We all have favourite Bible verses; maybe we can remember and quote John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ These are words which we probably learned at a young age as they sum up the whole gospel and contain hope for all. Some verses will be familiar to all, while others will be unique to our own love. Among my most loved are 2 Corinthians 4:16 and Isaiah 40:31.
As I was reading about Philip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8, I began to wonder what his best known texts would have been. I know that in those times great chunks of the scriptures were learned by heart, a habit that puts us to shame. Probably their most used passages would be about the promised Messiah and in this they would have been spoiled for choice. In explaining this passage to the Ethiopian, Philip would have already been knowledgeable. ‘He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a lamb before his shearer is silent, He did not open his mouth.’ Handel in his oratorio known as the Messiah used many of the same passages. ‘