Acts 8:30-40 (NIV)
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
God had been right. As Philip approached the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch, he heard him reading a familiar passage from Isaiah 53:7-8, a portion of the “suffering servant” prophecy, a passage that the apostles taught had foreshadowed the suffering and death of Jesus. And he knew exactly what he needed to do.
Philips first words to the eunuch were a question: “Do you understand what you are reading?” Implied in the question was the idea that Philip did understand the passage and was willing to help the eunuch understand it as well.
To those seeking the truth, a trustworthy guide is always welcome. So, the man accepted Philip’s implied offer and invited him to ride along in the chariot while they talked.
Philip began with the passage the eunuch had been reading, and explained how Jesus had fulfilled the prophecy, and why it was important. He also went back to the middle of chapter 52 of Isaiah, and read the whole passage in its context, all the way to the end of chapter 53, to show the man the substitutionary character of Jesus’ suffering and death, as well as the prophecy of His victorious resurrection (Isaiah 53:10-11). He followed this with a litany of Jesus’ miracles and some of His teachings about the now-present kingdom of God that many were coming into through faith in Jesus.
It was right then that they came to an oasis beside the road, and the eunuch asked exactly the right question: “Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” He had believed in Jesus as Philip shared, and he wanted to come into the kingdom of God and live there forever. His faith was evident, so Philip baptized him on the spot.
Some have seen a mystery or a miracle in the next couple of verses, with Philip disappearing with a poof and appearing with another poof in Azotus. But all Luke is saying is that once the eunuch was baptized, Philip declined to go further with him, because the Spirit was calling him to his next assignment. And the next place that he stopped and taught was in Azotus, the old Philistine city of Ashdod near the coast just a few miles north of Gaza. He taught there, and then continued to teach in towns along the coast until he got to Caesarea south of Haifa, where he settled (Acts 21:8-9).
Father, this whole episode shows me once again the importance of following Your guidance whenever and however it comes. Philip heard Your voice and responded, and the eunuch was led into the kingdom. Tradition tells us that many more Ethiopians came to faith in Jesus through the eunuch’s testimony when he returned home. And then You led Philip north along the coast into territories yet unreached by the gospel, and you enabled a harvest of souls in those areas as well. Your plan is always to use Your people to reach others with the good news of Your kingdom. Thank You for letting me be part of that plan. Amen.
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