As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)

What do we do with the resurrection story? It can be easy to find inspiration on Easter Sunday, but harder to carry that Easter excitement onward. This was not, apparently, an issue for the earliest believers. Lectionary texts from Acts in the weeks after Easter explore their growing engagement with the resurrected Christ and a world in need of renewal. The memorable stories emphasize the truth that God’s love, Christ’s work, and the Spirit’s blessing are for all people.

            The aftermath of Christ’s post-resurrection appearances turned the disciples’ lives upside down. No longer plagued by doubt but confident in their call, they proclaimed the gospel not only in Jerusalem, but on into Judea and Samaria. Encounters such as the one in today’s text propelled the gospel even into faraway lands. The message of salvation through Christ is a borderless gospel offered to all who need the Savior’s grace, and no one exhibited that belief more clearly than Philip, an early believer and a powerful witness for Christ.

The Philip of this story is probably not to be identified with Philip the apostle. Acts 8:1 says that all the apostles were remaining in Jerusalem, but this Philip was in Samaria when the angel led him to the Ethiopian. He is probably the Philip who was one of the seven prototype “deacons” appointed in Acts 6:1-6 to assist with the distribution of food to the poor. He may have been among those who were filled with the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2). A further reading of Acts 6 reveals that people like Stephen and Phillip could be powerful preachers and evangelists, too. 

Hearing God’s call

(vv. 26-29)

Luke, who wrote the Book of Acts, reports that Philip was led by God to go into the countryside and meet an Ethiopian eunuch who was returning home after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem (v. 26). The story is told so matter-of-factly that the appearance of an angel garners little attention.

As Philip went about his business, the angel popped into view and instructed him to go south to the lonesome road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. As the story is told, that was the extent of the message, not unlike God’s command for Abraham to go “to the land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1).

Philip obeyed, even without knowing his mission. The road from Jerusalem to Gaza connected with the coastal highway that led to Egypt and points south, and somewhere along the way, Philip met the chariot of an official in service to the queen of Ethiopia. The unnamed administrator oversaw the royal treasury, Luke wrote, which would make him a person of considerable prestige (v. 27). [DD]

Surprisingly, the official had not come to Jerusalem on diplomatic business, but on a personal pilgrimage, to worship at the temple. This indicates that he was a “God-fearer,” a term used to describe Gentiles who worshiped Yahweh, the God of the Jews. Having completed his mission, the man was returning home in a stately chariot large enough to include a bench on which he could sit and read (v. 28) while a driver handled the horses.

An angel had reportedly sent Philip to meet the Ethiopian, but Luke says “the Spirit” prompted him to run alongside the chariot (v. 29). It must have seemed odd for the official to see a man running beside him, asking questions about what he was reading, but the story suggests that he eagerly invited Philip to join him in the chariot. 

Explaining God’s message

(vv. 30-40)

The traveler was reading from the prophet Isaiah, and the text clearly puzzled him. He could tell that it spoke of a suffering servant of God, but he did not understand the significance of the prophet’s words.

The official may have felt a bit like a plumber reading a book on quantum mechanics: he was plenty smart, but without the appropriate background. He was probably reading from a Greek translation of Isaiah, for Greek was the language of commerce and politics, and a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures was in common use. Reading the words of his scroll was one thing: understanding their intent was another.

            Isaiah 53:7-8 speaks of one who “was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” The suffering one was humiliated and deprived of justice, the prophet said, and “his life was taken from the earth” (see also vv. 32-33).

            The eunuch had learned much about the law, and apparently he loved the teachings, even though they pointedly excluded him from full acceptance within Judaism (Deut. 23:1). But this text from the prophets was beyond him. [DD]

            Seeing his confusion, Philip asked the man if he understood what he was reading, and the eunuch admitted he had no hope of comprehending without someone to guide him (vv. 30-31).

            Isaiah 53:1-8 is from one of four texts that are often called “Servant Songs” (generally identified as Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:1-11, and 52:13-53:12). They are found in Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55), prophecies that were written during the exile, long after the original Isaiah was dead. The song speaks of a servant of the Lord who would willingly suffer and die on behalf of others. The whole concept was so far removed from the law with which the eunuch was familiar that he was rightly puzzled.

            Not long before, Philip would not have understood, either. But Philip had met Jesus. And, like other early Christians, Philip soon interpreted the puzzling texts as prophesies pointing to the suffering and resurrection of Christ. Based on this new understanding, “Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus” (v. 35). 

            And, because the official could understand the story of faith that Philip declared—the welcome news that he could be fully accepted into Christ’s family despite his ethnic background and his wounded gender—the eunuch believed. He believed, and he wanted to act on his new belief. So, when they came upon a small body of water, he asked Philip a question that preachers have highlighted ever since: “What is to prevent me from being baptized?” (v. 37). He ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip—believing the gospel was for all people—baptized him (vv. 36-38). [DD]

Living as God’s example

(vv. 39-40)

            Once the evangelist had accomplished his purpose, Luke wrote, “the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,” leaving the official to continue homeward, rejoicing in his newfound faith (v. 39). The word for “snatch” is quite emphatic, suggesting the speed with which Philip was removed and set down in a place called Azotus, from which he went on throughout the region and “proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea” (v. 40).

            Azotus is the New Testament name for the city known in the Old Testament as Ashdod, one of the five major strongholds of the Philistines. It was located in the coastal plain of southern Palestine. To get from there to Caesarea, on the northern shore, Philip’s preaching tour would have followed the main coastal highway and brought him into potential contact with several large population centers.

            Reflecting on this story, which clearly portrays Philip as a model for evangelistic emulation, suggests several patterns of behavior that are worthy of a second look.

            First, Philip was a faithful follower of Jesus, likely one of the seven who were appointed in Acts 6 to lead the social ministries of the church in Jerusalem. If so, he would have been a man of compassion who shared the characteristic of being “filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom” (6:3).

            Secondly, Philip listened for God, and paid attention when God spoke. Perhaps it was because he was filled with the Spirit that Philip was so spiritually perceptive. We don’t know how he recognized the angel of God in v. 26, or how he sensed the message of God’s Spirit in v. 29. But, because Philip was apparently open and listening for divine guidance, he understood when God was speaking to him.

            Third, Philip obeyed God, even when it was not convenient. God’s call sent Philip well out of his way. He had been in Samaria, in the northern part of Israel, but God’s call put him on a road that led southwest from Jerusalem and through the desert to Gaza, where it met the main north-south trade route.

            It would have required a long hike for Philip to get to the place of his appointment, and even more effort to keep it. He was told to “Go over to this chariot and join it” (v. 29). The chariot, of course, would have been moving. Philip would have had to run to keep up.

            Fourth, Philip responded without prejudice. God called Philip to relate one-on-one to a total stranger who was very different. The Ethiopian had darker skin and wore distinctive clothing. He came from a foreign land with different customs. Greek would have been a second or third language to him, and his altered gender would have been offensive to observant Jews. But none of that hindered Philip from reaching out to him or baptizing him.

            What hinders us from reaching out to all people, including those who are different?