Acts 8:26-40 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.
When the disciples were choosing men to assist in the distribution of supplies to needy Greek Christians, Philip was one of those chosen along with Stephen who was later martyred. Now it was Philip’s turn to let God’s power shine through him.
When Philip got up that morning, the last thing he anticipated was that God would send him out into the desert along the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. But Philip was obedient; if God wanted him to go into the desert, he was already on the way. And this order contained a divine appointment, for an upper-level Ethiopian official had just finished worshiping in Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia in his chariot. While Saul’s encounter with God on the road to Damascus was vividly dramatic, by contrast, this man’s encounter with God could not have been quieter, for he was convinced by reading the Book of Isaiah and listening to Philip’s explanation. This man’s biggest qualification to become a believer was the hunger for God in his heart, and that particular morning, God assigned Philip to assuage that hunger.
Timing is everything. Just as Philip appeared, the Ethiopian was reading a portion from Isaiah describing Messiah as the suffering servant. The Ethiopian read this, sighed, and wished someone would explain it to him. Suddenly, prodded by the Holy Spirit, Philip ran up to the chariot just in time to give the desired explanation.
Notice something: even though Philip and the Ethiopian were on a desert road, suddenly, just when it was needed, there was a handy pool of water in which Philip could baptize the Ethiopian. Few things are drier than the Judean desert, and few things are rarer than pools of water; yet, there was the water.
Saul of Tarsus was far more extensively acquainted with the Book of Isaiah than was the Ehiopian; yet, the Ethiopian believed once Philip explained things to him while it took a cataclysmic event to convert Saul. The difference was simple: humility. Saul was arrogant, a “Pharisee of the Pharisees,” certain that he was right and that he was doing God’s will, even though he was actually doing his will in God’s Name. The Ethiopian was a humble seeker after truth; therefore, he recognized truth when he heard it and readily believed in Jesus as Messiah.
John told the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a well at noon, a time when she came to avoid scathing criticisms from self-righteous townspeople. Jesus told that lady, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The Ethiopian worshiped in spirit and in truth and believed and was baptized straight away.
Psalm 95:7-11 tells us, “Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
2 Corinthians 6:1-2 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
The Ethiopian eunuch received Jesus as Savior and Lord, was baptized, and went on his way rejoicing. What about you? Do you honor Jesus as Savior and Lord and Messiah, or are you playing religious games, feeling that you are so special that God should send you a Damascus Road experience? God did what He had to is gain Saul’s attention; however, God honored the Ethiopian’s decision just as surely as He did Saul’s. Jesus told Thomas his disciple, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
When we repent and honor Jesus as Savior and Lord, all the saints and angels rejoice. Today, why not make that decision? Why not choose to follow Jesus, so that all of heaven will rejoice?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and that we cannot free ourselves from our sins. We thank You that because You have offered Yourself as the ultimate blood sacrifice, we can claim what You have done for us. Please cleanse us from our sins, forgive us, and help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives so that we will spend eternity with You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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