There is a lovely illustration of this, at the human level, in Acts 8, where the Ethiopian official has opened his scroll of Isaiah; he can read the words, but he does not understand their significance: he needs help. Help is at hand!The Holy Spirit has led the deacon Philip into the desert for this very purpose: if the Spirit is the Jesus-substitute, then here Philip is a ‘Holy-Spirit-substitute’. “Do you understand what you are reading ?”, he asks; to which the Ethiopian replies: “how could I, unless someone ‘leads the way’ for me ?” It is surely no coincidence that the verb used here, ‘hodego’ is the same as that in John 16. 13, when Jesus promises that the Spirit “will lead the way for you into all truth”. It is a rare word, used only 5 times in the NT, and is a compound of two different words, ‘hodos’, a ‘road’ or ‘journey’ (whence ‘exodus’), and ‘ago’, to ‘lead’. Thus a full translation, appropriate to both verses, might be to ‘guide one on one’s journey towards a full understanding of the truth’. The Ethiopian then “invited Philip to get up and sit with him” in his chariot (v. 31). Again, I believe that it is no coincidence that the verb ‘invite’ here is ‘parakalo’ – he ‘called him to his side’. So Philip, “beginning at this scripture, explained to him the good news of Jesus”. What the Holy Spirit did through the agency of Philip for the Ethiopian he can do for each one of us – if we ask for his help rather than relying on our own intelligence. A businessman who suddenly finds himself posted to head office in Tokyo may buy ‘Teach yourself Japanese’, or, more likely, work through a teaching programme on his computer; but, much better than these aids, he could hire a private tutor, a native speaker, who will patiently help and explain and demonstrate how to speak his language. Jesus promises that the ‘parakletos’ “will teach you everything”: this great Teacher can be our private tutor as we read the bible – and who better to help us in our reading of the bible than the one who inspired its writing ? What a privilege ! All we have to do is ask for his help and call him to our side.
Thursday, 29 December 2011
PARAKLETOS 3 (b) the Holy Spirit the Teacher (iii) Philip and the Ethiopian
There is a lovely illustration of this, at the human level, in Acts 8, where the Ethiopian official has opened his scroll of Isaiah; he can read the words, but he does not understand their significance: he needs help. Help is at hand!The Holy Spirit has led the deacon Philip into the desert for this very purpose: if the Spirit is the Jesus-substitute, then here Philip is a ‘Holy-Spirit-substitute’. “Do you understand what you are reading ?”, he asks; to which the Ethiopian replies: “how could I, unless someone ‘leads the way’ for me ?” It is surely no coincidence that the verb used here, ‘hodego’ is the same as that in John 16. 13, when Jesus promises that the Spirit “will lead the way for you into all truth”. It is a rare word, used only 5 times in the NT, and is a compound of two different words, ‘hodos’, a ‘road’ or ‘journey’ (whence ‘exodus’), and ‘ago’, to ‘lead’. Thus a full translation, appropriate to both verses, might be to ‘guide one on one’s journey towards a full understanding of the truth’. The Ethiopian then “invited Philip to get up and sit with him” in his chariot (v. 31). Again, I believe that it is no coincidence that the verb ‘invite’ here is ‘parakalo’ – he ‘called him to his side’. So Philip, “beginning at this scripture, explained to him the good news of Jesus”. What the Holy Spirit did through the agency of Philip for the Ethiopian he can do for each one of us – if we ask for his help rather than relying on our own intelligence. A businessman who suddenly finds himself posted to head office in Tokyo may buy ‘Teach yourself Japanese’, or, more likely, work through a teaching programme on his computer; but, much better than these aids, he could hire a private tutor, a native speaker, who will patiently help and explain and demonstrate how to speak his language. Jesus promises that the ‘parakletos’ “will teach you everything”: this great Teacher can be our private tutor as we read the bible – and who better to help us in our reading of the bible than the one who inspired its writing ? What a privilege ! All we have to do is ask for his help and call him to our side.
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