Studying the Bible with a friend: the model of Philip and the Ethiopian
Reading alone is precious, but some understanding comes only in twos. The book of Acts offers us a striking model: a believer, Philip, joins a man who is reading the Bible without understanding it, and together they move forward. This week's quest invites you to ask a friend to read the same passage, then talk about it for thirty minutes.
What it looks like in your day
Here is a simple outline for a thirty-minute meeting:
- Choose the passage together, a few days ahead. A chapter of a Gospel or a psalm, for example.
- Each reads it on their own, and notes: one thing they understood, one question, one word that struck them.
- Meet (coffee, call, video). Begin with a short prayer.
- Share in turn: what each person understood, what touched them.
- Look together for an answer to the questions that remain.
- Finish with an application: "This week, I'm going to..." Each tells the other.
- Set the next meeting.
A few rules to keep the study good:
- Listen before answering. Each brings what they have seen.
- Stay on the text. When a discussion drifts, come back to the passage.
- Accept not knowing. "I don't know" is an honest answer.
- Stay kind. A disagreement is not an attack.
If you are in a hurry, twenty minutes is enough. If you are a beginner, choose a friend who is more at ease to walk with you. If you are shy, the two-person format is ideal: more intimate than a group.
What the Bible says
Here is the meeting between Philip and the Ethiopian:
“And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”
Look at Philip's method: he draws near (he runs), he asks ("Understandest thou what thou readest?"), he listens to the honest answer ("How can I, except some man should guide me?"), he sits down with him, and he starts from the text to proclaim Jesus. No grand exposition: a question, an invitation, an explanation.
The principle of walking alongside is present elsewhere too. Jesus sends his disciples out "two and two" (Luke 10:1). Jonathan, Saul's son, goes to David in the forest and strengthens his trust in God:
“And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.”
Helping someone to trust in God is one of the loveliest things a friend can do.
Pitfalls to avoid
Taking the role of teacher. A two-person study is not a class. If you talk three-quarters of the time, you are not studying with someone, you are lecturing them.
Avoiding disagreements. If you don't think the same thing, that is not a failure. Look at the text together. Sometimes you will have to accept that you see different things.
Not preparing. Each person must read beforehand. Otherwise the meeting is reduced to reading together without depth.
Closing yourselves into a duo. A two-person study is good, but it doesn't replace church. Stay open to other voices.
Giving up too quickly. The first meetings can be awkward. Persevere three or four times before judging.
This week, offer a friend to read a passage together. Set a day, a text, thirty minutes.