“And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord, carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing…”
Can you imagine if this happened to you? You were propelled by the Spirit to leave a revival in Samaria and run out into the desert and share the gospel with one Ethiopian man. You baptize him in a pool of water. And the next thing you know you end up about 30 miles away in Azotus. We’re talking teleporting here. One moment baptizing a guy, you get out of the pool and in the blink of an eye you’re 30 miles away.
Who hasn’t watched Star Trek and thought it’d be absolutely amazing to teleport? I realize if we wiped out our morning commutes it’d hurt podcast numbers, but it’d be worth it. One of my favorite questions to ask people concerns teleportation. If you could teleport but there was a 1% chance you’d turn into goop, would you do it?
So you’re Philip and you actually teleport. What are you talking about?
Do you write a best-selling book on the glories of teleportation? Sell t-shirts? I’m guessing that the guy who teleports has a great story at dinner parties. He probably can even one-up Brian Regan’s moonwalker. You pack out auditoriums telling your story.
But not Philip.
He lands in Azotus and goes from town to town telling them a story. But it isn’t a story about his teleporting. It’s the story about God becoming man, dying amongst thieves, rising from the dead, and giving new life to people just like Philip. That is the story which captivates Philip, not teleporting. It’s Jesus who he cannot shut up about.
So, yeah, for those who are Spirit-filled, the gospel really is better and cooler and more captivating than even teleportation.
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Photo source: here
