28-04-2023
Acts: Witness Works Outward Pt.2
This is our next installment of our series called The Church the World Needs. In this series we are looking at how the church operated in the book of Acts.
In this episode, Brad and Jeff recap where we've been, and discuss more around Paul's sermon.
Some extra notes from Jeff:
It's intriguing that the Eunuch would journey to Jerusalem specifically to worship, as Mosaic Law forbade them from entering the temple/synagogue to worship (Deut 23:1).Perhaps since he had Isaiah 53 on parchment, there is a good chance he also had Isaiah 56 as well, or had at least read it. Isaiah 56:3-5 has a promise specifically for eunuchs who hold fast and true to the commandments and will of God's covenant to receive "an everlasting name which will not be eliminated." Perhaps that is what spurred him to visit Jerusalem for worship in the first place.Several biblical scholars see relevance in a possible link from the Acts 8 story to the prophecies in Zephaniah 2-3 concerning Cushites, specifically the prophecy in Zephaniah 3:10. Ethiopians are the descendants of the Cushites. The city in Gaza had been destroyed and then rebuilt in a new location decades before, and the old city was known as "Desert Gaza." The specific linguistic reference in Acts 8:26 harkens back to Zephaniah and reinforces the viable prophecy connection.
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