Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Acts 8:26-40.

Truth: Amanda

Acts 8:26–31 ESV

26 Now 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 place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over 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 someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Introduction

Good morning church. We are so happy to be here to join you all in worship and believe it or not it’s June. The kids are out of school, the pools are open, and camps are upon us. Where did the time go?

Today we will be picking up in Acts chapter 8 to a familiar story of Philip and a man from Ethiopia. A quick recap. Stephen is killed, the church scatters, Philip comes to Samaria, preaches, many are saved. A magician named Simon tries to buy the Holy Spirit off of them. Peter scolds him, revival takes over Samaria, the Holy Spirit falls when Peter and John lay their hands on them and pray, they return to Jerusalem to confirm to the apostles what is going down.

Now, we pick up with Philip who isn’t done yet.

Tension

Exposition

Acts 8:26–40 ESV

26 Now 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 place.

An angel of the Lord goes directly to Philip to give out orders. We don’t see specifically a call from God to Philip to preach in Samaria, but here the message is relayed directly. God was sovereignly directing Philip towards Gaza on the road that goes down from Jerusalem. There have been conjectures over the years about whether or not this was a city called Gaza or not. The issues being that the Ancient city of Gaza was destroyed in 93 B.C. and the city was rebuilt nearer to the Mediterranean in 57 B.C. But, it appears that more than likely this is simply describing the road that went out the south of Jerusalem that is found in a desert area.

Why does this matter? Well, God just so happened to be very specific in his commands in a very unassuming place. After all, how many people hang out in desert areas? Why would you ever think this would be a good place to share ministry or preach? Yet, God had a plan that Philip didn’t know about other than to say yes.

Acts 8:26–40 ESV

27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship

Now, we see that God spoke to Philip and he got up and went there. And upon arriving to this undisclosed location in a very weird place to be bumping into someone, Philip spots who God had sent him there to mean.

Ethiopian- Now, this was not to mean that he was from Ethiopia as it is today. Ethiopia, as you can see here was a province in Egypt at the time. It refered the nation of Nubia from Aswan in the Southern Egypt to Khartoum in the Sudan.

Eunuch- Often it was the case that in certain cultures like Persia and Northern Africa that males would undergo either a vow of celibacy or physical castration in order to serve in royal courts or harems. In essence you were ceremonially or literally giving up your own claim to a name, family, or progeny for yourself to give your whole life to the service of your benefactor. The thought would be that such men would be valued for their perceived loyalty and trustworthiness around women. This often opened up roles as courtiers, military office, or palace officials. However, especially in the Hebrew culture, they were not allowed to be apart of the Lord’s assembly. In Deuteronomy 23 they are outrightly forbidden. However, in Isaiah 56, the prophet predicts great blessings for eunuchs in the Millennial age.

Isaiah 56:3–5 ESV

3 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.” 4 For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, 5 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 that shall not be cut off.

Treasurer of Queen Candace: We see that in that same tradition, this Eunuch is an official, but not just any official. He is the head of the queen of Ethiopians, Queen Candace (which is likely a title not necesserily her name.) You hear that Candace, you’re a queen! But in egyptian culture, often the governmental power was given to the queen-mother because the royal son was often worshipped at the offspring of the sun, and such petty and menial activities like ruling a nation were seen as beneath him. So this Eunuch was the guy holding the purse strings of the nubian empire. He was beyond confidence in the queens court and yet we find a strange happening.

Come to Jerusalem to worship. This Ethiopian eunuch had traveled all the way to Jerusalem to worship. He would not have been welcomed into the assembly. We don’t fully know where or how or when he became familiar with Yahweh. We don’t know what his level of devotion or worship looked like. Yet he was allowed to make this trip up the Jerusalem and more than that, we see that he wasn’t playing around.

Acts 8:26–40 ESV

28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over 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 someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This Eunuch was in a chariot and he was reading out loud from his own scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Now, we have to generational and cultural gaps between 2025 Americans and there day but suffice it to say that we are looking at great amounts of evidence of this man’s wealth. Normal everyday people did not have chariots let alone a horse to pull them. Its a hummer of the day and it let everyone know this was a man of power, wealth, and status. On top of that, culturally, scrolls were an expensive investment of time and money that most people couldn’t afford. I know it sounds strange today in our world where we all probably have 10 or so bibles sitting around our house collecting dust and scores more books that haven’t been opened in years but the world at this time was prodominantly illiterate. Most people didn’t read or write. The word was explained by learned people who could and given to the people orally through sermons and teachings. On top of that printing wouldn’t exist until 1440 with the invention of the Gutenburg Press. So if you wanted your own scroll of Isaiah you had to pay someone to make you up a scroll of papyrus. This was a painstaking process that requires artisans time. Then on top of that you had to pay scribes who could read and write to pen every letter of every word with extreme detail to perfection. We are talking about a lot of time, effort, and money. This was so expensive that often synogogues wouldn’t own a full set of the old testament scrolls but would share and trade with others. When the scroll came to your synogogue you would chain it inside the building or lock it in a chest so it couldn’t be stolen.

Yet this guy is coming back from Jerusalem sporting his own copy. He is reading it out loud and God uses the traveling voice of the man to perk up Philips ears. He hears the words and instantly feels the spirit pull him towards the man. He’s been called her for a reason and the spirit shows him that reason. Philip responds with obedience and comes up to the man asking “do you understand what you are reading?”

I love this man’s response because it shows us a couple things about him.

Acts 8:31 “31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”

It shows us that he is a humble man and that he genuinely has a desire to learn. I will tell you that over my 23 years as a Christ follower I have been discipled by many men and had the oppertunity to do the same for others. The most God ever opened my heart and gave me wisdom was when I had humbled myself to His word and my teachers. When I wasn’t acting full of myself and sought to listen more than to speak. In that same way I’ve tried to walk men through the words of Jesus where they were more interested in telling me what they thought it meant than they were in finding out what Jesus had to say. Humility and growth go hand-in-hand. If you ever hope to grow as a disciple of Jesus you have to at least humble yourself to Him and His word. Put another way, how can you fill an already full cup? If you know it all, what does Jesus have to teach you or show you? The realization that we don’t know it all and that it’s okay to find help or a tutor to guide us is one that has a certain amount of humility at its core. This man had that and was eager to learn.

And Philip responds. I will say such moments are rare and they are beautiful. Where God orchastrates everything exactly right and you know that it was Him alone bringing all the pieces together.

My second year in student ministry, a drought for me personally in seeing fruit in my ministry, I was walking a broken young boy home after he had made a fool of himself. I was confused, angry, and walking this kid home at midnight because he refused to listen. A couple blocks into the trudge he said, “Juston you don’t get it, you don’t know what my life has been like. You’re married and your life has been great.” He proceeded to explain to me all the struggles and problems that had come into his life since his parents broke up and how he’d been largely abandoned by everyone who should have cared. I felt the Holy Spirit smile in my heart as he just explained to me all of the same struggles and almost the same situations that defined my life at his age. “Well man you might not believe this but you just described my life from 12-16.”

Sometimes God is weaving everything together in ways you can’t and won’t see. Yet, you still have a part to play in your piece of the painting. And every once and a while, you get to see the whole thing pop into focus, and you see what God was doing all along.

Acts 8:26–40 ESV

32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

Just so happens that this man was on his way home from Jerusalem.

Just so happens that he was taking this desert road at that time on that day.

Just so happens he was bringing back with him a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Just so happens that he was educated, wealthy, and inquisitive enough to be able to use such a prized scroll.

it just so happens that he is turned to the place in that scroll where the prophet Isaiah just so happened to describe this suffering lamb who would be humiliated and killed, refering to the Messiah whom God would send 700 years from then.

It also just so happened that this messiah had come, taught, healed, was killed, buried, and resurected in the same town he just left from just months ago.

and the cherry on top. It just so happened that on this road, in this desert, going south, while he was reading a 700 year old prophecy about a coming king, eager to understand, while reading out loud, he comes by the one guy who can teach him about this prophecy and about this savior. Right place, right time, right heart, right man, right teacher, and the Holy Spirit glued it all together in the best way possible. I had a friend who called such moments “god winks”. Moments when it was unmistakable that God did this and was winking at you.

Acts 8:26–40 ESV

36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 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 carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

This man’s humility and open heart was implanted with the truth of the Gospel immediately. And he was ready to dive in wholesale. On the road, in the middle of a desert place, they happen upon some water. How many places could have had this water and yet they happen right by it. This triggers this man’s heart. I want to be baptized. Is there any reason I shouldn’t be?

So he is baptized right there and even after the departure of Philip he went away rejoicing.

A quick note here about baptism and what our response should be to it, using this passage as a guide.

It needs to be done out of a desire to be obedient to the scriptures.

For a lot of people that I have talked with in my ministry Baptism has a cloud around it of miscommunication and ignorance. Many in my world were kids who had the hell scared out of them. There were led to believe that they needed to be baptized to be saved. Or my big sis or brother did it so I want to. My favorite was the little guy who wanted to be baptized so he could have snack time. What do you mean? Well mom told me I can’t have those crackers and a juice box in church until I got baptized and I think its not fair that everyone gets snack but me. Jesus was not baptized for repentance of sins but to be an example to us through baptism. Baptism is a symbolic event in the life of a beleiver. It doesn’t save you. It doesn’t validate, varnish, or complete your salvation experience either. It is a declaration the canidate makes to all those in attendance that they want you to know the seriousness of their commitment towards following Christ. The image is of the old man you used to be dying and being buried and the person who comes up out of the water walking in the new life Christ has given them. You are inviting your friends and family to the funeral of your old self and to celebrate with you as you walk in obedience to Christ. Scripture teaches us that baptism is done for the repentance of sins and to walk in the new life of Christ. We must also make sure that we are dispelling the clouds of confusion around it and not contributing to more misunderstanding. The best way to make sure of this is going back to the scriptures.

Repentance, Belief, Salvation, then Baptism.

Which comes first the chicken or the egg. Put simply, the chicken. Salvation is not given through baptism, baptism is an action undertaken by the saved. We believe and teach in believers baptism. Meaning we don’t baptize people to cause belief. We don’t believe the water has any real power. I’ve been told I was wrong though. Many times. I had a man explain to me once that it did matter. The water had to be in a creek or river. Not a lake or a pond or a baptisty or the like. The water had to be moving because it literally and spiritually washes your sins away. Friends, I like the sentiment but he’s wrong. Baptizo, the word for baptism means to submerge beneath. That is only word we need to understand. We dunk someone completely under the water. Why? Because of the symbol. Its a burial. We don’t burry 90% of a body. We don’t sprinkle dirt on top of you and leave you sitting on the ground in the cemetary. We bury you. To have a genuine salvation experience you need to have repented of your sin, put your full faith and trust in Jesus, believing he was the son of God who died for your sins on the cross and that God raised him from the dead on the third day. You need to acknowledge your sin, turn from it and towards Christ, deciding to live in obedience to His will and His word. If you have made that decision you are the right candidate for baptism. If you are ready to proclaim that truth to your church, your family, your friends, and all that you can, that you are not who you were and you follow Jesus now, you are the right candidate.

It comes from desire and joy not coercion.

One of my former pastors, Mark Conyers married his bride Debbie who was a navy brat. Her father moved to 16 different posts in 10 years and some of them had churches and some did not. When they did, they would join. Many of them had a closed membership where if you didn’t get baptized in their church, you could not become a member. Period. So Debbie would always tell everyone she’d be baptized 8 times in her life because of this. I loved her response though, because it showed her heart in the whole matter and how we viewed this stuff correctly, even if the churches she went too did always. “it was 8 times I could proclaim to God’s people how awesome he is and how he changed my life. It was 8 times I could say to the Lord again, I still will walk with you.”

Do not preasure people into baptism. it is supposed to be something you want to do. Now, for sure I think there are people that have some reservations that can be fixed. Did you know there are a lot of people who just hate water? The joy of the Lord and a desire to proclaim his gospel over our lives and see it manifest itself in others leads us toward the waters of obedience. Make sure that those around you know what they are doing and why they are.

This eunuch was so overjoyed that he went on along his way, saved and thrilled, back to his home without Philip to hold his hand.

Landing

I want to finish this beautiful and famous tale with a excerpt from Kenneth Gangel to draw us in to where the rubber meets the road.

Acts E. Contact with the Target (vv. 30–35)

Can we conceive of a modern parallel to this incident? (Philip and the Eunuch) Picture yourself waiting in the departure lounge of an airport. A stranger sitting next to you has an open Bible on his lap. He may not be reading aloud, but his finger moves along the lines as he ponders the words. You glance over and discover he’s in

Friends. Would you orient your heart and your life in such a way that if that man in that airport asked you for help you’d be ready to pull the trigger? That you’d be elated to do so? That you’d show up to the airport that day already prayed up and looking for just the chance to make such an introduction?