Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
8:26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise, and go toward
the south
to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert."
8:27 He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia,
a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians,
who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship.
8:28 He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the
prophet Isaiah.
8:29 The Spirit said to Philip, "Go near, and join yourself to this
chariot."
8:30 Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and
said,
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
8:31 He said, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?"
He begged Philip to come up and sit with him.
8:32 Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this,
"He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb before
his shearer is silent,
So he doesn't open his mouth.
8:33 In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away.
Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the
earth." Isaiah 53:7,8
8:34 The eunuch answered Philip,
"Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone
else?"
8:35 Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached
to him Jesus.
Baptism
8:36 As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said,
"Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?"
8:37 {TR adds "Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart,
you may.'
He answered, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'"}
8:38 He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down
into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
8:39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught
Philip away,
and the eunuch didn't see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.
8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus. Passing through,
he preached the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.
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Comments
Knowing God's Specific Will
In his fulfilling the Great Commission Philip first traveled north to Samaria.
Now he was called to go south of Jerusalem. As we follow God's general
commands, He will give us more specific guidance along the way. Philip
didn't have to be told of the Ethiopian he would encounter later on. He
just had to be told to head south to Gaza. So also we may not need to know
the application of the Bible to our specific situation until we have decided
to follow its general commands. As we commit ourselves to following the
Spirit in accordance with the Word of God, He will give us more specific
guidance as we encounter situations along the way. Go and make disciples
of all nations and as you do the Spirit will lead you concerning the specifics.
Application Oriented Faith
In view of the fact that this man was a foreigner and no doubt a busy man,
being the treasurer of an entire country, yet he took time not only to
go to Jerusalem to worship, but even studied the Bible on the way, it is
apparent that he was not like the hypocrites among the Jews, but rather
a sincere believer in the God of Israel. In fact his behavior is more commendable
than many Christians who complain that they are too busy and never find
time to study the Bible. Notice also the manner in which he studied. He
didn't simply read as if fulfilling a religious duty, but asked questions
as to the application of the text. It is application oriented faith which
God requires of us. And indeed we see from his reaction to Philip's explanation
of text that he immediately wanted to apply it right on the spot. Whereas
many Christians will often have an application right in front of them and
yet procrastinate in acting on it.
Getting Baptized
Have you come to faith in Christ? What prevents you from being baptized?
Get over it! Now most churches require you to go through a whole program
of courses before they will baptize you. But those are good to go through.
For few do as much Bible study as the Ethiopian did before he got baptized.
And the churches want to make sure new converts are genuine and have a
clear understanding of the faith. But whatever your situation, if you want
to follow Christ you must be baptized. Yes I know, those with a muslim
background will be threatened with death, and those with a Jewish background
will be treated as if dead, and there are many other such scenarios where
the baptized will face persecution. That's just part of the Christian life.
Getting ReBaptized
Those who, like myself, were baptized as infants must be rebaptized. For
infant baptism is unBiblical. It is not a result of the person putting
their faith in Christ. It is not a profession of faith of the one being
baptized. And Peter speaking of the baptism associated with salvation says
that it involves "pledge of a good conscience toward God." (1Pet
3:21) But no such pledge is made by infants.
The Euch's Profession of Faith
vs 37 "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest."
And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God."
This verse is missing in many modern translations which are based upon
a slightly different greek text than the KJV. But the verse is helpful
in understanding that baptism should not be given those who doubt or who
have merely an experimental sort of faith. It is meant to be likened to
Israel's Jordan River crossing into the promise land, but often many take
it as the Red Sea crossing only to die in the desert of nominalism.
Isaiah 53
This is perhaps the most explicit prophecy describing Jesus' earthly ministry.
Jesus fits this so clearly that the passage will not be read in Jewish
synogogues today. You can view the chapter in a poetic form at http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/is53rap.html
By God's providence Philip was in the right place at the right time for
this man to hear the gospel.
Philip Taken Away
It could not be said that the job of discipling this man unto maturity
in Christ was complete upon his baptism. But each has a role in the body
of Christ. Some plant and some water. Inevitably God causes the growth.
Having completed his particular role in this matter God sent Philip on
to the next job. The Ethiopian was left alone, as if abandoned. Yet it
was no doubt apparent to him that he was not alone but that God had proven
to be watching him all along leading him to faith in Christ. So he went
on his way rejoicing. He had intended to worship God in Jerusalem, but
ended up worshipping Him on the way. As we travel on the road of life in
the fear of God, He will bring others to us at the appropriate time for
our edification. Let us not despair when saints come and go from our lives,
for like Philip there will be both those you edify and are edified by,
whom you will see no more in this life, but let us let God arrange things
as He will. |