This is the passage 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. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. (Acts 8:32-35)
The eunuch reminds me of Joseph. He was enslaved but devoted to God. His trustworthiness and hard work advanced him to the equivalent of our Secretary of Treasury. God pursued the heart of the eunuch and created the desire to know Him. The eunuch knocked at God’s door, so God sent Philip to open it. Out of the thousands of passages the eunuch could have read, he finds chooses Isaiah 53 where Isaiah prophesies about Jesus. This situation is all God—not coincidence.
God’s message to the eunuch wasn’t that the Roman Empire treated him atrociously by enslaving and castrating him, although Jesus cried with him when it happened. His message was: “He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows….He was pierced for our transgressions….By his wounds, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5) “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter….He was deprived of justice. (Isaiah 53:7-8) He poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12b).
When injustice enters our lives, Jesus carries our sorrows. We don’t need to be victims; by His wounds we are healed. He not only heals our self-inflicted wounds of sin with forgiveness, His love heals us of wounds inflicted by others. If we trust Him, He will take our suffering, make us prosper, and fill us with joy as He did for Joseph and the eunuch. Praise God for Jesus.
Heavenly Father, I praise you for Jesus who heals my wounds! When I say, “Why did this happen to me?” remind me it happened because I will learn from it, prosper from it, and receive joy. Let me always be thankful for Jesus, my savior. In His name, I pray. Amen
This Bible study is so relevant to what has happened in our household in the last couple of weeks. My 6 year old grandson went to baseball camp. It was a sanctioned activity put on by the school system. A boy from his class was also there. Unfortunately, that boy decided to bully my grandson. This boy had been a problem on and off the whole school year. In my 30 years of teaching it was the worst case of bullying I had ever heard about, because there were several death threats. My daughter tried to communicate with this boy’s sister, who is a pre-K teacher at his school. She blocked my daughter and refused to communicate. We went to the police to report the incident and then to the administrative office for the school system. We sit and wait to see if the injustice will be corrected. Meanwhile, a six year old boy, who seems to be very resilient, continues like nothing happened. I am praying that Jesus will heal our wounds and I am also praying for the troubled boy who is a bully.
Isn’t it wonderful that Trey experiences God’s love within his family. He has no reason to believe the bullying words of that boy because he feels his family loves and protects him. He can see your protection by the actions you’ve taken. I can sort of understand why the boy’s sister refused to communicate. The boy is her parents’ responsibility, not hers. She may feel like she would have to lie to your daughter to protect her family. There is definitely something wrong there, and it will be up to DCF to figure it out. They cannot tell you anything so it will be difficult to know if the injustice is corrected. The injustice to Trey already happened and cannot be corrected, but it can be turned into a good learning situation. I am sure you’ve told Trey how proud you are of him for the way he has not let that boy have the joy of hurting him because he will most likely face him again in the fall, that there are people who will help that boy get the help he needs to be a nice person, and that your family and God will protect him. I would also talk to him about what he should say to the boy if he bullies him again. But you’ve probably done that also. I am really proud of Trey that he is continuing life as though nothing happened. And I hope he feels okay on the inside. I love you, Sis. Blessings, Jody