The Ethiopian Treasurer or Seeking, Sought and Saved

Neighbour, R. E. (2000). Sermons and Bible Studies (Vol. 8, pp. 43–54). WORDsearch.

Behind the Scenes (John 16:8).

Seeking for Light (Ps. 68:31).

Sought of God (John 7:37).

Instructed by Philip (Acts 8:35).

Saved (Acts 8:37).

Baptized (Acts 8:36, 38).

Rejoicing (Acts 8:39).

There is much to learn concerning the Ethiopian treasurer that is both instructive and interesting.

He seems to picture for us the average experience of the unbeliever in coming to God.

Some have thought of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus as a model conversion; but he was rather a type of the conversion of Israel, at the Lord’s Return.

The Ethiopian treasurer brings before us the great underlying methods of God’s dealings with the lost.

First of all there was the preparation of the heart.

The Ethiopian had evidently felt God’s workings within him, preparing him for the reception of the Truth.

Then in succession came

the Ethiopian’s search for light;

his returning home unhelped,

followed by the coming of the servant of a compassionate God;

then Philip’s sermon, as they rode slowly along the way;

then the receptive heart of the Ethiopian as he believed the Lord Jesus and was baptized.

Last of all comes the resultant testimony of the new-born son of Ethiopia as he returns to his country as a witness of the Cross of Calvary.

Behind the Scenes

“And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8).

We have no definite passage that describes what is was that led the Ethiopian treasurer to go to Jerusalem, nor why it was that he was returning reading in the prophecies of Isaiah concerning the Cross of Christ. Results, however, follow causes. There must have been some reason for this burdened sinner’s inquiry after God.

One thing we know that back of it all was God the Holy Spirit. He it is Who convicts the world of sin; He it is Who reveals to man the Saviour.

Perhaps, as a result of the Spirit’s work, there was something of what often occurs in our day when men are aroused to seek for salvation. We may easily imagine some conditions which led up to the Jerusalem ride and the earnest searching in the Scroll of Isaiah.

1. Perhaps the eunuch was wearied with the vanities of life. He was a man of larger responsibilities and of good success. Unto him the Queen of Ethiopia had delivered all her treasures. Yet the honored and successful man was not satisfied. There was an aching void, that the world could never fill. He looked on all the labor that his hand had wrought and behold “all was vanity and vexation of spirit.” Thus he hated life. He saw how hollow it was, how empty of lasting benefits. Over all his earth-attainments he wrote, “vanishing things.” He yearned for something that would outlive the ages.

2. He may have been a man of years and before him there came visions of the great beyond. He cried: “Whither am I bound? It is all so dark, I do not know what awaits me, I’m awfully afraid!”

Eternity lay before him and he had no assured hope. He was aboard a ship without a pilot, or a rudder, or a prospective port. He felt the folly of pulling anchor and of sailing out into the great eternal ages without preparation of any kind.

3. He certainly felt the burden of his sins. He, like Bunyan, carried on his back a load which weighed him to the ground. He knew he was unfit for the presence of the King of Righteousness. Even though the Queen of Ethiopia did him honor, he could not stand before God. He longed to know where he could get relief, where he could cast from him the burden of his sins.

4. He must have heard of Christ’s mighty works. It is more than probable, it is almost certain, that this treasurer of the Queen of Ethiopia had heard reports of the wonderful happenings during the few preceding years in Palestine. There had come to his ears some wonderful stories of the wonder workings of the Son of God.

Perhaps he had heard of the story of more than one miracle of healing and of more than one instance of forgiveness of sins. Perhaps the story of the crucifixion, had reached his ears, and greatly stirred his soul, although he understood it not. At least he determined to go to Jerusalem “for to worship;” and while there he would seek to understand the meaning of these occurrences.

“Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but Thou art mighty;

Hold me with Thy powerful hand;

Bread of Heaven! Bread of Heaven,

Feed me till I want no more.”

Seeking for Light

“Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God” (Ps. 68:31).

Our key verse seems almost prophetic of this very man, the Ethiopian treasurer, although the passage must be more general in its complete fulfillment. The larger fulfillment lies yet ahead and awaits the coming of our Lord.

Still the eunuch of this story is, as it were the first-fruits, of the larger harvest that will follow, when the King comes back. Let us then, with renewed interest, follow the seekings of this sinner, who was a great man under Queen Candace.

1. He had found not help in Ethiopia. He had looked this way and that, and there was no man. No one cared for his soul. No one had a message of peace. The gods of his heathen darkness gave no hope of light and life and love.

2. He had gone to Jerusalem for to worship. Whether he sought the Church instead of the Jewish synagogue we do no know. In those days the Christians were greatly spoken against in Jerusalem. The fires of persecution had already broken forth.

The story of the Ethiopian is sandwiched in between the story of Stephen’s death and the story of the treacherous threatenings of the young man Saul. The Jerusalem Church was being scattered in all directions. Perhaps the Ethiopian could not find opportunity to meet one of the disciples of the Cross. At least, he was in Jerusalem seeking for light, and he found it not.

3. One thing he had, and that was a copy of the Scroll of Isaiah. With this in hand, and with heavy heart he was returning.

What a picture! A sinner seeking for the light; a sinner in the house of God; a sinner yearning after God, but returning in the dark. A sinner with the “Bread of Heaven” in his hand, yet hungry as he went.

When the Spirit of God convicts men of sin,

There is sorrow and sighing and sadness within;

There is searching and seeking ‘mid darkness and night,

For peace and for pardon, for Christ the true light.

Sought of God

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink” (John 7:37).

Let us not imagine that God’s sending Philip to the help of this inquiring and burdened Ethiopian was the first step in God’s search for him. Not at all. From the very beginning, God was in it all.

Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost. He is still seeking them out. He has commanded His Church to go into all the world and seek until it finds.

When we see a seeking sinner, we may rest assured that there is not far away a seeking Saviour.

Indeed the very yearning of the Ethiopian was from the Spirit’s work. No wonder then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.”

Today the same call is often heard: “Who will go, and whom shall I send?”

“Go out in the byways and search them all;

The wheat may be there, tho’ the weeds are tall;

Then search in the highway, pass none by,

But gather from all for the Home on high.”

“How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace!” These missionaries of the Cross do not go forth alone. They are more than sent of God. They are accompanied by God. God is in them as they go.

How glad we are, as we read the words, “And he arose and went.” Philip was not disobedient to the Spirit’s call. Of course, he was having a good time in Samaria, and he might have argued the need there. Of course, the way he was commanded to go was desert, and he might have argued the weariness of such a journey. He might have done many things. Jonah did. But Philip did not argue, did not hesitate; he quickly arose and went.

“When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His Word;

What a glory He sheds on our way,

While we do His good will, He abides with us still;

And with all who will trust and obey.”

“How can they hear without a preacher?” Is not this quotation involved in the very language which the Ethiopian spoke? Philip asked him, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” and he replied, “How can I, except some man should guide me?”

Instructed by Philip

“Then Philip opened his month, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35).

As the obedient evangelist neared the chariot, how glad he must have been! Now he understood the meaning of the Spirit’s strange command—“a road which is desert.” On that lonely road was a chariot, and in the chariot was a man with an open Book.

The Spirit said, “Go near, join thyself to this chariot;” and Philip quickly drew near. Then Philip asked, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” and the eunuch desired Philip that he would come and sit with him. Let us follow the lessons that are here for us.

1. The Scripture the Ethiopian read. “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: in His humiliation His judgment was taken away: and who shall declare His generation? for His life is taken from the earth” (vss. 32, 33).

This was no mere happen so. The Spirit must have led the man to that message. How marvelous it was to Philip as he saw the words over which the Ethiopian was anxiously pondering. Then Philip began at the same Scripture and preached unto him Jesus.

Philip opened up in all the Scriptures the story of the Cross. He showed how Christ must needs have died’ and have been raised from the dead and have entered into His glory. How it stirred up the one who sat and heard the words! The dark things became plain. The whole Cross story, with its shame and spitting, with its darkness and its death, with its substitutionary message was illuminated.

2. The need of sinful men to-day. The message that the sinner needs is the message of the same atoning death. What else can meet the sinner’s need?

Oratory in the pulpit and oratorios in the choir will not meet the cry of aching hearts. Lectures on prohibition and essays on ethics will not satisfy. Sparkling star-dust from stirring literature will not help out. Dissertations on the beautiful life of Christ, the Nazarene, the Man of Galilee, will not suffice.

The sinner needs the message of the Saviour. Nothing short of a sermon like that which Philip preached, will meet the case.

Saved

“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” (Acts 8:37).

All of the old manuscripts do not contain this verse; yet it is surely implied, even if it was not written. What was the result of Philip’s message? The treasurer of Ethiopia believed and was saved.

That which saved him was not his deep concern; it was not his trip to Jerusalem; it was not his patient continuance in his search for Christ; it was not the earnest message of the evangelist. The Ethiopian was saved by accepting Christ. He believed in the Lord Jesus, and he was saved. Let us notice the two word’s, “believed” and “saved.”

1. He believed. Some one asks, “Can simple faith save a soul from death?” That is just what the Bible says. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

“Then what is faith?”

It is more than a mere assent to certain statements concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Where is he who does not believe the fact of Christ’s death, and resurrection? So also do the demons believe and tremble.

Belief includes intellectual assent, but it goes deeper in. Saving faith involves what the older theologians called “affiance.” Affiance means a plighted faith—the pledge of the heart toward Christ.

The Bible puts it this way: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” “With the heart” involves the affections. Heart faith means a confiding trust, an allegiance to the one believed in.

This is just what happened with the Ethiopian. He heard of Christ and understood His Calvary-work. He then believed, trusted in Christ, and was saved.

2. He was saved. Oh, the depths of this word! Saved; Yes, saved! Saved from sin, saved from hell, saved from a wasted life; saved unto God, saved unto service, saved unto eternal life.

He was traveling the downward way, but grace found him. He was living for the things that are seen, but Christ was revealed unto him. He was saved!

Does the word mean nothing to you? Ask the one who was caught in the whirl of the maddened waters as the ship went down; he felt himself engulfed forever; his brain crazed with fear; and then, someone saw him coming up and caught him and he was saved—ask him what it means to be saved.

Does the word mean nothing to you? Go to the eunuch and ask him what it means. He was a great man with the queen of the Ethiopians, but he saw himself as lost. He felt himself going out into a long eternity without one ray of hope. He went to Jerusalem for to worship, but was returning unsatisfied. He sought through the Word for help. The Spirit all the time was digging in. Then Philip came along and preached unto him Jesus. How graciously the light shone in, and the darkness fled away. He was saved! He can tell you what it means.

Baptized

“And as they vent on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

“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” (Acts 8:36, 38).

Philip must have spoken of this blessed ordinance as he preached Jesus unto the Ethiopian treasurer. Why else should this man have desired to be baptized?

Baptism surely carries no saving grace, nor did the eunuch think that he would by baptism secure pardon for his sins. He was already saved, but he sought baptism because of what it typified.

Surely Philip made it plain. Salvation was through the death of Christ. But Jesus Christ arose and Philip told of the resurrection, and how we too must rise. Philip set forth baptism as the beautiful emblem which pictures all of this. The eunuch saw Christ dead, and buried, and risen again. He saw that when Christ died, he died; that when Christ was buried, he was buried with Him; that when Christ came forth from the grave, he came forth with Him. And so it was, he asked to be baptized.

Together they went down—both Philip and the eunuch, and Philip baptized him.

Baptism is not a matter for quibbling; it is a matter for obedience. Baptism is not an act that concerns the unsaved; it is an act for the saved alone. Baptism is not an ordinance to be repudiated for any cause; it is an ordinance to be obeyed.

Baptism belongs not to any one church, or to any one denomination; it belongs to all the churches which follow Christ. It is a command to all the saved.

Rejoicing

“The eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39, l. c.).

Following the baptism, Philip’s work was done. The record reads: “The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more.” The Spirit had other work for Philip, for he was found preaching in Azotus.

Following the baptism, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. He had been hungry and thirsty. He had been spending his money for that which was not bread, his labor for that which satisfieth not. Then he had heard the call of God: “Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear and your soul shall live.” Then he sought the Lord and found him. He turned from his ways and thoughts to God’s ways and thoughts, and he went on his way rejoicing. To him it seemed that the very mountains and hills along his path were singing; to him the very trees were clapping their hands for joy.

It would have been interesting to have watched the journey of this saved Ethiopian. He had something that did not wear off at the next turn of the road, He had something that he took with him back to his own country and to his own home.

The record leaves him “rejoicing,” as he went his way; and when, one day, we see him in Glory, he will be “rejoicing” still.

Of course, he went on home, and gave there his testimony concerning what the Lord had done. This is one thing that the saved always do. Something had happened in his life, and he told it out. Some One, even the Son of God, had come into his life and* he told Him out.

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The redeemed of the Lord will say so.

As the Ethiopian treasurer came again to his home, he entered a heathen city and a heathen court. How his heart must have burned within him. He saw the follies of this old life. He saw the madness and the sadness of those who have not the Lord.

Many a trying hour, and perhaps much persecution, may have been his lot. Yet he pressed on until he passed through the gates into the City of God.