February 16, 2014

By: Tom Lowe

Topic #III: The Church Scattered into Palestine and Syria (8:4-12:25) Subtopic A. The Ministry
of Philip (8:4-40).

Lesson III.A.2: Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (8:26-39)

Introduction

The first mentioned of Philip is found in the account of the dispute between the Hebrew
and Hellenistic disciples in Acts 6. He is one of the deacons appointed to administer the
daily distribution of food and alms, and to remove all suspicion of partiality. The
persecution of which Saul was the leader must have stopped the "daily ministrations" of the
Church. The teachers who had been most prominent were compelled to take flight, and Philip
was among them. Philip flees to the city of Samaria, where he preaches the gospel effectively.
He is the precursor of St. Paul in his missionary work, as Stephen had been in his teaching. The
scene which brings Philip and Simon the sorcerer into contact with each other (Acts 8:9-13),
and the magician has to acknowledge a power over nature greater than his own, is interesting.
This step is followed by another. On the road from Jerusalem to Gaza he meets the Ethiopian
eunuch (Acts 8:26). The History that follows, which makes up this lesson, is interesting since it
is one of the few records in the New Testament of the process of individual conversion. A brief
sentence (Acts 8:40), tells us that Philip continued his work as a preacher at Azotus (Ashdod)
and among the other cities that had formerly belonged to the Philistines, and, following the
coast-line, came to Caesarea. Then for a long period—around eighteen or nineteen years—we
lose sight of him. The last glimpse of him in the New Testament is in the account of St. Paul's
journey to Jerusalem. It is to his house that St. Paul and his companions turn for shelter. He has
four daughters, who possess the gift of prophetic utterance and who apparently give themselves
to the work of teaching instead of entering on the life of a wife and mother (Acts 21:8, 9). One
tradition places the scene of his death at Hierapolis in Phrygia. According to another, he died
bishop of Tralles.

Scripture

26 But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes
down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert road.

27 And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of the Candace,
queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship

28 and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29 And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot."

30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, "Do you
understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "How can I, unless some one guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and
sit with him.

32 Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this: "As a sheep led to the
slaughter or a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth.

33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is
taken up from the earth."

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, pray, does the prophet say this, about himself
or about some one else?"

35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news
of Jesus.

36 And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is
water! What is to prevent my being baptized?"

37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and
the eunuch, and he baptized him.

39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the
eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

Commentary

26 But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes
down from Jerusalem to Gaza."

This is a desert road.

We have seen the first movements, indicated in the commission of Jesus (Acts 1:8): “In
Jerusalem, in Judea, and Samaria.” Now we have the first movement beyond, toward “the
uttermost part of the earth.” Philip the deacon was given the work of first expanding the
commission of Jesus to win one for Him from among the number of those whom the Jews
considered outside the covenant of promise. Though Luke gives no indication of God
commanding Philip to preach to the Samaritans, or where he was when he received the
command to go to Gaza; but God did sovereignly direct him toward Gaza.
Samaria is an area that lies north of Jerusalem. Now Philip is told to go way down south.
What we know as the Gaza strip is south, over along the Mediterranean. This was the trade route
down into Egypt and Ethiopia. He would probably travel through Jerusalem to get there.

Philip had been speaking to multitudes in Samaria, and now he is sent down to a desert.
He is leaving a place where there has been a great movement of the Spirit of God, to go
into a place, a desert, where there is nobody. However, when he gets there, he finds that
God does have someone to whom he is to witness.

“This is a desert road” perhaps may be better stated: “This place [that is, Gaza] is deserted.” Old
Gaza, formerly one of the five chief cities of the Philistines, was situated about two miles from
the sea, had been destroyed by Alexander and was at this time “deserted.” New Gaza, on the
coast, was not destroyed until A.D. 66. The highway is referred to as “the desert road,” but the
expression may refer to either a desert road or a desert city. Old Gaza was called Desert Gaza.

You and I are not likely to have angels instruct us, but we can know the guidance of the Holy
Spirit in our witnessing, if we are walking in the Spirit and praying for God’s direction.

27 And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of the Can'dace, queen
of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship

We have come to the very wonderful account of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, a son
of Ham. You will notice from this account, as well as the accounts of the conversion of Saul of
Tarsus and Cornelius (which is coming up), that three factors must be brought into focus before
there can be a conversion. All three of these are evident in the conversion of the Ethiopian
eunuch.

The work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had taken this man Philip to Samaria where there
had been a great moving of the Spirit of God. Then the Holy Spirit moved him down to Gaza,
and again we see His working in the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch. The Spirit of God had gone
ahead to prepare the heart of the Ethiopian and also to prepare the messenger.

The Word of God. “So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans
10:17). The Word of God is the second essential component. The Holy Spirit will take the things
of Christ and will reveal them to an individual. It is the Spirit of God using the Word of God.
But, wait a minute, there must be a human instrument.

The man of God. The Spirit of God uses the man of God who delivers the Word of God to
produce a son of God, one who is born again. We will see this in the record of the conversion of
this Ethiopian eunuch.

The Ethiopians were the Nubian race dwelling in the Nile region south of Egypt proper. The
country included all the land from Aswan in southern Egypt to Khartoum, Sedan. The Bible calls
this area Ethiopia, but it is not the country we know as Ethiopia. It is only in modern times that
they have been confused with the Abyssinians, who ethnologically and linguistically are Semitic.
He is a eunuch, and therefore would be excluded by the Law from the “assembly of the Lord.” I
believe he was the first of the African race to become a Christian. It is now established that at
least three centuries before Christ, Greek literature and thought had permeated that Central
African district, and that a most remarkable civilization was realized under Candace. Probably
this word Candace is not the name of a woman, but rather a title, like Pharaoh. Governmental
power rested in the hands of Candace, since the royal son was worshipped as an offspring of the
sun, and was therefore above such mundane activities as ruling over a nation. Rulership was
therefore vested with the queen-mother.

We read here that this man of Ethiopia had charge of all the treasure of the queen. Today we
would call him the Secretary of the Treasury. He was an official, and a high official of that
day, a man of property and prominence. This man was not traveling alone. He had a great
retinue of servants and minor officials with him. He wasn’t setting in a chariot with a reins in
one hand and a book in the other hand, as we have seen him pictured. This man was setting
back in a chariot drawn by oxen and protected from the sun by a canopy. He had a private
Chauffeur and was riding in style. He was a citizen of Ethiopia, but he had come to Jerusalem to
worship. This indicates that he was a proselyte to Judaism. Jews had penetrated into all
lands that offered opportunities for commerce, so the official could have heard of
Jehovah, the God of Israel, from them. This story offers a great principle: “He that seeketh
findeth.”

28 and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

This Ethiopian eunuch had just been to Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish religion. Although
Judaism was the God-given religion, he was leaving the city still in the dark. He was reading
from a scroll on which was recorded the words of the prophet Isaiah, but he was not
understanding what he was reading. The fact that the Ethiopian was a pilgrim returning
from Jerusalem, and that he was reading Isaiah, indicates that he already was at least a
Jewish proselyte—a proselyte of the gate, a proselyte of righteousness. If this was so, he
would not be admitted to the inner sanctuary at Jerusalem, but he would be allowed to stand in
an outer court, in order to worship. In addition, the Law prohibited eunuchs from entering the
Lord’s assembly—“He whose testicles are crushed or whose male member is cut off shall not
enter the assembly of the LORD” (Deut. 23:1). However, Isaiah 56:3-5 predicts great blessing for
eunuchs in the Millennial age—“Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,
"The LORD will surely separate me from his people"; and let not the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a
dry tree." For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the
things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a
monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name
which shall not be cut off.” The eunuch was concerned enough about his spiritual life to travel
over 200 miles to Jerusalem to worship God, but his heart was still not satisfied.
If the eunuch at this time could not enter the congregation of Israel, Philip was able to afford
him the opportunity through faith in Christ to enter the congregation of the new Israel of God.
In this sense then what Philip did was a new departure.

The conversion of the Ethiopian is significant, not because it introduced a new principle, but as
an illustration of how far afield the gospel was already spreading.

Jesus had sent Philip to this desert region and what he found there was this Ethiopian,
who was seeking something, diligently, sincerely, earnestly, not self-satisfied, reaching
out for something more than he had ever known before, and yet a man not understanding
what it all meant. While in Jerusalem he must have been told about the death of Stephan
and about the man that was proclaimed to be the Messiah by His followers. He saw many
converts to this new religion who seemed happy and were willing witnesses of Jesus; he
may have heard some of the disciples preaching to the crowds of pilgrims who were there
to celebrate the feast of tabernacles.

In Philip’s time there were just two ways to spread anything about which you are greatly
interested. The first was to live it yourself, and the other was to talk about it. That is what
happened during the early days of Christianity. The early Christians drew other people to them
because they had something that other people recognized as supremely worthwhile. In the
second century Tertullian wrote, “See how these Christians love one another.” That is the real
reason why this movement spread. But they also talked about it, and the interesting thing is that
when Philip climbed up into the chariot with the Ethiopian, he opened his mouth (v. 35). When
people saw the early Christians they cried, “Look at them!” And that exclamation was followed
by, “Listen to them!”

29 And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot."

The Holy Spirit is leading Philip by an unmistakable voice within (as in Acts 10:19 and 16:6-7),
and he was on the scene ahead of Philip as He must in any conversion. He is preparing the
man’s heart by making him discontented and causing him to realize his own ignorance. God
directed Philip to the right person at the right time. Philip is the man of God whom the Spirit of
God is using. The Word of God is already in the chariot, because the Ethiopian is reading from
the prophet Isaiah.

Interestingly, Philip was guided first by an angel (v. 26) and then here by the Holy Spirit. The
instruction, "Go up and join this chariot" would reveal to Philip the previously unknown object of
his journey, and encourage him to expect something extraordinary to happen.

30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, "Do you
understand what you are reading?"
Since it was customary for the ancient people to read aloud, Philip could have easily heard the
portion of Scripture the eunuch was reading.

31 And he said, "How can I, unless some one guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and
sit with him.

While he was profoundly interested in what he was reading, he was equally ignorant. He
said, "How can I, unless some one guides me?" This was an expression of great discontent.
“He invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” If he was filled with discontent he was
also full of desire for instruction.

32 Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this: "As a sheep led to the
slaughter or a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth.

33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is
taken up from the earth."

The quotation is from Isaiah 53:7-8 and is important as the first definite application of the
passage to Jesus as the Suffering Servant.

Before the coming of Christ, the Jews did understand that this was a Messianic passage and that
the sufferings of the servant was a prophesy of the sufferings of their Messiah. Later some
assumed the suffering servant to refer to the prophet and others to the people of Israel.

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, pray, does the prophet say this, about himself
or about some one else?"

Study Tools

Hide This quotation from Isaiah was perplexing to the eunuch. He knew the passage described
an individual, but was it Isaiah or someone else? His confusion was understandable, since even
the Jewish experts were divided on the meaning of this passage. Some believed the slaughtered
sheep represented Israel; others thought Isaiah was referring to himself, and others thought the
Messiah was Isaiah’s subject.

The respect with which he addresses Philip was prompted by the reverence for one whom he
perceived to be his superior in spiritual things.

What a marvelous place to begin to talk about Jesus! When the Spirit of God leads, how
wonderfully everything opens up! He will take the things of Christ and make them clear.

35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news
of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit will use the Word of God. Philip seized the opportunity to present the
good news about Jesus from Isaiah 53. He showed the eunuch that the passage he had
been reading was a prophesy of Jesus. This goes back to our Lord’s own teaching that He
had come to serve and give his life a ransom for many—“For the Son of man also came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). We
can be certain that Philip included Isaiah 53:4-6 when he preached the good news about
Jesus. The lesson may have lasted for hours as the chariot was driven slowly on, and it
brought full conviction to the heart of the Nubian potentate. Jesus Christ was the sheep
led to the slaughter.

Simon Peter, whom the Lord used so wonderfully in the conversion of multitudes, makes
it clear that the Word of God must be involved if a person is saved. He wrote in his first
Epistle: “You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through
the living and abiding word of God; for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the
flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides for
ever." That word is the good news which was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:23-25).

We will see that the Ethiopian was beginning to understand the gospel because the Holy Spirit
was opening up his mind to God’s truth. It is not enough for a lost sinner to desire salvation; he
must understand God’s plan of salvation. It is the heart that understands the Word that
eventually bears fruit—“As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and
understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and
in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23).

36 And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is
water! What is to prevent my being baptized?"

“Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The first
consequence of Philip’s evangelization was the Ethiopian’s conversion. He believed on Jesus
Christ and was born again. His response, “What is to prevent my being baptized?” indicates that
water baptism was the seal of a personal decision to trust in Christ—“Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Presumably, the subject of baptism was part of the teaching of Philip on
this occasion.

The road to Gaza crosses several river beds or wadis, and the salvation experience was so real to
him that he wanted to be baptized immediately, so he stopped the caravan at the first
appearance of water. He was no “closet Christian;” he wanted everyone to know what the Lord
had done for him.

37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Remember that Philip had an experience with Simon the sorcerer up there in Samaria. He is not
about to have a repetition of that. When this man asks for water baptism, Philip wants to be very
sure that he believes with all his heart.

This verse is included only in late Greek manuscripts and therefore was probably not in the
original manuscripts.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and
the eunuch, and he baptized him.

39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the
eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

We saw the first result of Philip’s evangelism was the conversion of the Ethiopian (v. 36),
and now we see that the second result was joy—he “went on his way rejoicing.” A third
result was a further outreach of the gospel to one who was neither Jew nor Samaritan, but a
Gentile (African) worshipper of Yahweh who was not a full-fledged proselyte to Judaism.

The “Spirit of the Lord” is mentioned in the Old Testament as having “caught up” Elijah—“And
they said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; pray, let them go,
and seek your master; it may be that the Spirit of the LORD has caught him up and cast him
upon some mountain or into some valley. . ." (2 Kings 2:16). In Acts the phrase is only used here;
but in Acts 16:7 there is the phrase, “the Spirit of Jesus,” which is probably the meaning here—
“And when they had come opposite My'sia, they attempted to go into Bithyn'ia, but the Spirit of
Jesus did not allow them”—the title “Lord” being transferred as usual from Yahweh to Christ. No
gift of the Spirit is said to follow baptism, unless we read with the Western text: “The Holy Spirit
fell on the eunuch, but the angel of the Lord caught away Philip.” Tradition says that the eunuch
went on to be a missionary to his own people. Philip’s mysterious disappearance was a powerful
confirmation to the caravan that Philip was God’s representative.

He had found Christ, and the key to the Scriptures; his soul was set free, “and he went on
his way rejoicing.” He had lost his teacher, but gained what was infinitely better, he felt like a
new man and “his joy was full.”

Let us not be satisfied until we get faith, as the Ethiopian did, by diligent study of the Holy
Scriptures, and the teaching of the Spirit of God; let us not be satisfied until we get it fixed as a
principle in our hearts.

Philip and the Ethiopian

Acts 8:26 – 8:40

Jeff Hughes – June 8, 2003

Calvary Chapel Aggieland

I. Introduction

a. We all have people in our lives that influence us. Some may be good, and some may be
bad. But it’s these experiences, these influences that mold us and shape us into who we are

b. I look back on my life as a Christian, and besides Jesus Christ, the person who has had the
most influence on me spiritually has been my bride, Stacie. Two weeks ago, we celebrated our
tenth wedding anniversary.

c. As I looked back over those ten years, I see just how far God has brought us. He took us from
a life completely focused on ourselves and our own ends, and changed the focus much more
towards Him.

d. I want each of you, in the back of your mind during our message today, to think about the
people that really encouraged you and pointed you in the right direction in your life.

e. God puts people, places, and events together to serve His purposes, His glory. That is what we
are going to look at today in our study. But first, let’s ask the Lord to come and bless our study
this morning.

f. Let’s pray.

II. PRAYER

III. Illustration

a. In 1912, 39 year old, Rev. John Harper a Scottish preacher was making a transatlantic trip to
preach at the Moody Church in Chicago. As fate would have it the vessel he chose was the
Titanic. We all know the story about the disaster but do you know the story of John Harper?
Harper like many others ended up in the water, and as people desperately tried to survive in the
chilled waters, Harper swam to them.

b. The minister asked people in the water if they knew Jesus. Eventually, Harper approached a
passenger clinging to a jagged piece of wood and he pleaded for the man to trust Christ. The
minister was completely exhausted at this point. As he succumbed to the conditions and went
under the water to his death, Harper said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved."
c. A few years later at a meeting of survivors of the Titanic, the final man who encountered John
Harper told the group that he had been saved twice that night. First, he had accepted Christ as
his personal Savior because of Harper’s efforts. And, of course, he had been rescued from the
deep Atlantic seas. He said “Alone in the night with two miles of water under me I believed, I am
John Harpers’ last convert.”

d. John Harper’s goal, his focus was not on himself. Even in his dying moments, all he thought
about was the people around him and their spiritual condition.

e. In another account I read about this incident, when the lifeboats were being loaded on the
Titanic, John was there directing, saying “Women, children, and the unsaved first.”

f. The man we are going to look at today, Philip was a man very much like John Harper. He was
fixated, he was focused on doing God’s will, God’s work, and we will see that in our study today.

g. Our study is found in Acts chapter 8, and we’re going to start in verse 26, and finish up the
chapter today. Follow along with me as we read.

IV. Study

a. Intro

i. 26 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. 27 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, 28 was
returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to
Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot." 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the
prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 And he said, "How can
I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 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. 33 In His humiliation His justice was
taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth." 34 So the
eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of
some other man?" 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached
Jesus to him. 36 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?" 37 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." 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 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. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the
cities till he came to Caesarea.
ii. We saw Philip in the last two weeks involved in the revival at Samaria that was very successful.
Multitudes of people were coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Two of the apostles came
down; this was the place to be spiritually.

iii. So then, as we see in our passage today, Philip leaves all of that, the growing revival, and is
led off into the desert to take the gospel to one man. Talk about God’s sovereignty!

iv. God always puts the right in the right place, at the right time person to accomplish His will.
This passage dealing with Philip was no exception.

v. This morning, we are going to look at God using Philip in a very specific and no doubt very
important way to accomplish His will.

vi. We will look six points from our passage today – the submission, the seeker, the Spirit’s
direction, the scripture, the salvation, and finally, the snapping up.

vii. Our first point deals with how Philip is submissive to the will of God in just going down to do
the job that God called him to do. We find this in verse 26 and the first part of verse 27.

b. The Submission (Acts 8:26-27a)

i. 26 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. 27 So he arose and went.

ii. The first thing we see here is that an angel comes to speak to Philip. This was big news. God
wanted there to be no doubt that Philip should go south.

iii. Many times in our lives, decisions are up to us. God has a general direction that he wants to
go, and we should follow Him. But, many times, in the day to day stuff, we just pray and do
whichever seems best to us.

iv. But, there are other times in our lives that God does want us to go in one direction or
another. When we run into these big decisions, God will make His will clear to us regarding a
situation. When we get down to these decisions, we have a choice, we can do God’s will, or we
can do something else.

v. God didn’t want Philip to have any questions about his decision. What really strikes me
though, is that Philip didn’t question God. He could have said. “Hey God, we’ve got a really big
revival going on here. I’ve got speaking engagements and people to minister to. I’m a pretty
popular guy here in Samaria, Lord. Why should I just go off into the desert?”

vi. That wasn’t Philip’s attitude at all. In fact, it was just the opposite. Philip wanted to follow
God’s will whatever He wanted. That was Philip’s commitment to the Lord.
vii. I do want us to notice two things here. First, God doesn’t tell Philip why He wants him to go
south along the road to Gaza, into the desert. God just tells him to do it.

viii. Another thing is that the phrase “towards the south” we find in this verse can also be
translated “at noon”, since the sun is towards the south at noon.

ix. This makes God’s command even more unusual for Philip. This was a road going through the
desert from Jerusalem, through Hebron, going on to Gaza. These places are still there today, and
the area is still a desert.

x. No one would be on the desert road at noon. They didn’t have air conditioners. It would be
hot, and even deadly to journey south through the desert in the heat of the day.

xi. Philip doesn’t question God. Philip doesn’t question God’s timing, or the direction God sent
him in. He simply obeyed. There’s a lot to be said for that.

xii. The thing is, often times God doesn’t tell us what the next step is. He just wants us to step
out and follow Him. When we get there, when we finish what He tells us to do, then we receive
the next step. That’s what makes the Christian life so exciting. If God says go, you go. That
simple.

xiii. Dr. Thomas Watson once did an experiment where he placed caterpillars on the rim of a
large pot containing dirt and several of their favorite plants for food. The caterpillars began to
move along the rim of the pot — each one following the one in front, every caterpillar thinking
the one ahead of him knew where he was going. Around and around the rim they went until
they all died of starvation.

xiv. If you get to a point in your walk as a Christian where you feel like you are starving, like it’s
all really dry and non-productive, maybe you missed a direction God wanted you to go in.
Maybe He spoke to you at some point, but you kind of blew it off, thinking, “ah, that’s not God.”

xv. Maybe you were too intent on following the caterpillar in front of you to really pay attention
to God’s direction. Pray about it. God will give you that direction again. Most likely, you won’t
get all the steps, just one. Do it, and wait for the next one.

xvi. That’s what Philip was doing. He was walking south, on a desert road, in the heat of the day,
just waiting for God’s next step. God was about to show Philip what he was there for.

xvii. We find in the end of verse 27 and verse 28.

c. The Seeker (Acts 8:27b-28)

i. 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, 28 was
returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.

ii. Philip is down here walking in the desert, and behold. It means take a look at this. Pay
attention to this. Philip meets up with another man, traveling down the road.

iii. I see this passage kind of two fold. First, I see the symbolism. God will place people in our
lives that we are journeying down the road with, so that we can get to know them and share life
with them, just like I talked about in our intro.

iv. There is no doubt in my mind that each one of us has people in our own lives right now that
we are journeying with, to share our lives with.

v. But, on the other hand I see God’s will being played out on a grand scale. This man was
someone that God wanted. It’s because this man was seeking God with his whole heart.
In Jeremiah 29:13, God tells us You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all
your heart.

vi. How do we know this man was seeking God? Well, it tells us right here that he was in
Jerusalem worshipping. He was on his way home, and reading the scriptures.

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vii. This is significant because the man was a eunuch. It is not clear if he was physically a eunuch;
some times we see that people who are high ranking officials that are not emasculated, like
Potiphar in Genesis, are called eunuchs. If this man was a physical eunuch though, such people
were not allowed into the temple, by Old Testament law.

viii. This man could not have been a full fledged Jewish proselyte; he could only have been what
the Jews called “God-fearers”. People who could go to synagogues, pray, and read scriptures,
but nothing else.

ix. This man was a man of great authority and influence though. He had charge over the
treasury. In modern times, he would be the minister of finance. Ethiopia in these times was in the
area of Sudan, south of Egypt. It was a large and powerful country, and encompassed central
Africa. It was the outer limits of the known world to the Greeks and Romans.

x. The king of Ethiopia was believed by his subjects to be child of the sun, that S-U-N, and was
worshipped as such. So, he did nothing, just sat around and got worshipped. The queen mother
held all of the power in the kingdom, she took care of all the affairs, that’s why we see Candace
mentioned here. Here name is not Candace. It’s pronounced Candace, and it is a title, like
Pharaoh, or Caesar.
xi. So, this man works for her. He was a very important man in the kingdom, most likely the
second most powerful man in Ethiopia. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, some 1200 miles.
Most likely, this was his first visit to Jerusalem.

xii. But, had had come up empty. He couldn’t worship in the temple, and he couldn’t offer
sacrifices. He was left out. So, as he is returning home, he is reading the prophet Isaiah.

xiii. That’s significant, and I believe that he is reading Isaiah because of a certain passage of
Isaiah that gives hope to eunuchs and foreigners. We find that passage in Isaiah chapter 56,
verses 3 through 8.

xiv. 3 Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying, "The
Lord has utterly separated me from His people"; Nor let the eunuch say, "Here I am, a dry tree."
4 For thus says the Lord: "To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant, 5 Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place
and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That
shall not be cut off. 6 "Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve
Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants-- Everyone who keeps from defiling
the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant-- 7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And
make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be
accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." 8 The Lord
God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, "Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who
are gathered to him."

xv. In this passage God proclaimed hope for the eunuch and the foreigner. This man was both.
He came to Jerusalem seeking God, seeking hope, something to fill the void in his life that the
power and influence could not fill.

xvi. The hope was running up beside him in the form of Philip the evangelist. Philip was there to
gather one very important outcastes of Israel – this eunuch.

xvii. Before we move on to the next point though, I want to draw your attention to this. The
church did not stumble into reaching out to the gentiles. God’s sovereign will drove them to it.

xviii. God is the embodiment of love and hope for us, as fallen human beings. God’s will was for
no more gentiles perishing because of a lack of knowledge about Him. At this point, Philip was
the tool in God’s hand to accomplish His will on earth. Philip was about to get his next step

xix. We find this in verses 29 through 31.

d. The Spirit’s Direction (Acts 8:29-31)

i. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot." 30 So Philip ran to him,
and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and
sit with him.

ii. The Holy Spirit is the driving force behind Philip taking off to catch up to this chariot. It is
presumed that a person of Philip’s social standing not approach a chariot of a high ranking
official. That could get you killed!

iii. Philip didn’t let that dissuade him. Philip was bold, and filled with the Spirit, and this is what
wanted him to do. Philip didn’t hesitate. He didn’t say, “Oh, well, I’m out here in the desert in the
heat of the day, so I might as well overtake the chariot.” No, he ran to overtake the chariot.

iv. The chariot would have been an ox-drawn cart most likely, and no doubt that the eunuch
would have a large entourage. Philip runs to overtake the chariot, while he could have overtaken
it by walking. That tells me that Philip was enthusiastic about serving God and doing His will.

v. When he gets there, he hears someone reading. After listening for a little bit, he realizes that
the reader is reading from Isaiah. It is the eunuch reading the scroll himself, and Philip calls out
to him. “Hey, do you understand what you are reading?”

vi. The Ethiopian eunuch confesses his need for an interpreter, and Philip’s Jewish accent and
clothing would have given him away as someone who could help him interpret the scriptures.
He invited Philip along for the ride.

vii. The eunuch needed guidance. He didn’t get it in Jerusalem, but he kept on seeking after
God. That’s one thing I love about this guy. He didn’t give up seeking God.

viii. People sometimes ask, “How do African tribesmen, or Australian aborigines come to Christ?”
Well, the answer is this. I look at this passage, and I see that God is found by those who seek
after Him. There will be no one saying, “Well, I would have believed in You if I had a chance…”
on Judgment Day.

ix. This man had God’s Word, but he needed a little help. We see this in verses 32 through 34.

e. The Scripture (Acts 8:32-34)

i. 32 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. 33 In His humiliation His
justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the
earth." 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say
this, of himself or of some other man?".
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ii. The Old Testament prophetical scriptures that this man was reading are often confusing. We
need a guide, a key to understand them. Jesus is that key. One of my old pastors said this about
reading the Old Testament – “Look for Jesus on every page.” Philip would show this man Jesus
in this passage.

iii. The passage that the eunuch was reading provided a perfect opportunity for Philip. This
speaks of God’s sovereignty. God led Philip to the right place, at the right time, to meet a man
who God was preparing for the encounter. I like to call things like this that occur in my life divine
appointments. Philip had a divine appointment.

iv. The passage he was reading is found in Isaiah chapter 53, verses 7 and 8. This passage deals
with the suffering servant hood of Jesus Christ. Jesus would be our substitutionary sacrifice, the
lamb that was slain for our sins. Isaiah had prophesied this, and God set these events in motion
to bring this man to Christ.

v. The eunuch asks a strange question here. He doesn’t ask about what the verses mean. He
could read the words, but he wanted to know the deeper meaning. He asks if the prophet was
talking about himself or someone else.

vi. This is because there was much confusion among the Jews at the time what this passage
meant. Some thought it referred to the prophet’s own experiences. Others thought that the
servant was a representation of the entire nation of Israel. Still others though that it must point
to the Messiah, God’s salvation to the nation.

vii. The question in the passage is fitting as well. “Who will declare his generation? For His life is
taken from the earth.” It was clear to Philip who this passage was talking about. Philip was a
Christian. It would be himself and his brothers in Christ that would declare Jesus to the world.

viii. Philip was obedient. He followed God’s direction. He was enthusiastic. He ran to overtake
the chariot. Just as important as the first two, he was ready.

ix. Paul tells Timothy this in 2nd Timothy chapter4, verse 2 - Preach the word! Be ready in season
and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

x. Philip was ready to open the scriptures to this man and let God do the work on his life. We see
God at work in verses 35 through 37.

f. The Salvation (Acts 8:35 - 38)

i. 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36
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?" 37 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." 38 So
he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the
water, and he baptized him.

ii. Philip opens a mouth. It is significant here because in classical Greek writing, what it means is
that this is the central point, the most important part, the climax of Philip’s conversation with the
Ethiopian.

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Hide iii. Philip takes this opportunity to digress from the passage and explain the fulfillment of
the passage itself through Jesus Christ. No doubt that Philip talked about Jesus’ life, His ministry,
and His death, continuing to describe the coming of the Holy Spirit to the early church.

iv. Philip most likely relayed his own experiences and testimony to the eunuch as well. But the
most important thing for us to take out of this conversation is this – Philip used the Scriptures to
describe the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

v. Romans 10:17 tells us this - So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
This man heard the scriptures that day. He was ready to accept Jesus as his savior. Philip no
doubt shared the whole gospel with this man, and the man wanted that saving faith, that hope
that was only found in Jesus.

vi. They come to a small stream of water, and the Ethiopian wants to get baptized. He says to
Philip, “What’s stopping me?” Talk about a leading question. I look at this question like the
question the Phillipan jailer that asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

vii. More evidence of God’s sovereign work is evident here. Philip and the Ethiopian are going
along in the desert, and here is some water, God is providing for them again.

viii. Philip was there, he was available and he was ready. God used him that day. Philip didn’t
preach baptism, Philip didn’t preach religion, he taught Jesus and salvation through the Word of
God.

ix. Philip replies to the Ethiopian, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” Now, if you have a
modern translation, like the NIV, this verse isn’t there, or it’s in brackets. Some scholars don’t
think it should be there, but personally, I do.

x. My reasoning is this. Philip had just preached salvation to Simon the sorcerer, and baptized
him. He didn’t get saved, and as we covered last week, the reason why was that Simon never
made the decision in his heart to really believe.
xi. Philip didn’t want to see that happen again. He wanted to make sure, as best he could, that
the Ethiopian was really saved.

xii. The Ethiopian’s answer is a very profound one. He says that he believes that Jesus Christ is
the son of God. Romans 10:9 and 10 tells us this - if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with
the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.

xiii. The Ethiopian made a confession with his mouth that he did indeed believe. He was a new
man, born again, he was saved.

xiv. At this point, he commands the chariot to stop, and He and Philip get out, and go down to
the water. We know from earlier chapters that baptism is an outward sign of an inward change.
It is a public confession of our faith in Jesus Christ.

xv. Not only did the Ethiopian make a confession Philip that he believed in Jesus, but in being
baptized, he made that profession of faith to his entire entourage.

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Hide xvi. The last thing we see here is an important one. We are told that Philip and the
Ethiopian went down into the water, and that the Ethiopian is baptized.

xvii. The word baptize comes from the original Greek word baptizo, and it means “to immerse”.
We are not told anywhere in scripture about people being sprinkled, just people getting dunked.
When you go down into the water completely, to symbolize your death and burial in Christ. You
are brought back up to symbolize your new life that you are free to walk in.

xviii. So, Philip takes the Ethiopian eunuch down into the water to baptize him, and what
happens next is pretty amazing too, we see this in verses 39 and 40.

g. The Snapping Up (Acts 8:39 – 40)

i. 39 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. 40 But Philip was found at
Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

ii. God immediately gives His own personal stamp of approval to Philip’s efforts. No doubt that
this is an abrupt ending to the story. Can you imagine the reaction of the Ethiopian? Most
people, when you bring them up from baptism, wipe the water out of their eyes, like this. When
this guy wiped the water out of his eyes, only to find that the guy he went down to the water
with was gone.
iii. Philip is caught up by the Holy Spirit. The term caught up there is only used one other place
in the Bible, in 1st Thessalonians 4:16 and 17, you’re probably familiar with this passage but here
it is - 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

iv. So, word is the same term from which we get our word rapture. Philip was raptured up to go
where God wanted him to be next.

v. Now, notice what the Ethiopian man’s reaction. Verse 39 says that he went away rejoicing.
That is always the mark of a true believer.

vi. Romans 15:13 tells us this - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

vii. This man had that joy, and Philip’s job there was done. He was caught up by God to Azotus.
Azotus was about 20 miles away from Gaza, and was the next major town on the road that led
to Gaza. From this launching point, Philip preaches the gospel in several other towns on his way
to Caesarea.

viii. As we will see later on in Acts, Caesarea was Philip’s home, so it is evident that the Lord gave
him a break from all his travels, and he got to spend some time with his family.

ix. We don’t know for sure what happened to the Ethiopian, but tradition tells that he became a
missionary to the Ethiopians, and he was instrumental in leading many on the continent of Africa
to Christ.

x. We’ll stop here, at the end of chapter 8. Next week, we will start chapter 9, as we look at the
conversion of Paul. But first, I’d like to close with a short story.

h. Conclusion

i. An anthropologist was studying a primitive tribe in South America that years earlier had been
reached by a Christian missionary. After having lived among the tribe for several weeks, the
anthropologist met with the tribe’s leader. He said, “You have a wonderful culture, but it is a
shame that the missionary came and infected your tribe with his religion.”

ii. The chief replied, “See that rock? That’s where we would break the skulls of our enemies. See
that tree? That’s where we would sacrifice them to our God. And if we had not learned Christ
was our Lord, you would be our dinner tonight.”
iii. One missionary made a difference to that tribe. One person. Remember that I asked you to
think about the people that influenced your life for Christ at the beginning of the message?