By the way, this fact shows that he was not driving it! Picture with me the scene: when the boss’s carriage stopped everyone stopped. Servants probably started to gather to see what was going on. The guards stood in amazement seeing their master and this Israelite get down from the carriage and make their way down to the water. They must have heard his words and pondered their meaning. They watched as Philip baptized the eunuch and they saw the glow on his face as he joyfully came up out of the water. They must have marveled at all of this.

·       Verse 39 – As they made their way back up the hill toward the waiting caravan, suddenly Philip just disappeared! Scholars have pondered this verse for centuries, but I believe that we have here yet another genuine miracle! The text says, “…the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away and the eunuch no longer saw him.” You can make of it what you will, but I believe that God “beamed him up” and set him back down miles away.

·       Verse 40 – “But Philip found himself at Azotus” (i.e., the Old Testament city of Ashdod). That was 19 miles away! At any rate, the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing.” Legend tells us that it was this man who carried the Gospel back to his own people, resulting in the conversion of thousands in that N. African kingdom. 

By the way, the text says, “…the man went on his way rejoicing.” There is always great joy associated with genuine salvation. Look back at verse 8: “So there was much rejoicing in that city” (i.e., Samaria) because people were being healed, getting saved, being baptized, and starting a new life with Christ.

·       Verse 40 – “But Philip found himself at Azotus and as he passed through, he kept preaching the Gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.” This was the city of Caesarea Maritima, a major Roman seaport on the coast of Israel. At this point we lose track of Philip. He is not mentioned again until Acts 21:8-10 where Luke records that he, Luke, and Paul plus 7 other disciples stayed for “some days” at the home of Philip and his family in Caesarea. This was 20+ years after we last saw him in Acts 8. Now he is married with 4 wonderful Christian daughters who were unmarried, still living at home and all four had the gift of prophecy. The thing I want to point out is that Luke refers to him in 21:8 as, “Philip, the Evangelist, who was one of the Seven.” Philip is the only person in the New Testament who is given this specific title, but it was fitting because it described his gifting and his passion for soul winning. 

CONCLUSION:

But exactly how did Philip win people to faith in Christ? What made him a good evangelist? This is where I want us to focus our thinking today. Let’s look again at Acts 8 to examine Philip’s method of sharing the Gospel.

1.    Philip witnessed as he went (cf. 8:4, 40). Today we call this “lifestyle evangelism.” He made use of every opportunity.

2.    Philip kept his message simple.

§  “Preaching the Word” verse 4.

§  “Proclaiming Christ to them” verse 5.

§  “Preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” verse 12.

3.    Philip was willing to risk criticism to win people to Christ (verse 5).

§  Samaritans were Gentiles in the eyes of the Jews.

§  How about gang members? prostitutes? street preaching?

4.    Philip did not have prejudge against his audiences.

§  He did not say, “They won’t listen. They aren’t interested.”

§  He assumed that people wanted and needed the Gospel.

5.    Philip took no credit for himself. That shows his humility. Even when he saw great crowds responding to his preaching, he did not get a big head.

6.    Philip was attentive and open to the Lord’s direction and leading (cf. 8:26, 29).

7.    Philip was obedient, unquestioningly, and instantly (cf. 8:27, 30).

8.    Philip followed a simple formula in his personal evangelism:

a.    He focused his attention on those with hungry hearts.

b.    He sat with him.

c.     He asked probing questions.

d.    He listened attentively to the person.

e.    He used the Scriptures to address their point of need.

f.      He focused on Jesus.

9.    Some extra advice about witnessing gleaned from my personal experience:

a.    Avoid tangents and rabbit trails. Stay on point.

b.    Use your own testimony. It is powerful!

c.     Use simple words. Avoid “Christianese.” You are not there to impress.

d.    Look the person in the eye.

e.    Keep focusing on Jesus!

f.      Practice sharing the Good News every chance you get. Witnessing is like riding a bicycle. You will fall off a few times at first, but it will get easier until it eventually feels totally normal. (See 1 Peter 3:15)

P.S.

It is amazing to me that God pulled Philip away from a large evangelistic crusade in Samaria to go and take the Gospel to one man down in the Gaza desert. WHY? Because God is concerned not only for the masses, but also for a single hungry heart.

Character Studies #14 - Nathanael

“Nathanael – In Whom There Is No Guile”

Photos in God’s Album Series

—Nathanael, the Apostle—

John 1:29-51 

INTRODUCTION:

Not many people have been argued into the Kingdom of God. Very few people are moved by philosophical or theological reasoning. In fact, sometimes our arguments and debates do more harm than good. It makes us appear defensive and combative and it turns people off.     

The only way to convince people of the truth of Christianity is to introduce them to Jesus and let them see for themselves. The goal of all that we do must be to make Christ known, to lift Him up so that people can see Him for who He really is. Jesus Himself said: “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.” The problem is that we must know Christ ourselves before we can successfully invite others to come to Him. The only true evangelist is the man who himself knows Christ.         

In John chapter 1 we have three perfect examples of how this process takes place, i.e., one person sharing Jesus with another.

          #1. John the Baptist with his disciples

·       John pointed out Jesus to his followers as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” v. 29, 36

·       John submitted himself to Jesus v. 26-27. “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” (N.B. John was hooked!)

·       Cf. v. 37 “The two disciples heard [John] speak, and they followed Jesus.” Because of the Baptist’s testimony Andrew and John were hooked, too!

#2. Andrew and John spent the day with Jesus v. 39

·       Then Andrew ran to get his brother, Simon v. 41

·       Andrew excitedly said, “We have found the Messiah!”

·       Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and Simon was hooked too!

#3. The next day Jesus found Philip

·       Jesus talked with Philip

·       He invited Philip to accompany Him to Galilee

·       He said, “Follow Me” and Philip was hooked!

·       Philip’s first reaction was to run and tell his friend, Nathanael. 

These events marked the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. These were the very first disciples that Jesus chose. In fact, Andrew, John, and Peter were called on the very day of Christ’s baptism. Philip had his encounter with Jesus the following day.

Notice how in all these examples, people shared Jesus with the other people whom they loved and cared about.

·       John introduced his beloved disciples to Jesus.

·       Andrew ran to get his brother to lead him to Jesus.

·       Philip went and found his good friend Nathanael. 

Rhetorical question: How can we say that we love someone without making every effort to introduce them to Jesus? 

TRANSITION:

Philip was found by Jesus. Verse 45 says that Philip went and found Nathanael. Now let me ask you a personal question…since the Lord found you how many people have you shared Him with?

• These two (Philip and Nathanael), must have already been friends.
• They were both Galileans, although not from the same village. Philip was from Bethsaida (as were Peter and Andrew), while Nathanael was from Cana (21:2).
• We do not know how they came to be friends, what drew them together, but it is obvious that Philip cared about Nathanael and wanted him to meet Jesus. What better evidence of friendship?
• Philip, like Andrew, could not keep the good news to himself. The Frenchman, Godet, once said: “One lighted torch serves to light another.” This is exactly what happened. 

What do we know about Nathanael? Extraordinarily little! Even his identity is a confusion for many.

ü  His name appears only here in John 1 and then again in John 21:2.

ü  Here in John 1, we see him as one of the first disciples and directly linked with Philip.

ü  His name, Nathanael, is a Hebrew name that means “God has given.” By this name he does not appear in any of the lists of disciples.

ü  HOWEVER, in the lists in the other three Gospels we encounter the name “Bartholomew” and in every case his name is associated with Philip’s (cf. Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16).

ü  But here’s the deal: Nathanael is a first name, BUT Bartholomew is a last name, a surname. It means, “son of Tholmai.” It is a family name, in the same way that Peter’s real name was Simon Bar-Jona (i.e., son of Jonah). Nathanael’s name, therefore, was Nathanael Bar-Tholomew. 

Notice that Philip did not quite have his facts straight when he witnessed to Nathanael (cf. vs. 45). This commonly happens with new converts.

Ø  He refers to the prophecies concerning “The Prophet” who would arise, mentioned in Deut. 18:15, 18, 20. Some people also tried to pin this title on John the Baptist in John 1:21, 25.

Ø  Philip refers to Jesus as “the son of Joseph,” an error. However, in the story we see that both Philip and Nathanael quickly came to see that Jesus was much more than the “son of Joseph.” He was really the “Son of God.”

Nathanael listened to Philip but then he voiced his skepticism (vs. 46).

Ø  He said: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” His answer reflected two things:

1.    His knowledge of the Old Testament. The Scriptures do not refer to the Messiah or any prophet arising out of Nazareth. In this he was correct. In Isaiah 53, Messiah is referred to as “a shoot out of dry ground.” Nazareth did not have a bad reputation, just an inconsequential one. It was an unimportant place.

2.    Nathanael was from Cana, a village a few miles from Nazareth. There was often jealousy and rivalry between the small villages (e.g., like football or basketball rivalries between small towns). 

Remember, even good men have their prejudices. Even good people can have blind eyes and closed minds. Over the years many people have been undervalued, overlooked, and rejected because of their humble origins and the prejudice of other people (e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and Frederick Douglass).

Yet, there is something we must admire in Nathanael…he was willing to have his mind changed. He had an openness to consider that he might be mistaken in his first opinion. This is a trait that is lacking in so many people—a willingness to be proved wrong. He was at least willing to go with Philip to meet Jesus and see for himself. 

NOTES on the Text:

I LIKE NATHANAEL!

·       He was an honest man, not afraid to speak his mind.

·       He did not say what people wanted to hear just to look good and be more accepted.

·       He was a calm, focused person, open and transparent in his dealings.

·       He was not two-faced. What you saw was what you got with Nathanael.

You will observe that Philip had the good sense not to argue with him. He just said: “Come and see!” Philip knew that experience is better than argument any day. This is a good witnessing tool: “Come and see for yourself.” 

Verse 47 says, “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, He immediately took the initiative. Jesus made the first move and used a kind of verbal shock treatment to get Nathanael’s attention. Jesus paid Nathanael a high complement. He said: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile [deceit].” Jesus was quoting from Psalm 32:2, which says: “How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile!” 

This certainly caught Nathanael’s attention and sparked his interest. Besides being a real complement, it made him wonder exactly how much Jesus knew about him. His curiosity was instantly piqued. 

“No guile, without guile.” This is the Greek word, ádolos (άδολος). The word for guile is dólos (δóλος) and it means a bait or a snare. Synonyms are “deceit, craft, subtlety.” When the Greek letter alpha is placed in front of the noun (i.e., άδολος) it negates the word, changing the meaning to its opposite; thus, “candid, guileless, pure and unadulterated, without mixture,” as in 1 Peter 2:2, which speaks of the “pure milk of the Word.”

ü  Someone who is “without guile” will not seek to ensnare a person to make them swallow the bait, either through words or actions (e.g., like car salesman talk).

ü  Someone who is “without guile” will not seek to deceive others in any way, to lead them into error or wrong conclusions (e.g., cults, like the Mormons, JWs, Moonies, or the Children of God).

ü  Someone who is “without guile” will have pure speech, which comes from pure motives.

ü  Someone who is “without guile” will live a life that is unadulterated, no mixed motives, no mixed messages, no two-facedness. 

In verse 48 Nathanael said: “How do you know me?” Jesus had already shown a deep insight into Nathanael’s character and mind, and Nathanael knew that he really tried to be open and straightforward in all his dealings. Jesus responded to his question with a 3-fold answer, which won him over:

1. “Before Philip called you…”
2. “When you were under the fig tree…”
3. “I saw you.” This word means full, intimate knowledge of a person, the way a man and wife “see and know” one another. Another translation renders this as… “Before Philip called you…I already knew you.” 

In this way Jesus revealed his prior knowledge of Nathanael’s intimate personal life. This conversation must have gone on for some time. John only gives us the bare bones version. 

The “fig tree” was more than just a shady bush in Nathanael’s back yard. For the Jews, this was an expression that meant “a place of quiet devotion and personal prayer.” Jesus was revealing that He was aware of Nathanael’s deepest thoughts and heart’s prayer to the LORD during his quiet time with God. In their conversation Jesus evidently revealed that He knew things that Nathanael had only voiced to God. 

Nathanael quickly realized that Jesus was much more than what men could see on the outside. He became convinced in his heart and mind that Jesus truly was the Promised Messiah. In response, in verse 49 Nathanael gave the very first enunciation of Jesus’ identity. He said: “Rabbi, YOU are the SON OF GOD! YOU are the KING OF ISRAEL!”

In verses 50-51 we see that Jesus immediately confirmed Nathanael’s conclusion but then added even more fuel to his faith-fire. Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Jesus referred to Jacob’s dream recorded in Genesis 28 in which he saw the heavens opened and a ladder touching the earth upon which the angels ascended and descended. Jesus told Nathanael that he would see that Jesus Himself was that ladder which linked Heaven and earth. Jesus Himself is that only WAY by which a man can come to the Father. 

CONCLUSION:

With many of the Apostles we know what they did. With Nathanael, we only know what he was, the beauty of his being.

• We do not know his profession, his age, his family history, etc.
• Several of the others came from a life of the sea,
• But he arose from under a fig tree. 

We do know that he was anointed by Christ along with the others of the Twelve (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). We do know that he saw the Risen Lord (John 21:2). We do know that he was a witness to the Ascension and that he then returned with the others to Jerusalem (Acts 1:4, 12-13).

Church tradition records that he, along with Thomas, later preached the Gospel in India. It is believed that he then went to Armenia where he was finally martyred for the sake of the Gospel, being flayed alive and then crucified with his head downward.

I look forward to meeting Nathanael Bar-Tholomew someday. His open, honest transparency, coupled with his wholehearted commitment to Jesus Christ made him the kind of man that I would like to have for a friend.