Bible Study - Take Me to the Water

Acts 8:26–40 KJV 1900

26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be 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 stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, 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.

Bible Study: Take Me to the Water Speaker: Rev. Adrian S. Taylor, Lead Pastor Setting: Springhill Church, 120 SE Williston Road, Gainesville, FL 32641 Season: Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Main Idea: Believer’s baptism is not a bare religious rite. It is the local church obeying the Lord’s charge, one of two ordinances by which disciples publicly confess that Jesus Christ alone saves. In Acts 8 a Gentile court official meets a Spirit sent evangelist named Philip. From Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant, Philip preaches Jesus, the Lamb led to the slaughter. The Lord opens an inquisitive heart, the Scriptures instruct the mind, and faith takes holy initiative that ends in water baptism. This narrative gives a pattern for coming to Christ in spite of barriers, and a picture of baptism as the believer’s clear, Christ centered confession.

Introduction: “Take Me to the Water” from Acts 2:26–39

Peter’s Pentecost sermon shows the heartbeat of the early church’s message and response. Quoting David, Peter proclaims of Christ, “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad” and “thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:26–27, KJV; cf. Psalm 16:8–11). These verses anchor the resurrection as God’s public declaration that Jesus is Lord and Christ. Joy flows from the empty tomb because the Holy One did not see corruption.

Peter then turns the joy into a summons. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). The people are “pricked in their heart” and ask, “What shall we do?” Peter answers with gospel clarity: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” and he holds out a promise “unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off” (Acts 2:38–39). Repentance toward God and faith in the risen Christ are followed by baptism as the public confession of new life.

This Pentecost pattern sets the stage for Acts 8. The same risen Lord who saved thousands in Jerusalem now saves one searching man on a desert road. The order remains. The Word is preached, the heart is pierced, Christ is received, and water follows as the believer’s witness. In Acts 2 the multitude says, in effect, “Take me to the water.” In Acts 8, one man says it aloud, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?”

I. Be Inquisitive (Acts 8:26–34)

Providence prepares the seeker. An angel directs Philip, “Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza” and Luke notes, “which is desert” (Acts 8:26). At the same time an Ethiopian official is returning from worship in Jerusalem, “sitting in his chariot” and “reading Esaias the prophet” (Acts 8:27–28). The Lord orders steps and timings so that a ready heart meets a willing witness. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23). Our God delights to arrange desert appointments.

Questions open the door for understanding. The Spirit nudges Philip, “Go near, and join thyself to this chariot” (Acts 8:29). Philip asks, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” The eunuch answers with humility, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” and invites Philip to sit with him (Acts 8:30–31). This is holy inquisitiveness. He reads aloud, he admits need, and he seeks guidance. Scripture commends this posture. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). The Bereans model it as well, who “searched the scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11).

Ask the right question that points to Christ. The passage in view is Isaiah 53:7–8, cited in Acts 8:32–33. The eunuch asks, “Of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?” (Acts 8:34). That question is the hinge of the narrative. Jesus taught that the Scriptures testify of Him (John 5:39), and “beginning at Moses and all the prophets” He showed “the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). Inquisitiveness becomes the doorway to illumination when it aims at Christ.

Synopsis: Be Inquisitive

God’s providence brings a prepared seeker and a prepared servant together. The eunuch’s humility, his hunger for the Word, and his Christward question demonstrate true spiritual inquisitiveness. He models Psalm 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,” and God answers by sending help and pointing him to Jesus.

Acknowledge God’s providence in your search. Pray for divine appointments and eyes to see them.

Acts 17:26–27 “26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”

Read Scripture aloud and regularly. Let the Word shape your questions and longings.

Acts 17:11 “11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

Admit your need for guidance. Seek faithful teachers Christ gave to His church.

Ephesians 4:11–12 “11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Aim your questions at Christ. Ask how the text points to His person and work.

John 5:39 “39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Pray for illumination. Ask God to open your eyes and grant wisdom.

Psalm 119:18 “18 Open thou mine eyes, That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”

II. Be Informed (Acts 8:35)

Scripture opened, Christ revealed. “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Philip practices exposition. He starts where the man is, “the same scripture,” and draws out what God placed in the text. John 1:18 says the Son “hath declared” the Father, a verb that gives us the idea of exegesis. Faithful teaching lets the God breathed “scripture” speak and shows how it reveals Christ.

The Bible’s center is a single Savior. Jesus taught that all Scripture bears witness to Him (John 5:39). On the Emmaus road He interpreted “in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). God “hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2). The gospel content is clear and historic. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). The message is not moral advice but a crucified and risen Redeemer.

The gospel verb and its glorious object. Luke’s phrase means Philip “gospelized him Jesus.” The good news is not a program but a Person. “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). God’s Word is truly preached when Christ is made plain to a soul longing for divine truth. When the Scriptures are opened and Jesus is unveiled, minds are informed and hearts are invited.

Synopsis: Be Informed

Philip models Christ centered exposition. He begins at Isaiah 53 and makes Jesus unmistakable. All Scripture converges on the Son who died, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). To be informed is to have the text explained and the Savior exalted, so that faith rests not in opinion, but in the person and work of Jesus.

Read with a Christward lens. Ask where Christ is promised, pictured, or proclaimed.

Luke 24:27 “27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Anchor the gospel in Scripture. Review and memorize the core message (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 “3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

Use Scripture to explain Scripture. Let clear texts shed light on difficult ones (Hebrews 1:1–2; Revelation 19:10).

Hebrews 1:1–2 “1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

Name Jesus when you share. Point people to the Person who forgives sins (Acts 10:43; Romans 1:16).

Romans 1:16 “16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Sit under sound exposition. Value preaching and teaching that opens the Book and exalts Christ (2 Timothy 4:2; Nehemiah 8:8).

2 Timothy 4:2 “2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

III. Be Intentional (Acts 8:36–39)

Move from conviction to confession. As they travel, the eunuch sees water and speaks first. “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” (Acts 8:36). Verse 37 preserves the apostolic pattern. “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” He replies, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” This is heart belief and mouth confession that accords with Romans 10:9–10. No crowd pressures him. He simply obeys truth.

Submit to baptism as the sign of union with Christ. “He commanded the chariot to stand still” and “they went down both into the water” (Acts 8:38). Then “when they were come up out of the water” the sequence matches the meaning. Under speaks of death and burial. Out speaks of resurrection life. This aligns with “buried with him by baptism into death” and “raised” to walk in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4; cf. Colossians 2:12). Even Jesus “went up straightway out of the water” at His baptism (Matthew 3:16), and John baptized where “there was much water” (John 3:23).

Go on your way rejoicing. After the baptism, “the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip,” yet the convert “went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). Ordinances are visible words. Baptism does not save. Jesus saves by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). Baptism confesses that salvation, pledges a good conscience toward God, and strengthens assurance as we obey the Lord (1 Peter 3:21). Joy is the fruit of faith expressed.

Synopsis: Be Intentional

The eunuch’s faith becomes action. He confesses Jesus as the Son of God and immediately obeys by baptism. The mode matches the message, picturing death, burial, and resurrection. The result is joy. He believed, he was baptized, and he went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:37–39).

Examine your faith. Ensure heart belief in Christ, not mere agreement in the head (2 Corinthians 13:5; Romans 10:9–10).

2 Corinthians 13:5 “5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

Confess Christ publicly. Do not be ashamed to own Him before others (Matthew 10:32).

Matthew 10:32 “32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”

Obey the Lord in baptism. If you have believed, schedule your baptism by immersion (Acts 2:41; Acts 22:16).

Acts 22:16 “16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

Join a local church family. Continue in doctrine, fellowship, and service (Acts 2:41–42).

Acts 2:41–42 “41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

Walk in joyful obedience. Let new life produce new priorities and praise (Colossians 3:17; Philippians 4:4).

Colossians 3:17 “17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Closing Encouragement

The Lord still arranges desert roads and divine meetings. Be inquisitive in the Word, be informed by Christ centered teaching, and be intentional in obedient faith. “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest” (Acts 8:37). “See, here is water.” What hinders you?