Lesson 9 - Acts 8:26-40 - AN ETHIOPIAN RECEIVES CHRIST
INTRODUCTION: So far in our study of Acts, Chapters 1-7 have described the spread of the gospel throughout Jerusalem; from this point Acts 8:1-11:18 will report the spread of the gospel in Judea and Samaria, then Acts 11:19-28:31 will report the gospel spreading to the ''uttermost parts of the earth,' ending up in Rome, the capital of the known world at that time.
We skip the first 25 verses of Chapter 8, which explain how the gospel began to spread outward from Jerusalem, acting on Jesus' authority to "make disciples of all the nations" (Matt 28:19). Acts 8:1-3 follows the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian to be killed for his faith (Acts 7:54-60), and introduces a young Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus who, from this point, undertakes a full-scale attack on the Jerusalem church. Ironically, the more Saul persecutes the church in Jerusalem, it causes Christian disciples to flee and begin spreading the gospel elsewhere, and Acts 8:4-8 describes the second stage of this process coming to fruition. Philip, a fellow diakanos of the martyred Stephen, goes north to Samaria, where he casts out demons, heals, and preaches the gospel to a people that the Jews traditionally consider 'unclean.' And when Philip's ministry takes hold, the church will send Peter and John to formally establish the Samaritans as rightful believers. (Acts 8:14-25). Our lesson text today, in Acts 8:26-40, completes the story of Philip's early ministry. He has been spreading the gospel in Samaria, but now, an angel tells him to go south where he meets an official of the Ethiopian court who is reading from the book of Isaiah.
Read Acts 8:26-31 - AN ANGEL OF THE LORD SPOKE TO PHILIP
26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.) 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." 30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
v. 26a: "But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying," - The conjunction "But" marks a change of scene from Peter and John in Samaria to Philip. This is "Philip" the evangelist, not Philip the apostle. He was one of the seven diakanos selected to distribute food that we studied in Chapter 6. Having concluded his mission in Samaria (8:4-24), God sent an angel to inform him of his next assignment.
v. 26b: "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.)" - "Gaza" (see map) is 50 miles southwest of Jerusalem and 3 miles west of the Mediterranean Sea, located near the border between the fertile land of Israel and the desert. Because of the 2,400' drop in elevation between Jerusalem and Gaza at sea level, Philip is quite literally going downhill.
v. 27a: "So he got up and went;" - Notice that Philip immediately yields to the angel's command.
v. 27b: "and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure;" - Ethiopians of this time were black-sinned Africans from the Nubian region of modern day Sudan. In their culture and others, it was common to castrate males-"eunuchs"-who served in government positions that required trustworthiness, insofar as they were considered to be less vulnerable to sinful distractions and temptations. According to scholars, an Ethiopian queen granted the title "Candace" typically administered the government, while the king was left free to pursue other less burdensome activities. This eunuch was the queen's treasurer.
v. 27c: "and he had come to Jerusalem to worship," - Most scholars identify this man as a 'God-fearer," a Gentile man who worships YHWH, the God of Israel, but isn't a full-fledged 'proselyte' who has submitted to circumcision in order to be permitted to participate in Temple worship. This eunuch wouldn't be eligible insofar as Jewish law prohibited acceptance of people with a deformity like castration. In Jerusalem, he would be restricted to the Court of Gentiles outside of the Temple.
v. 28: "and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah." - The distance back to Ethiopia would have been over 1,000 miles, a journey of two months or more. Scholars suggest that that the "chariot" was probably more of a covered wagon drawn by oxen and may have included a driver. What he's reading will become significant.
v. 29: "Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go up and join this chariot.'" - Here, the Holy Spirit takes over and directs Philip to go right up to the wagon to join this Ethiopian, and without hesitation, he goes.
v. 30a: "Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet" - As Phillip neared the wagon, he heard the eunuch reading the prophecy of Isaiah from a scroll (no books in those days). People customarily them aloud to attain better understanding, because in the ancient languages (most likely Greek in this case) the writing contained no punctuation marks or paragraphs.
v. 30b: "and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" - Scholars believe he was reading from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the OT. The fact that he was reading this specific Scripture gave Philip a wonderful opening to witness for Jesus Christ-an opportunity obviously produced by the intervention of the Holy Spirit. But notice that Philip just doesn't barge in, but politely asks the eunuch if he can offer assistance. (Note: they were probably speaking to one another in Greek, the most common language in the known world at that time).
v. 31a: And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" - Luke has already pointed to other situations where guidance was needed to understand Scripture: Jesus explained the Scriptures to His apostles (Luke 24:45) and Peter explained them to the crowds at the Pentecost (Acts 2). For any student, Isaiah isn't an easy book to understand, so it's no surprise that this Ethiopian eunuch, who isn't a native Jew, is puzzled by what he's reading.
v. 31b: "And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him." - By asking a friendly question that prompted the eunuch's invitation, Philip made himself an invited guest rather than an interloper.
Read Acts 8:32-35 - OF WHOM IS THE PROPHET SAYING THIS?
32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. 33 "IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH." 34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?" 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.
v. 32-33: "Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: 'HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. 33 "IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION?' - This is Isa. 53:7-8, a part of Isaiah's fourth servant song. Most all Christians would immediately identify this passage with Jesus-His death and humiliation on the cross; however, this God-fearing eunuch doesn't have the benefit of 2,000 years of Christian tradition and education.
v. 34: "The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?" - This is the first question that would occur to most people. Is the prophet talking about himself or somebody else? The rabbis of OT times had debated this question for ages and never reached an agreement regarding this text. So, it's easy to see why this eunuch is completely baffled.
v. 35: Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him." - With the Spirit's leading, Philip then proceeded to explain to the eunuch that the suffering servant depicted in this passage was Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, who after being tortured, died on a cross and ascended to heaven, but on the third day, was raised from the dead by YHWH, thereby affirming that He was who He claimed to be. No doubt, Philip also told the eunuch that if he believed that Jesus died on a cross for the sins of humanity (which also included eunuchs!), he would be saved-forgiven of his sins and receive eternal life in heaven. Dr. Thomas Constable remarked that, "Philip provides us with a stunning example of the Spirit of God using the Word of God through a man of God to bring salvation to one chosen of God."
Read Acts 8:36-40 - WHAT PREVENTS ME FROM BEING BAPTIZED?
36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" [37 And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.
v. 36: "As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" - As a eunuch, this man would have been prevented from participating in sacred Jewish rituals, including proselyte baptism. So, his question not only reflects a desire to be baptized, but also expresses concern that he might not be eligible.
v. 37: [And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."] - This verse is omitted from the KJV, NKJV, and ESV, but is bracketed in other translations like my NASB because it doesn't appear in most Greek manuscripts. Even so, it's entirely consistent with the NT principle that belief in Jesus is a perquisite to baptism.
v. 38: "And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him." - This verse at least implies that Philip gave the eunuch an invitation to believe in Jesus with all his heart. The word used here for "baptized" (Gk. baptizó) [bap-ti-zó]) literally means to dip or submerge, which suggests a full-immersion baptism.
v. 39a: "When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away;" - Because Philip's work is finished here, the Holy Spirit "snatched" him "away" to his next assignment.
v. 39b: "and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing." - For a man so long denied full membership in his faith community, his baptism would have been cause for great joy! Early NT scholars claim that the eunuch became the first missionary to Ethiopia, and it would certainly make sense that he provided an active witness there, but this isn't certain.
v. 40a: "But Philip found himself at Azotus," - The Spirit took Philip 22 miles north to "Azotus," the site of the old capital of Philistia, which was then within the Roman province of Judea.
v. 40b: and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. - At this time, there would have been many villages and a number of major cities between Azotus and Caesarea where Philip witnessed (e.g., Jamnia, Lydda, Ektron, Joppa, Appollonia). This story was later relayed to Paul and Luke when they visited Philip in Caesarea (Acts 21:7-16).
APPLICATION-God's Saving Power:
1. God sovereign Spirit takes the initiative in the salvation of souls. God's sovereign power in the salvation of this Ethiopian man is a dominant theme. He sent an angel to tell Philip to go to a particular remote place. He arranged for Philip's and this man's paths to cross. He prompted Philip (8:29) to go up to the man's chariot. At that very moment, God had providentially arranged for the man to be reading aloud (most people in the ancient world read aloud) from Isaiah, and not just from any part of Isaiah, but from Isaiah 53. You couldn't pick a better opening for the gospel from the Old Testament! At the right moment, after the man had trusted in Christ, they came upon some water, and so the man was also baptized.
2. God uses His Word to penetrate the minds and hearts of sinners. People can discern the existence of God and some of His attributes from creation (Rom. 1:20), but they can only learn how to be saved through the revelation of God's Word, which tells us the good news about Jesus Christ.
This Ethiopian eunuch was interested enough in seeking God to make the long and difficult journey to Jerusalem. He must have been somewhat let down by what he found there. The Pharisees and Sadducees controlled a religion that was largely legalistic, ritualistic, and highly politicized.
3. God uses obedient Christians to explain the gospel from His Word in seeking souls. Although God purposely works to bring people to salvation, He normally doesn't do it apart from His obedient people. Here is Philip in the midst of an exciting revival in Smaria, when an angel tells him to go to a deserted stretch of road where no one lived! But as far as we know, Philip did not raise any objections. The angel said, "Arise and go" and the next verse says, "And he arose and went."
ENDNOTE: If evangelizing the lost, especially those of other cultures and nationalities, were left up to our natural abilities, it would be hopeless. But, thankfully, evangelism depends on our sovereign God working through our obedience.
