Acts 8: 26-39 Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian
“Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Then 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.”
So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.”
This particular day, Philip has no intention of going anywhere. He is in Jerusalem, and that is fine. But God has other ideas, for He knows that the Treasurer under the Ethiopian Queen Candace is desperately seeking Him and has even traveled all the way to Jerusalem to worship. Now this man is returning to Ethiopia, and God wants to meet him on the way.
Why does God send an angel to give Philip orders? The Jesus followers are under intense persecution that has become worse ever since the stoning of Stephen. Many of the disciples are hiding, and if God does not send an angel, Philip might find an excuse not to go. Given no choice, Philip leaves Jerusalem and follows the Gaza road, overtaking the Ethiopian. Even then, the Holy Spirit has to nudge Philip before he approaches the chariot. You can imagine Philip’s dialogue with the Lord. “God, You want me to go WHERE? To do WHAT?”
Once Philip greets the Ethiopian, he realizes the man is reading one of the Messianic prophecies from Isaiah. God uses that prophecy as an entry point for Philip to tell this man about Jesus. The Ethiopian is so thrilled that as soon as they pass a pool of water, he immediately requests to be baptized.
“Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Then 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.”
Obviously, this man’s heart has already been prepared to receive the Gospel. But what about that convenient pool of water along a desert road? Does God provide that pool just so the Ethiopian can be baptized? Does the pool remain after the baptism? We don’t know.
Philip baptizes the Ethiopian and the Holy Spirit immediately picks up Philip and transports him to Azotus, or Ashdod, one of the major cities of the Philistines. From Azotus, Philip preaches his way up the coast all the way up to the Roman port of Caesarea. All those in cities and towns along the coast hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Since all of these places are trading centers, Philip’s ministry potentially can spread throughout the known world as ships from these places travel everywhere.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian eunuch is going on his way rejoicing that God has heard his prayers and that he now knows about Jesus Christ. Many scholars believe that this man’s witness is part of the foundation for what becomes the Coptic Church in Ethiopia. Saint Matthew and Saint Bartholomew also travel to Ethiopia and preach the Gospel; however, it is likely this man’s testimony that prepares the way for Matthew and Bartholomew. As Treasurer to the Queen, this man is obviously competent, brilliant, and well-versed in a number of different languages. When Philip catches up to the eunuch, the eunuch is reading a scroll from the Book of Isaiah, presumably in Arabic or Hebrew.
As an official of the Queen’s court, this man may speak many different languages. One of our late friends in Saboba spoke twelve different tribal languages plus English, and many of our friends speak at least five different tribal languages. As a gifted linguist and believer, this man is now prepared to witness to everyone who visits the court. The potential for evangelism is enormous.
Never underestimate God! Through Philip’s obedience, the Ethiopian court and everyone visiting it will now hear the Gospel. At the same time, all the cities and towns along the coast will also hear. All of these wonderful things begin with Philip’s obedience. If Philip had failed to obey the angel, the Ethiopian would have returned to Candace’s court unchanged, and none of the cities along the coast would have heard the Gospel. Philip himself would have been diminished for failing to obey the Lord.
We read this account but fail to consider the tiny things God might be asking us to do. There is a story about David and Svea Flood, two early Swedish missionaries to what is now DRC. The only person Svea was able to lead to the Lord before she died was the little boy who sold them chickens and eggs. Svea died, and David gave their infant daughter to other missionaries while he returned to Sweden in despair. But that little boy led 600 people in his village to the Lord and eventually became the head of the Assemblies of God Church in Zaire, now DRC. That little girl was later able to travel to Africa and to visit her mother’s grave and travel to Sweden and lead her father back to the Lord. Today, if God moves you to speak to someone, don’t hesitate! You never know what wonderful things God will do.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to always be obedient, even when we don’t understand Your reasons. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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