Acts 8:26 - Meaning and Application

This is the story of the Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion to the faith of Christ. Through him, we have reason to think, knowledge of Christ was carried into the country where he lived, and the Scripture was fulfilled: “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands” to God (Psalm 68:31). Philip the evangelist is led to the road where he will meet this man (Acts 8:26).

When the churches in Samaria were settled and had ministers appointed, the apostles returned to Jerusalem. Philip stayed behind, expecting to be used in new work. Here he receives direction from an angel, likely in a dream or night vision, telling him where to go: “Arise, and go toward the south.” Angels were not sent to preach the gospel, but they were often used to bring messages to ministers for guidance and encouragement (Acts 5:19).

We should not expect such direct angelic guidance now, but God still watches over the moves and settlements of his ministers. In one way or another, he will guide those who truly want to follow him into the path where he will approve their work. He will guide them with his eye. Philip must go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, through the desert or wilderness of Judah. He would never have chosen that place himself. It seemed a poor place to find any work, yet God often opens doors in the most unlikely places, just as Jesus said in the parable about sending workers into the highways and hedges (Matthew 22:9).

Philip obeys at once (Acts 8:27). He rose and went without arguing, and without even asking, “What business do I have there?” or “What chance is there of doing any good there?” He went out without knowing where he was going or whom he would meet.

The eunuch is then described, so we may see what kind of man this special favor was shown to (Acts 8:27). He was a foreigner, a man of Ethiopia. There were two Ethiopias, one in Arabia and one in Africa. This one seems to be the African Ethiopia, south of Egypt, far from Jerusalem. In Christ, those who were far off were brought near, just as God promised that the ends of the earth would see his great salvation.

The Ethiopians were viewed as one of the most lowly and despised nations, with their dark skin treated as if it were a mark against them. Yet the gospel was sent to them, and God’s grace looked on them kindly, even though the sun had darkened their skin. He was also a man of rank, a great person in his own country. He was a eunuch, not in body here, but in office, meaning a court official, probably the lord chamberlain or steward of the household.

He held great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who may have been a successor to the queen of Sheba, also called the queen of the south. In that land, queens ruled, and Candace may have been a common royal title, like Pharaoh in Egypt. He was in charge of all her treasure, a trust of great weight. Not many who are mighty or noble are called, but some are.

He was also a proselyte, someone who had joined the Jewish religion, since he had come to Jerusalem to worship. Some think he was a full proselyte of righteousness, meaning he had been circumcised and kept the feasts. Others think he was only a proselyte of the gate, a Gentile who had turned from idols and worshiped the God of Israel from the outer court. If that were so, then Peter would not have been the first to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, as he later said he was.

Some also think that knowledge of the true God had remained in Ethiopia ever since the time of the queen of Sheba. Perhaps the eunuch’s ancestor had been one of her attendants, and passed on what he learned at Jerusalem to later generations.

Philip and the eunuch are then brought together in close conversation. Philip soon sees why he was sent into that desert. There he finds a chariot, which becomes like a synagogue, and one man whose conversion may, for all he knows, mean the conversion of a whole nation. He is told to go near and join himself to the chariot, so the man will notice him (Acts 8:29). This is a good example for us. We should look for chances to do good to people we meet on the road. The righteous can feed many with wise and helpful words. We should not be too suspicious of strangers, for even when we know nothing else about them, we know they have souls.

Philip finds him reading his Bible as he sat in his chariot (Acts 8:28). He ran up and heard him reading aloud, likely for the benefit of those with him (Acts 8:30). He was using the long journey well, not with philosophy, history, politics, or anything useless, much less a novel or play, but with the Scriptures, the book of Isaiah. Christ read from that book (Luke 4:17), and the eunuch did too, which should especially recommend it to us.

Perhaps he was reading again the passages he had heard in Jerusalem, so he could remember what had been explained to him there. It is the duty of all of us to spend much time with the holy Scriptures. People of rank should do this even more, because their example influences many, and they often have more control over their time. Wise people in business learn to redeem time for holy duties. Time is precious, and it is good stewardship to gather up every fragment of it so nothing is wasted.

When we come home from public worship, we should use private means to keep alive the good feelings stirred up there and the good impressions made there (1 Chronicles 29:18). Those who are diligent in searching the Scriptures are in a good way to grow in knowledge, for to the one who has, more will be given.

Philip then asks a fair and kindly question: “Do you understand what you are reading?” He does not ask this to shame him, but to offer help.

What we read and hear from God’s Word matters greatly, especially what it says about Christ. So we should often ask ourselves whether we really understand it. Jesus asked, “Have you understood all these things?” (Matthew 13:51). We should also ask whether we understand them rightly. We cannot benefit from Scripture unless we understand it in some measure (1 Corinthians 14:16, 1 Corinthians 14:17). And blessed be God, what is needed for salvation is clear enough to be understood.

The eunuch, an important official from Ethiopia, knew he needed help and asked for Philip’s company. “How can I understand,” he said, “unless someone guides me? Please come up and sit with me” (Acts 8:31). He spoke with great humility about himself and his own ability. He was not offended that a stranger, walking on foot and likely looking unimpressive, asked whether he understood what he was reading. Many people would have taken offense and sent Philip away, but he answered modestly, “How can I?” We have reason to think he was an intelligent man and familiar with Scripture, yet he still confessed his weakness. Those who want to learn must first admit that they need teaching. The prophet had to admit he did not know what these things meant, and then the angel would tell him (Zechariah 4:13).

He also showed a strong desire to be taught and to have someone guide him. He was reading Scripture even though many parts of it were hard to understand. There are many dark and difficult things in Scripture, and some things are often misunderstood. Still, we should not set them aside. We should study the parts we do understand, because that is often the best way to come to the harder parts little by little. Knowledge and grace grow step by step.

He invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This was not like Jehu, the king of Israel, bringing Jonadab into his chariot to show off his zeal for the LORD of hosts (2 Kings 10:16). It was more like this: “Come and see my ignorance, and teach me.” He gladly honored Philip by taking him into the carriage if Philip would explain a passage of Scripture to him. To understand Scripture rightly, we need guidance. Good books help, and good people help, but above all we need the Spirit of grace to lead us into all truth.

The passage the eunuch was reading gave Philip a very good opening. Gospel preachers often had such openings when they spoke to people who knew and accepted the Old Testament, especially when they found them already studying it, as this eunuch was. He was reading Isaiah 53, and Luke quotes two verses from it here (Acts 8:32, Acts 8:33), taken from part of verses 7 and 8. They are quoted according to the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament translation, which differs in some places from the Hebrew text.

The main difference is in the phrase about Christ being taken away. In the Hebrew, it says he was taken from prison and from judgment, meaning he was hurried with great force from one court to another, or taken away by violence and judgment. Here it is read, “In his humiliation his judgment was taken away.” He looked so poor and helpless that they denied him fair justice. Against every rule of right, which every person should have, they declared him innocent and still condemned him to die. Nothing criminal could be proved against him, yet he was brought low and carried off. In that sense, in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and the meaning is much the same as in the Hebrew.

These verses foretold several things about the Messiah. First, he would die, led to the slaughter like a sheep offered in sacrifice. His life would be taken from among people, taken from the earth. How little reason, then, did unbelieving Jews have to stumble at Christ’s death, when their own prophets had clearly foretold it and when it was necessary to complete his work! Then the offense of the cross is removed.

Second, he would die unjustly. He would be killed by violence, hurried out of life, and no fair judgment would be done for him. He had to be cut off, but not for himself.

Third, he would die patiently. Like a lamb silent before the shearer, and even before the butcher, he did not open his mouth. Never was there such patience as our Lord Jesus showed in his suffering. When he was accused and abused, he stayed silent. He did not answer with insults, threats, or revenge.

Fourth, he would live forever, through ages beyond counting. That is how I understand the question, “Who can speak of his generation?” The Hebrew word properly means the length of one life (Ecclesiastes 1:4). Who can fully understand or describe how long his life will continue, even after his death? His life was taken only from the earth. In heaven he lives forever and into endless ages, as Isaiah 53:10 says, “He shall prolong his days.”

The eunuch then asked, “About whom is the prophet speaking?” (Acts 8:34). He did not ask Philip for a grammar lesson or notes on the wording. He wanted the main point and purpose of the prophecy, something that would help him unlock the meaning of the whole passage by comparing one part with another. Prophecies often remained unclear until they were explained by their fulfillment, and this was one of them.

He asked a wise and thoughtful question: “Is the prophet speaking about himself, expecting to suffer as other prophets did, or about some other man, in his own time or in a later time?” The modern Jews do not allow this to refer to the Messiah, but their older teachers did explain it that way. The eunuch may have known this and partly understood it himself. Even so, he asked the question to draw Philip into conversation, because the way to grow in learning is to consult those who know more.

Just as the law was to be asked from the priests’ lips (Malachi 2:7), so the gospel must be asked from Christ’s ministers. This is especially true for the great treasure hidden in the Old Testament, which they are meant to open up. The best way to receive good teaching is to ask good questions.

Philip took this opening to explain the great mystery of the gospel about Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. He began with this Scripture and used it as his text, as Christ had done with another part of the same prophecy (Luke 4:21). Then he preached Jesus to him (Acts 8:35). That is all we are told about Philip’s sermon, because it was much the same as Peter’s earlier sermons. The work of gospel ministers is to preach Jesus, and that is the kind of preaching most likely to do good.

It is likely that Philip now had the gift of tongues, so he could preach Christ to this Ethiopian in his own language. Here we see an example of speaking about God’s things, and speaking about them well, not only at home but also while walking along the road, as the rule in Deuteronomy 6:7 says.

The eunuch was baptized in the name of Christ (Acts 8:36-38). He had probably heard about Christ in Jerusalem, so the message was not entirely new to him. But even if he had, that alone could not explain this quick change in his heart. It was the powerful work of the Holy Spirit, working with and through Philip’s preaching, that won him over.

As they traveled and talked about Christ, the eunuch kept asking more questions, and Philip answered them to his satisfaction. Then they came to some water, perhaps a well, river, or pond, and the sight of it made the eunuch think of baptism. In this way, God sometimes uses what seems like a chance event to remind his people of what they should do. The eunuch did not know how soon Philip might leave him, or where he could find him later. He could not expect Philip to travel with him to the next stop, so he wanted to use the present chance. “See, here is water. What is stopping me from being baptized?” In other words, “Can you show any reason why I should not be received as a disciple and follower of Christ through baptism?”

He did not demand baptism. He did not say, “Here is water, and I am determined to be baptized.” If Philip had any reason against it, he was willing to wait. If Philip thought he was not ready, or if the ordinance required more time, he would not press the matter. Even eager zeal must submit to order and rule. But he did desire it, and unless Philip could show a reason against it, he wanted it right away. When we give ourselves to God, it is good to do it quickly and not delay, because the present time is the best time (Psalm 119:60). Those who have received the thing baptism points to should not keep putting off the sign. The eunuch feared that his present good feelings might cool off, so he wanted at once to bind himself to the Lord by baptism and settle the matter.

Philip then explained the condition for receiving baptism: “If you believe with all your heart, you may” (Acts 8:37). That means, if you believe the truth I have preached about Jesus, if you receive God’s witness about him, and if you set your seal to the truth of it. He must believe with all his heart, because people believe with the heart, not with the head alone. It is not only agreeing in the mind with gospel truth. It is also giving the will’s consent to the terms of the gospel. If he truly believed with all his heart, then he was united to Christ, and if he gave proof of that faith, he could be joined to the church by baptism.

The eunuch then made a brief confession of faith before being baptized. It is short, but it says enough: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” He had already been a worshiper of the true God, so now he only needed to receive Christ Jesus the Lord. He believed that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, the anointed One. He believed that Christ is Jesus, a Savior, the only Savior of his people from their sins. And he believed that this Jesus Christ is the Son of God, having a divine nature, sharing the same nature as the Father, and being, as the Son of God, heir of all things. This is the main unique truth of Christianity. Whoever believes it with all their heart and confesses it, they and their children are to be baptized.

Then he was baptized at once. The eunuch told his driver to stop the chariot. It was the best resting place he had ever found on any journey. They went down into the water, because they were traveling and had no vessel with them to draw water up. This does not mean they stripped naked and went into the water that way. Rather, they likely went in barefoot, as was the custom, perhaps only up to the ankles or mid-leg, and Philip sprinkled water on him. That would fit the prophecy the eunuch had likely just read, only a few verses before the passage Philip had started from, and it suited his case very well (Isaiah 52:15): so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings and great men will shut their mouths before him, submit to him, and accept him, because they will see what had not been told them and understand what they had not heard.

Even though Philip had been deceived very recently by Simon Magus, who was baptized and later showed himself to be no true believer, Philip did not let that make him doubtful about baptizing the eunuch right away on his confession of faith. If some hypocrites come into the church and later become a grief and shame, that does not mean we should make the door of entrance narrower than Christ has made it. They will answer for their own turning away, not we.

Then Philip and the eunuch were separated at once, and this was as surprising as the rest of the story. One might have expected the eunuch to stay with Philip, or to take him back to his own country. There were many ministers in those parts, so Philip could have been spared, and it would have been worthwhile. But God ordered it differently.

As soon as they came up out of the water, and before the eunuch returned to his chariot, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away (Acts 8:39). He did not give Philip time for the usual words of encouragement after baptism, which both men likely expected. But Philip’s sudden departure was enough to make up for that missing talk, because it seems to have been a miracle. Philip was likely taken up in the air while the eunuch watched, and then carried out of sight. This miracle confirmed Philip’s message just as much as a miracle done through Philip would have done.

Philip was gone, and the eunuch saw him no more. He had lost his minister, but he went back to his Bible. We are told first how the eunuch was disposed, or how he felt. He went on his way rejoicing. He continued his journey, because work still called him home. This did not conflict with his Christianity, since the Christian faith does not place holiness in becoming a hermit or living cut off from others. Instead, it is a religion people can and should carry into daily life.

Yet he went on rejoicing. He did not look back on this sudden change in his religion with regret. Instead, the more he thought about it, the more sure he became. He went on with joy that was too deep for words and full of glory. He had never been happier in his life. He rejoiced because he himself had been joined to Christ and now belonged to him. He also rejoiced because he had good news to bring to his own people, and he now had a hope of leading them too into fellowship with Christ. He returned not only as a Christian, but as a minister.

Some copies of the verse read it this way: when they came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit fell on the eunuch, without the apostle laying hands on him, and then the angel of the Lord took Philip away. Then we are told how Philip was directed. He was found at Azotus, also called Ashdod, an old Philistine city. There the angel, or Spirit of the Lord, set him down. That place was about thirty miles from Gaza, where the eunuch was heading, and Dr. Lightfoot thinks the eunuch took ship there and traveled by sea to his own country.

But Philip, wherever he was, did not stay idle. He traveled through the area and preached in all the cities until he came to Caesarea. There he settled, and as far as we can tell, he made that his main home from then on. We later find him in Caesarea with his own house (Acts 21:8). He had been faithful in serving Christ as a traveling preacher, and in time he was given a settled home.