PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH

The Early Church

Acts : 8: 26 “Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get up and go toward the south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)”

Acts 8: 27 “And he got up and went, and behold, there was a man, an Ethiopian eunuch (a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasury) who had come to worship in Jerusalem”

Acts 8 LEB

1 And Saul was agreeing with his murder. Now there happened on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was attempting to destroy the church. Entering house after house, he dragged off both men and women and delivered them to prison. 4 Now those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news of the word. 5 And Philip came down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them. 6 And the crowds with one mind were paying attention to what was being said by Philip, as they heard him and saw the signs that he was performing. 7 For many of those who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them, crying out with a loud voice, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. 9 Now a certain man named Simon had been in the city practicing magic and astonishing the people of Samaria, saying he was someone great. 10 They were all paying attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’ ” 11 And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astonished them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized. 13 And Simon himself also believed, and after he was baptized he was keeping close company with Philip. And when he saw the signs and great miracles that were taking place, he was astonished. 14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 16 (For he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then they placed their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 19 saying, “Give to me also this power, so that whomever I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit!” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver be destroyed along with you, because you thought you could acquire the gift of God by means of money! 21 You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and ask the Lord if perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you!” 23 For I see you are in a state of bitter envy and bound by unrighteousness.” 24 But Simon answered and said, “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said will come upon me.” 25 So when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they turned back toward Jerusalem, and were proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans. 26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get up and go toward the south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 27 And he got up and went, and behold, there was a man, an Ethiopian eunuch (a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasury) who had come to worship in Jerusalem 28 and was returning and sitting in his chariot, and reading aloud the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Approach and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading aloud Isaiah the prophet and said, “So then, do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “So how could I, unless someone will guide me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of scripture that he was reading aloud was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was taken from him. Who can describe his descendants? For his life was taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch answered and said to Philip, “I ask you, about whom does the prophet say this—about himself or about someone else?” 35 So Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this scripture, proclaimed the good news to him about Jesus. 36 And as they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he ordered 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 carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer, for he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Introduction:

Eunuchs: A State Officer .

Acts: 6: 5 “5 And the statement pleased the whole group, and they chose Stephen (a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit), and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus (a convert from Antioch),”

Esther :2: 3 “3 Let the king appoint chief officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every attractive young virgin to the harem in the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let him give them their beauty treatment.”

Esther : 3: 12-15 “12 And the king’s secretaries were called in the first month on the thirteenth day, and a decree was issued, according to all that Haman commanded, to the satraps of the king and to the governors who were over all the provinces, and to the officials of all the people, to each province according to its own script and to all people according to their own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and was sealed with the king’s ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the provinces of the king to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, on one day, the thirteenth day of the month, that is Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the edict was presented as law in every province making it known to all the people to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out quickly by order of the king, and the law was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; and the city of Susa was bewildered.” Bible › New Testament › New Testament Historical Books › Book of Acts › The Narrative Transitions to the Work of Paul › Philip’s Ministry › Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch Also: Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian (8:26–40)

This passage is the second narrative (8:5–25) about the preaching ministry of Philip, one of the seven deacons (6:1–6), in the diaspora. The angel of the Lord orchestrates an encounter between a eunuch, the royal treasurer of Kandake/queen of Ethiopia, as he is returning home from worshiping in Jerusalem (8:26–29). Their providential meeting culminates with the Ethiopian’s baptism and an appearance by the spirit. Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian (8:26–40) This passage is the second narrative (8:5–25) about the preaching ministry of Philip, one of the seven deacons (6:1–6), in the diaspora. The angel of the Lord orchestrates an encounter between a eunuch, the royal treasurer of Kandake/queen of Ethiopia, as he is returning home from worshiping in Jerusalem (8:26–29). Their providential meeting culminates with the Ethiopian’s baptism and an appearance by the Spirit (8:30–40). Do You Understand? (8:26–31) This paragraph describes the unlikely encounter between Philip and an Ethiopian eunuch, one that is divinely orchestrated (8:26–29) so that Philip can help him understand the Scriptures he is reading (8:30–31). 8:26 This verse continues describing Philip’s itinerant ministry in the diaspora (8:4–5). Philip receives a divine command from the Lord’s messenger to go on a back road that leads away from Jerusalem; he has no other details, but he goes (8:26–27). 8:27 This verse shows that Philip obeys the divine command. The word “now” creates a temporal bridge between Philip’s arrival on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza and an Ethiopian eunuch’s recent trip to Jerusalem. The verb tense “had” implies that the Ethiopian is no longer in Jerusalem … Read more »

Isaiah:53: 1 “1 Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?”

Isaiah: 53: 2 “2 For he went up like a shoot before him, and like a root from dry ground. He had no form and no majesty that we should see him, and no appearance that we should take pleasure in him.”

Isaiah :53: 3 “3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering, and acquainted with sickness, and like one from whom others hide their faces, he was despised, and we did not hold him in high regard.”

Isaiah :53 4 “4 However, he was the one who lifted up our sicknesses, and he carried our pain, yet we ourselves assumed him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted.”

Isaiah :53:5 “5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his wounds we were healed.”

Isaiah :53:6 “6 All of us have wandered about like sheep; we each have turned to his own way; and Yahweh let fall on him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah:53 : 7 “7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was brought like a lamb to the slaughter, and like a sheep is dumb before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.”

Isaiah :53: 8 “8 He was taken by restraint of justice, and who concerned himself with his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he received a blow because of the transgression of my people.”

Isaiah :53:9 “9 He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

Isaiah :53:10 “10 Yet Yahweh was pleased to crush him; he made him sick. If he places his life a guilt offering, he will see offspring. He will prolong days, and the will of Yahweh will succeed in his hand.” 📷 An Ethiopian Eunuch Is Baptized by Philip All the Turning Points in the Bible The Spirit of the Lord Snatches Philip All the Miracles in the Bible 1.Leviticus :21:16-24

Leviticus 21:16–24 LEB

16 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘A man from your offspring throughout their generations, in whom is a physical defect, shall not come near to present your God’s food. 18 Indeed, any man in whom is a physical defect shall not come near: a blind man or lame or disfigured or deformed, 19 or a man in whom is a broken foot or a broken hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf, or a spot in his eye or a skin disorder or a skin eruption or a crushed testicle. 21 Any man from Aaron the priest’s offspring in whom is a physical defect shall not come near to present offerings made by fire to Yahweh; a physical defect is in him; he shall not come near to present his God’s food. 22 He may eat his God’s food, from the most holy things and from the holy things. 23 But he must not enter the curtain, and he must not come near to the altar, because a physical defect is in him, and he must not profane my sanctuary, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.’ ” 24 Thus Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites.

Tuesday:

Psalm 147:1–6 LEB

1 Praise Yah. For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant; praise is fitting. 2 Yahweh is building Jerusalem; he gathers the scattered ones of Israel. 3 He is the one who heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. 4 He counts the number of the stars; he gives names to all of them. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is unlimited. 6 Yahweh helps the afflicted up; he brings the wicked down to the ground.

Wednesday:

Gathering The Outcasts.

Isaiah 56:1–8 LEB

1 Thus says Yahweh: “Observe justice and do righteousness, for my salvation is close to coming, and my justice to being revealed. 2 Happy is the man who does this, and the son of humankind who keeps hold of it, who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it, and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3 And do not let the foreigner who joins himself to Yahweh say, “Surely Yahweh will separate me from his people.” And do not let the eunuch say, “Look! I am a dry tree!” 4 For thus says Yahweh, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose that in which I delight, and who keep hold of my covenant. 5 And I will give them a monument and a name in my house and within my walls, better than sons and daughters; I will give him an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. 6 And the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him and to love the name of Yahweh, to become his servants, every one who keeps the Sabbath, so as not to profane it, and those who keep hold of my covenant, 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them merry 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 peoples,” 8 declares the Lord Yahweh, who gathers the scattered ones of Israel (still I will gather to him, to his gathered ones).

Thursday:

Changing into Praise.

Zephaniah 3:14–20 LEB

14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Cry aloud, O Israel! Rejoice and be jubilant with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 Yahweh has annulled your judgments; he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, Yahweh, is in your midst; you shall no longer fear misfortune. 16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, “Fear not, O Zion; your hands shall not hang limp. 17 Yahweh your God is in your midst; a mighty warrior who saves. He shall rejoice over you with joy; he renews you in his love; he will exult over you with singing. 18 I will gather those of you grieving on account of the feast; they were raising against her a reproach. 19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors; I will save the lame and gather the outcast. I will change them from shame to glory and renown throughout the whole world. 20 At that time I will bring you in; at the time of my gathering you together. For I will make you renowned and praised among all the nations of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says Yahweh.

Friday :

A Ruler Who Seeks Justice

Isaiah 16:1–5 LEB

1 Send a ram to the ruler of the land, from Sela across the desert to the mountain of daughter Zion. 2 And this shall be: like a bird fleeing from a thrust away nest shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of Arnon. 3 “Bring counsel, make a decision; make your shade like the night in the middle of noonday. Hide the outcasts; you must not betray the fugitive. 4 Let my outcasts of Moab dwell as aliens among you; be a hiding place for them from the presence of the destroyer.” When the oppressor is no more, destruction has stopped, the one who tramples has disappeared from the land, 5 then a throne shall be established in steadfast love, and one shall sit on it in faithfulness, in the tent of David, judging and seeking justice and zealous for righteousness.

Saturday:

A Champion for The Needy.

Job 29:2–16 LEB

2 “O that I were as in the months before, as in the days when God watched over me, 3 when his shining lamp was over my head— by his light I walked through darkness— 4 as when I was in the days of my prime, when God’s confiding was over my house, 5 when Shaddai was still with me, my children were all around me, 6 when my paths were washed in sour milk, and the rock poured out streams of oil for me. 7 “At my going out the gate to the city, I secured my seat in the square. 8 Young men saw me and stepped aside, and the aged rose up and stood. 9 Officials refrained from talking, and they laid their hand on their mouth. 10 The voices of nobles were hushed, and their tongue stuck to their palate. 11 “When the ear heard and commended me, and the eye saw and testified in support of me 12 because I saved the needy who cried for help, and I saved the orphan for whom there was no helper. 13 The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a headband. 15 “I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor, and I investigated the stranger’s legal dispute.

Sunday:

The Good News About Jesus

Acts 8:26–39 LEB

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get up and go toward the south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 27 And he got up and went, and behold, there was a man, an Ethiopian eunuch (a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasury) who had come to worship in Jerusalem 28 and was returning and sitting in his chariot, and reading aloud the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Approach and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading aloud Isaiah the prophet and said, “So then, do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “So how could I, unless someone will guide me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of scripture that he was reading aloud was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was taken from him. Who can describe his descendants? For his life was taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch answered and said to Philip, “I ask you, about whom does the prophet say this—about himself or about someone else?” 35 So Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this scripture, proclaimed the good news to him about Jesus. 36 And as they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he ordered 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 carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer, for he went on his way rejoicing.