May
23rd Philip
and the Ethiopian
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.
Luke
records this remarkable incident from the ministry of Philip. This
great man of God was originally a deacon of the Church in Jerusalem,
but God enlarged his ministry to the work of an evangelist. First we
notice that he receives a direct visitation of the angel of the Lord.
Who tells him to get up and to go down to road that goes down from
Jerusalem to Gaza. This long rocky road was the main route back to
Egypt. He went and on the road he met a eunuch of Queen Candace who
ruled the Ethiopians. He was probably an Israelite who belong to a
very large community of Israelites who worship Jehovah. It is likely
that they descended from some of the ten tribes scattered by the
Assyrian invasion. They still exist there today. He was a man of very
high status and had the responsibility to look after all her
treasures. He had been to Jerusalem to worship the Lord and he had
obtained a copy of the scroll of Isaiah. It was probably a Hebrew
scroll but it may have been in Greek. The Spirit of God told Philip
to go near and join himself to the Chariot. The eunuch was reading it
aloud as Philip drew near. In fact he was reading from what we know
as chapter 53. Philip asked him do you understand the passage you are
reading? And he said. How can l understand it unless someone can
guide me? Then he invited Philip to come up into the chariot to sit
with him. The eunuch said, Is he talking about himself or somebody
else. The passage could have been in the first person or the third
person. Philip began at this passage and preached unto him Jesus. The
Chariot moved gently on as Philip continued to preach Jesus until it
came to a place were there was an abundance of water probably an
oasis. The Eunuch asked Philip if there was any hindrance to him
being baptised. And Philips response is a classic example of
evangelical thinking. He said, if you believe with your whole heart,
then you may. The decision as to being baptised was solely the
Eunuchs decision. Philip had no responsibility to approve or disprove
or to make any judgment on the worthiness of the Eunuchs faith. He
said, if you believe with all your heart (That is with your whole
mind) then you may. The baptism was solely on the basis of his Faith
in Christ and no other criteria. The eunuch replied, I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This simple confession of faith was
the basis of the eunuch’s salvation experience. It was not just a
head knowledge. It was not just a mental assent, although it included
that. It was a total faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God to be
his Saviour. He was relying, depending and trusting in Jesus Christ.
The chariot was brought to a halt and both of them went down into the
water and Philip Baptised him. And then what? When they emerged from
the water Philip disappeared. The Spirit of God miraculously
transported Philip to Azotus (Possibly 25 miles). The Eunuch went on
his way and he didn’t see Philip any more. Philip travelled on to
Caesarea preaching in all the cities as he went.
- Who was the man of Ethiopia?
- How did Philip preach to him?
- What did Philip do to him after his conversion?
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