But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”
Parallel Translations
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But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”
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Then the angell of the lorde spake vnto Phillip sayinge: aryse and goo towardes mydde daye vnto the waye with goeth doune from Ierusalem vnto Gaza which is in the desert.
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Then the Angel of the Lord spake vnto Philip, saying, Arise, and goe towarde the South vnto the way that goeth downe from Hierusalem vnto Gaza, which is waste.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Acts 8:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 5:19 But an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night, and brought them out and said,
- 2 Kings 1:3 But Yahweh’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and tell them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?
- Hebrews 1:14 Aren’t they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
- Acts 27:23 For there stood by me this night an angel, belonging to the God whose I am and whom I serve,
- Acts 10:22 They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was directed by a holy angel to invite you to his house, and to listen to what you say.”
- Acts 12:23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory. Then he was eaten by worms and died.
- Acts 10:7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually.
- Acts 12:8-11 The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” He did so. He said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He didn’t know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”
- Joshua 15:47 Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the brook of Egypt, and the great sea with its coastline.
- Zechariah 9:5 Ashkelon will see it, and fear; Gaza also, and will writhe in agony; as will Ekron, for her expectation will be disappointed; and the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
- Matthew 3:1-3 In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make the way of the Lord ready! Make his paths straight!”
- Luke 3:2-4 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.
- Joshua 13:3 from the Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the border of Ekron northward, which is counted as Canaanite; the five lords of the Philistines; the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avvim,
- 1 Chronicles 22:16 of the gold, the silver, the bronze, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and may Yahweh be with you.”
- Isaiah 60:1-22 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together. They come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in arms. Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you. The wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. All from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh. All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar; and I will beautify my glorious house. “Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the islands will wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. “Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you: for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive. For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted. “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet. They will call you Yahweh’s City, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. You will also drink the milk of the nations, and will nurse from royal breasts. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. For bronze I will bring gold; for iron I will bring silver; for wood, bronze, and for stones, iron. I will also make peace your governor, and righteousness your ruler. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor desolation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun will be no more your light by day; nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you, but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will not go down any more, nor will your moon withdraw itself; for Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will end. Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. The little one will become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. I, Yahweh, will do this quickly in its time.”
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 26. And the angel. Luke passeth over unto a…
26. And the angel. Luke passeth over unto a new history, to wit, how the gospel came even unto the Ethiopians. For though he reporteth there was but one man converted unto the faith of Christ, yet because his authority and power was great in all the realm, his faith might spread abroad a sweet smell far and wide. For we know that the gospel grew of small beginnings; and therein appeared the power of the Spirit more plainly, in that one grain of seed did fill a whole country in a small space. Philip is first commanded by the angel to go toward the south; the angel telleth him not to what end. And thus doth God oftentimes use to deal with those that be his, to prove their obedience. He showeth what he will have them to do; he commandeth them to do this or that, but he keepeth the success hidden with himself. Therefore let us be content with the commandment of God alone, although the reason of that which he enjoineth, or the fruit of obedience, appear not by and by. For although this be not plainly expressed, yet all the commandments of God contain a hidden promise, that so often as we obey him, all that work which we take in hand must needs fall out well. Moreover, this ought to be sufficient for us, that God doth allow our studies, when as we take nothing in hand rashly or without his commandment. If any man object, that angels come not down daily from heaven to reveal unto us what we ought to do, the answer is ready, that we are sufficiently taught in the Word of God what we ought to do, and that they are never destitute of counsel who ask it of him, and submit themselves to the government of the Spirit. Therefore nothing doth hinder and keep us back from being ready to follow God, save only our own slothfulness and coldness in prayer.
To the way which goeth down to Gaza. All the learned grant that that is called Gaza here which the Hebrews call Haza. Wherefore, Pomponius Mela is deceived, who saith that Cambyses, king of Persia, called that city by this name, because when he made war against the Egyptians, he had his riches laid up there. It is true, indeed, that the Persians call treasure or plenty, Gaza; and Luke useth this word shortly after in this sense, when as he saith that the eunuch was the chief governor of the treasure of Candace; but because that Hebrew word was used before such time as Cambyses was born, I do not think but that it was corrupt afterwards, the letter ה (heth) being changed into g, which thing we see was done in all others almost. The epitheton waste is added for this cause, because Alexander of Macedonia laid waste that old Gaza. Also Luke refuteth those who make Constantinus the builder of the second and new Gaza, who affirmeth that it was an hundred and fifty years before; but it may be that he beautified and enlarged the city after it was built. And all men confess that this new Gaza was situate on the seacoast, distant twenty furlongs from the old city.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Christ who calleth freely whom he listeth, doth now…
Christ who calleth freely whom he listeth, doth now use Philip who thought on no such matter, to instruct and baptize the Eunuch at unawares, and by this means extendeth the limits of his kingdom even into Ethiopia.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto…
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.
Ver. 26. Which is desert] Which way is desert, that is, less frequented, because uphill and downhill. So is the way to heaven, and therefore little travelled.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Some speak of two Gazas, one distinguished from the…
Some speak of two Gazas, one distinguished from the other by this epithet of
desert; but rather there were two ways unto one and the same Gaza, and that it was not the city but the way unto it, which is called desert; by which difference, here mentioned, the angel admonishes Philip not to go the ordinary road, but the more unusual road over the mountians, which was rarely travelled over, but was now necessary to be gone in to meet with the eunuch. God telleth our wanderings, and ordereth our steps.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Here we have recorded the remarkable conversion of the…
Here we have recorded the remarkable conversion of the eunuch by the preaching of Philip; concerning which several circumstances are to be observed; 1. The author or instrument converting, Philip, who was commanded by the angel in a vision to go to Gaza: but not the common way, or ordinary road, but by the way of the desert, a difficult, and perhaps a dangerous way, over mountains and through vallies: Philip knew not whither he was going; but God knew whither, and wherefore he sent him. O Philip! it was worth thy going many steps out of the way, to convert and save a soul: Happy for the eunuch that thou wentest out of the way, and that he as happily met with thee.
Observe, 2. The subject or person converted,
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1. An Ethiopian, the most despised of all the Gentiles in the sight of the Jews, Behold! the sanctifying grace of God washing a blackmoor white, and making an Ethiopian clean.
2. A nobleman, a courtier, a treasurer to the queen; yet he concerns himself with religion, and, being a proselyte, travels in his chariot as far a Jerusalem, to worship God in a solemn manner. O how will this example rise up in judgment against ourfreat ones, who have more light, but less heat; more knowledge, but less love!
3. A bookish man, one that delighted in reading, and in reading of the scriptures too, and thus whilst he was riding in his chariot, to lose no time for gaining the knowledge of his duty. If our courtiers and great men read not at all in their coaches, or if so, plays or romances only, this ignorant Ethiopian lord did better, though he knew not so much as these. He read in his chariot in the prophet Esaias.
Observe, 3. The means which God sanctified and blessed for the eunuch’s conversion; it was the reading and expounding of the holy scriptures: The word of God, read and preached, is the great instrument in the hand of the Spirit for sinners illumination, conversion, and salvation; and blessed are they that hear and read the word with attention, affection, and application.
Observe, 4. The wonderful modesty and humility of this great man, he thankfully accepts Philip’s offer to instruct and teach him, (some would have huffed at it as a rude affront,) but he condescends to learn of one beneath him. Such as are modest and thoroughly humble, are also truly docile and teachable, willing to learn, knowledge, although from the mouth of an inferior: He desired Philip to come up and sit with him.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We have here the story of the conversion of…
We have here the story of the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch to the faith of Christ, by whom, we have reason to think, the knowledge of Christ was sent into that country where he lived, and that scripture fulfilled, Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands (one of the first of the nations) unto God, Psa 68:31.
I. Philip the evangelist is directed into the road where he would meet with this Ethiopian, Act 8:26. When the churches in Samaria were settled, and had ministers appointed them, the apostles went back to Jerusalem; but Philip stays, expecting to be employed in breaking up fresh ground in the country. And here we have, 1. Direction given him by an angel (probably in a dream or vision of the night) what course to steer: Arise, and go towards the south. Though angels were not employed to preach the gospel, they were often employed in carrying messages to ministers for advice and encouragement, as Act 5:19. We cannot now expect such guides in our way; but doubtless there is a special providence of God conversant about the removes and settlements of ministers, and one way or other he will direct those who sincerely desire to follow him into that way in which he will own them: he will guide them with his eye. Philip must go southward, to the way that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza, through the desert or wilderness of Judah. He would never have thought of going thither, into a desert, into a common road through the desert; small probability of finding work there! Yet thither he is sent, according to our Saviour's parable, fore-telling the call of the Gentiles, Go you into the highways, and the hedges, Mat 22:9. Sometimes God opens a door of opportunity to his ministers in places very unlikely. 2. His obedience to this direction (Act 8:27): He arose and went, without objecting, or so much as asking, "What business have I there?" Or, "What likelihood is there of doing good there?" He went out, not knowing whither he went, or whom he was to meet.
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II. An account is given of this eunuch (Act 8:27), who and what he was, on whom this distinguishing favour was bestowed. 1. He was a foreigner, a man of Ethiopia. There were two Ethiopias, one in Arabia, but that lay east from Canaan; it should seem this was Ethiopia in Africa, which lay south, beyond Egypt, a great way off from Jerusalem; for in Christ those that were afar off were made nigh, according to the promise, that the ends of the earth should see the great salvation. The Ethiopians were looked upon as the meanest and most despicable of the nations, blackamoors, as if nature had stigmatized them; yet the gospel is sent to them, and divine grace looks upon them, though they are black, though the sun has looked upon them. 2. He was a person of quality, a great man in his own country, a eunuch, not in body, but in office - lord chamberlain or steward of the household; and either by the dignity of his place or by his personal character, which commanded respect, he was of great authority, and bore a mighty sway under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who probably was successor to the queen of Sheba, who is called the queen of the south, that country being governed by queens, to whom Candace was a common name, as Pharaoh to the kings of Egypt. He had the charge of all her treasure; so great a trust did she repose in him. Not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but some are. 3. He was a proselyte to the Jewish religion, for he came to Jerusalem to worship. Some think that he was a proselyte of righteousness, who was circumcised, and kept the feasts; others that he was only a proselyte of the gate, a Gentile, but who had renounced idolatry, and worshipped the God of Israel occasionally in the court of the Gentiles; but, if so, then Peter was not the first that preached the gospel to the Gentiles, as he says he was. Some think that there were remains of the knowledge of the true God in this country, ever since the queen of Sheba's time; and probably the ancestor of this eunuch was one of her attendants, who transmitted to his posterity what he learned at Jerusalem.
III. Philip and the eunuch are brought together into a close conversation; and now Philip shall know the meaning of his being sent into a desert, for there he meets with a chariot, that shall serve for a synagogue, and one man, the conversion of whom shall be in effect, for aught he knows, the conversion of a whole nation.
1. Philip is ordered to fall into company with this traveller that is going home from Jerusalem towards Gaza, thinking he has done all the business of his journey, when the great business which the overruling providence of God designed in it was yet undone. He had been at Jerusalem, where the apostles were preaching the Christian faith, and multitudes professing it, and yet there he had taken no notice of it, and made no enquiries after it - nay, it should seem, had slighted it, and turned his back upon it; yet the grace of God pursues him, overtakes him in the desert, and there overcomes him. Thus God is often found of those that sought him not, Isa 65:1. Philip has this order, not by an angel, as before, but by the Spirit whispering it in his ear (Act 8:29): "Go near, and join thyself to this chariot; go so near as that gentleman may take notice of thee." We should study to do good to those we light in company with upon the road: thus the lips of the righteous may feed many. We should not be so shy of all strangers as some affect to be. Of those of whom we know nothing else we know this, that they have souls.
2. He finds him reading in his Bible, as he sat in his chariot (Act 8:28): He ran to him, and heard him read; he read out, for the benefit of those that were with him, Act 8:30. He not only relieved the tediousness of the journey, but redeemed time by reading, not philosophy, history, nor politics, much less a romance or a play, but the scriptures, the book of Esaias; that book Christ read in (Luk 4:17) and the eunuch here, which should recommend it particularly to our reading. Perhaps the eunuch was now reading over again those portions of scripture which he had heard read and expounded at Jerusalem, that he might recollect what he had heard. Note, (1.) It is the duty of every one of us to converse much with the holy scriptures. (2.) Persons of quality should abound more than others in the exercises of piety, because their example will influence many, and they have their time more at command. (3.) It is wisdom for men of business to redeem time for holy duties; time is precious, and it is the best husbandry in the world to gather up the fragments of time, that none be lost, to fill up every minute with something that will turn to a good account. (4.) When we are returning from public worship we should use means in private for the keeping up of the good affections there kindled, and the preserving of the good impressions there made, Ch1 29:18. (5.) Those that are diligent in searching the scriptures are in a fair way to improve in knowledge; for to him that hath shall be given.
3. He puts a fair question to him: Understandest thou what thou readest? Not by way of reproach, but with design to offer him his service. Note, What we read and hear of the word of God it highly concerns us to understand, especially what we read and hear concerning Christ; and therefore we should often ask ourselves whether we understand it or no: Have you understood all these things? Mat 13:51. And have you understood them aright? We cannot profit by the scriptures unless we do in some measure understand them, Co1 14:16, Co1 14:17. And, blessed by God, what is necessary to salvation is easy to be understood.
4. The eunuch in a sense of his need of assistance, desires Philip's company (Act 8:31): "How can I understand, says he, except some one guide me? Therefore pray come up, and sit with me." (1.) He speaks as one that had very low thoughts of himself, and his own capacity and attainments. He was so far from taking it as an affront to be asked whether he understood what he read, though Philip was a stranger, on foot, and probably looked mean (which many a less man would have done, and have called him an impertinent fellow, and bid him go about his business, what was it to him?) that he takes the question kindly, makes a very modest reply, How can I? We have reason to think he was an intelligent man, and as well acquainted with the meaning of scripture as most were, and yet he modestly confesses his weakness. Note, Those that would learn must see their need to be taught. The prophet must first own that he knows not what these are, and then the angel will tell him, Zac 4:13. (2.) He speaks as one very desirous to be taught, to have some one to guide him. Observe, He read the scripture, though there were many things in it which he did not understand. Though there are many things in the scriptures which are dark and hard to be understood, nay, which are often misunderstood, yet we must not therefore throw them by, but study them for the sake of those things that are easy, which is the likeliest way to come by degrees to the understanding of those things that are difficult: for knowledge and grace grow gradually. (3.) He invited Philip to come up and sit with him; not as Jehu took Jonadab into his chariot, to come and see his zeal for the Lord of hosts (Kg2 10:16), but rather, "Come, see my ignorance, and instruct me." He will gladly do Philip the honour to take him into the coach with him, if Philip will do him the favour to expound a portion of scripture to him. Note, In order to our right understanding of the scripture, it is requisite we should have some one to guide us; some good books, and some good men, but, above all, the Spirit of grace, to lead us into all truth.
IV. The portion of scripture which the eunuch recited, with some hints of Philip's discourse upon it. The preachers of the gospel had a very good handle to take hold of those by who were conversant with the scriptures of the Old Testament and received them, especially when they found them actually engaged in the study of them, as the eunuch was here.
1. The chapter he was reading was the fifty-third of Isaiah, two verses of which are here quoted (Act 8:32, Act 8:33), part of the seventh and eighth verses; they are set down according to the Septuagint version, which in some things differs from the original Hebrew. Grotius thinks the eunuch read it in the Hebrew, but that Luke takes the Septuagint translation, as readier to the language in which he wrote; and he supposes that the eunuch had learned from the many Jews that were in Ethiopia both their religion and language. But, considering that the Septuagint version was made in Egypt, which was the next country adjoining to Ethiopia, and lay between it and Jerusalem, I rather think that translation was most familiar to him: it appears by Isa 20:4 that there was much communication between those two nations - Egypt and Ethiopia. The greatest variation from the Hebrew is that what in the original is, He was taken from prison and from judgment (hurried with the utmost violence and precipitation from one judgment-seat to another; or, From force and from judgment he was taken away; that is, It was from the fury of the people, and their continual clamours, and the judgment of Pilate thereupon, that he was taken away), is here read, In his humiliation his judgment was taken away. He appeared so mean and despicable in their eyes that they denied him common justice, and against all the rules of equity,. to the benefit of which every man is entitled, they declared him innocent, and yet condemned him to die; nothing criminal can be proved upon him, but he is down, and down with him. Thus in his humiliation his judgment was taken away; so, the sense is much the same with that of the Hebrew. So that these verses foretold concerning the Messiah, (1.) That he should die, should be led to the slaughter, as sheep that were offered in sacrifice - that his life should be taken from among men, taken from the earth. With what little reason then was the death of Christ a stumbling-block to the unbelieving Jews, when it was so plainly foretold by their own prophets, and was so necessary to the accomplishment of his undertaking! Then is the offence of the cross ceased. (2.) That he should die wrongfully, should die by violence, should be hurried out of his life, and his judgment shall be taken away - no justice done to him; for he must be cut off, but not for himself. (3.) That he should die patiently. Like a lamb dumb before the shearer, nay, and before the butcher too, so he opened not his mouth. Never was there such an example of patience as our Lord Jesus was in his sufferings; when he was accused, when he was abused, he was silent, reviled not again, threatened not. (4.) That yet he should live for ever, to ages which cannot be numbered; for so I understand those words, Who shall declare his generation? The Hebrew word properly signifies the duration of one life, Ecc 1:4. Now who can conceive or express how long he shall continue, notwithstanding this; for his life is taken only from the earth; in heaven he shall live to endless and innumerable ages, as it follows in Isa 53:10, He shall prolong his days.
2. The eunuch's question upon this is, Of whom speaketh the prophet this? Act 8:34. He does not desire Philip to give him some critical remarks upon the words and phrases, and the idioms of the language, but to acquaint him with the general scope and design of the prophecy, to furnish him with a key, in the use of which he might, by comparing one thing with another, be led into the meaning of the particular passage. Prophecies had usually in them something of obscurity, till they were explained by the accomplishment of them, as this now was. It is a material question he asks, and a very sensible one: "Does the prophet speak this of himself, in expectation of being used, being misused, as the other prophets were? or does he speak it of some other man, in his own age, or in some age to come?" Though the modern Jews will not allow it to be spoken of the Messiah, yet their ancient doctors did so interpret it; and perhaps the eunuch knew this, and did partly understand it so himself, only he proposed this question, to draw on discourse with Philip; for the way to improve in learning is to consult the learned. As they must enquire the law at the mouth of the priests (Mal 2:7), so they must enquire the gospel, especially that part of the treasure which is hid in the field of the Old Testament, at the mouth of the ministers of Christ. The way to receive good instructions is to ask good questions.
3. Philip takes this fair occasion given him to open to him the great mystery of the gospel concerning Jesus Christ, and him crucified. He began at this scripture, took this for his text (as Christ did another passage of the same prophecy, Luk 4:21), and preached unto him Jesus, Act 8:35. This is all the account given us of Philip's sermon, because it was the same in effect with Peter's sermons, which we have had before. The business of gospel ministers is to preach Jesus, and this is the preaching that is likely to do good. It is probable that Philip had now occasion for his gift of tongues, that he might preach Christ to this Ethiopian in the language of his own country. And here we have an instance of speaking of the things of God, and speaking of them to good purpose, not only as we sit in the house, but as we walk by the way, according to that rule, Deu 6:7.
V. The eunuch is baptized in the name of Christ, Act 8:36-38. It is probable that the eunuch had heard at Jerusalem of the doctrine of Christ, so that it was not altogether new to him. But, if he had, what could that do towards this speedy conquest that was made of his heart for Christ. It was a powerful working of the Spirit with and by Philip's preaching that gained the point. Now here we have,
1. The modest proposal which the eunuch made of himself for baptism (Act 8:36): As they went on their way, discoursing of Christ, the eunuch asking more questions and Philip answering them to his satisfaction, they came unto a certain water, a well, river, or pond, the sight of which made the eunuch think of being baptized. Thus God, by hints of providence which seem casual, sometimes puts his people in mind of their duty, of which otherwise perhaps they would not have thought. The eunuch knew not how little a while Philip might be with him, nor where he might afterwards enquire for him. He could not expect his travelling with him to his next stage, and therefore, if Philip think fit, he will take the present convenience which offers itself of being baptized: "See, here is water, which perhaps we may not meet with a great while again; what doth hinder me to be baptized? Canst thou show any cause why I should not be admitted a disciple and follower of Christ by baptism?" Observe, (1.) He does not demand baptism, does not say, "Here is water and here I am resolved I will be baptized;" for, if Philip have any thing to offer to the contrary, he is willing to waive it for the present. If he think him not fit to be baptized, or if there be any thing in the institution of the ordinance which will not admit such a speedy administration of it, he will not insist upon it. The most forward zeal must submit to order and rule. But, (2.) He does desire it, and, unless Philip can show cause why not, he desires it now, and is not willing to defer it. Note, In the solemn dedicating and devoting of ourselves to God, it is good to make haste, and not to delay; for the present time is the best time, Psa 119:60. Those who have received the thing signified by baptism should not put off receiving the sign. The eunuch feared lest the good affections now working in him should cool and abate, and therefore was willing immediately to bind his soul with the baptismal bonds unto the Lord, that he might bring the matter to an issue.
2. The fair declaration which Philip made him of the terms upon which he might have the privilege of baptism (Act 8:37): "If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest; that is, If thou believest this doctrine which I have preached to thee concerning Jesus, if thou receivest the record God has given concerning him, and set to thy seal that it is true." He must believe with all his heart, for with the heart man believeth, not with the head only, by an assent to gospel truths in the understanding; but with the heart, by a consent of the will to gospel terms. "If thou do indeed believe with all thy heart, thou art by that united to Christ, and, if thou give proofs and evidences that thou dost so, thou mayest by baptism be joined to the church."
3. The confession of faith which the eunuch made in order to his being baptized. It is very short, but it is comprehensive and much to the purpose, and what was sufficient: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was before a worshipper of the true God, so that all he had to do now was to receive Christ Jesus the Lord. (1.) He believes that Jesus is the Christ, the true Messiah promised, the anointed One. (2.) That Christ is Jesus - a Saviour, the only Saviour of his people from their sins. And, (3.) That this Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he has a divine nature, as the Son is of the same nature with the Father; and that, being the Son of God, he is the heir of all things. This is the principal peculiar doctrine of Christianity, and whosoever believe this with all their hearts, and confess it, they and their seed are to be baptized.
4. The baptizing of him hereupon. The eunuch ordered his coachman to stop, commanded the chariot to stand still. It was the best baiting place he ever met with in any of his journeys. They went down both into the water, for they had no convenient vessels with them, being upon a journey, wherewith to take up water, and must therefore go down into it; not that they stripped off their clothes, and went naked into the water, but, going barefoot according to the custom, they went perhaps up to the ankles or mid-leg into the water, and Philip sprinkled water upon him, according to the prophecy which this eunuch had probably but just now read, for it was but a few verses before those which Philip found him upon, and was very apposite to his case (Isa 52:15): So shall he sprinkle many nations, kings and great men shall shut their mouths at him, shall submit to him, and acquiesce in him, for that which had not before been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Observe, Though Philip had very lately been deceived in Simon Magus, and had admitted him to baptism, though he afterwards appeared to be no true convert, yet he did not therefore scruple to baptize the eunuch upon his profession of faith immediately, without putting him upon a longer trial than usual. If some hypocrites crowd into the church, who afterwards prove a grief and scandal to us, yet we must not therefore make the door of admission any straiter than Christ has made it; they shall answer for their apostasy, and not we.
VI. Philip and the eunuch are separated presently; and this is as surprising as the other parts of the story. One would have expected that the eunuch should either have stayed with Philip, or have taken him along with him into his own country, and, there being so many ministers in those parts, he might be spared, and it would be worth while: but God ordered otherwise. As soon as they had come up out of the water, before the eunuch went into his chariot again, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip (Act 8:39), and did not give him time to make an exhortation to the eunuch, as usual after baptism, which it is probable the one intended and the other expected. But his sudden departure was sufficient to make up the want of that exhortation, for it seems to have been miraculous, and that he was caught up in the air in the eunuch's sight, and so carried out of his sight; and the working of this miracle upon Philip was a confirmation of his doctrine, as much as the working of a miracle by him would have been. He was caught away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but, having lost his minister, returned to the use of his Bible again. Now here we are told,
1. How the eunuch was disposed: He went on his way rejoicing. He pursued his journey. Business called him home, and he must hasten to it; for it was no way inconsistent with his Christianity, which places no sanctity nor perfection in men's being hermits or recluses, but is a religion which men may and ought to carry about with them into the affairs of this life. But he went on rejoicing; so far was he from reflecting upon this sudden revolution and change, or advancement rather, in his religion, with any regret, that his second thoughts confirmed him abundantly in it, and he went on, rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory; he was never better pleased in all his life. He rejoiced, (1.) That he himself was joined to Christ and had an interest in him. And, (2.) That he had these good tidings to bring to his countrymen, and a prospect of bringing them also, by virtue of his interest among them, into fellowship with Christ; for he returned, not only a Christian, but a minister. Some copies read this verse thus: And, when they were come up out of the water, the Holy Spirit fell upon the eunuch (without the ceremony of the apostle's imposition of hands), but the angel of the Lord caught away Philip.
2. How Philip was disposed of (Act 8:40): He was found at Azotus or Ashdod, formerly a city of the Philistines; there the angel or Spirit of the Lord dropped him, which was about thirty miles from Gaza, whither the eunuch was going, and where Dr. Lightfoot thinks he took ship, and went by sea into his own country. But Philip, wherever he was, would not be idle. Passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Cesarea, and there he settled, and, for aught that appears, had his principal residence ever after; for at Cesarea we find him in a house of his own, Act 21:8. He that had been faithful in working for Christ as an itinerant at length gains a settlement.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he arose and went,.... As soon as he…
And he arose and went,.... As soon as he had his orders, he immediately obeyed them; he made no dispute about the matter, though he was directed only part of his way, and had no account of what he went about, or was to do;
and behold, a man of Ethiopia; or "a man, an Ethiopian"; an Hebraism, such as "a man a Jew", Zac 8:23 wherefore his being called a man, is no contradiction to his being an eunuch; for the word "man" does not regard his sex, but with the other the country of which he was; and it is the same as if he had only been called an Ethiopian, which signifies one of a black countenance; for Ethiopia was not so called from Ethiops, the son of Vulcan, who is said to reign over it, but from the colour of its inhabitants; Jer 13:23. This country in the Hebrew language is called Cush, and the people of it Cushites, from Cush the son of Ham, Gen 10:6 And so Josephus says (i), that the Ethiopians over whom he (Cush) reigned, are now by themselves, and by all in Asia, called Chuseans; and so likewise the inhabitants of upper Ethiopia, or the Abyssines, are to this day called Cussinns, by the Portuguese. Geographers make mention of two Ethiopias, one in Africa, divided into upper and lower, and which is here meant; and the other in Asia and a part of Arabia, and which is the Ethiopia spoken of in the Old Testament: a note of admiration is prefixed, to observe to us what was remarkable in providence that just at this time, and in this way, such a man should be travelling; and what was still a greater wonder of grace, that such an one should be the object of God's peculiar favour, and should be chosen and called, have the Gospel preached to him, and be admitted to an ordinance of it; whereby some prophecies began to have their accomplishment in part, Psa 68:31
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An eunuch of great authority; he might be one that was literally so, it being common for eastern princes and great men to have such persons as guards over their wives, to preserve their chastity; and so hereby was a fulfilment in part of Isa 56:3 though this word is used to denote a person in office: so Potiphar is called an eunuch, though he had a wife, and which we rightly render an officer; and the Chaldee paraphrase renders it, "a prince", or great man, Gen 39:1. So Balaam is said (k) to be one of the king's eunuchs, and yet Jannes and Jambres are said to be his sons; and the word Dynastes here used, which we translate "of great authority", may be considered as explanative of the word eunuch; to teach us, that this word was not expressive of his case, but a title of office: it is reported of this eunuch, that after his conversion he preached the Gospel to the inhabitants of Zeylan and Arabia Felix, and in the island of Traprobane in the Red sea, and at last suffered martyrdom (l): this great person said to be
under Candace queen of the Ethiopians; that is, of those Ethiopians who inhabited the island of Meroe; for Candace, or Candaoce, as Pliny (m) reads it, was a common name of the queens of that island, as Pharaoh was of the Egyptian kings, and Caesar of the Roman emperors: the word Candace signifies a governor of children, that is, servants; it is derived from the Ethiopic word "Kani", which signifies to govern; and from "Dak, a child", or servant; and the king of the Abyssines is to this day called Prestar Chan, or Kan, a prince of servants, who is commonly and corruptly called Prester John; and Chan, or Kan, is a well known name for an emperor or governor in the eastern countries as with the Tartars and Persians, witness the late famous Kouli Kan. Some say (n), her proper name was Judith, others Lacasa (o), and others Hendake, or Indich; which, as Ludolphus (p) observes, is no other than Candace; though this last name Indich, according to Zaga Zabo, an ambassador of the king of the Ethiopians, was the name of the eunuch himself; his words, as reported by Damianus a Goes (q), are these;
"we, almost before all other Christians, received baptism from the eunuch of Candace, queen of Ethiopia, whose name was Indich:''
who had the charge of all her treasure; was her lord treasurer; which shows, that he was not an eunuch to her on account of chastity, but an high officer in her kingdom: the word Gaza here used, signifies in the Persian language treasure, or treasury (r). The Ethiopic version takes it for the name of a place, and renders it, "and he was governor of the city of Gaza", but very wrongly: "and had come to Jerusalem for to worship"; hence he seems to have been either a Jew by birth, or rather a proselyte to the Jewish religion; and had been at Jerusalem at one of their annual feasts, the passover, "pentecost", or tabernacles, to worship the God of Israel, whom he believed to be the only true God.
(i) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 2. (k) Heb. Chron. Mosis, fol. 4. 2. & 6. 2. (l) Fabricii Lux Evangelii, p. 115, 708. (m) Hist. Nat. l. 6. c. 29. Vid. Alexand. ab Alex. l. 1. c. 2. (n) Godignus de rebus Abysainis, p. 117. apud Castel. Lex Polyglott. col. 4003. (o) Mariani Reatini Catalog. Reg. Aethiop. in De Dieu in loc. (p) Hist. Ethiop. l. 3. c. 2. (q) In De Dieu in loc. (r) Mela, v. 1. p. 22. Alex. ab Alex. l. 2. c. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The way which is desert - There were two…
The way which is desert - There were two ways from Jerusalem to Gaza, one desert, the other through a more populous country.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 26. Arise, and go toward the south] How…
Verse 26. Arise, and go toward the south] How circumstantially particular are these directions! Every thing is so precisely marked that there is no danger of the apostle missing his way. He is to perform some great duty; but what, he is not informed. The road which he is to take is marked out; but what he is to do in that road, or how far he is to proceed, he is not told! It is GOD who employs him, and requires of him implicit obedience. If he do his will, according to the present direction, he shall know, by the issue, that God hath sent him on an errand worthy of his wisdom and goodness. We have a similar instance of circumstantial direction from God in Ac 9:11: Arise, go into the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus, c. And another instance, still more particular, in Ac 10:5; Ac 10:6: Send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter he lodgeth with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea side. God never sends any man on a message, without giving him such directions as shall prevent all mistakes and miscarriages, if simply and implicitly followed. This is also strictly true of the doctrines contained in his word: no soul ever missed salvation that simply followed the directions given in the word of God. Those who will refine upon every thing, question the Divine testimony, and dispute with their Maker, cannot be saved. And how many of this stamp are found, even among Christians, professing strict godliness!
Gaza, which is desert.] αυτη εστιν ερημος, This it the desert, or this is in the desert. Gaza was a town about two miles and a half from the sea-side; it was the last town which a traveller passed through, when he went from Phoenicia to Egypt, and was at the entrance into a wilderness, according to the account given by Arrian in Exped. Alex. lib. ii. cap. 26, p. 102. [Ed. Gronov.] That it was the last inhabited town, as a man goes from Phoenicia to Egypt, επι τη αρχη της ερημου, on the commencement of the desert. See Bp. Pearce.
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Dr. Lightfoot supposes that the word desert is added here, because at that time the ancient Gaza was actually desert, having been destroyed by Alexander, and μενουσα ερημος, remaining desert, as Strabo, lib. xvi. p. 1102, says; and that the angel mentioned this desert Gaza to distinguish it from another city of the same name, in the tribe of Ephraim, not far from the place where Philip now was. On this we may observe that, although Gaza was desolated by Alexander the Great, as were several other cities, yet it was afterwards rebuilt by Gabinius. See Josephus, Ant. lib. xv. cap. 5, sect. 3. And writers of the first century represent it as being flourishing and populous in their times. See Wetstein.
Schoettgen thinks that ερημος, desert, should be referred, not to Gaza, but to οδος, the way; and that it signifies a road that was less frequented. If there were two roads to Gaza from Jerusalem, as some have imagined, (see Rosenmuller,) the eunuch might have chosen that which was desert, or less frequented, for the sake of privacy in his journeying religious exercises.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Act 8:26-28. And — After the important affairs above…
Act 8:26-28. And — After the important affairs above mentioned were despatched at Samaria, and a church was established there, and supplied with proper pastors and teachers; the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip — Probably in a dream or vision by night; saying, Arise, and go toward the south — Though angels were not employed to preach the gospel, they were often employed in carrying messages to those that preached it, for advice, direction, and encouragement. And it gives us a very high idea of the gospel, to see the ministers of it receiving such immediate direction from celestial spirits, in the particular discharge of their office. Unto the way from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert — There were two ways from Jerusalem unto Gaza; one desert, the other through a more populous country. And Philip is directed in these words to go to some part of the former, because there he would find work to do. And he arose and went — Without objection, or presuming to inquire into the errand on which he was sent; and behold, a man of Ethiopia — Greek, Αιθιοψ ευνουχος, an Ethiopian eunuch. The Hebrew word סריס, which answers to that here rendered eunuch, is sometimes very properly translated an officer: and chief officers were often anciently called eunuchs, though not always literally such; because such used to be chief ministers in the eastern courts. Of great authority — Δυναστης, a grandee; under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians — It appears that Candace was a name common to several of the queens who reigned in Meroe, a part of Ethiopia to the south of Egypt; who had the charge of all her treasure — So great a trust did she repose in him; and had come to Jerusalem to worship — Being a proselyte to the Jewish religion, and as such having renounced idolatry, and being brought over to the worship of the God of Israel. This man was then returning home, and sitting in his chariot, read Esaias — It is probable his mind was deeply impressed with devout and religious sentiments, in consequence of his having attended the solemnities of divine worship at one of the festivals at Jerusalem, and that he was therefore thus employed in reading the writings of this prophet, that he might learn the will of God and his duty. God meets those that remember him in his ways. It is good to read, hear, and seek information even on a journey. Why should we not redeem all our time?
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And the angel of the Lord - The word…
And the angel of the Lord - The word “angel” is used in the Scriptures in a great variety of significations. See the notes on Mat 1:20. Here it has been supposed by some to mean literally a celestial messenger sent from God; others have supposed that it means a “dream”; others a “vision,” etc. The word properly means a “messenger”; and all that it can be shown to signify here is, that the Lord sent a “message” to Philip of this kind. It is most probable, I think, that the passage means that God communicated the message by his Spirit; for in Act 8:29, Act 8:39, it is expressly said that “the Spirit” spake to Philip, etc. Thus, in Act 16:7, the “Spirit” is said to have forbidden Paul to preach in Bithynia; and in Act 8:9, the message on the subject is said to have been conveyed in “a vision.” There is no absurdity, however, in supposing that an “angel” literally was employed to communicate this message to Phil See Heb 1:14; Gen 19:1; Gen 22:11; Jdg 6:12.
Spake unto Philip - Compare Mat 2:13.
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Arise - See the notes on Luk 15:18.
And go ... - Philip had been employed in Samaria. As God now intended to send the gospel to another place, he gave a special direction to him to go and convey it. It is evident that God designed the “conversion” of this eunuch, and the direction to Philip shows how he accomplishes his designs. It is not by miracle, but by the use of means. It is not by direct power without “truth,” but it is by a message suited to the end. The salvation of a single sinner is an object worthy the attention of God. When such a sinner is converted, it is because God forms a plan or “purpose” to do it. when it is done, he inclines his servants to labor; he directs their labors; he leads his ministers; and he prepares the way Act 8:28) for the reception of the truth.
Toward the south - That is, south of Samaria, where Philip was then laboring.
Unto Gaza - Gaza, or Azzah Gen 10:19, was a city of the Philistines, given by Joshua to Judah Jos 15:47; 1Sa 6:17. It was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines. It was formerly a large place; was situated on an eminence, and commanded a beautiful prospect. It was in this place that Samson took away the gates of the city, and bore them off, Jdg 16:2-3. It was near Askelon, about 60 miles southwest from Jerusalem.
Which is desert - This may refer either to the “way” or to the “place.” The natural construction is the latter. In explanation of this, it is to be observed that there were “two” towns of that name, Old and New Gaza. The prophet Zephaniah Zep 2:4 said that “Gaza” should be “forsaken,” that is, destroyed. “This was partly accomplished by Alexander the Great (Josephus, Antiq., book 11, chapter 8, sections 3 and 4; book 13, chapter 13, section 3). Another town was afterward built of the same name, but at some distance from the former, and Old Gaza was abandoned to desolation. Strabo mentions ‘Gaza the desert,’ and Diodorus Siculus speaks of ‘Old Gaza’” (Robinson’s Calmet). Some have supposed, however, that Luke refers here to the “road” leading to Gaza, as being desolate and uninhabited. Dr. Robinson (Biblical Res., 2:640) remarks: “There were several ways leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. The most frequented at the present day, although the longest, is the way by Ramleh. Anciently there appear to have been two more direct roads. Both these roads exist at the present day, and the one actually passes through the desert, that is, through a tract of country without villages, inhabited only by nomadic tribes.” “In this place, in 1823, the American missionaries, Messrs. Fisk and King, found Gaza, a town built of stone, making a very mean appearance, and confining about five thousand inhabitants” (Hall on the Acts ).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain This is desert. In construction, whether we regard the…
This is desert. In construction, whether we regard the Latin or Greek, to be desert, may either agree to the way leading to Gaza, or the city itself, which formerly had been almost destroyed. (Witham) --- To the site of old Gaza, which was then a desert; above which was built the new Gaza, nearer the sea. (Bible de Vence) --- Beza frequently makes very free with St. Luke, and in his annotations, an. 1556, says the text is wrong; it cannot be so.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain . Act_8:26-40
B.—PHILIP IS EMPLOYED AS AN INSTRUMENT IN THE CONVERSION OP A PROSELYTE FROM A DISTANT COUNTRY, AN OFFICES. AT THE COURT OF CANDACE, THE QUEEN OF THE ETHIOPIANS
. Act_8:26-40
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26And the [But an] 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.27And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority [a eunuch and high officer] under [of] Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of [who was appointed over] all her treasure, and [who (am. and)]14 had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28[And, τε] Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read [and reading] Esaias the prophet. 29Then [But] the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join [attach] thyself to this chariot. 30And Philip ran thither to him [ran near (to it)], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou [then, ἆρά γε] what thou readest? 31And [But] he said, How can I [How should I be able], except some man should [if some one does not] guide me? And he desired Philip that he would [invited Philip to] come up and sit with him. 32[But] The place [contents] of the Scripture which he read was this [were these], He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; [,] and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, [;] so opened [opens] he not his mouth: 33In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and [but] who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken [away] from the earth.34And [Then, δὲ] the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man [one]? 35Then [But] Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same [at this] Scripture, and preached unto him [the gospel concerning] Jesus. 36And as they [thus] went on their way [travelled on the road], they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See [Behold],here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?15 36[Omit the entire 37th verse.] 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. 38And he commanded the chariot to [that the chariot should] stand still: and they went down both into the water, both [om. both] Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39And [But] when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord16 caught [carried] away Philip, that [and, χαὶ] the eunuch saw him no more: [,] and [for, γὰρ] he Went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip was found at Azotus [Ashdod]: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Cesarea.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act_8:20. a. And the angel of the Lord, etc.—Philip was still in Samaria when he received this command. Zeller, it is true, has asserted, that he must have returned to Jerusalem before the apostles, and could not have elsewhere received the commission. This view seems to be supported by the circumstance that Philip was directed to take “the way that goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” The region, however, to which Philip was to proceed, was undoubtedly situated toward the south from Samaria, and hence no inference of a decisive character can be deduced from the mention of the “way that goeth down from Jerusalem.” But the principal objection to Zeller’s view is derived from Act_8:25, which distinctly speaks of the return only of the two apostles to Jerusalem, without mentioning that of Philip, who must therefore be considered as having, for the present, remained in Samaria.—Rationalistic interpreters, e. g., Eckermann, have assumed that the angel mentioned in this verse, appeared to Philip only in a dream, and appeal, in support of their view, to the word ἀνάστηθι; but as the text does not even remotely indicate that the occurrence took place at night, this word, standing alone, as little implies that Philip was asleep at the time, as it represents the high priest mentioned in Act_5:17, as being in that state; it graphically describes, on the contrary, the summons to proceed to action, [ἀναστάς, Act_8:27, does not refer to a couch, but is a well known Hebraism. (de Wette). Comp. Winer. § 65. 4. Obs. on c). Tr.]
b. Go toward the south … unto Gaza.—Philip is commanded to proceed to the south, i.e. south of Samaria, or in a southerly direction, which did not necessarily require him to pass through Jerusalem; he could, on the contrary, take a nearer road. He is informed that he can recognize the road by two features: 1, it is the one that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza; 2, the road itself is ἔρημος. Gaza, one of the five chief cities of the Philistines, was situated near the southern boundary of Canaan, somewhat less than three miles from the Mediterranean. It had frequently been destroyed in times of war, and as frequently been rebuilt. It was again laid in ruins about A. D. 65, by the insurgent Jews, when Gessius Floras was the Procurator, but was subsequently restored. Many interpreters refer the clause: αὕτη ἐστὶν ἔρημος to the city of Gaza, and suppose that it means that the city had been destroyed, and was now uninhabited, or else, that it was no longer fortified. The latter view cannot be philologically sustained, and the former is improbable, as that desolation could have been but temporary [Robinson: Bibl. Res. II. 41], and, besides, any reference to it in this passage, in which no interest whatever attaches to the city itself, and only a certain road is to be described, would be altogether inapposite. This clause, therefore, can refer only to ὁδός, and is designed to describe a particular road that led to Gaza. And this description “was the more necessary, because there were several ways leading from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (Robinson: Palæstina. II. 748 f.) [Lechler refers to the German edition; in the English work of Robinson, the passage will be found in Vol. II. p. 514. Lechler generally quotes Robinson verbatim, but without marks of quotation, in the two or three following sentences, but substitutes Beit Jibrin for Betogabra. K. v. Raumer, who differs from Robinson, assigns another route to Philip, viz. through Hebron, in place of Ramleh. See his Palæstina (4th ed. 1860), p. 186, n. 172 e; p. 193 n. 181 f.; and App. p. 449. IV. “On Act_8:26.”—Tr.]. The most frequented at the present day, although the longest, is the way by Ramleh; it proceeds at first in a north-westerly direction from Jerusalem. There are two other more direct roads: one down Wady cs-Surâr by Beth-shemesh, the other through Wady Musurr to Beit Jibrin or Eleutheropolis, and thence to Gaza through a more southern tract. The latter now actually passes through a desert, that is, through a region which is without villages, and is inhabited only by nomadic Arabs. That this district was at that time in like manner deserted, is not improbable: there is, at least, no mention made of cities or villages in the plain between Gaza and the mountains, later than the time of Nehemiah. Hence this clause: which is desert (constituting a part of the angel’s address, as we are constrained to believe, and not a parenthetic remark of Luke himself), precisely designates the road which Philip was to take, in order to meet with the man, of whose conversion he was appointed by the counsel of God to be the instrument. We do not deem it necessary to adduce here the numerous conjectures and interpretations which have been offered by writers in connection with the three words: αἵτη ἐστὶν ἔρημος.
Act_8:27-28. a. And he arose, and went.—Philip at once obeyed the instructions which he had received, and, on the road which had been indicated to him, met the stranger, or rather, now the well known man of high rank, who belonged to a distant country. The name of Indich, which tradition assigns to the latter, belongs to the domain of fables.—The following narrative is an uncommonly beautiful idyl, belonging to the history of missions in the apostolic age, and is deeply interesting on account both of its simplicity and graphic character, and of the importance of the events which it describes.
b. And, behold, a man of Ethiopia, etc.—The term ἱδού presents the whole scene to us in a vivid manner: Philip, who travels on foot, probably perceives a conveyance approaching, which soon overtakes him. It is occupied by a stranger, who is, by birth, an Ethiopian. Ethiopia embraced the highlands on the south of Egypt, or the territories to which, in modern times, the names of Nubia, Kordofan and Abyssinia have been assigned; the island of Meroë [formed by two arms of the Nile; Herzog: Real-Encyk. V. 18; Robinson’s Lex. art. סְבָא; Jos. Ant. ii. 10. 2.—Tr.] was the central point of the religion and commerce of the kingdom. As far as the color of the skin of this man is concerned, we have reason to regard him as a negro. Olshausen’s assertion that he was of Israelitish descent, a Jew born in Ethiopia, is very feebly supported by the circumstance that he is here found reading Isaiah, particularly as such a view would require us to assume, in addition, that he was reading the original Hebrew. He was a man of high rank in his country, and exercised a powerful influence (δυνάστης) since he was the chief treasurer of his queen. The title of Candace was, according to Greek and Roman authorities (e. g. Pliny, Hist. Nat. VI. 35), usually assigned to the queens who, in that age, ruled over Ethiopia (Meroë). Luke terms this wealthy lord also a εὐνοῦχος, which, literally, signifies one who has been emasculated. But persons of this class were invested with offices of various kinds at the courts of oriental sovereigns, insomuch that this name was frequently applied to court-officers who were not emasculated; hence many interpreters have, since the sixteenth century, understood the word here as equivalent to “court-officer,” without any reference to a sexual mutilation. This opinion derived additional force from the usual assumption that the individual before us, even if he was not a Jew by birth (Olshausen), had at least formally obtained Israelitish citizenship, whereas, according to Deu_23:1, no castrated person could enter the congregation of Jehovah. But it is very doubtful whether this state officer had been received as a “proselyte of righteousness,” since no evidence of the fact is indicated, and, as he was employed in the service of a queen, it is the more probable that he was really emasculated, as his title imports.—The first interesting circumstance which is related in connection with this man, is his visit to Jerusalem, for the purpose of worshipping in that city. This fact implies that he had been taught in his African home to recognize the God of Israel as the true God, and the worship of Jehovah as the true religion; he had now made a pilgrimage, in order to offer sacrifices and adore God in the holy city and in the temple itself. We have hence sufficient reason to regard him as a proselyte, in the wider sense of the term; (i.e. a proselyte of the gate), but not sufficient to represent him as a proselyte in the narrower or the strictest sense of the term. The view which is best supported, is, on the contrary, the very ancient one which Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. II. 1.) already entertained, viz., that this man was a pagan, who acknowledged the Old Covenant from conviction and with sentiments of respect, but without a formal adoption of it.—While he was sitting in his chariot, he occupied himself with the perusal of the prophet Isaiah; he was probably furnished with a copy of the Greek version, which originated in Alexandria, and was well known throughout Egypt, possibly also in the adjoining territories. Those who constituted the highest and most intelligent class in these regions, were undoubtedly acquainted with the Greek language. The pilgrimage of this stranger was no opus operatum, but a matter in which his heart was deeply interested; even when he was returning home, his soul continued in the sanctuary, absorbed in meditation on the word of God, namely, the predictions of the prophet.
Act_8:29-31. Then the Spirit said unto Philip.—That inward voice which directed Philip to approach the traveller, and keep near the chariot (κολλήθητι), was a command of the Holy Ghost dwelling in him. He rapidly ran towards the chariot (προςδραμών, comp. πρόςηλθε, Act_8:29), and, as the man was reading aloud to himself, perceived that he was reading the prophet Isaiah (ἀναγινώσκειν, originally signifies to read to others). Yielding to the impulse of the Spirit, he at once commenced a conversation with the man, by addressing a question to him which included an ingenious Paronomasia, viz.:ἀράγεγινώσκεις ἅ ἀναγινώσκεις; [it is repeated in 2Co_3:2]. The form of the question, which usually indicates that a negative answer is expected [Winer. § 57. 2, ult.], expresses at the same time, Philip’s conjecture that the eunuch does not understand. The noble pilgrim replies with a candor and a modesty that are honorable to him, that he certainly could not understand the prophet, unless some person would guide him. And as the question inspired him with the hope that Philip both understood the passage correctly, and would be willing to direct him, he requested him to enter the chariot and take a seat at his side: Philip at once complied with his request.
Act_8:32-34. The place of the Scripture … was this.—The two are seated together; the chariot is the scene of missionary labors; the time devoted to travelling, is occupied with a Bible lesson. At Philip’s request, the African shows him the section which had engaged his attention, and, possibly, reads it again aloud, intending to ask for an explanation of the meaning and true application of the words. The context clearly shows that the word γραφή here designates a particular passage of Scripture; περιοχή, on the other hand, undoubtedly refers to the contents of the section.
The words of the Old Testament which are quoted are found in Isa_53:7-8. The text of the Septuagint, which deviates considerably from the original Hebrew, is here reproduced with such exactness, that the only variations are, the insertion of αὐτοῦ before ταπεινώσει, and of δέ before γενεάν. The sense which the authors of the Alexandrian version intended to convey in Act_8:33 (Isa_53:8), is, without doubt, the following: “In his humiliation, occasioned by his enemies, the judgment, which impended over him was set aside by God; but, with respect to his generation, i.e., his contemporaries, no one can adequately describe their iniquity, for they slew him.”—The words; ἀποκριθεὶς … τῷ Φ., imply that Philip had addressed an inquiry to the traveller respecting the subject on which he had been reading; the latter replies by exhibiting the passage (τοῦτο), and soliciting an explanation. His request, which refers to the main point in the passage, shows that he was a thoughtful and reflecting reader.
Act_8:35. Then Philip opened his mouth.—These descriptive words assign a very solemn character to the answer of Philip, and imply that it was very full and explicit. The words: ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τ. γρ. ταύτης, inform us that the interpretation of the prophetic passage constituted only a part of Philip’s reply, that he proceeded to unfold the Gospel concerning Christ as the leading topic of the conversation, and that he succinctly stated to the eunuch the principal facts and the most important truths concerning Christ; he must have also explained to him that the way of salvation was entered through repentance and baptism in the name of Christ (Act_2:38).
Act_8:36-38. See, here is water.—Robinson says, II. p. 749 [Bibl. Res. II. p. 515, Boston ed. 1856.]: “When we were at Tell el-Hasy, and saw the water standing along the bottom of the adjacent Wady, we could not but remark the coincidence of several circumstances with the account of the eunuch’s baptism. This water is on the most direct route from Beit Jibrin to Gaza, on the most southern road from Jerusalem, and in the midst of the country now ‘desert,’ i.e. without villages or fixed habitations. The thought struck us, that this might not improbably be the place of water described. There is at present no other similar water on this road; and various circumstances—the way to Gaza, the chariot, and the subsequent finding of Philip at Azotus—all go to show that the transaction took place in or near the plains.” Robinson probably expresses only a bold opinion, when he supposes that he has discovered the precise spot, since many changes may have occurred in the individual features of the country, in the course of eighteen centuries. [See Palæstina, p. 449–451, by K. v. Raumer, who controverts Robinson’s view, and fixes the place of the baptism at Beth-zur, a few miles north-north-west of Hebron, and considerably to the east of the spot designated on Robinson’s map.—Tr.].—The joy of the panting traveller in a sandy desert, when his glance at length falls on an oasis with its springs of fresh water, cannot be greater than was that of the eunuch, when he saw water in which he could be baptized. [Philip had undoubtedly explained to him the necessity of baptism (de Wette; J. A. Alexander).—Tr.]. The eunuch was soon convinced, after a brief but appropriate catechumenical lesson, and, eager to share in the salvation proclaimed to him, solicits Philip to baptize him. The latter does not hesitate to fulfil his wish, although such an issue had been reached with unusual celerity. The chariot stops at the command of the eunuch, and he and Philip alight. [“The preposition in κατέβησαν may refer to the descent from the higher ground to the water, etc.” (Hackett).].—Philip is mentioned first, since he was in so far the superior, as he administered the rite; he accordingly baptized him in the water at the road. [“That they went down into the water (εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ), can prove nothing as to its extent or depth.” (J. A. Alex.). Εἰς may mean unto as well as into; according to Joh_20:4-5, Peter came to the sepulchre (ἦλθε εἰς τὸ μν.) … yet went not in (οὐ μέντοι ειςῆλθεν) Tr.].—No mention is here made of the attendants of the eunuch, whose presence, however, is implied both by the word ἐκέλευσε, and by the circumstance that, as the chariot proceeded, he was quietly reading, Act_8:28.
Act_8:39. And when they were come up.—Philip instantly disappeared, so that the eunuch saw him no more, neither did he re-appear until he was borne to Azotus; εὑρέθη εἰς Ἀζ. This city [here bearing the Grecized form of the name Ashdod], was situated, according to Diod. Sic., 270 stadia [according to others about 20 miles] in a north-easterly direction from Gaza, and was, like the latter, one of the five principal cities of the Philistines. The miraculously sudden removal of Philip, the manner of which was invisible both to the eunuch and to others(εὑρέθη εἰς Ἀ.), was effected by the Spirit of God, who seized and carried him away with supernatural power, even as Elijah had previously been removed (2Ki_12:2). But the eunuch went on his way, i.e., pursued his journey on the road leading to Gaza, and was full of joy. The particle γάρ establishes a logical connection between the eunuch’s resumption of his journey in the original direction, and the removal of Philip: he went on his way (Luke implies), because he saw him no more, for he would otherwise have followed Philip in place of continuing his journey. The joy of this man proceeded not only from his conviction that he had found the way of salvation, but also from the sudden removal of the evangelist. “Hoc ipso discessu confirmata est eunuchi fides.” (Bengel). It seemed to him as if an angel from heaven had been sent as his temporary travelling companion, and had now disappeared.
Act_8:40. And passing through he preached, etc.—It is obvious that when Philip departed from Azotus, he continued his journey in the ordinary manner. He went from one city to another, doubtless visiting Jabneh [Jamnia], Ekron, Joppa, etc., until he reached Cesarea, on the coast of the Mediterranean, [nearly thirty-five miles north of Joppa, and fifty-five N. N. W. of Jerusalem], where he paused. Here we find him [many years afterwards] established in a permanent home (Act_21:8-9), [“surrounded by a family of adult children,” (J A. Alex.), and entertaining the Saul of Act_8:1; Act_8:3, as a Christian guest (Hackett).—Tr.]. He preached the Gospel in every place through which he passed; it is, hence, not surprising that Luke not only describes him in Act_21:8, as ὁ ὤν ἐκ τῶν ἑπτά, but also formally styles him ὁ εὐαγγελιστής.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. It was not the angel of the Lord, as Luther [followed by the English version] translates in Act_8:26, but an angel, through whom God commanded Philip to arise and go on his way. It was not a particular series of events, resembling that which led him to Samaria, nor a mere internal movement, but an express command of God, transmitted by a celestial messenger, that conducted him from Samaria to the southern part of the country. Its purpose referred to the conversion and baptism of a stranger, who was, in his heart, not far, it is true from the kingdom of God, but, in his external relations of life, very far from obtaining the privileges of a fellow-citizen among the people of God. He was a pagan by birth, dwelt in the pagan country of the Ethiopians, held an office at the court of a pagan queen, and was a eunuch. It was precisely under such circumstances that a direct and miraculous command of God was needed, in order that the object in view might be attained, namely, the union of such a heathen with the church of Christ through the Gospel and Baptism.
2. The angel indicates to Philip, geographically and topographically, the direction in which he should proceed, but communicates no information whatever respecting the nature of the duty which he should perform, or the character of the person whom he would meet. Thus his faith was exercised. Both the calling of a missionary and the ordinary ministry of reconciliation require the servants of the Lord to labor in faith, and to obey in hope.
3. While this pilgrim was travelling home in his chariot, he was occupied with the word of God. This was even a more profitable and noble employment of his time than the pilgrimage itself, which he had made. He had gone to see the sanctuary of Jehovah with his own eyes, to visit the holy city, “to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” (Psa_27:4). But he now searches the word of God, in order to gaze into the sanctuary of the Lord with spiritual eyes. The word is, indeed, a true sanctuary. And even when the reader does not clearly and accurately understand the whole, or when the word of God appears to him to be an enigma (αἴνιγμα, 1Co_13:12), or to propose a thousand enigmas to him, his devout and earnest study of it, is, nevertheless, a most blessed employment, which conducts him nearer and nearer to the light.
4. Prophecy, and its fulfilment.—The servant of God, patiently suffering, but gloriously vindicated, even as Isaiah describes him, Acts 53., appears to the eye of the devout pilgrim. But he is unable to decide to whom the prophet alludes. Does he speak of himself, or of some other man? At the moment when he earnestly desires information, God sends him a guide, who announces that the promise is fulfilled. It is, in truth, the fulfilment alone that enables us rightly to understand the promise. The revelations of God constitute a complete whole; one part reflects light on another, in the sense, however, expressed in the saying: Vetus Testamentum in Novo patet. The witness of the prophet concerning Jesus Christ is intelligible only in and through Christ. The servant of Jehovah in Isaiah’s representation, is, at the base (the broadest sense), the people of Israel—at an intermediate point, the ideal Israel, that is, the body of the servants of God or of the true Israelites, including the prophets—at the apex, the personal Messiah. (Comp. art. Messiah, by Oehler, in Herzog’s Real-Encyk. [Vol. IX], and Delitzsch in Drechsler’s Commentary on Isaiah.) But this last truth, viz., that the servant of Jehovah is revealed in the Redeemer himself, cannot be comprehended except through the medium of the fulfilment, when the historical person of Jesus Christ is manifested as that of the παῖς θεοῦ. [See above, Act_3:13-14. a. Exeg.] The sufficiency of the Scriptures, can, according to the testimony of the New Testament, be asserted only of the entire body of the sacred writings, that is, of the Old and the New Testaments in their combination, since the Old Testament, when it is alone taken in hand, and is explained only by itself, is not sufficient unto salvation. No one could thirst more eagerly after the truth, or search more sincerely for it than this eunuch, but he did not understand the prophecy, because he had found no ὁδηγός. As soon, however, as Philip had taught him the way that leads to Jesus, and brought him into communion with the Redeemer himself through the medium of the word and sacrament, he no longer needed a ὁδηγός. Christ himself has now become “the way, the truth, and the life,” to the eunuch, and the Spirit will guide him into all truth (ὁδηγήσει, Joh_16:13). The fact that the eunuch had felt the need of a guide, Act_8:31, by no means proves, as the Romish church alleges, that the Bible, without the aid of tradition and the guidance of the church, is not a sufficient guide in the way that leads to truth and salvation: for, otherwise, Philip would not have been so suddenly taken away from this catechumen. But he now remains alone, after having received baptism, and derives no aid from a personal guide and from tradition. Nevertheless, he is no longer conscious of an existing want, for we perceive that he goes on his way rejoicing. He had found the Saviour, and had thus obtained an understanding of the Scriptures.
5. An angel of God had conveyed the command to Philip that he should proceed to the south, to the road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza which was desert. When he arrived at the place, and saw the traveller in his chariot, the Holy Ghost directed him to approach the latter. Again, after the conversion and baptism of the stranger, the Spirit of God caught away Philip, so that the eunuch saw him no more. In this whole transaction, at the beginning, during its progress, and at the close, the command, the direction, and the operation of God, are conspicuously revealed. But those features of the transaction, too, which seem to be natural, are, in reality, not less wonderful. Philip, and this stranger from a distant country—the Israelitic evangelist and the heathen—the ὁδηγός, and the man who was seeking and was open to conviction, that is to say, two persons between whom a species of “pre-established harmony” exists, are here brought together. Now this association of circumstances is the result of a divine interposition, which in all its aspects, is not less astonishing, nor less essentially a miraculous procedure, than when God sends an angel, or suddenly removes the evangelist, without an effort on his own part, from the sight of the eunuch. And the celerity with which the harvest follows seedtime in the soul of the Ethiopian, is fully as wonderful as the invisible process which resulted in the disappearance of Philip.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Act_8:26. And the [an] angel of the Lord.—When Satan’s malice succeeds in placing a stumbling-block in the way of the church of God [Simon, the sorcerer], the Lord does not fail to cheer the hearts of sorrowing believers by special manifestations of his power and goodness. (Leonh. and Sp.).—The Gospel does not make progress in the world without God, neither is a single soul won for it without Him.—If the law was received by the disposition of angels [Act_7:53], why should not their ministry be employed in disseminating the Gospel, the mysteries of which they specially desire to look into [1Pe_1:12]? (Starke).—How precious in the eyes of God is the conversion of a single soul! For the sake of imparting a saving faith to the eunuch, He sends an angel to Philip, and commands the latter to withdraw from the populous regions of Samaria to the desolate road leading to Gaza. (Apost. Past).—The way … which is desert.—It is sin that, in truth, desolates a country; but wherever the Gospel appears, the wilderness and the desert begin to rejoice. Isa_35:1. (Starke.)
Act_8:27. And he arose and went.—The preacher of the Gospel is under a solemn obligation to obey in faith, and to go, even when he is called to deserts.—And, behold, a man of Ethiopia.—The fulfilment of the promise in Psa_68:31, now begins: “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.”
Act_8:27-28. Had come to Jerusalem for to worship, (and) was returning.—It was so ordered that he found the pearl of great price, not in the temple of Jerusalem, but on the desolate road to Gaza. So, too, the wise men from the east, after reaching Jerusalem, were required to travel further, even to Bethlehem, before they found the new-born Jesus.—Read Esaias the prophet.—The reading of the Scriptures is recommended as specially profitable, when, like the eunuch, we have visited the house of God; by such means the holy sentiments which may have there been awakened in us, become more firmly established. (Quesn.).—The Bible, the best book for reading on a journey—not only on the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza, but also while we are travelling from the present to the eternal world: I. We thus forget the difficulties of the road; II. We cease to gaze on forbidden paths; III. We form a happy acquaintance with many fellow-travellers; IV. We remain in the right road, and safely reach our destination.—He had worshipped, and now read the prophet.—There was still a twilight in his devout soul when he visited the temple, and it continued while he was reading the Scriptures on his return. But he was on the right road. No one can reach the summit of the ladder by a single leap; we must ascend step by step. Let us therefore employ, as it were, our two feet, namely, meditation and prayer. The former makes us acquainted with our spiritual wants; the latter obtains such grace from God, that all our wants are supplied. Meditation shows us the right way; prayer enables us to walk therein. (St. Bernard).—The blessing which attends fidelity in that which is little, is exemplified in the eunuch. He applies the limited knowledge which he possessed concerning the God of Israel, in the first place, by taking a long journey in order to worship him, and, secondly, by faithfully employing his time during the journey in reading the prophet; we have here the evidence that the truth was, to a certain extent, in him, and that he would ultimately be conducted to a full knowledge of salvation—of all truth. (From K. H. Rieger).
Act_8:30. And Philip ran thither … and heard … and said.—The course which Philip pursued in the case of the eunuch, admirably illustrates the manner in which a pastor should deal with awakened persons. Notice the excellent counsel which Spener gives: “A pastor should not devote his whole attention to hardened and dead sinners, and painfully labor for their conversion exclusively, but should rather attend with great diligence to those whose hearts God has mercifully prepared by his grace for-conversion.” The spark which has fallen into such souls he should diligently fan. If the physician is, after all his efforts, simply a minister of nature, the preacher of the Gospel, on his part, is only a minister of grace. When the child is come to the birth, help is needed. If many souls perish under such circumstances, the cause that they are not brought forth, must, in reality, be traced in part to the carelessness and unskilfulness of pastors. (From Apost. Past.).—Philip does not wait till he is addressed and invited; without expending his time in vain compliments or excuses, he refers at once to the state of the heart of the man to whom God had conducted him, and speaks with devout freedom and the boldness of holy joy. Awakened souls are often timid, and hesitate to approach the pastor; it is his duty to seek them out, to take a deep interest in them, and beseech God to grant him wisdom, that in such cases, he may readily find an avenue to the heart, (ib.).—Heard him read the prophet Esaias.—When the pastor, on visiting a family, finds them engaged in reading God’s word, let him not attempt to introduce the great subject by remarks on the weather, etc., but at once take up the word of God that lies open before him, as his guide in offering pastoral instructions, (ib.).—‘Understandest thou what thou readest?’ What answer shall we give to this question? I. It presupposes that we read the Bible. Is this true in our case? Or docs this Ethiopian, with his limited opportunities, put us to shame? II. It reveals to us our natural blindness. Or is not, very often, our mode of reading the Bible, unwise? Is not the holy volume often unintelligible? III. It impels us to seek an interpreter and guide. Now, that guide is he who spake through Philip, (Act_8:29), and who still abides in the church, and continues his gracious operations.—Three questions addressed to the conscience, in reference to the word of God: I. Readest thou what thou hast? (Act_8:28); II. Understandest thou what thou readest? (Act_8:30); III. Dost thou do that which thou understandest? (Act_8:36-38.)
Act_8:31. And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?—The teacher who is ready to communicate knowledge, and the pupil who is eager to learn, soon understand each other. (Starke).—With the Scriptures in thy hand, and the sacred office at thy side, thou canst not miss the way.—Although the eunuch did not understand this passage in Isaiah, it deeply moved his heart. It was his chosen companion in solitude, at home and abroad. (Besser).—The holy Scriptures interest and delight the reader, even when he only partially understands them; the aroma of spices penetrates the envelope which encloses them, (Bengel).—The Scriptures introduce thee into the church, and the church makes thee acquainted with the Scriptures. (Rudelbach).—And he desired, etc.—The guest in the chariot, who had been so courteously invited, soon becomes a guide to the true home.
Act_8:32-33. The place … was this, He was led as a sheep, etc.—It was the finger of God which pointed precisely to this passage, for all Christian truth is concentrated in Christ, whose humiliation was succeeded by his exaltation, Php_2:5-9. And all pastors may here find an admonition to communicate to the souls intrusted to their care, primarily, the knowledge of Christ the Crucified and Risen One. This course usually produces a greater effect than that which follows the delivery of many merely moral sermons. Missionaries who, during several years, had preached in Greenland to ears that would not hear, although they spoke of the living God and his holy commandments, at length prevailed, when they commenced with the second Article [of the Apostles’ Creed: “And (I believe) in Jesus Christ, his only Son, etc.”], and delivered the evangelical message: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Act_8:34. I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this?—It is better to confess our ignorance of divine things with humility, than to conceal it through pride. It is wiser to ask questions concerning the mysteries of the Scriptures, than to mock at them.—The eunuch’s question conducts us from the Old Testament to the New.
Act_8:35. Then Philip … preached unto him Jesus.—The knowledge of the Saviour comprises the knowledge of the whole plan of salvation, 1Co_2:2. (Quesn.).
Act_8:36. See, here is water!—Everything had been so ordered as to establish this man fully in the faith; let the pastor only continue to advance, with a believing and trusting heart, in the path which God has indicated; the place, the time, the circumstances, will all combine, as he will experience, in aiding him, when he labors for the kingdom of God. (Ap. Past.).—“See; here is water!”—the joyful exclamation of the thirsting pilgrim in the terrestrial desert: I. When he gratefully looks back to his baptism with water; II. When ho approaches in faith the wells of salvation in the divine word; III. When he looks forward in hope to the fountain [Rev_7:17] of eternal life.—What doth hinder me to be baptized?—The word and the sacraments are means of grace which reciprocally complete one another; it is not lawful either to overvalue or to undervalue the one, as compared with the other. When the sacraments are despised, the body of the church falls asunder; when the word is set aside, its spirit departs.
(Act_8:37, according to the textus receptus. [See note 2, above, appended to the text.]).—If thou believest with all thine heart.—The case of the hypocritical Simon (Act_8:23) may have taught Philip to be cautious, and, when testing the faith of another, to demand all the heart. But when he was satisfied that the faith of the eunuch, even though it was not fully developed, was, nevertheless, genuine in its nature and essence, he did not withhold the sacrament. The whole occurrence admonishes the pastor, when he is requested to administer the gracious consolations of the word and the sacraments, on the one hand, not to proceed in a loose and thoughtless manner, and, on the other, not to create an unnecessary delay, or discourage and intimidate the seeking soul by excessive legal demands.—According to the primitive custom, the confession of faith belongs to baptism.—“The circumstance that the eunuch was not admitted to baptism, until he had confessed his faith, furnishes the general rule that none of those who stood originally without, ought to be received into the church, until they have borne witness that they believe in Christ.” … “But here fanatical men find a pretext for impugning infant baptism, and thus act unwisely and unjustly. Why was it necessary that, in the case of the eunuch, faith should precede baptism? Because Christ affixes this sign to those alone who belong to the household of the church, those are necessarily ingrafted into the church, who are baptized. But even as it is sure that adults are ingrafted by faith, so, too, I maintain that the children of believers are born as sons of the church, and are counted among its members from the womb.”—“For God undoubtedly considers the children of those as his children, to whose seed he has promised to be a Father.” … “And hence, although faith is demanded, this is unreasonably transferred to infants, whose case is very different.” (Calvin). [Gerok here combines extracts from Calvin’s Com. in Acta Ap. ad. Act_8:37, and Inst. Chr. Rel. IV. 16. 24. Tr.].—“How can water produce such great effects? It is not the water indeed that produces these effects, but the word of God which accompanies and is connected with the water, and our faith which relies on the word of God connected with the water.” (Luther) [Small Catech. iv. 3.]. Both are here found in connection with the water, viz.: the word of God, in Philip’s mouth; faith, in the eunuch’s heart. (Leonh. and Sp.).—Distinguish between the faith which precedes, and the faith which follows baptism. The faith which precedes baptism, dictates the following language: I believe that I am a sinner, and that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Saviour of sinners; I will therefore be baptized in his name, so that I may obtain the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.—Such language, orally expressed, the church requires adults to employ, who desire to receive baptism. Little children, who cannot speak, nevertheless employ a language which is intelligible to God; their speechless misery cries aloud, as it were, to the Saviour, who shed his blood also for them, and has promised to them the kingdom of heaven; hence the church does not withhold baptism from them. Or, do we ever deny food to children and to the sick, who cannot work, because we are told that “if any would not work, neither should he eat”? [2Th_3:10]. On the other hand, the faith which follows baptism, dictates this language: I believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is my Saviour, who has delivered me, once a lost sinner, from death and the devil, and has saved me by the forgiveness of my sins. [Col_1:13; 1Jn_3:8; Tit_3:5]. It was this faith which afterwards filled the baptized eunuch with joy, Act_8:39. (Besser).
Act_8:38. And he baptized him.—Holy Baptism has now, like a flood of grace, been imparted to the eunuch, as the first-fruits of Ham’s race, which, since the flood [Gen_9:25] had lived under the curse. (Leonh. and Sp.).
Act_8:39. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip.—When the agents whom God employs, have completed the work assigned to them, they may, without disadvantage, be removed to another field of labor on earth, or be transferred from the church militant to the church triumphant.—May it be our happy lot, too, to return hereafter to our Lord, and be able to say with truth: Lord, we have done that which thou hast commanded! (Ap. Past.).—The eunuch saw him no more.—Philip had been the means of converting the eunuch to Jesus, and not to himself. The soul that has found Jesus in faith, can thereafter easily dispense with every other guide. (Ap. Past.).—He went on his way rejoicing.—When we have found the Lord, we can joyfully travel onward to our eternal home.—Such is the fruit of faith; the heart is thereby made bold, is enabled to rejoice and be glad, to find joy in God and in all his creatures, and to encounter affliction without fear or dread. (Luther.)
Act_8:40. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through, etc.—He was not contended with the precious prize which he had gained, neither did he say to himself: Thou hast now fulfilled thy duty, and mayest take thine ease. (Ap. Past.).—The journeys of believers are always profitable; they never take a step, without being “unto God a sweet savor of Christ.” [2Co_2:15], (Starke).—The walls of partition which divide nations, and are the bulwarks of national jealousies, gradually fall, as the Gospel advances. Philip had won souls for Christ in Samaria; he now preaches Christ in Philistia.
ON THE WHOLE SECTION.
The conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, an illustration of the mode in which the Gospel was originally propagated: I. The divine procedure here revealed; God so directs the preaching of the Gospel, that the greatest good is accomplished in the shortest period of time. Let every one who shares in the blessings which flow from this divine arrangement, conscientiously apply such gifts of grace; they are intrusted to him, not simply for his own sake, but on account of his connection with the lofty plan according to which, in the Providence of God, the promulgation of the Gospel proceeds. II. The human course of action observable in this narrative. Philip’s example teaches us to follow the leadings of the Spirit, when we become conscious of them, and, again, when they are not perceived, to proceed calmly in the ordinary path of duty. His course also teaches us to meet with cordiality and prompt aid the advances that are made by a soul which seeks salvation and takes pleasure in the word of God, without being embarrassed ourselves by painful scruples respecting the mere letter of the creed, but rather trusting that God himself will, by the power of his word and the blessing that attends the usages of Christian order, rightly complete the work which his grace had begun. (Schleiermacher).
The conversion of the Ethiopian: I. Occasioned by the interposition of God; II. Accomplished through the preaching of the Gospel; III. Sealed through Baptism. (Lisco).
The blessed pilgrimage: I. The departure from the world; II. The inquiry after the Lord; III. The heavenly friend; IV. The journey homeward in company with him (Act_8:39). (ib).
The history of the conversion of the man of Ethiopia, viewed as a pledge that precious promises of God will be fulfilled: I. The twofold promise which the Father in heaven has given to his dear Son: (a) “I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles, etc.” Isa_49:6. (b) “I will divide him a portion with the great, etc.” Isa_53:12. II. A twofold promise which is given to us all: (a) “Before they call, I will answer, etc.” Isa_65:24. (b) “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” Joe_2:32. (Langbein).
The divine mode of conducting the soul unto life: I. God awakens an ardent longing after peace, Act_8:27; II. Enkindles a desire after his word, and love to it, Act_8:28; III. Unfolds to the understanding, by faith, his plan of salvation, Act_8:35; IV. Fills the soul, through the power of the sacraments, with the comforts of his grace, Act_8:38. (Leon, and Sp.).
How wonderfully all influences are combined, in conducting a seeking soul to salvation: I. God; by his angel (Act_8:26), and his Spirit (Act_8:29); II. Man; Philip meets and guides the eunuch; III. The Scriptures; the prophecy of Isaiah, (Act_8:28 ff.); IV. Nature; the water on the way, (Act_8:20).
Four noble guides on the way of salvation: I. The voice in the heart that seeks after God; II. The lessons of the Scriptures, which refer to Christ; III. The instructions derived from the ministerial office, and explanatory both of the longings of the heart, and the deep truths, of the Scriptures; IV. The power of the Sacraments, as seals of divine grace, and means of establishing and sustaining the divine life in the soul.
How the Ethiopian treasurer found the true treasure: I. The place where he found it: a lonely road in the desert; II. The shrine in which it lay concealed: the Scriptures, with their mysteries and seals; III. The key which he received from the preaching of the Gospel, to which he eagerly listened; IV. The precious jewel which sparkled before him: Christ, “who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” [Rom_4:25]; V. His title to the treasure, assigned to him in Holy Baptism; VI. His enjoyment of the treasure which he brought to his home with a happy heart.
Philip on the road to Gaza, a model, as a faithful minister of the word: I. By the devout obedience with which he yields to the impulse of the Spirit, Act_8:26; Act_8:29 : II. By the apostolical courage with which he approaches the stranger, Act_8:30; III. By the evangelical wisdom with which he cherishes the spark of faith in the eunuch’s soul; IV. By the priestly anointing by which, at the right moment, he seals the rescued soul unto the Lord; V. By the Christian humility with which, after the completion of his work, he submits the result to the Lord.
Even the desert is converted into the garden of God, in the case of the devout pilgrim: I. God’s word is his manna—he no longer hungers; II. God’s children are his —companions—he no longer goes astray; III. God’s grace is an ever-flowing fountain, whence his soul continually derives new strength; IV. God’s heaven is his Canaan, which he is rapidly approaching—[The missionary labors of Philip the Evangelist (Act_21:8-9): I. The authority by which he performed them: (a) his own conversion by the grace of God; (b) his appointment by the Providence of God, Act_8:4-6; Act_8:26; Act_8:29; II. Their peculiar form; (a) he labored as a travelling missionary, Act_8:40; (b) and was endowed with miraculous powers, Act_8:6-7; III. The spirit in which they were performed; (a) a living faith; (b) a holy love; IV. Their results; (a) immediately visible; (b) fully disclosed only in eternity.
Philip and the Ethiopian: I. The personal history and character of each; II. Their providential meeting; III. The nature of their interview; IV. The divine purpose; V. The result of the meeting. —Tr.]
Footnotes:
[14]Act_8:27. Lachmann omits ὅς [of text. rec.], before ἐληλύθει, in accordance with but few MSS. [A. C. D., also Cod. Sin. Vulg.]; it is found in most of the MSS. [E. G. H., and afterwards added in C. D.] and ancient versions [Syr.]; it was probably omitted for no other reason than that ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ was supposed to be immediately connected with the verb ἐληλυθει [whereas, άνὴρ is a nominative absolute (Meyer), Winer: Gram, § 63. 2. d.—ὅς was inserted in Cod. Sin. by a later hand.—In the same verse, τῆς before βασιλ. of text. rec. and G. H. and fathers, is omitted by Lach., Tisch. and Alf., in accordance with A. B. C. E. and Cod. Sin.—Tr.].
[15]Act_8:36. The textus receptus inserts the following [as Act_8:37]. ει̇͂πε δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος̓ ἐι πιστύεις ἐξ ὄλης τῆς καρδίας, ἔξεστιν. Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ει̇͂πἐ Πιστεύω τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ει̇͂ναι τὸν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. These clauses are found only in a single uncial MS., namely, E., but also in about 20 [specified] minuscule mss., in some ancient versions [Vulg. etc.], and in the fathers, from the time of Irenæus, but with very great variations [which is “another strong mark of spuriousness in a disputed passage.” (Alford)]. On the other hand, all these clauses are entirely omitted in A. B. C. G. H. [“there is here hiatus in D.” (de Wette)], as well as in the Sinaitic MS. [which exhibits no signs of an erasure or correction]; also in more than 60 [specified] minuscule mss., in ancient versions, and in some fathers. The whole is, without doubt, spurious, although an addition of an early date. It was intended to fill up an apparent void, and furnish a statement of Philip’s assent and examination of the eunuch’s faith, both of which seemed to be wanting. Lach., Tisch. and others, very properly cancel the whole verse. [It is inserted with brackets in Stier and Theile’s Polyg. Bible. Alford, who omits the whole, adopts the following explanation, suggested by Meyer: “The insertion appears to have been made to suit the formularies of the baptismal liturgies, etc.” The text. rec. does not strictly adhere to E., which exhibits ἐαν before πἰστεύεις, adds σου after καρδίας, and substitutes σωθήσει, according to Tisch. for ἔξεστιν. J. A. Alexander regards the external testimony for and against the genuineness of the verse as “very nearly balanced,” and would prefer to retain the latter. Hackett appears to regard the weight of the testimony as unfavorable to the retention of the passage, but adds: “The interpolation, if it be such, is as old certainly as the time of Irenæus, etc.”—Tr.]
[16]Act_8:39. The Alexandrian MS. [A], after presenting the original reading, inserts between πνεῦμα and κυρίου, as an emendation, the following words: ἅγιον ἐπέπεσεν ὲπι τὸν ἐυνοῦχον. ἅγγελος δὲ. This correction was made, according to the testimony of Tischendorf, by the original hand. [Tisch. says: ipse * correxit, indicating by the single asterisk the original writer of the MSS.—Tr.]. Seven minuscule mss., a couple of versions, and Jerome, have adopted these words, which, however, are unquestionably interpolated, and were intended to improve the text; they are, besides, omitted in the Sinaitic manuscript [which exhibits the reading of the text. rec.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. (Act 8:26-40)
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. (Act 8:26-40)
the angel of the Lord--rather, "an angel."
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go . . . south, the way that goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza--There was such a road, across Mount Hebron, which Philip might take without going to Jerusalem (as VON RAUMER'S'S Palæstina shows).
which is desert--that is, the way; not Gaza itself, which was the southernmost city of Palestine, in the territory of the ancient Philistines. To go from a city, where his hands had been full of work, so far away on a desert road, could not but be staggering to the faith of Philip, especially as he was kept in ignorance of the object of the journey. But like Paul, he "was not disobedient to the heavenly vision"; and like Abram, "he went out not knowing whither he went" (Act 26:19; Heb 11:8).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 26–40. Philip baptizes an Ethiopian Eunuch
26–40. Philip baptizes an Ethiopian Eunuch
26. And the angel of the Lord] The Gk. has an angel. While Peter and John were carrying on the work of Philip in Samaria, God directs the Evangelist to a new scene of labour.
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spake unto Philip] Most probably in a vision as to Cornelius (Act_10:3) and to Peter (Act_11:5).
saying, Arise, and go toward the south] Gaza was the southernmost of the five great cities which the Philistines had formerly occupied, and was on the route which a traveller from Jerusalem to Egypt would follow. In 96 b.c. the city of Gaza had been destroyed and its inhabitants massacred by Alexander Jannæus (Joseph. Ant. xiii. 13. 3), but it had been rebuilt by Gabinius (Antiq. xiv. 5. 3), though it is said that the restored city was nearer the sea than the ancient one. It continued to be a city of importance (see Antiq. xv. 7. 3 and xvii. 11. 4), and it could not therefore be to the city that the word “desert” which follows must be referred. From Samaria Philip would come directly south, and leaving Jerusalem on the east strike the road at some distance from that city.
unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza] There was more than one road from Jerusalem to Gaza, the more northern route went first to Ascalon and then by the coast to Gaza, another road was by Hebron and through the more desert country which lay to the west of it, and this is most likely the road intended in the narrative.
which is desert] The Greek puts these words in a separate clause, “this is desert,” as is common in Hebrew. This disjunction has raised the question whether they belong to the direction which the angel was giving to Philip, or are an insertion by St Luke to mark the scene of the interview more clearly. If they had been inserted as an explanation it is not likely they would have been so brief, whereas if we regard them as a portion of the speech of the angel they contain all that was needed for Philip’s instruction. That road toward Gaza which passed through the desert explains exactly the place to which he was to go.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (26) And the angel of the Lord . .…
(26) And the angel of the Lord . . .—Better, an angel. The tense of the verbs in the preceding verse, in the better MSS., implies that the events that follow synchronised with the journey of Peter and John through Samaria. The journey which Philip was commanded to take led him by a quicker route across country into the main road from Jerusalem to Gaza. The history of the city so named (appearing at times in the English version—Deu_2:23; 1Ki_4:24; Jer_25:20—as Azzah) goes even as far back as that of Damascus, in the early records of Israel. It was the southernmost or border-city of the early Canaanites (Gen_10:19), and was occupied first by the Avim, and then by the Caphtorim (Deu_2:23). Joshua was unable to conquer it (Jos_10:41; Jos_11:22). The tribe of Judah held it for a short time (Jdg_1:18), but it soon fell into the hands of the Philistines (Jdg_3:3; Jdg_13:1), and though attacked by Samson, was held by them during the times of Samuel, Saul, and David (1Sa_6:17; 1Sa_14:52; 2Sa_21:15). Solomon (1Ki_4:24), and later on Hezekiah (2Ki_18:8), attacked it. It resisted Alexander the Great during a siege of five months, and was an important military position, the very key of the country, during the struggles between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ, and in the wars of the Maccabees (1Ma_11:61). Its name, it may be noted, meant the “strong.”
Which is desert.—Literally, as in a separate sentence, This (or It) is desert. There is nothing to show whether this was intended to appear as part of the angel’s bidding, or as a parenthetical note added by St. Luke, nor whether the pronoun refers to the “way” or to the “city.” If we assume the latter, we may think of it as written after the city had been laid waste during the Jewish war (A.D. 65). On the former hypothesis, it points to a less frequented route than that from Jerusalem through Ramleh to Gaza, which led through Hebron and then through the Southern or Negeb country. On the whole, the latter seems most to commend itself, and on this view we may see in it part of the instruction which Philip reported as coming, whether in dream or vision or voice we are not told, from the angel of the Lord. He was to go in faith to the less frequented, less promising route from Jerusalem to Gaza, apparently without passing himself through the Holy City, and so to intercept the traveller whose history was to become so memorable.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain But an angel for and the angel, A.V.; the…
But an angel for and the angel, A.V.; the same is for which is, A.V. An angel. "The angel," as in A.V., is right, just as onoma Kuriou (Mat_21:9 Mat_23:39; Luk_19:38, etc.) and hwOhy in Hebrew mean "the Name of the Lord," not "a Name". (see Act_5:19 Act_7:31, notes) The south, meaning that part of Judaea which was called the south country;" Hebrew bgNh. (Gen_20:1 Gen_24:62; etc.) This is generally rendered in the LXX by proba or proton. But in 1Sa_20:41, in Symraachus, meshnbri stands as the rendering of bgNj. As regards the words, the same is desert, it is observable that in Num_31:1 and rhmov (Deu_34:3) is the LXX rendering of and that part of the country is called "the wilderness of Judaea." The words of the angel, therefore, mean, not that Gaza is desert, nor that the read itself is desert, but that the country to which he was directing Philip"s journey was part of that known as the desert; auth does not refer to oJdov or to Gaza, but to cwra, understood as contained in erhmov. The meaning of the whole sentence I take to be as follows: thy journey in or, "by" the south comp. Luk_15:14; Act_5:15 Act_11:1 Act_11:13. lids far as ejpi "notans locum vel terminum ad quem" (Schleusner) the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, where the country is desert." Philip was to proceed from Samaria along the south country till he came to where the Jerusalem road met his road. That district, he is reminded, was desert, part, i.e., or the desert of Judaea. The spot was probably selected for that very reason, as affording the privacy necessary for the eunuch to read in his chariot, and for Philip to join him and expound the Word of God to him. Chrysostom (followed by others) takes kataan in the sense of "at noonday in the most violent heat," though he also renders it "southwards" (Hem., 19.).
Vers. 26-40. The Christian teacher and disciple.
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We have an interesting and instructive instance of one man submitting himself to the teaching of another, and deriving from him a sudden transforming influence which most beneficially affected his whole after-life. Such teaching might well come ultimately from God, as in truth it did; for we learn
I THAT THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER IS TO PLACE HIMSELF CONTINUALLY UNDER DIVINE DIRECTION. Philip had some advantages which we do not now enjoy. "The angel of the Lord spake unto him" audibly (ver. 26), and gave him definite instructions whither he should go: "Arise, and go toward the south," etc. "The Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself," etc. (ver. 29). When his work was finished here," the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip (ver. 39). But though we have, not now these outward, unmistakable manifestations, we have "the mind of Christ we may consult and know his will, if
(1) we intelligently and devoutly study his Word,
(2) unselfishly regard the leadings of his providence,
(3) earnestly ask for the promptings of his Divine Spirit. We are earnestly to desire to go only where we are sent of God, to address ourselves to these whom he would have us influence, and to stay no longer than he has work for us to do there.
II THAT CHRIST HAS SUBJECTS TO SECURE FOR HIS KINGDOM OTHER THAN THOSE WE SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED. Which of the apostles would have imagined that the next convert to Christianity at this time would be "a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority," etc. (ver. 26)? Yet such was the mind of Christ. We are too apt to think we can tell whence the disciples will be drawn, by whom the table will be furnished with guests. But our Master has surprises for us here as elsewhere. We must not, in thought, limit the range of his redeeming love or converting power. It may not be the poor in need of some enrichment, but the rich in need of some higher wealth; not the lowly wanting some honor, but the honorable craving some truer dignity; it may not be the children of privilege familiar with the truth, but the sons of ignorance or superstition, or even the children of infidelity far from the wisdom of God; it may be these and not those whom the Lord of love and power meansto call and win and bless.
III THAT GOD HAS MUCH ENLIGHTENMENT TO IMPART THROUGH HUMAN AGENCY. Here is human ignorance and misapprehension (ver. 30): a sense of utter helplessness without guidance from some friendly hand (ver. 31); invitation to him that knows and will explain (ver. 31). Without the enlightenment which some men have it in their power to impart, everything is dark, meaningless, obscure, perplexing, facts in nature laws of God, utterances of the Divine Word. Then comesthe illuminating flash, and the mists roll away, the objects are clear in the sunlight, the path is plain. How wise to seek, how excellent to render, the light which, by God"s kind blessing, one human mind may shed on the highest of themes into the most troubled souls!
IV THAT THE SACRIFICIAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST ARE THE GRAND THEME OF THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER. (Vers. 32-35.) What passage in all the Hebrew Scriptures could Philip have preferred to this as a text for his teaching? This supreme fact in the history of our race is the theme on which to dwell, in which to find a deepening interest, from which to draw motive and inspiration, with which to fascinate the people, to which to be continually returning.
V THAT THE CONVINCED DISCIPLE SHOULD FORTHWITH AVOW HIS CONVICTION IN THE APPOINTED WAYS. (Vers. 3638.)
VI THAT THE FULL RECEPTION OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH WILL BE FOLLOWED BY DEEP AND ABIDING JOY. (Ver. 39.) "He went on his way rejoicing.
VII THAT THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER MAKES SUCCESS AN INSPIRATION TO FURTHER HOLY ACTIVITY. (Ver. 40.) C.
Vers. 26-40. Philip and the Ethiopian.
This incident teaches us
I THAT MEN IN THE WAY OF DUTY MAY RECEIVE UNUSUAL GUIDANCE. The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, and gave him directions as to the course he should take in his missionary journey. How are we to understand the mode of this interference? We are told that rationalist expositors assume that the angel appeared to Philip in a dream; for the word "Rise!" is spoken. But then it is replied that there is no mention of the night-time nor of a couch. And in ver. 26 there is no mention of a vision. Avoid rationalism, which is the attempt to exercise clear intelligence upon things best left in a sacred obscurity, or chiarooscuro. The point is not so much to understand how the Divine intimation came, as to recognize the fact that it did come. Cases of sudden and irresistible impressions of the kind are not uncommon and are well attested. But there are a thousand coincidences in life which we do not notice, and which may nevertheless be equally real evidences of a higher intelligence directing the human will, and "a good man"s steps are ordered of the Lord, and he delighteth in his way.
II THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CHANCE IN LIFE. Two men meet on the road, the railway, in a foreign city, "casually," as they say; and something flows from the meeting which influences the after-life of one or both. In the present meeting, notice:
1. The stranger"s nationality. He is from Ethiopia, from the south of Egypt. Some say of Jewish extraction; for he was reading the great Jewish prophet; but perhaps it was not so.
2. His rank. He was a "potentate" in his land, the grand treasurer of the queen, Candace being the official title of the queens of Ethiopia, as Pharaoh was that of the kings of Egypt.
3. His religious belief. Whether he was a "proselyte of the gate" or no cannot be decided. But his errand was to Jerusalem, to pray. Therefore in his African home he had learned to know and to worship the God of Israel. It looks like a case of independent conviction, and therefore the more interesting; somewhat like that of the Roman centurion in the Gospel. He was reading in all probability in a copy of the Septuagint, or Greek translation of the Scriptures. This version had been diffused from Alexandria through Egypt, and was doubtless well known to all the educated class. Philip receives an intimation, not this time from an angel," but from "the Spirit," to go and join himself to the chariot of the Ethiopian.
III THE WORD OF GOD A COMMON BOND OF INTEREST AND SYMPATHY. The teacher is led by Providence to the disciple, who is found beforehand prepared to receive the teacher"s instruction, and craving it. The teacher and the disciple have need of one another. The teacher has much to impart, the disciple much to receive; and each in a way changes his part with the other, for we learn as we teach and teach in learning. The passage the Ethiopian was reading is one of the most significant of the Old Testament. It contains the picture of the Servant of Jehovah, the Representative of Israel. It is the embodiment of Israel"s spiritual ideal. Meekness under injuries; lowly estate in the world and exposure to persecution; obscurity in the eyes of men; such are the traits of Israel"s Hero, in the passage the Ethiopian is reading. Well may he ask, "Who is this unique figure portrayed by the prophet"s pen? the prophet himself or another?" Then Philip proceeds to unfold from this text the whole evangel, which centers in the person of Jesus. He is the Divine Figure, the living Embodiment of the prophet"s meaning, the Fulfiller of Israel"s long history.
IV CONVERSION PRODUCED BY CONVICTION. We may notice:
1. The preparation for change in personal reflection. The serious mind, the attentive gaze fixed on the records of religion, the desire to learn, the willingness to be taught, precede conversion in this case, and are the more attractive traits in one of high rank like the Ethiopian. We can only profit by the teacher when we have first used our own spiritual energy to the utmost. "To him that hath shall be given.
2. The prompt decision. New thought ever impels to new action. The light comes that we may use it. "What shall I do?" is the question of the conscience so soon as it is aroused and quickened by the light. The Ethiopian at once "decides for Christ the Christ he has learned to know through the study of the prophet and the preaching of the evangelist. And as Philip vanishes, a blessing is left on the heart of his disciple never to be effaced. The whole yields an important lesson on the value of opportunity, and how it should be seized both by teacher and by disciple. In interviews like these, like angels" visits, God is revealed, truth is sown in the heart, and influences are set at work which never cease. J.
Vers. 26-39. A life true to light led to the Light true to life.
From one of the most unwelcome exhibitions of human nature, we are led with grateful relief to an episode full of hope and the very suggestion of sunshine for the world. This alternate light and shade of a written record of human life, which exhibits alike the appearances of a compendious description and a crowded epitome, is so far a very faithful reflection of the tenor of human history. And the faithfulness of the reflection goes some way to tell whose hand held the pencil of such graphic effect. Incident abounds in the paragraph marked by these verses. But it is no disjointed, incoherent collection of incidents. They come together, bone to his bone," "sinew and flesh come up upon them," and "skin covers them above," and they make into a most living whole. These incidents of our history group around two subjects. Let us notice
I WHAT IS RECORDED HERE OF A LIFE THAT WAS TRUE TO ITS LIGHT.
1. The subject of this fragment of biography is an Ethiopian. Though a fragment, it conducts to the most critical portion of life, and puts the key of it into our hand. He is a first fruits of the fulfillment of the prophecy that was written, "Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God"; (Psa_68:31) and in the desolacy too rapidly drawing on of Jerusalem, Zion was still to say," This man was born in her". (ver. 28; Psa_87:5) The Ethiopian cannot "change his skin," but God can change a darkened heart, and this he is doing. By what route the Divine ray of light reached the Ethiopian"s mind we know not, but that in man"s deepest darkness that light oftentimes loves most suddenly to spring up, we do know. He was not one who had been brought up in the light of revelation, but was now following that which was given him.
1. The subject of this fragment of biography was a man of peace, doubtless of wealth also, "of great authority," and with near relations of office to royalty. Yet he is an instance of exception to the tyrannical entanglements of the "cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in to choke the Word." He is not of those rich of whom it is said by unerring lips, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" He strives to enter in, and strives at the right time. He is not leaving it till too late the "too late" of those who "shall seek and not be able." This, again, was obeying and being very faithfully ruled by the light that was in him.
2. The subject of this fragment of biography is come upon using the advantages of his position, state, wealth, for direct religious ends. He has been to Jerusalem to worship. He is returning. He has by his resources of money and of influence possessed himself of the Scriptures, or a portion of them, comparatively so difficult to obtain; and while yet on his journey he is reading them. He is dwelling on what he has heard read in Jerusalem, and is referring to something that had fixed his attention and wakened his wonder. Air, and light, and sun, and movement of the chariot, and presumably voices of some attendants, are playing disregarded upon his senses, while his soul is communing with itself and the things written in that scarcely understood Scripture all interested. He is scarcely outside; he is crossing the threshold in the very porch of the living Church of God"s own glorious temple and manifestation of truth to man. He is reading in "Esaias the prophet;" and is reading in "the place" of places, where "some soft hand invisible" has guided his eye. The sacred parable of some six centuries old but which, within the last some six months, has, unknown to him, blossomed for a mission of perpetual youth has arrested him. He reads and wonders and inquires, "Of whom speaketh the prophet 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"?" The man who has got to that "story," sacred story, sweet story, strange story, and can"t pass it, won"t pass it, but lingers over it, muses it, asks in the very spirit of prayer for its interpretation, looks very like a man who is not putting out his light, not dishonoring it, but is following it and on the way to improve it and find it brighter.
3. Arrived a very little further in knowledge, the subject of this partial biography is resolved without an unnecessary moment"s delay to "make profession." Let him belong to what nation he may, let him wear what livery he may, let him jeopardize what splendid place of earthly promotion he may, he will take the Name of Christ. He has found the truth, and he recognizes it, and not an hour will he lose or risk his "part and lot in the matter." His "heart is right in the sight of God," and it is because God"s light has come to be in him. What light he had he followed, and it "shone upon the road that led him to the Lamb;" and he was satisfied, and "went on his way rejoicing.
II WHAT IS RECORDED HERE OF UNSEEN AND UTTERLY UNSUSPECTED AGENCIES AT WORK BEFRIENDING THE ETHIOPIAN. There were such agencies, and this is first to be noticed. It is plainly written where it can be written, that it may be the better understood and believed in the times innumerable when it cannot be written. Life flows on often apparently by itself; but what unthought of tributaries there are to its stream! Or, if they are thought of and even seen, how little is made of them, with how little faith or devoutness are they mused over! Nay, even when acknowledged as providences, the utterance of that word seems to discharge all debt connected with it. It is not treated as a sacred symbol of untold depth and breadth, and a mercy of meaning only thinly veiled beneath it.
1. We may be very sure that the eunuch would have been first to desire to acknowledge the help that he had received from Philip. What he may have thought of his sudden appearance, of his placing himself so as to overhear his reading of that sacred scroll, and of his addressing to him the somewhat gratuitous question, "Understandest thou what thou readest?" we know not, but evident it is that he both courteously and gladly received the proffered intrusion, nor regarded it as intrusion. He was well repaid. Philip expounds to him the Scripture, and "preaches to him Jesus;" and soon after is the minister to him of baptism, and nor asks nor takes fee or reward, but, so soon as his service is fulfilled, he has vanished. Was all this chance? If the Ethiopian thought it was, or did not think it was not, it may be in some measure forgiven alike to his education and want of education. But he does not strike us as the man certain to fail or likely to fail in matters of spiritual discernment. Be this as it may, we know that there was no chance about it, but distinct design and preparation: So this visible human contribution of help, gratefully received and no doubt unstintedly acknowledged in the heart of the Ethiopian, owned to an unseen friendly power. It was a notable instance of a "stranger" being" unawares an angel." And our human friends, and the visits of their sympathy, their voice to encourage, or to exhort, or to rebuke, may often be "angels" visits." Pity two things
(1) that they are not in fact more often so; and
(2) that we do not oftener recognize them and use them as such, when they are in truth so ordained.
1. More remote still, there was friendly agency, unknown, unsuspected by the man who took all the benefit of it. Philip himself did not come; he was sent. And the Ethiopian"s greater and devouter thanks belong to him who sent. So it was once that there was no eye to pity, no arm to save." And the majesty and sovereignty and might of highest heaven interposed. And to these behind and above all means and methods and "instruments," belong the glory, gratitude, and endless praise. The "angel of the Lord" (ver. 26) appeared to Philip, and told him the way in which he should go; and Philip went, obedient, unquestioning, though there was room for two or three questions. Like Abraham, "he went," presumably (ver. 29), at present, "not knowing" why he went, though he did know the unpromising "desert" where. And this was no chance, nor was it what happened as a sign and wonder in the one solitary history of this Ethiopian. It is what often is taking place. It is in human life, not deserted, forsaken, despised" of God, to be also often befriended, and most graciously befriended by him.
2. A third friendly interference is vouchsafed in the behalf of the Ethiopian. Philip has reached "the way from Jerusalem to Gaza;" and probably he knows the "desert" heat and drought, and the unrefreshing barrenness of the route. And he is going to cross the path of the traveler"s chariot, or rather be left behind of it and miss it. We need not suppose that Philip was not wishful to be "instant in season and out of season." But for whatever reason, he needs the direction of "the Spirit" (ver. 29), and that Spirit interposes and instructs and commands. These are of the gracious Spirit"s chiefest functions to arrest, to inform, to command. And still it is all for the help of the unwitting Ethiopian traveling from the worship of Jerusalem, using well even travel-ling-time, and living true to such light as he had. The fuller day was near at hand for him. Long time, perhaps, had glimmering rays been straying in, and he had wondered what they meant, and they had made him long for more light and feel for it with many a groping. Thus" he that seeketh findeth." Full conviction, fall satisfaction, full faith and peace and joy arc his reward (ver. 39). B.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip,…
Act_8:26-39
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go.
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Man versus angel
Why didnt the angel go himself? Because this was a mission where a man was worth more than an angel. In the Lords plan of salvation there is a place for redeemed sinners as witnesses for Christ, to do a work that no angel could accomplish. It is not for us to say that God could have had any better plan than this. As the plan stands, the man is needed for its prosecution. The best that an angel can do is to come as a messenger from God, and tell the man to arise and go. (H. C. Trumbull, D. D)
Toward the south … unto Gaza, which is desert.--
Gaza
The history of the city so named (appearing at times in the English verson-- Deu_2:23; 1Ki_4:24; Jer_25:20 --as Azzah) goes even as far back as that of Damascus, in the early records of Israel. It was the southernmost or border-city of the early Cananites (Gen_10:19), and was occupied first by the Avim, and then by the Caphtorim (Deu_2:23). Joshua was unable to conquer it (Jos_10:41; Jos_11:22). The tribe of Judah held it for a short time (Jdg_1:18), but it soon fell into the hands of the Philistines (Jdg_3:3; Jdg_13:1), and though attacked by Samson, was held by them during the times of Samuel, Saul, and David (1Sa_6:17; 1Sa_14:52; 2Sa_21:15). Solomon (1Ki_4:24), and later on Hezekiah (2Ki_18:8) attacked it. It resisted Alexander the Great during a siege of five months, and was an important military position, the very key of the country, during the struggles between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae, and in the wars of the Maccabees (1Ma_11:61). Its name, it may be noted, meant the strong. (Dean Plumptre.)
Unto Gaza, which is desert
1. When Philip is introduced to us, we find him engaged in promising work, and there was much still to do. Philip might justly have supposed that he would be allowed to remain in such a rich and suitable field until he had exhausted all its possibilities. And yet he was Divinely summoned to abandon it and go away to the desert. This place was at the extreme south, farthest removed from all the scenes and associations of Philips life, and if he had reasoned he would naturally have wondered much why he should be sent to such an out-of-the-way place. What good could he do there? And yet he immediately obeyed the Divine command. And as he did so the will of God was made known to him. He found there a more fruitful field of usefulness than even Samaria. Scientific men have shown us the wonderful arrangements by which insects and flowers are brought together in order to carry out the ends of the vegetable world. The blossom is furnished with a honey-cell, is painted with brilliant hues, enriched with fragrance, and shaped in a particular way, in order to attract and guide insects, by whose agency the plant may be fertilised and enabled to produce seed. More wouderful still are the providential arrangements by which God brings together the soul and the Saviour.
2. Some may say that it was not worth while to take Philip away from the great task of converting multitudes for the purpose of saving a single stranger. Bat such persons have not so learned of Christ, who said, What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? and who told the parable of the lost sheep. But it was not the salvation of a single soul only that was involved. The Ethiopian eunuch was a great dignitary, next in rank to the Queen of Ethiopia; and the influence which the conversion of such a man might be expected to exercise would, in the nature of things, be immense and far-reaching, and tradition ascribes to him the conversion to his new faith of Candace and of many of her subjects, and he may have prepared the way for the wonderful work which took place among the Ethiopians at a later period, when the whole nation became Christian, and the ancient prophecies of Scripture, that Ethiopia would yet lift her hands to God, were fulfilled. The superiority in religious faith and in all the arts of life which the Abyssinians enjoy over all the benighted children of the sun may be attributed in the first instance to the work of the Ethiopian eunuch. We have a similar instance of the wise methods of Providence in Paul being obliged to abandon his large and important field of labour in Asia, and to go over into Europe, which seemed to him, in comparison, a desert place.
3. The scene of the eunuchs conversion was admirably adapted for the purpose. When Jesus was about to cure the deaf and dumb man, He took him aside from the multitude; and when He was about to open the eyes of the man born blind, He took him by the hand and led him out of the town. Jesus isolated the men that, apart from the interruptions of the crowd, they might be made more receptive of deep and lasting impressions. And so was it with the Ethiopian eunuch. He had taken part in all the solemn services of the grandest of Jewish festivals. A proselyte of rank and influence like him, moreover, would receive much attention. But the atmosphere of the Holy City was unfavourable to the quiet meditation which clears the inner eye, develops the spiritual life, and opens the heart to receive the truth of God. And so what he could not obtain in the crowded city he found in the lonely desert. A spirit of inquiry had been stirred up within him; and here nothing would distract his thoughts. When Philip joined himself to him his mind was made plastic and his heart sensitive to spiritual impressions. Shut out from the world, alone with God and the works of His hands, reduced to their primitive simplicity, both the eunuch and the evangelist felt how dreadful was this desert-place. It was none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven. There the ladder was set up by which the benighted African climbed to the light and the joy of heaven. He found there not only water by which he was baptized as a Christian, but in his own soul a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
4. This incident is a type of what often happens in the experience of Gods people. Our Lord Himself on one occasion left the busy, crowded cities where He was carrying on a most beneficent ministry, for the lonely desert, in order that there He might cure the solitary demoniac, who, in his turn, was the means of a wonderful spiritual awakening among the people of Decapolis. Peter was sent from the large maritime city of Joppa, where he could preach to persons from all parts of the world, in order to instruct a single Gentile family in the small town of Caesarea. And so God bids His servants still leave the ninety and nine and go after the one lost sheep. We fancy that we need to get together large meetings in order to produce a deep and widespread impression. But crowds have not always been helpful in the matter of progress. Not unfrequently, by their distractions, they have placed hindrances in the way. A man has in a crowd no calmness of mind to think, but is swayed exclusively by the feelings of the moment. Our Lords own best work, so to speak, was not done in crowds; and the sayings of His that sink deepest into our hearts were uttered when conversing with a solitary woman beside well or near a tomb. The fickle crowds fell away from Him in His hour of need; but the solitary souls whom He called to Him one by one from the sea-shore and the receipt of custom, and the desolated home, clung faithfully to Him to the last.
5. But we may give a wider application to the lesson. Whatever outward circumstance or inward motive induces us to leave the crowd and go down unto Gaza, which is desert, for rest and meditation, we may be sure that it is the prompting of the angel of the Lord. We need to obey the Divine injunction more frequently, for our religious life is too social; it depends too much upon the excitement of meetings and associations, and is too often incapable of standing alone. It is urgently required, therefore, that not only in the enjoyment of the means of grace, but much more in their absence, we should work out our own salvation. We need more of the blessed solitude of prayer. It was at the back side of the mountain on which he fed his flock that the vision of the burning bush appeared to Moses. In the front he saw no door opened in heaven. And so, too, if we are to behold something of the sight which Moses beheld, and to be changed in some measure as he was changed, we must often retire to the background of the mountain on which we live and labour. If we refuse to go voluntarily unto Gaza, which is desert, God will providentially compel us. He will make a desert around us, so that under its bitter juniper-tree we may learn the true lessons of life. The gain to individuals themselves and to society by the training of enforced loneliness cannot be overestimated; and wanting in the best and highest qualities is that man or woman to whom Christ does not say, at one period or other of life, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert-place and rest awhile. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)
Philip on his way to Gaza, a type of a true minister
1. The pious obedience with which he follows the impulse of the Spirit.
2. The apostolic courage with which he lays hold of a soul strange to him.
3. The evangelical wisdom with which he fans the spark into a flame.
4. The priestly unction with which he seals, at the proper moment, the saved soul to the Lord.
5. The Christian humility with which, after the work of salvation is completed, he steps behind the Lord. (K. Gerok.)
Philip and the Ethiopian
I. Gods providential direction in individual life. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip. This meeting of Philip, and the Ethiopian was not the result of mere accident or chance. A species of pre-established harmony existed between these two souls before they were conscious of each others existence in this world. An angel messenger gives the directions by which they were to be brought together. Frequently we speak of accidents determining a mans destiny, forgetting that in the vocabulary of God there is no such word as chance. It seemed a mere chance that Moses was discovered by Pharaohs daughter. But Eternal choice that chance did guide. A dusty pilgrim overtaken on the desert road by the chamberlain of a Pagan queen, that is all the worlds wise ones see in this incident of our lesson; but in this chance meeting there is the hidden fire of a Divine purpose. Behind all lifes varying scenes--its, joys, its sorrows, its social positions and its political ambitions, its individual cares, its national crises--there is the guiding hand of God. What comfort to shortsighted, burden-bearing pilgrims, to think that Gods angels are ministering spirits marshalled under King Jesus to guard and defend us against the assaults of our great adversary, the devil, who is continually striving for our destruction.
II. The willing and obedient servant. Notice the nature of the directions given by the angel, and what was involved in obedience thereto. Verse 26 gives us the text of the angels commission to Philip. In a sense Philip is to proceed under sealed orders. The directions are simple in terms as far as they go. Go to a certain road. Yet in a sense they are vague and indefinite. Sixty miles of desert highway, with the haughty, wicked city of Gaza at the southern terminus, was a command seriously requiring some more definite statements as to what duty was to be met, and where the field of future work was to be found. The angel had revealed to Philip just enough to indicate some of the difficulties in the way. To ordinary human nature such directions would make room for two or three questions of a very practical character just here. Natural, indeed, would have been the questions, Why limit the sphere of my ministry by taking this unfrequented way? Here I am in the populous city, multitudes are being stirred with the gospel message, converts coming every day. Because of this there is great joy in the city. Why, then, must I be side-tracked? why leave the city appointment to take the country charge? That was the voice of expediency, and we will always find crouching somewhere in the near neighbourhood of that voice the cowardly tempter. And thus the tempter speaks: A long desert journey on foot, a lone pilgrim, prowling wild beasts, night coming on, and no shelter! Philip, there is danger ahead, lions are in the way. Besides, if you reach Gaza, and it is revealed to you that there is your new field of work, consider what difficulties and dangers await you. Gaza is hardened in crime, bitter in its rebellion against God. It is one of the most ancient cities of the world. Joshua could not subdue it. It was assigned to Judah, but even that warlike tribe could not retain its possession. Yet to have yielded to his fears, to have doubted the Divine wisdom, would have been to have lost the opportunity of meeting the man for whose conversion Philip was the Divinely appointed instrument: Only the willing and obedient shall eat of the good of the land. We have heard inspiring sermons on that word Come of the gospel, and truly it is a blessed word, inviting weary hearts to the sweet asylum of rest found in Jesus Christ. But, as believers in the Cross of Christ, have we realised the blessed privilege of that other great word of the gospel, that small yet mighty word Go? Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in. Go, work to-day in My vineyard. It was the inspiration of that great word that moved Philip to obedience. We dare not leave this thought of loving obedience to the commands of God without emphasising another fact in this connection, namely, that in proportion as we obey present revelations of Gods will, future and fuller revelations will appear. Philip had plainly revealed to him the direction he was to take, Arise, and go toward the south, unto the way that … is desert. This command was sufficient for prompt action at that hour. Philip had capital enough at that moment to go right to work for God in the new field. When the hour of opportunity came for other work than walking a desert highway, verse 29 informs us that another revelation was given. Philip is on the journey, he is overtaken by the chariot of the Ethiopian; Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. This higher revelation was given to Philip through obedience to the former revelation. God always furnishes revelations of duty in instalments according to the necessities of the hour and the measure of our faith. The way at first may seem dark. The commands of God may seem foolish to the demands of expediency. Human reason may stagger and fall and refuse to go farther. But to the eye of faith the inventory of the universe is in heaven. He will reveal place and method when the hour of opportunity strikes.
III. A bible-reading traveller. How seldom do we see the Word of God in the hands of travellers to-day! If you want to be conspicuous and regarded as a little cranky, take your Bible and read it on the railroad train. This Bible-reading traveller offered Philip a better chance to preach the gospel to him than the average hearer furnishes the preachers of to-day. He was prepared for the message. It is a significant statement in the lesson that Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. The eunuch had come from a period of profound meditation on the Word of God to hear the gospel sermon. Many times have we heard the casual remarks dropped from the lips of the careless hearer as he retired from church: The preacher did not strike me to-day. He did not reach my need. I dont think he prepared that sermon with his usual care. Dear friend, what about your preparation as a hearer by an hours thought on the Word of God, or a few moments earnest meditation on the interests of your soul before you heard that sermon? You come from the wild clamour of the Stock Exchange; you come from the cankering cares of the business week, and expect the man in the pulpit to banish all this influence in the short hour of service, and feed you with the bread of life, without one moments preparation by earnest prayer or devout reading. Again, this Bible-reading traveller had some difficulties in the way of his receiving the truth as it is in Jesus. He had his doubts, as we all have. But he did not make an idol of his doubts and set it up as an object of worship. Almost in the same breath whereby the Ethiopian expressed his doubt he uttered the words of his confession of faith, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that moment the recording angel wrote his name in the Book of Life.
IV. The rejoicing christian. Our Bible story ends well. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. Philip had been the instrument of converting the eunuch to Christ, not to the preacher. The soul that truly finds Christ does not backslide when the evangelist goes away, or when the minister changes his appointment. He is in possession of the Divine Comforter as Companion. The man has entered a life of trust whose elements are joy and peace in the Holy Ghost. (E. M. Taylor.)
Worker and seeker
I. The Earnest worker.
1. He is in full fellowship with the Spirit, quick to receive Divine influences, and living in the atmosphere of Divine companionship (verses 26-29).
2. He is obedient and self-denying, prompt to go wherever sent, ready to exchange a large field for a small one, Samaria for the desert (verses 26, 27).
3. He is aggressive, eager to get at his work, running to meet the one with whom he is to labour, and at once beginning the conversation without waiting for an invitation (verse 30).
4. He is skilful. He speaks kindly and cheerfully to the Ethiopian. Philips only recorded words contain a pleasantry (verse 30).
5. He is scriptural, taking the Word of God as his text, and showing how every page points to Christ (verses 30-35).
6. He is practical, leading to personal faith in Christ and to union with the Church (verses 35-37).
7. He is broad in his views, recognising the privilege of Gentile as well as Jew to be saved and baptized (verses 37, 38).
II. The sincere seeker It is hard to say whether the worker or the seeker in this lesson shines in the brighter light.
1. He is a noble seeker, a man of high rank and many public cares, yet a humble follower of God (verse 27). Christian politicians are not so numerous as they should be (verse 27).
2. He is a diligent seeker, living twelve hundred miles away, yet journeying to the temple and reading the Scriptures on the road (verses 28, 29).
3. He is a teachable seeker, eager to learn the truth, willing to be instructed by a layman far below him in social position, and ready to embrace any opportunity to learn the way of salvation (verses 30-34).
4. He is a believing seeker, exerting personal faith in Christ, and receiving Him as his Saviour (verse 37).
5. He is a confessing seeker, not ashamed to profess Christ in the presence of his company (verse 38).
6. He is a rejoicing seeker, going on his way happy in his new experience.
A special infusion
Note here--
I. The practical care of God for the individual souls of men.
1. The object of all this whole transaction was one single conversion. Not only will God have all men to be saved, but He will have each man separately to be saved--showing the universality and the minuteness of His love and care.
2. Through such single agencies Gods chief and most abiding work is ever wrought in our world. Each soul that is really brought thus to God becomes in its turn a little centre of light and life. We must never count any time wasted that is spent upon one human being. And let no man count his own souls culture a thing of trifling moment. He, too, may be the evangelist, if not of a nation, yet of a family or of some one precious soul.
II. The importance of being always ready for duty.
1. Philip had to take a long journey in quest of one convert, and without knowing that he was to make one convert. Oh, what excuses should we have made! How should we have urged the disproportion between the means and the end; She distance, the difficulty, the improbability, the waste of strength and time; till we should have persuaded ourselves that we never were called to it.
2. God does not now speak to us by an angel, yet there is often something within which says, There is such or such a person whom you might benefit. And these inward promptings are easily resisted; but they are the tests of our Christianity. They say to us, Here is something which you might do for your Saviour. Perhaps it may fail; but there is a chance also of its succeeding. If you feel your debt to Him as you ought you will go and do it. If a man always find an excuse for putting it aside and is glad when something makes it impossible, he has upon him the mark of the unprofitable servant, who was satisfied to dig in the earth and hide his Lords money.
3. On the other hand, how frequently is an effort of this kind consciously rewarded! You have roused yourself to leave your warm fireside; you have walked through rain or snow to the poor mans cottage, and you regarded it all as a penance; how often have you found that the visit was singularly seasonable; and it was your happiness to be an evident instrument in Gods hand for the refreshment or restoration of a soul.
III. The importance of being always in pursuit of good.
1. The Ethiopian was studying Gods Word: eager to hail a new teacher. To him that hath shall be given. This man had an Old Testament. Many of us would have said--for we say it now--I can make nothing of it; it only puzzles me; but the Ethiopian, like Simeon, like Nathanael, like older saints still, desired to look into the mysteries of the ancient Scriptures. And therefore they saw what to others was mere confusion. There is a growth in knowledge proportionate to a growth in grace.
2. Many of us err grievously in this respect. We have no patience in the things of God. We take it for granted that in Gods truth a thing must either be self-evident or unimportant. In this one, this greatest science of all, we consider study superfluous.
IV. The importance, both for strength and for comfort, of holding a simple gospel. Many of us pass through life without one single experience of the effect of the gospel upon this stranger. We are so mistaught, or else so slow to learn; we are so afraid of presumption, and so fond of adding something to the work and word of God, that we never reach anything that can call itself the glad tidings of Jesus, or send us forth on our way rejoicing. What Philip preached, what the Ethiopian received, was something which needed but one conversation for its statement, and but one hour for its reception. Out of this gospel flows all peace and all strength. (Dean Vaughan.)
Changing spheres: a word for workers
I. Arise, and go! And if the Church at Samaria was as unblieving as the Churches often are to-day, they said, What a mistake! To take Philip away just as he is getting to know us so well. And to Philip it must have seemed harsh. In the very midst of his successful work, there came Peter and John to take it out of his hands, and he is sent away to the desert--above all places! And so many towns and villages were pressing him to come and tell them of Jesus. Really, it seems a waste to send a man like that to such a place. That is certainly not what Philip would have chosen. So, then, the appointment of the worker needs be in wiser hands than his own. It is not what the Church would have chosen for him. So the worker must look to a higher authority than the Church. No; there is but one way of safety for us. We dont know what we need for our own discipline or usefulness. This sphere may be attractive; but who can tell what condition of affairs will come about there? what particular gifts will be needed? what temptation the worker may find there? The Lord knows it all. And the only safety is to let Him have His own way with us. But our very practical age smiles at this religious weakness. That sounds all very well, my dear sir, and was, no doubt, the right sort of thing in an age of miracles. But, depend upon it, nowadays--The Lord helps those that help themselves. But the teaching of the Book of God is, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
II. And he arose and went. There see the secret of the mans power. There are no buts, no Nay, Lord, no loitering, no turning aside, like Jonah. God would not have used him in Samaria if there had not been this putting down of self that made him ready at a moments notice to be off to the desert. I watched an old man trout-fishing, pulling them out one after another briskly. You manage it cleverly, old friend, I said. I have passed a good many who are doing nothing. The old man lifted himself up, and stuck his rod in the ground. Well, you see, sir, there be three rules for trout-fishing; and tis no good trying if you dont mind them. The first is, Keep yourself out of sight. And the second is, Keep yourself further out of sight. And the third is, Keep yourself further out of sight still. Then youll do it. Good for catching men, too, I thought, as I went on my way. There was the secret of Philips usefulness. He kept himself out of sight. He dared not go picking and choosing for himself. The Master said, Go the way that is desert. That settled it. To Saul there comes the word of the Lord, Go, smite the Amalekites, and all that is theirs. But Saul spared of the best to sacrifice unto the Lord their God in Gilgal. A very thoughtful and pious arrangement, surely. No. Forth came Samuel with that dreadful inquiry and menace. Obedience is the secret of service. If we could go into the storehouse of our great Lord, whence His mighty men have fetched their gifts, what should we choose? Here are splendid gifts of intellect, eloquence With which to thrill men, deep knowledge of the human heart, courage that will not give in, faith that never wavers, hope never dimmed, and charity carrying her kind heart in every look and tone and manner. No, there is something higher and better than all these. I am crucified with Christ.
III. The desert becomes a fruitful field. Philip sets out. He reaches the dreary desert. What a place for this earnest worker I It is all right. The Lord has sent him here. Now afar off the dust rises, and a prince comes this way in his chariot. And here are some things which we shall do well to imitate.
1. Catching sight of the traveller, Philip did not rush off at once to talk to him about his soul. Not they that be zealous merely to win souls shall shine as the stars, but they that be wise. Philip waits for orders; he does not stir until he gets them: Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. Of course, idle folks will use this doctrine as an excuse. But never mind; they would do nothing if they had not the excuse, so there is nothing lost. The Master will net waste His special orders upon them that are not ready to obey. Only let a man live waiting for the Lords word, and near enough to hear Him, and that man shall not lack a plain direction. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. Uzzah dies because unbidden he stretches out his hand to steady the ark of God. How often thoughtless hands are reached out in the service of the Church, meaning well but really harmful, because not bidden of the Lord.
2. When the Lord bids him go, he does not hang back because it is a rich man in a carriage. He had been a plain man working amongst simple people. And as he caught sight of the trappings of this Ethiopian prince he might well have thought twice before he moved towards him. The intelligent foreigner watching our ways of working might come to the conclusion that rich people have no souls; or else that they are sure of getting to heaven. Tracts, City missionaries, out.door services, etc., are all for the poor. And yet the rich are just as far from the kingdom of heaven, and have more difficulty in getting there. To Philip it was nothing who this man was, or what: the Lord had sent him; that was enough.
3. And Philip ran--the arrow is loosed from the string. And well he might run. The opportunity would soon be lost. The chariot was speeding on its way, and a dignified loiterer would have missed it. The Kings business requireth haste. And that the King has sent him is enough; he need not wait until he can get an introduction, or is fit to be presented. So the simple evangelist bursts upon the nobleman and asks, Under-standest thou what thou readest? It was all right. How could it possibly be otherwise? God had sent him; and He always makes things fit in perfectly when we do but perfectly obey.
IV. When God sends us on His errands He makes a way for us. Philip found the nobleman in the middle of a passage that gave the opportunity of preaching Jesus. Perplexed and wondering, he was at the very point where Philip could step in to help him. And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. Think, if we had been sent on this errand how we should have come along nervous and afraid as to what our reception would be. And when it all opened up so, how we should wonder at it! Yet is it really so very wonderful that our great Father, who sets the stars their courses, and orders the coming of the seasons, should be able to time our affairs so as to make them fit? If the regulator of our going were not so often pointing to fast or to slow, instead of keeping Gods time exactly, we should wonder when things fell out otherwise. But turn aside for a moment to see a sight worth looking at. Philip has gone into the lonely desert at the Lords bidding--and he finds a chariot to ride in, and a prince, of great authority, for his travelling companion. He never had so much honour paid him in Jerusalem, or even in Samaria. And is it not always so? The moment we set foot in the wilderness we are the Lords guests, and He ever keeps His table right royally furnished. He has brought Israel into the wilderness--but it was a blessed change! No more the muddy water of the Nile, but the sparkling brook; no more the rank vegetables, but manna, fresh every morning. Elijah has got away into the wilderness, and the ravens brought him bread and flesh morning and evening. The thousands that followed Jesus into a desert place, did all eat, and were filled. John goes forth to the desert isle of Patmos, found his glorified Master, and the visions of the eternal city, and the fulness of joy at the Lords right hand. The Master Himself goes into the wilderness, but, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him. It is true still. That country toward the south hath a goodly aspect--it faceth heavenward. When the Lord bids us go the way to Gaza, it is no more desert; it is the garden of the Lord. As they rode on together, Philip preached Jesus to the nobleman. And he believed and was baptized, and went on his way rejoicing--went, most likely, to open a whole country to Christianity. So Philip never did a better days work than when he went forth at the Lords bidding unto the way--which is desert. (Mark Guy Pearse.)
Comparisons and contrasts
The conversion of the eunuch suggests a comparison of his case with that of present-day hearers of the gospel.
I. Compare the privileges enjoyed. What had he?
1. The Scriptures. But only the Old Testament. We have more, the New as well as Old.
2. He had a preacher, but, so far as we know, only one, and only heard one sermon. We have the constant ministration of the Word, line upon fine and precept upon precept.
3. He had the Holy Spirit, awakening and influencing his mind and heart. We have more, for He has striven often in our hearts.
II. Compare the responsibility sustained. Ours greater by as much as our privileges are greater. To whom much is given of him much shall be required.
III. Compare conduct which resulted.
1. He prized and read his Bible. To-day sadly neglected, even by those who profess to value it.
2. He was possessed of a sincere desire to know the way of life. How few to-day seem to concern themselves about the great question of salvation.
3. He paid earnest attention to the preachers words. How many careless, thoughtless hearers to-day, all eyes and ears for the sights and sounds of earth, but blind and deaf to all that pertains to heaven.
4. He applied to himself the truths he heard. Philip preached unto him Jesus. Many to-day hear for other people, or hear as though what they heard in no way concerned them. Surely, here the contrast is in favour of the eunuch.
IV. Compare experience which resulted. He went on his way rejoicing. Have we found any joy in the gospel? Some have, but many have not. Are we not bound to confess that with fewer privileges his conduct is such as to put to shame the indifferent and unbelieving hearers of the gospel to-day? (Homilist.)
A typical evangelist: A striking conversion
The first Christian labourer has fallen, but a great stride is now to be taken. Stephen is dead, but Philip takes his place. That is the military rule. There was no panic or running away in cowardly terror, but Philip, the next man, took up the vacant place, and went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed unto them the Christ. And there was much joy in that city. An electric shock went through it. And no wonder, for multitudes were blessed and led to faith in Christ. Our problem of to-day is the city--the city crowd, the city poor, the city criminals, the city multitude out of work--and that problem is to be solved on the lines of Philip. Let us see to it that we are content with nothing less. It was while Philip was in the midst of this great enterprise--changing the very face of the city, pulling down the strongholds of darkness--that the incident occurred which is narrated in this paragraph.
I. A typical evangelist.
1. Notice that the Lord directs His servants in the path of duty. An angel of the Lord spake unto Philip. But why an angel? Why this extraordinary method of guidance in this particular case? Why this unusual honour placed upon Philip? Dr. Goulburn suggests that this external message of the angel directing Philip where to go was here vouchsafed as Gods answer to the thoughts and doubts which were then springing up in His servants mind. For though Philip was doing a great work, yet he had received an unpleasant check which must have caused him some annoyance. Simon Magus wickedness had come to light, and it had met with an apostles censure. In the simplicity of his heart Philip had admitted this bad man into the fold of Christ, and it might easily have occurred to him that he ought to be more cautious, that his evangelistic zeal was too great. Then, had he been right in preaching to these Samaritans at all, and admitting to baptism a race hitherto held accursed? He had dared to brave the opinion of many good men, and one result had been that such a bad character as Simon Magus had crept into the Church. The Lord, who watches over His people and sees all their difficulties, comes therefore to his rescue, and, by one of His ministering spirits, conveys a message which assures His fainting servant of His approval and of His guidance. An angel spake. How often this is so! Gods servants are filled with a glorious discontent with the rate of progress they are making, and enter upon new and bold enterprises for Him; they try experiments in His service, they do and dare roach, and for a time perhaps see nothing but disaster and failure and opposition where it might be least expected. Then, when their hearts are cast down and perplexed, He sends His angel with a message of encouragement. Was it not so with Elijah? As he lay and slept under the juniper tree, behold an angel touched him. An angel. Was there a visible representation? We cannot tell. The text gives no hint as to the character of the messenger. Philip went on his journey under Divine direction--this is the great thing for us to remember--and that direction is within our reach; though the form may vary the fact remains. He is in full fellowship with the Spirit, quick to receive heavenly influences, and living in the atmosphere of Divine companionship. Such a man as this does not often miss his way. And when the way is made clear he proceeds with great confidence.
2. Notice His prompt obedience. He arose and went. He went, not knowing the purpose for which he was sent. He went forth with sealed orders. He walked by faith, not by sight. He was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Yet what a work he was doing in this great town of Samaria! What a wide door for usefulness! It was a great trial to his faith. It required a mighty effort of will to fall in with this Divine plan. That he knew it to be Divine did not make it more easy to flesh and blood. Duty is Divine, and we all know it; but knowledge of its Divineness does not remove our difficulties in the performance of it. Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe tells us that the first and last word uttered in the meeting-houses where she worshipped as a child was submission. And in this department of our Christian lives, that of service, this is the first and last word. Philip had learnt that all true spiritual power lies in submission to the Divine will. If I do this, what will So-and-so say? And shall I not be putting myself in a disagreeable position? When God meets with such an one who just says, Lord, just glorify Thyself in me, He can use him, and does use him.
3. He is aggressive and eager for work. Behold a man of Ethiopia. And Philip ran to him. Ethiopia was an influential kingdom south of Egypt, corresponding to what we know as Nubia and Abyssinia. And this traveller was making his way home after worshipping at Jerusalem. There were two great roads open to him leading to Gaza, and he had chosen the desert one, passing through districts inhabited then, as now, by only wandering Arabs. And Philip ran thither to him. There is no waiting, no hesitation, the work is there and it must be done. When God gives us a call, how many of us creep and limp instead of running to obey it.
4. Philip falls in with the Divine order in this respect, that much of our work lies in the personal dealing with individuals. Behold, a man of Ethiopia. In our aggressive zeal we are all liable to overlook the individual. Hitherto Philips labours had been among masses of people, but now, by Divine command, he is withdrawn from this large sphere of usefulness, and sent to deal with a single man, attended, probably, only by two or three retainers. It has been observed that this is the first instance on record of a private ministration of the gospel. The lesson is to be continually kept in mind. Even the apostles, who had a commission to go and teach all nations, and in virtue of that commission might have challenged the whole universe of immortal souls as their audience, did not think themselves exempt from the labours of private administration. Are we not all, as Christian workers, no matter what position we take in the campaign, too desirous of crowds and too little occupied with the units of which they are composed? Dr. Stalker, in his latest work to preachers, says: Gentlemen, I believe that almost any preacher on reviewing a ministry of any considerable duration would confess that his great mistake had been the neglect of individuals. If I may be permitted a personal reference. When not long ago I had the opportunity, as I was passing from one charge to another, of reviewing a ministry of twelve years, the chief impression made on me, as I looked back, was that this was the point at which I had failed; and I said to myself that henceforth I would write Individuals on my heart as the watchword of my ministry. Philip was now wisely engaged in individual work.
5. Philip, under Divine direction, went outside and beyond the ordinary methods. And the Spirit said, Go near and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran to him. What spiritual freedom characterises the whole incident--its scene not the temple, not a Christian congregation, but the wilderness; its time not a Sabbath but a workday, when men may harness horses to chariots and go a journey; the minister not an apostle, but one who had been designated to a more or less secular ministration. I heard a preacher say the other day: We shut up our religion in churches; we limit it to days; we restrict it to services. And by shutting it in, we shut it out, and we shut others out too. How true this is!
II. A striking conversion. Let us briefly turn our attention specially to the Ethiopian and his striking conversion.
1. He is a man of great authority seeking after truth. He was Chamberlain of the Queen, and held the post of First Lord of her Treasury. The Samaritans among whom Philip had just been labouring, and where he had great success, were a simple people, and the converts, as far as we can judge, were chiefly of the lower class, not persons of station and influence. But here is a man seeking light of large wealth and high position and of some education--the first minister at a Queens Court. How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God, hardly because their possession entices the heart to trust in them for a contentment and a satisfaction which they never can bestow. But the man be[ore us is also a courtier and a politician. To judge from what we often hear of the political world, we might, for some countries at any rate, invent a new text, How hardly shall they that are politicians enter into the kingdom of God.
2. He is an earnest seeker after truth. Philip heard him reading. He was reading aloud after the manner of Eastern nations. It is more easy for some minds to learn by the ear than by the eye. Its attention may have been called to this portion of Holy Scripture during his visit to the temple, or he may have met the apostles. At any rate, he was making a diligent use of the means of grace. He used the light he had, and eagerly sought for more. What a contrast this man in high position presents to many in the upper ranks of society of to-day! Agnostics many label themselves, and when they have spoken this word they appear to think that they have done everything that can be rightly expected of a human being.
3. He is a perplexed seeker after the truth. Understandest thou … ? How can I except some man should guide me? The passage in Isaiah was a difficult one, as taught by Jewish instructors, to understand. It seemed almost impossible to put together the idea of Christ as a sufferer, as despised and slain, and the promise that He should be a glorious King, triumphing over the world. Only the facts could solve the problem. I would say to you, Do not be distressed if you meet with obscurities and are bewildered by religious mystery. Again and again every thoughtful man meets with things hard to be understood. Difficulties we shall always have which our finite minds cannot solve.
4. He is a teachable seeker of the truth. And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him. He made no idol of his perplexities. He welcomed help directly it was within his reach.
5. The truth being announced to him, he accepts it, confesses it, and rejoices over it. And he baptized him. He went on his way rejoicing. (A. Wood, B.A.)
And, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority, under Candace.
The Ethiopian
1. The visit of the eunuch could not have been at a more opportune moment. Jerusalem was still thrilling with the tremendous sacrifice that had just been consummated. During his stay the apostles had stirred all Jerusalem with their doctrine, and Stephen had died for the faith. Never was a soul thirsting for peace and truth so near to their source; and yet this Ethiopian passes whole days in Jerusalem without hearing the name of Christi How was this? Follow his steps and you will understand. He betook himself to the temple, for he came to worship, and of course met there priests and Pharisees, whose most strenuous desire was to conceal Christ and to silence His followers. Fools! They know not that at a little distance are assembled in an upper chamber some of those despised Galileans who hold the destinies of the world in their hands, and the fulfilment of the law and the prophets. Poor Ethiopian! why do you not know the way to that upper chamber? Blind leaders have misled him. One would say he is the plaything of an inexplicable fatality. But no! God is watching over this soul that seeks Him.
2. On leaving Jerusalem he takes with him the Holy Scriptures. That which Pharisees have so sedulously hidden from him, Isaiah will set before him. Fifteen centuries later, a German monk stirred, as was this Ethiopian, by profound aspirations, after having vainly sought peace in lacerations and penances, went to another holy city in order to adore the God of his fathers. Day after day he wandered through it, halting at every place of pilgrimage, meekly believing their legends. Rome was then governed by Julius II., the warrior pontiff; it was at the time when Machiavelli said that atheism went on increasing in measure as one neared Rome. Everywhere reigned the scandalous traffic in holy things. Luther went back terrified. Rome, said he, is built upon a hell. What was it which saved him? The Scriptures, which he found again in his monastery at Wittenberg. And so it has been with many since.
3. Queen Candaces steward then went on his way reading the Scriptures. He read without understanding them, yet he persevered. Where, amongst us, are they who are willing to study the Scriptures in the spirit of this heathen? People often say, We have sought truth, have read our gospel, but no light has come to us; our hearts have remained cold. True! Study the gospel as a mere critic, and it will remain an object of study to you and nothing more. God does not reveal Himself to mere intellectual inquirers; those whom He promises to satisfy are they who, like the Ethiopian, are hungering and thirsting for righteousness and truth.
4. Philip was on the road taken by the stranger. Here we have one of those coincidences called fortuitous, but which, from our text, we see to be an intervention of God. There is no such thing as chance.
5. What strikes us in the first words of the Ethiopian is his good faith. He avows his ignorance. Is it such a difficult thing to avow ignorance? One would hardly think it, for nothing is more common than to hear, I do not know, in matters of religion. But there are two ways of saying those words. In the mouth of many they mean, What does it matter to me? I do not want to know. And why not? Because, to know God is to know His claims upon us. To know ourselves--O my brethren! who does not shrink from this painful knowledge? But that day when, anxious for truth, with heart dismayed before those dark mysteries of sorrow, sin, and death, you cry, I do not know, it will be in a very different spirit; those words will then be a prayer rising up to God. When a man, animated by the spirit of humility, says, I do not know, he is already very near the truth.
6. A singular abuse has been made of the next words. How can I understand except some man should guide me? You see, it has been said, it is evident that by themselves the Scriptures are unintelligible. It is therefore necessary that an authority established of God have the sole mission to explain them. Let us examine this; without doubt the Scriptures contain many mysteries. But a revelation without mystery were unheard of. In borrowing the language of men, Divine truth cannot find in it expressions capable of presenting it with sufficient lucidity. How can beings trammelled by time and space, e.g., and with no other means of reasoning save by recourse to these two mediums--comprehend a Being for whom time and space are not? But without taking such high ground, there are in Scripture difficulties of date, place, origin, grammar, translation, history, and science. Needless to say that here piety cannot take the place of learning; and that nothing would be more absurd than to see ignorance usurping doctoral authority. This reservation made, there is, however, one thing which has ever struck men of good faith, and that is the marvellous lucidity of the gospel upon everything that touches essential questions--those of grace, pardon, and salvation. I take it, therefore, that it is a positive act of treason to prohibit the free circulation of the Bible among the people, under pretext of its obscurities and the possible errors that may ensue from wrong interpretation. Look at those nations which have been nourished upon the generous milk of Holy Scripture. Is it not a certain fact that they are the only ones that are making steady progress towards light and liberty? This said, let us see what is the true idea contained in my text. How can I understand, cries the Ethiopian, except some man should guide me? Herein I see the confirmation of the Divine law which created the Church. We are not made to stand alone. No man liveth to himself. From our first steps we have been led by others; and the Churchs work in forming of our ideas and most personal convictions is immense. Like the Ethiopian, not one of us would have understood the greater part of those truths to which we are most attached if he had not had some guide to say to him, as did Philip to Nathanael, Come and see. The Church is the witness to, not the lord of, truth.
7. Here, then, we have Philip sitting beside the Ethiopian, explaining the Scriptures to him. His task was easy; for, by one of those coincidences in which there is an intervention of God, the eunuchs eyes had lighted upon a passage of Isaiah which had deeply moved him. Hearken to the mysterious words uttered by the prophet so many ages before Christ, and say if they do not impress you by their startling, pregnant nature (Isa_53:1-12.). Gather together all the features of this mysterious picture, and you will understand tim exclamation of the Ethiopians (verse 34). Endeavour to explain this prophecy by the sole inspiration of nature. Suppose an Israelite, dreaming of the future greatness of his nation, had essayed to describe the hero who was to bring it about; is it not evident that he must have depicted him as a triumphant avenger? By what strange reversal of ideas is it that a totally different ideal is here presented to us? Weigh well the value of the expressions here employed; judge if one can conscientiously see in them merely the description of an Israelite who immolates himself in order to save his nation; see if this be not a spiritual work which is here predicted; if, above all, it be not sin which is here to be expiated.
8. We can understand the light cast upon this obscure text by Philips burning words, and his words, penetrating to the innermost depths of the man, stirs his soul and begins the work of conversion. One of those dramas takes place unknown of the world, but which the angels of God look upon. Looking only on the surface, who would ever have suspected its importance? The smallest public event, the most insignificant battle would have attracted far more attention. But the gospel, which does not even make mention of the successive Caesars who governed Rome, concentrates upon the destinies of a few people unknown to the world in whose hearts God has established His kingdom. There are hours that are as years; such are those moments when some great decision is being made.
9. The Ethiopian is now wholly gained for Christ, and he cries, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? What hinders you, rash man, are all your future earthly prospects. Are you aware to what you are exposing yourself in becoming a follower of this new faith? Are you not taking for conviction what is but a passing sentiment? Do you know anything of this Philip? Can you, upon the faith of his words, take a step the consequences of which will affect your whole after-life? See the path you are to follow, already watered with the blood of martyrs. No matter; he will be baptized. Like a soldier who binds himself by a solemn oath, if need be, to die for his colours, so he desires, by this open act, to irrevocably bind himself to the service of Jesus Christ. He receives baptism, and goes on his way rejoicing. Conversions of such nature are now so rare that they are nowise believed in. People believe in a gradual change of heart; they are unwilling to give credence to the sudden manifestations of mercy which attest in too signal a manner the intervention of God. This mistrust is in part due to the spirit of the age, which is more given to calculation than to enthusiasm or to heroism. (E. Bersier, D. D.)
The Ethiopian convert: a typical man
The Ethiopian still lives amongst us. Let us look at this man as--
I. An inquirer.
1. He was in a bewildered state of mind. I do not rebuke the bewilderment of honest inquiry. In the realm of spiritual revelation things are not superficial, easy of arrangement, and trifling in issue. Do not be distressed because you are puzzled by religious mystery. The most advanced minds have had to pass through that experience. But the path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Do not make idols of your perplexities. You know that there is a subtle temptation to talk about your doubts as those of a man whose mind is not to be put off with solutions that have satisfied inferior intellects. Be honest in your bewilderment.
2. He was teachable. He said, I wonder what this means; would that God would send some director to lead me into the light: Teachableness is one of the first characteristics of honesty. If you are self-trustful and dogmatic you are not a scholar in the school of Christ, and deprive yourself of all the gifts of Providence. Yet how few are teachable! So many of us go to the Bible and find proofs of what we already believe, but the true believer goes unprejudiced, humble, honestly desirous of knowing what is true.
3. He was obedient. A revelation cannot afford to be argumentative. Any gospel that comes with hesitancy or reserve vitiates its own credentials, and steps down from the pedestal of commanding authority. The eunuch, having heard Philip, obeyed. Here is water, what hindereth me to be baptized? He would have the whole thing completed at once. So many persons are afraid that they are not fit, prepared. They have heard the gospel a quarter of a century or more, but still they are wondering about themselves. Such people are trifling. What hindereth him? No man should hinder you from coming to Christ. I fear sometimes that the Church makes fences, over which men have to climb, but in the gospel I find only one word for all honest, teachable men--welcome. Hindrances are mans inventions. As to the form of baptism, please yourself. I believe in life-baptism. The spirit of baptism is greater than any form.
II. A hearer. He was--
1. Prepared; he was already seriously perusing the mysterious volume. He had not to be called from afar. Where are those who now come to church from the Bible itself? What is the work of Philip nowadays? It is to persuade, to plead, to break through iron-bound attention and fix it upon spiritual realities. Philip has now to deal with men who are reading the journals, the fiction, the exciting discussions of the passing time, and from any one of these engagements to the Scriptures of God there may lie unnumbered miles! A prepared pulpit fights against infinite odds when it has to deal with an unprepared pew.
2. Responsive. He answered Philip. His head, heart, will, all listened. Who can now listen? To hear is a Divine accomplishment. Who hears well? To have a responsive hearer is to make a good preacher the pew makes the pulpit. It is possible to waste supreme thought and utterance upon an indifferent hearer. But let the hearer answer, and how noble the exchange of thought, how grand the issues! Do not suppose that a man is not answering because he is not speaking. There is a responsive attitude, an answering silence, a look, which is better than thunders of applause!
III. A convert. As such he was--
1. Enlightened. He had passed from the prophetic to the evangelic. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Then Philip must have been preaching this doctrine. You know the sermon by the hearer. Say ye, It was a beautiful sermon? Show the solidity, the Scripturalness, and the power of the discourse by living it!
2. Deeply convinced. There are hereditary, nominal, halting, merely-assenting, and non-inquiring Christians. And they because they have not much deepness of earth soon wither away. There are also convinced Christians--men who have fought battles in darkness, who have undergone all the happy pain of seeking for truth, and, proving it, have embraced it at the altar as if they had wedded the bride of their souls. These will make martyrs if need be. These are the pillars of the Church.
3. Exultant. He went on his way rejoicing. You have not seen Christ if you are not filled with joy. See the eunuch, oblivious even of Philips presence. He saw Divine things, new heavens, a new earth, bluer skies, greener lands, than he had ever seen before, and in that transfiguration he saw Jesus only. Philip, miraculously sent, was miraculously withdrawn, but there sat in the chariot now one like unto the Son of Man. And so preacher after preacher says, as he sees the radiant vision coming--He must increase, but I must decrease. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The converted nobleman
Here we have--
I. A model minister.
1. He was under Divine guidance (verse 29). The success of the gospel ministry will be always in proportion to our nearness to God, and the influence of the Holy Spirit on our hearts. Learning, eloquence, and organisation are useful handmaids of the truth, but, like the wire of a telegraph, they are only a medium over which the Divine fluid may pass.
2. He was personal in his appeal (verse 30). We speak too much about doctrines, doubts, and evidences, and too little to individual consciousness.
3. He was orthodox in his doctrine (verse 35). Christ is the centre and circumference of the gospel ministry.
II. A genuine truth-seeker. Men study for display, for discovery, to baffle an antagonist. The eunuch was in real mental distress whilst searching for the truth.
1. He was devout and earnest. He respected the outward rites of the old religion, and travelled scores of miles to be present at the passover. There he procured for himself a manuscript of the Evangelical Prophet, and perused it eagerly on his way home. It is a great thing for us to be on the path of duty. A parallel case may be found in the history of Luther discovering the Latin Bible at Erfurt. The earnest and devout inquirer never seeks in vain, as is proved in the history of Nicodemus, Cornelius, and Lydia.
2. He was frank and honest. He confessed his ignorance (verse 31). Seldom will human nature acknowledge its defects. Self-love prompts man to hide his faults from his dearest friends, yea, from Omniscience. That which is quite plain to us was to him an inscrutable enigma, because there was such discrepancy between public expectation and the description of the Prophet. The Jews expected a Prince, and the eunuch could not reconcile His humiliation with royal pomp and victory.
3. He possessed an unprejudiced mind. Men too often study the Word of God with pre-formed creeds--hence they warp the truth to support falsehood. The crew of a ship in distress are not over-scrupulous respecting the medium by which they are rescued--a raft, plank, rope, anything is welcomed that can bring them safe to land. Even so the man who traverses the boisterous sea of scepticism, if afraid of being engulfed in the yawning waves, he lays hold of the most insignificant medium, so as to reach the shore of truth safe.
4. Once convinced he did not procrastinate (verse 36). Thus he received one of the outward signs of discipleship. Thousands are satisfied that Jesus is the only Saviour of the world, still they procrastinate. These are like a somnambulist walking upon the verge of a precipice; or, like a man sleeping upon the rails, that shall soon be swept over by the ponderous wheels of the express train.
III. A true conversion. His conviction was instantaneous and enlightened.
1. He possessed faith. I believe. Faith is indispensable to salvation. The faith of the eunuch was in the right object--Jesus Christ--not in circumcision, nor in the Virgin Mary, nor in priestcraft, but in the God-man. The Jews stung by the fiery serpents could not be healed without looking upon the brazen serpent; even so, without looking up to a crucified Redeemer with the eye of faith, the wounds and bruises of sin cannot be healed.
2. He possessed a peaceful mind (verse 39). Well might he rejoice, for he was now delivered from guilt and condemnation; he had peace with God and joy in the Holy Ghost. (W. A. Griffiths.)
Philips audience of one
I. Those who watch for providential opportunities will find that Providence is watching for them. There was a chance of saving a fellow-man down in the desert; God offered it to this Christian preacher (Act_8:26). If a mans heart is alert, and his temper willing, some sort of an angel will be discovered looking for him for a good work.
II. No self-sacrifice is to be considered too great when a soul is to re saved. Here we find Philip starting out cheerfully to go sixty or seventy miles for a foreign convert (verse 27).
III. Gods kingdom of providence is subordinate to Gods kingdom of grace. Philip could not have known where he was going, except in a general way. Two persons might pass each other a hundred times in the trackless journey, and never know it. It was like starting out on the ocean to meet a ship, when nobody could tell the exact line of sailing. But Divine foreknowledge understood where the eunuch would be, and Divine sovereignty ordered that Philip should meet the traveller out in the sands, for the Divine purpose was to save that soul.
IV. Good men are to be found sometimes in the unlikeliest places. It is a great surprise to us to discover in this officer of an Egyptian queen a proselyte to the ancient religion. So we are told that Christ, even in Caesars household, had saints (Php_4:22). And we have a record of one Christian in Herods family (Luk_8:3).
V. It is worth while to put forth a creditable measure of effort to attend church. In the kingdom of God, not many noble are called (1Co_1:26-29), and whenever one out of those high ranks is visited by Divine grace, it is best to look up the mans record somewhat. It offers a most suggestive comment on the laggardness of some Christian people, when we find this African stranger putting forth such supreme endeavours in order to render his spiritual obedience unto God as best he knew how.
VI. One may go through a most extraordinary season of the loftiest religious privilege and yet remain unenlightened. When we recall the unusual history which had been transpiring, we cannot help thinking how much had happened calculated to arrest both the mind and the heart of such a foreigner in Jerusalem. But even silent sorrow under the shadows of Calvary will not save a soul from death, just by itself. It is possible for one to pass through a whole revival of religion serious and sympathetic, and still remain unregenerate.
VII. Religious convictions are simply inestimable. The eunuch journeyed across the known world in fatiguing travel in order to find peace in the worship of the true God. He is going home, his soul not at rest. Still, though disappointed, he clings to his purpose; he shouts aloud, like the little schoolboys in Ethiopian schools, the verses of that pathetic old chapter in Isaiah, till Philip hears him and conies to his help (verse 29, 30). There is nothing like that impressive moment in which an aroused soul begins to ask, What must I do to be saved? If, in that crisis, those gracious feelings are stifled, or suffered to pass away, they may never arise again.
VIII. How unrighteous are the modern sneers about creeds and commentaries! We wonder what the eunuch could have done without that good deacon coming up.
IX. It is always best to be bold, but also to be polite, in offering truth to inquirers. Philip was unabashed, but you will look in vain for any discourtesy in his action. When the Spirit says, Go near, it is safe to approach any one in the name of Christ (verse 29). The Lord will never set a timid Christian at the task of speaking to a nabob or a politician like this, without going beforehand and, as it were, clearing the way of access.
X. So we see what can be done with an audience of only one. Dean Swift is said to have made a joke of it: Dearly beloved Roger [his clerk], the Scripture moveth us. Lyman Beecher is said to have preached his sermon right along, and his one hearer was converted. Jesus Christ gave almost all His supreme revelations to audiences of one, like Nicodemus, and the woman at the well. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
Philip the evangelist
The little that is known about Philip, the deacon and evangelist, may very soon be told. His name suggests, though by no means conclusively, that he was probably one of the so-called Hellenists, or foreign-born and Greek-speaking Jews. This is made the more probable because he was one of the seven selected by the Church, and after selection appointed by the apostles to dispense relief to the poor. The purpose of the appointment being to conciliate the grumblers in the Hellenist section of the Church, the persons chosen would probably belong to it. He left Jerusalem during the persecution that arose after the death of Stephen. As we know, he was the first preacher of the gospel in Samaria; he was next the instrument honoured to carry the Word to the first heathen ever gathered into the Church; and then, after a journey along the seacoast to Caesarea, the then seat of government, he remained in that place in obscure toil for twenty years; dropped out of the story; and we hear no more about him but for one glimpse of his home in Caesarea.
I. We may gather a thought as to Christs sovereignty in choosing His instruments. Did you ever notice that events exactly contradicted the notion of the Church, and of the apostles, in the selection of Philip and his six brethren? The apostles said, It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Pick out seven relieving-officers--men who shall do the secular work of the Church. So said man. And what did facts say? That out of these twelve, who were to give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word, we never hear that by far the larger proportion of them were honoured to do anything worth mentioning for the spread of the gospel. But, on the other hand, of the men that were supposed to be fitted for secular work, two at all events had more to do in the expansion of the Church, and in the development of the universal aspects of Christs gospel, than the whole of the original group of apostles. So Christ picks His instruments. Christ chooses His instruments where He will; and it is not the apostles business, nor the business of an ecclesiastic of any sort, to settle his own work or anybody elses. The Commander-in-Chief keeps the choosing of the men for special service in His own hand. Christ says, Go and join thyself to that chariot, and speak there the speech that I shall bid thee. Brethren, do you listen for that voice calling you to your tasks, and never mind what men may be saying.
II. The next lesson that I would take from this story is the spontaneous speech of a believing heart. There came a persecution that scattered the Church. Men tried to fling down the lamp, and all they did was to spill the oil, and it ran flaming wherever it went. And so we read that, not by appointment, nor of set purpose, nor in consequence of any official sanction, nor in consequence of any supernatural and distinct commandment from heaven, but just because it was the natural thing to do, and they could not help it, they went everywhere, these scattered men of Cyprus and Cyrene, preaching the Word. And when this Philip, whom the officials had relegated to the secular work of distributing charity, found himself in Samaria, he did the like. So it always will be; we can all talk about what we are interested in. The full heart cannot be condemned to silence. Do you carry with you the impulse for utterance of Christs name wherever you go? And is it so sweet in your hearts that you cannot but let its sweetness have expression by your lips?
III. Another lesson that seems to me strikingly illustrated by the story with which we are concerned, is the guidance of a Divine hand in common life, and when there are no visible nor supernatural signs. Philip goes down to Samaria because he must, and speaks because he cannot help it, He is next bidden to take a long journey, from the centre of the land, away down to the southern desert; and at a certain point there the Spirit says to him, Go! join thyself to this chariot. And when his work with the Ethiopian statesman is done, then he is swept away by the power of the Spirit of God, as Ezekiel had been long before by the banks of the river Chebor, and is set down, no doubt all bewildered and breathless, at Azotus--the ancient Ashdod--the Philistine city, down on the low-lying coast. Was Philip less under Christs guidance when miracle ceased and he was left to ordinary powers? Did it seem to him as if his task in preaching the gospel in these villages through which he passed on his way to Caesarea was less distinctly obedience to the Divine command than when he heard the utterance of the Spirit, Go down to the road which leads to Gaza, which is desert? By no means. To this man, as to every faithful soul, the guidance that came through his own judgment and common sense, through the instincts and impulses of his sanctified nature, by the circumstances which he devoutly believed to be Gods providence, was as truly direct Divine guidance as if all the angels of heaven had blown the commandment with their trumpets into his waiting and stunned ears. And so you and I have to go upon our paths without angel voices, or chariots of storm, and to be contented with Divine commandments less audible or perceptible to our senses than this man had at one point in his career. There is no gulf for the devout heart between what is called miraculous and what is called ordinary and common. Equally in both did God manifest His will to His servants, and equally in both is His presence capable of realisation. We do not need to envy Philips brilliant beginning. Let us see that we imitate his quiet close of life.
IV. The last lesson that I would draw is this.--the nobility of persistence in unnoticed work. What a contrast to the triumphs in Samaria, and the other great expansion of the field for the gospel effected by the God-commanded preaching to the eunuch, is presented by the succeeding twenty years of altogether unrecorded but faithful toil! Persistence in such unnoticed work is made all the more difficult, and to any but a very true man would have been all but impossible, by reason of the contrast which such work offered to the glories of the earlier days. Philip, who began so conspicuously, and so suddenly ceased to be the special instrument in the hands of the Spirit, kept plod, plod, plodding on with no bitterness of heart. For twenty years he had no share in the development of Gentile Christianity, of which he had sowed the first seed, but had to do much less conspicuous work. He toiled away there in Caesarea patient, persevering, and contented, because he loved the work. He seemed to be passed over by his Lord in His choice of instruments. It was he who was selected to be the first man that should preach to the heathen. But did you ever notice that, although he was probably in Caesarea at the time, Cornelius was not bid to apply to Philip, who was at his elbow, but to send to Joppa for the Apostle Peter? Philip might have sulked, and said, Why was I not chosen to do this work? I will speak no more in this Name. It did not fall to his lot to be the apostle to the Gentiles. One who came after him was preferred before him, and the Hellenist Saul was set to the task which might have seemed naturally to belong to the Hellenist Philip. He cordially welcomed Paul to his house in Caesarea twenty years afterwards, and rejoiced that one sows and another reaps; and so the division of labour is the multiplication of gladness. A beautiful superiority to all the low thoughts that are apt to mar our persistency in unobtrusive and unrecognised work is set before us in this story. Boys in the street will refuse to join in games, saying, I shall not play unless I am captain, or have the big drum. And there are not wanting Christian men who lay down like conditions. Play well thy part, wherever it is. Never mind the honour. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Philip and the eunuch
I. Philip meeting the eunuch.
1. An angel of the Lord spake unto Philip. Whether there was a visible representation or not we cannot tell--very likely there was. But certain it is that he spake. The partition between men and angels is very thin--they can hear us talk, we can almost hear them. The two spheres of rational existence adjoin and seem sometimes to overlap each other. Angels, in the first century of our era, busily interested themselves in the affairs of the Church. Have they been withdrawn? No. Are they not all ministering sprats, etc. We believe that evil spirits insinuate wicked thoughts. Why, then, deny the same power to good spirits? We sit leisurely in the house, when suddenly a thought shoots through the mind that we must go towards the south--visit a certain street. It is not impulse, nor feeling, for both bid us remain where we are; but we have no rest--the thought continually recurs. At last we go; and lo! we discover that our presence and assistance were sorely needed. Alas! we are not equally obedient with Philip.
2. The angel said, Go toward the south, etc. One cannot help wondering at the angels knowledge; but Palestine is not the only country with whose geography angels are acquainted.
3. That the message would prove a trial to Philips faith is unquestionable. It required that he should deny his most cherished predilections. Succeeding so remarkably in a city of Samaria, no doubt he was much tempted to prolong his stay. He might, with a great show of reason, raise formidable objections, but did not. The unbeliever always raises objections, but the believer always puts them down. He arose and went.
4. As soon as he arrived in the unpromising neighbourhood, he saw a chariot occupied by a man of Ethiopia--probably the region now known as Nubia and Abyssinia. The eunuch, therefore, was one of the sable descendants of Ham. Human reason is much embarrassed that God should order His servant to forsake the populous city to preach to a foreign traveller in a desolate path. But God pays as much heed to the one as to the many. His government is special, attending to the minutest wants of individuals, as well as general, attending to the collective wants of the multitude. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner, etc. The man of Ethiopia was also an eunuch. Eunuchs were numerous in the East, but were forbidden in Israel. Divine religion never encourages the mutilation of the body. False religions do. Their only method of overcoming sin is to disable the body to commit it. But true religion inculcates subjugation. Wherefore the Ethiopian eunuch could only be an outsider--devout, pious may be, but still an outsider. He was employed under Candace, and was set over all her treasures, i.e., her Minister of Finance, the most important office of all under a despotism. But the Grand Vizier of Ethiopia discovered to the bitterness of his soul that earthly possessions, however vast, cannot satisfy the profound yearning of our humanity. That is why he went to Jerusalem to worship.
5. The best spirits of the nations turned at this period with loathing from heathen religions and superstitions. Some betook themselves to atheism; others to witchcraft. But the better disposed passed over to Judaism. They found in it what the other systems of religion failed to give--pure morality and strict monotheism. So the eunuch travelled to Jerusalem to worship God.
II. Philip preaching to the eunuch.
1. The eunuch was now returning, and humbly studied the Word of God on his way from the temple of God. We often erase all good impression received in the house of God by frivolous dissipating talk on our way home. But the eunuch, sitting in his chariot, read Esaias the prophet. People nowadays, going on a tedious journey, take with them frivolous and exciting books with a view to kill the time. Better I should imagine did they learn a lesson from the religious African and read the Bible not to kill the time but to improve it.
2. He was reading aloud, as was customary among Orientals. But the word also signifies to read to another. He was endeavouring to benefit his charioteer as well as himself. A truly generous man! The section of Scripture he was reading was singularly appropriate. It was the very section which treats of the close relation eunuchs were to sustain to the Church of God under the New Dispensation. Not by chance was he reading this portion of Holy Writ. No; he was studying it rather than any other that he might come to some definite conclusion respecting:his own chances of ultimate salvation.
3. The chariot was driving leisurely along when Philip, wearied and dust-stained, arrived in sight. The paths of the two men were now to intersect. At the beginning an angel spake; now that he has obeyed and his work is at hand, the Spirit of God said unto him. As a reward for cheerful and implicit obedience, the presence of the angel of God is superseded by the presence of the Spirit of God. The angel was adequate to bid Philip arise and go; but not to bring about the conversion of the traveller. Angels minister unto the heirs of salvation but cannot sanctify them. The Spirit said unto Philip. He did not speak, converse in audible tones, as the angel did, but expressed Himself distinctly in the inward voice of the soul. Angels can never speak in the soul, at best they can only speak to it. We cannot help wondering at the marvellous combination of distinct agencies: the Word, the Servant, the Angel and the Spirit of God all work together to effect the salvation of one soul!
4. Philip then ran and said unto the eunuch, Understandest thou what thou readest? The eunuch answered, dec. (verse 31). If he did not understand, he had the first qualification to do so, he knew he did not understand, and was candid enough to avow it. Many now are like him in their ignorance of the Scriptures, but very unlike him in their unconsciousness of that ignorance. They occupy exalted positions in science and literature, but they claim to understand theology likewise better than its professed students. Talk of the dogmatism of theology! Why, it has never been half so dogmatic as so-called philosophy. But the eunuch, humble as a little child, expressed his willingness to learn of the footsore pedestrian. Then he read over the passage again, and said, Of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself or of some other man? Forgetting his social superiority in his intense eagerness to solve the great problems of religion, he beseeches Philip to explain the prophetic riddle. The prophet speaks of the Servant of the Lord. But who is this Servant? himself or some other man? A right honest and thoughtful question--one still hotly debated between the rationalistic and the evangelistic schools. But of Philips answer there can be no doubt--he pointed him in plain unambiguous language to that Other Man. Philip opened his mouth, and delivered himself of his momentous message. Some people when they open their-mouths shut the Scriptures. They darken counsel with words without knowledge. But Philip opened his mouth, and thereby opened the Scriptures. He began at the same Scripture, but he did not finish there. That Scripture is the climax of the Old Dispensation, which never reached a higher strain. But the climax of the Old is the starting-point of the New. Where Esaias left off, there Philip began. The only way to expound the Bible is to preach Jesus. Omit Him, and it is a dark riddle which no human ingenuity can unravel. He is the key to unlock the prophecies.
5. In a city of Samaria, Philip preached Christ; but to the eunuch he preached Jesus. The Samaritans expected the Christ; and were full of theories respecting Him. Among them, therefore, Philip had to dwell principally on the Christhood of the Saviour. But the eunuch was not hampered with any preconceived notions. What he supremely desired was a personal Saviour. To him, therefore, Philip preached Jesus. But Philip was not content with a mere exposition of the prophecy. He pressed the Saviour on his acceptance. There is reason to fear that much of modern preaching is not personaI enough. You pick up a volume of sermons preached before the University of Oxford. Before, forsooth! Let the beams of the sun fall broadly on your hand, and you hardly notice it; concentrate them on one spot and they burn. And the gospel light shines fully and broadly on our congregations, but how few the conversions! We diffuse the light instead of focussing it.
III. Philip baptizing the eunuch.
1. Modern Churches require candidates to submit to a tedious process of probation. Prudence now counsels delay, but the eunuch was baptized immediately.
2. But he was baptized on making a confession of his faith. Whether verse 27 is genuine or not, the truth it contains will still remain intact. Only on a candid confession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God can a man be legitimately received into the Christian Church. Correct views on other doctrines are of great importance to a robust, vigorous, spiritual life; but they do not necessarily endanger our ultimate salvation. But a correct belief respecting the Person of the Saviour is an element absolutely essential to salvation--without it no man can be saved.
3. The eunuch, being baptized, went on his way rejoicing. Prior to his interview with Philip he was restless and unhappy. He carried a sorrow he could not explain. His profound grief found vent in the tearful strains of Isaiah lift. But Philips teaching dissipated the gloom. The strings of the burden snapped in sight of the Cross, and the eunuch was delivered from that which he feared. Many foolishly imagine that religion is a melancholy thing. A sad mistake! (J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.)
Philip and the eunuch: a remarkable meeting
It was a meeting--
I. Of remarkable men. Each stood out amongst his contemporaries--the one distinguished by his political position, the other by his advocacy of a new faith. In appearance and worldly position they greatly differed, for Philip was poor and without status, whereas the eunuch was affluent and high in his countrys esteem. Philip was a footsore traveller, the eunuch wended his way home provided with all that the civilisation of the age could supply to make the journey pleasant.
II. Brought about by extraordinary circumstances.
1. The direction of Philip to Gaza by an angel of the Lord.
2. The occupation of the eunuch--reading Isaiah; if to relieve the tedium of the journey, how much better than our practice of devouring the trash sold at railway bookstalls! Or was it for the purpose of intellectual culture? Or to see if the character claims of the recently crucified Jesus corresponded with those of prophecy? It matters not. It was Bible reading that brought him in contact with Philip.
3. The Spirits impulse that prompted Philip to join the chariot. There was something more than human in this boldness.
III. Turned to rare spiritual account. Coming together, what did they do? Converse on politics? No, on the Scripture.
1. The eunuch was enlighted by Philip--for which work two things are necessary.
(1) On the part of the one a disposition to receive knowledge (verse 31).
(2) On the part of the other, a power to impart it. This Philip had.
2. The eunuch was baptized by Philip.
IV. Terminating blessedly.
1. For Philip. He was transferred to another sphere of usefulness.
2. For the eunuch. He went on his way rejoicing. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Philip and the Ethiopian
Simon the sorcerer and the Ethiopian officer are at contrast. In his seeking, Simons heart was not right in the sight of God, while the heart of the Ethiopian commended itself to Divine favour. Simon was after power--the Ethiopian was after truth. The thought of the one was only of self--the other had no thought of self at all. Simon was rebuked, but the Ethiopian was helped. Simon was filled with fear--the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. Note, then, the danger of approaching God with wrong motives, and the encouragement to every one who sincerely desires to know and do the will of God; how severely a selfish seeker may be rebuked, and how ready the Holy Spirit is to help an earnest inquirer after truth. Let us see what the Holy Spirit did to help such an one.
I. He sent to him a helper. Notice the instrumentalities employed--angelic and human--teaching us the value that in heaven is placed upon a single soul. There is here, too, a suggestion of the way that angels are made ministering spirits. The angel spake unto Philip, but he could not be the guide into the way of life. It needed a redeemed soul to speak of a Redeemer. The world is to be won to Christ, not by the testimony of angels, but by the witness of saved men.
II. He sent to him a successful helper. Philip has a good record as a Christian worker. He was the sort of instrument that the Holy Spirit could use. Though in the midst of a great work, he gives it up without even a query to go down to a desert. His faith accounts both for his obedience and his success. It takes great faith to give up a work for one that seemingly is small. But teaching one man in a desert may be of more importance than teaching a thousand in a city.
III. He directed the helper in his work. Philip not only was sent down, but was told what to do. The juncture was admirably timed. The Holy Spirit never inspires to unseasonable labours.
IV. He sent the helper to one who needed help. The Ethiopian was a man of station, and had made some progress in the right way. But that which brought him help was the cry of his soul for truth. That cry had been heard in heaven even before he had consciously called, and the answer was at hand!
V. He sent a helper of tact. The fact that one is sent by the Spirit should not cause him to be careless of methods, but should make him call to his aid all the skill and ability of which he is the master.
VI. He sent a helper conversant with the scriptures. Philip could fit the prophecy to the facts. And not merely that, he showed his familiarity with other prophecies. Beginning from this scripture, Philip preached Jesus. If one desires to be a power for Christ, he should become familiarly acquainted with the Word that bears witness to Him.
VII. He sent just the help that was needed. Having heard the Word explained, the Ethiopian joyfully accepted the truth, and desired immediately to have that rite performed that would seal him to Christ as a believer.
VIII. He caught away the helper when he was no longer needed. Naturally, both instructor and scholar would have liked to have kept company together indefinitely. But the purpose of Philips sending had been accomplished. There was work for the evangelist to do elsewhere, and work, it is to be presumed, for the Ethiopian to do at home. (M. C. Hazard.)
How the Ethiopian treasurer found the true treasure
I. The place where he found it. A solitary road through a waste.
II. The chest wherein it was hid. The Scripture with its dark saying and seals.
III. The key which he obtained. By the sermon eagerly received.
IV. The jewel which sparkled to him. Christ who died for our sins and rose for our justification.
V. The bight of possession which was acknowledged to him in baptism.
VI. The joy with which he carried the treasure home. (K. Gerok.)
Courtiers and conversion
Courtonne, a celebrated pastor of Amsterdam, notorious for the freedom of his preaching, was urged to preach at court. He consented on condition that the household of the Prince of Orange should be present, and that no one should be offended at his freedom of speech. When the time came, a great and distinguished audience assembled, and the preacher took for his text the present subject, which he said contained four subjects of astonishment, which increase one upon the other.
I. A courtier who reads the holy scripture, which is sufficiently surprising.
II. A courtier who owns his ignorance, which is more surprising still.
III. A courtier who asks his inferior to instruct him, which should cause a redoubling of the surprise.
IV. A courtier who is converted, which brings the surprise to a climax. (A. Coquerel.)
How all things co-operate to promote the salvation of a soul desiring to be saved
I. God, by His angel and Spirit.
II. Man. Philip, by his meeting and discourse.
III. Scripture. The prophecy of Isaiah.
IV. Nature. The water by the way. (K. Gerok.)
The Christian teachers work and its rewards
The Book of Acts contains a gallery of missionary portraits. One is inspired by studying them, but none leave an impression more distinct and abiding than Philips. He appears suddenly; the sketches given of his labours are very short; he quickly disappears. Like Elijah, when he is seen he moves with the Spirit, and is moved by the Spirit. He awakens joy wherever he goes; and his four daughters inherit his spirit and become prophetesses. Consider--
I. Certain characteristics of the Christian teachers work.
1. His implicit obedience to the Spirit. The angel said, Arise and go. He arose and went. Divine guidance to particular service is often accompanied by special evidence of its source. It is always in perfect accord with the Scriptures; there are providential circumstances pointing towards it; and often the call is emphasised by the counsel of Gods most devoted servants, though no unseen angel now brings His command.
2. His eagerness to impart the gospel. He see a distinguished foreigner on the road. Many a teacher would have said, He is no scholar for me. Only a heart full of love to men could have made him quick to obey the Spirits direction. Whatever openings we see, we must press into. No one lives where souls are still unsaved, where God does not open a way for him to carry the gospel. Take the first step, and God will point out the next.
3. His usable knowledge of the Scriptures. Strangers interested in the Scriptures meet on common ground. A Frenchman thrown into the company of a German, tried many ways to communicate with him; but neither could speak the language of the other. At last he took from his pocket a little Testament, and pointed to Joh_3:16. The German could not read the language, but the Word was the message dear to his heart. They each looked at the verse, then into each others eyes, then clasped hands across the book. Philip had made no immediate preparation, but he had prepared himself for such emergencies, both by experience and study. He could begin right there and preach Jesus.
II. Some of his rewards.
1. He finds a heart prepared to receive the truth. One who is filled with the love of Jesus finds intense delight in kindling that love in others. Philip expected immediate results. It was not his purpose to sow the seed and be content to leave it. He led the eunuch on from willingness to learn to eagerness to be a recognised disciple of Jesus. Such a reward is Divine. We never forget the triumphs of such moments.
2. He found new evidence of being a co-worker with God. What a reward is the evidence that God makes the efforts of His faithful servant effective!
3. Philip secured a witness for the gospel. That which he was so eager to make known would now be proclaimed by another also.
4. Philip filled a life with joy. The eunuch, like Zaccheus, like the Philippian jailor, like countless thousands more, rejoiced because he had found Christ as his Saviour. Wherever Philip goes, he leaves a trail of joy behind him. Samaria rejoices in his presence: so did also the desert. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Four noble guides to the way of salvation
I. The voice in ones heart, which longs after God.
II. The intimation of scripture, which points to Christ.
III. The guidance of the ministry, which explains both the presentiments of the heart and the counsels of Scripture.
IV. The efficacy of the sacrament, which seals to us the Divine grace, and nourishes and strengthens within us the Divine life. (K. Gerok.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain Chapter 20
Chapter 20
EVANGELISTIC WORK IN THE PHILISTINES LAND.
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Act_8:26-28; Act_9:32
I HAVE; united these two incidents, the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch and the mission of St. Peter to the people of Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa, because they relate to the same district of country and they happened at the same period, the pause which ensued between the martyrdom of St. Stephen and the conversion of St. Paul. The writer of the Acts does not seem to have exactly followed chronological order in this part of his story. He had access to different authorities or to different diaries. He selected as best he could the details which he heard or read, and strove to weave them into a connected narrative. St. Luke, when gathering up the story of these earliest days of the Churchs warfare, must have laboured under great difficulties which we now can scarcely realise. It was doubtless from St. Philip himself that our author learned the details of the eunuchs conversion and of St. Peters labours. St. Luke and St. Paul tarried many days with St. Philip at Caesarea. Most probably St. Luke had then formed no intention of writing either his Gospel or his apostolic history at that period. He was urged on simply by that unconscious force which shapes our lives and leads us in a vague way to act in some special direction. A man born to be a poet will unconsciously display his tendency. A man born to be a historian will be found, even when he has formed no definite project, note-book in hand, jotting down the impressions of the passing hour or of his current studies. So probably was it with St. Luke. He could not help taking notes of conversations he heard, or making extracts from the documents he chanced to meet; and then when he came to write he had a mass of materials which it was at times hard to weave into one continuous story within the limits he had prescribed to himself. One great idea, indeed, to which we have often referred, seems to have guided the composition of the first portion of the apostolic history. St. Luke selected, under Divine guidance, certain representative facts and incidents embodying great principles, typical of future developments. This is the golden thread which runs through the whole of this book, and specially through the chapters concerning which we speak in this volume, binding together and uniting in one organic whole a series of independent narratives.
I. The two incidents which we now consider have several representative aspects. They may be taken as typical of evangelistic efforts and the qualifications for success in them. Philip the deacon is aggressive, manysided, flexible, and capable of adapting himself to diverse temperaments, whether those of the Grecian Jews at Jerusalem, the Samaritans in central Palestine, or the Jewish proselytes from distant Africa. Peter is older, narrower, cannot so easily accommodate himself to new circumstances. He confines himself, therefore, to quiet work amongst the Jews of Palestine who have been converted to Christ as the result of the four years growth of the Church. "As Peter went throughout all parts, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda." This incident represents to us the power and strength gained for the cause of Christ by intellectual training and by wider culture. It is a lesson needed much in the great mission field. It has hitherto been too much the fashion to think that while the highest culture and training are required for the ministry at home, any half-educated teacher, provided he be in earnest, will suffice for the work of preaching to the heathen. This is a terrible mistake, and one which has seriously injured the progress of religion. It is at all times a dangerous thing to despise ones adversary, and we have fallen into the snare when we have despised systems like Buddhism and Hindooism, endeavouring to meet them with inferior weapons. The ancient religions of the East are founded on a subtle philosophy, and should be met by men whose minds have received a wide and generous culture, which can distinguish between the chaff and the wheat, rejecting what is bad in them while sympathising with and accepting what is good. The notices of Philip and Stephen and their work, as contrasted with that of St. Peter, proclaimed the value of education, travel, and thought in this the earlier section of the Acts, as the labours of St. Paul declare it in the days of Gentile conversion. The work of the Lord, whether among Jews or Gentiles, is done most effectually by those whose natural abilities and intellectual sympathies have been quickened and developed. A keen race like the Greeks of old or the Hindoos of the present, are only alienated from the very consideration of the faith when it is presented in a hard, narrow, intolerant, unsympathetic spirit. The angel chose wisely when he selected the Grecian Philip to bear the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, and left Peter to minister to Aeneas, to Tabitha, and to Simon the tanner of Joppa; simple souls, for whom life glided smoothly along, troubled by no intellectual problems and haunted by no fearful doubts.
II. Again, we may remark that these incidents and the whole course of Church history at this precise moment show the importance of clear conceptions as to character, teaching, and objects. The Church at this time was vaguely conscious of a great mission, but it had not made up its mind as to the nature of that mission, because it had not realised its own true character, as glad tidings of great joy unto all nations. And the result was very natural: it formed no plans for the future, and was as yet hesitating and undecided in action. It was with the Church then as in our everyday experience of individuals. A man who does not know himself, who has no conception of his own talents or powers, and has formed no idea as to his object or work in life, that man cannot be decided in action, he cannot bring all his powers into play, because he neither knows of their existence, nor where and how to use them. This is my explanation of the great difference manifest on the face of our history as between the Church and its life before and after the conversion of Cornelius. It is plain that there was a great difference in Church life and activity between these two periods. Whence did it arise? The admission of the Gentiles satisfied the unconscious cravings of the Church. She felt that at last her true mission and her real object were found, and, like a man of vigorous mind who at last discovers the work for which nature has destined him, she flung herself into it, and we read no longer of mere desultory efforts, but of unceasing, indefatigable, skilfully-directed labour; because the Church had at last been taught by God that her great task was to make all men know the riches hidden in Christ Jesus. We have in this fact a representative lesson very necessary for our time. Men are now very apt to mistake mistiness for profundity, and clearness of conception for shallowness of thought. This feeling intrudes itself into religion, and men do not take the trouble to form clear conceptions on any subject, and they lapse therefore into the very weakness which afflicted the Church prior to St. Peters vision. The root of practical, vigorous action is directly assailed if men have no clear conceptions as to the nature, the value, and the supreme importance of the truth. If, for instance, a man cherishes the notion, now prevalent in some circles, that Mahometanism is the religion suited for the natives of Africa, how will he make sacrifices either of time, of money, or of thought, to make the Gospel known to that great continent? I do not say that we should seek to have sharp and clear conceptions on all points. There is no man harder, more unsympathetic with the weak, more intolerant of the slightest difference, more truly foolish and short-sighted, than the man who has formed the clearest and sharpest conceptions upon the profoundest questions, and is ready to decide offhand where the subtlest and deepest thinkers have spoken hesitatingly. That man does not, in the language of John Locke, recognise the length of his own tether. He wishes to make himself the standard for every one else, and infallibly brings discredit on the possession of clear views on any topics. There are vast tracts of thought upon which we must be content with doubt, hesitancy, and mistiness; but the man who wishes to be a vigorous, self-sacrificing servant of Jesus Christ must seek diligently for clear, broad, strong conceptions on such great questions as the value of the soul, the nature of God, the person of Jesus Christ, the work of the Spirit, and all the other truths which the Apostles Creed sets forth as essentially bound up with these doctrines. Distinct and strong convictions alone on such points form for the soul the basis of a decided and fruitful-Christian activity; as such decided convictions energised the whole life and character of the blessed apostle of love when writing. "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the evil one."
III. Now turning from such general considerations, we may compare the two incidents, St. Philips activities and St. Peters labours, in several aspects. We notice a distinction in their guidance. Greater honour is placed on Philip than upon Peter. An angel speaks to Philip, while St. Peter seems to have been left to that ordinary guidance of the Spirit which is just as real as any external direction, such as that given by an angel, but yet does not impress the human mind or supersede its own action, as the external direction does. Dr. Goulburn, in an interesting work from which I have derived many important hints, suggests that the external message of the angel directing Philip where to go may have been Gods answer to the thoughts and doubts which were springing up in His servants mind. The incident of Simon Magus may have disturbed St. Philip. He may have been led to doubt the propriety of his action in thus preaching to the Samaritans and admitting to baptism a race hitherto held accursed. He had dared to run counter to the common opinion of devout men, and one result had been that such a bad character as Simon Magus had crept into the sacred fold. The Lord who watches over His people and sees all their difficulties, comes therefore to his rescue, and by one of His ministering spirits conveys a message which assures His fainting servant of His approval and of His guidance. Such is Dr. Goulburns explanation, and surely it is a most consoling one, of which every true servant of God has had his own experience. The Lord even still deals thus with His people. They make experiments for Him, as Philip did; engage in new enterprises and in fields of labour hitherto untried; they work for His honour and glory alone; and perhaps they see nothing for a time but disaster and failure. Then, when their hearts are cast down and their spirits are fainting because of the way, the Lord mercifully sends them a message by some angelic hand or voice, which encourages and braces them for renewed exertion.
An external voice of an angel may, in the peculiar circumstances of the case, have directed St. Philip. But the text does not give us a hint as to the appearance or character of the messenger whom God used on this occasion. The Old and New Testament alike take broader views of Divine messengers, and of angelic appearances generally, than we do. A vision, a dream, a human agent, some natural circumstance or instrument, all these are in Holy Scripture or in contemporary literature styled Gods angels or messengers. Men saw then more deeply than we do, recognised the hand of a superintending Providence where we behold only secondary agents, and in their filial confidence spoke of angels where we should only recognise some natural power. Let me quote an interesting illustration of this. Archbishop Trench, speaking, in his "Notes on the Miracles," of the healing of the Impotent Man at Bethesda, and commenting on Joh_5:4, a verse which runs thus, "For an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole, with whatsoever disease he was holden," thus enunciates the principle which guided the ancient Christians, as well as the Jews, in this matter. He explains the origin of this verse, and the manner in which it crept into the text of the New Testament. "At first, probably, a marginal note, expressing the popular notion of the Jewish Christians concerning the origin of the healing power which from time to time the waters of Bethesda possessed, by degrees it assumed the shape in which we now have it." The Archbishop then proceeds to speak of the Hebrew view of the world as justifying such expressions. "For the statement itself, there is nothing in it which need perplex or offend, or which might not find place in St. John. It rests upon that religious view of the world which in all nature sees something beyond and behind nature, which does not believe that it has discovered causes when, in fact, it has only traced the sequence of phenomena, and which everywhere recognises a going forth of the immediate power of God, invisible agencies of His, whether personal or otherwise, accomplishing. His will." The whole topic of angelic agencies is one that has been much confused for us by the popular notions about angels, notions which affect every one, no matter how they imagine themselves raised above the vulgar herd. When men speak or think of angelic appearances, they think of angels as they are depicted in sacred pictures. The conception of young men clad in long white and shining raiment, with beautiful wings dependent from their shoulders and folded by their sides, is an idea of the angels and angelic life derived from mediaeval painters and sculptors, not from Holy Writ. The important point, however, for us to remember is that Philip here moved under external direction to the conversion of the eunuch. The same Spirit which sent His messenger to direct Philip, led Peter to move towards exactly the same southwestern quarter of Palestine, where he was to remain working, meditating, praying till the hour had come when the next great step should be taken and the Gentiles admitted as recognised members of the Church.
IV. This leads us to the next point. Philip and Peter were both guided, the one externally, the other internally; but whither? They were led by God into precisely the same southwestern district of Palestine. Peter was guided, by one circumstance after another, first to Lydda and Sharon, and then to Joppa, where the Lord found him when he was required at the neighbouring Caesarea to use the power of the keys and to open the door of faith to Cornelius and the Gentile world. Our narrative says nothing, in St. Peters case, about providential guidance or heavenly direction, but cannot every devout faithful soul see here the plain proofs of it? The book of the Acts makes no attempt to improve the occasion, but surely a soul seeking for light and help will see, and that with comfort, the hand of God leading St. Peter all unconscious, and keeping him in readiness for the moment when he should be wanted. We are not told of any extraordinary intervention, and yet none the less the Lord guided him as really as He guided Philip, that his life might teach its own lessons, by which we should order our own. And has not every one who has devoutly and faithfully striven to follow Christ experienced many a dispensation exactly like St. Peters? We have been led to places, or brought into company with individuals, whereby our future lives have been ever afterwards affected. The devout mind in looking back over the past will see how work and professions have been determined for us, how marriages have been arranged, how afflictions and losses have been made to work for good.; so that at last, surveying, like Moses, lifes journey from some Pisgah summit, when its course is well-nigh run, Gods faithful servant is enabled to rejoice in Him because even in direct afflictions He has done all things well. A view of life like that is strictly warranted by this passage, and such a view was, and still is, the sure and secret source of that peace of God which passeth all understanding. Nothing can happen amiss to him who has Almighty Love as his Lord and Master. St. Peter was led, by one circumstance after another, first to Lydda, which is still an existing village, then, farther, into the vale of Sharon, celebrated from earliest time for its fertility, and commemorated for its roses in the Song of Solomon, {Son_2:1, Isa_33:9} till finally he settles down at Joppa, to wait for the further indications of Gods will.
But how about Philip, to whom the Divine messenger had given a heavenly direction? What was the message so imparted? An angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, "Arise, and go toward the south, unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert." Now we should here carefully remark the minute exactness of the Acts of the Apostles in this place, because it is only a specimen of the marvellous geographical and historical accuracy which distinguishes it all through, and is every year receiving fresh illustrations. Gaza has always been the gateway, of Palestine. Invader after invader, when passing from Egypt to Palestine, has taken Gaza in his way. It is still the trade route to Egypt, along which the telegraph line runs. It was m the days of St. Philip the direct road for travellers like the Ethiopian eunuch, from Jerusalem to the Nile and the Red Sea. This man was seeking his home in Central Africa, which he could reach either by the Nile or by the sea, and was travelling therefore along the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. The Acts, again, distinguishes one particular road. There were then, and there are still, two great roads leading from Jerusalem to Gaza, one a more northern road, which ran through villages and cultivated land, as it does to this day. The other was a desert road, through districts inhabited then as now by the wandering Arabs of the desert alone. Travellers have often, remarked on the local accuracy of the angels words when directing Philip to a road which would naturally be taken only by a man attended by a considerable body of servants able to ward off attack, and which was specially suitable, by its lonely character, for those prolonged conversations which must have passed between the eunuch and his teacher. Cannot we see, however, a still more suggestive and prophetic reason for the heavenly direction? In these early efforts of the Apostles and their subordinates we read nothing of missions towards the east. All their evangelistic operations lay, in later times, towards the north and northwest, Damascus, Antioch, Syria, and Asia Minor, while in these earlier days they evangelised Samaria, which was largely pagan, and then worked down towards Gaza and Caesarea and the Philistine country, which were the strongholds of Gentile and European influence, -the Church indicated in St. Lukes selection of typical events; the Western, the European destiny working strong within. It already foretold, vaguely but still surely, that, in the grandest and profoundest sense,
"Westward the course of Empire takes its way"
that the Gentile world, not the Jewish, was to furnish the most splendid triumphs to the soldiers of the Cross. Our Lord steadily restrained Himself within the strict bounds of the chosen people, because His teaching was for them alone. His Apostles already indicate their wider mission by pressing close upon towns and cities, like Gaza and Caesarea, which our Lord never visited, because they were the strongholds and chosen seats of paganism. The providential government of God, ordering the future of His Church and developing its destinies, can thus be traced in the unconscious movements of the earliest Christian teachers. Their first missionary efforts in Palestine are typical of the great work of the Church in the conversion of Europe.
V. St. Philip was brought from Samaria, in the centre, to the Gaza road leading from Jerusalem to the coast; and why? Simply in order that he might preach the Gospel to one solitary man, the eunuch who was treasurer to Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians. Here again we have another of those representative facts which are set before us in the earlier portion of this book. On the day of Pentecost, Jews from all parts of the Roman Empire, and from the countries bordering upon the east of that Empire, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and Arabians, came in contact with Christianity. Philip had ministered in Samaria to another branch of the circumcision, but Africa, outside the Empire at least, had as yet no representative among the firstfruits of the Cross. But now the prophecy of the sixty-eighth Psalm was to be fulfilled, and "Ethiopia was to stretch out her hands unto God." We have the assurance of St. Paul himself that the sixty-eighth Psalm was a prophecy of the ascension of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. In Eph_4:8 he writes, quoting from the eighteenth verse, "Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men." And then he proceeds to enumerate the various offrices of the apostolic ministry, with their blessed tidings of peace and salvation, as the gifts of the Spirit which God had bestowed through the ascension of Jesus Christ. And now, in order that no part of the known world might want its Jewish representative, we have the conversion of this eunuch, who, as coming from Ethiopia, was regarded in those times as intimately associated with India.
Let us see, moreover, what we are told concerning this typical African convert. He was an Ethiopian by birth, though he may have been of Jewish descent, or perhaps more probably a proselyte, and thus an evidence of Jewish zeal for Jehovah. He was a eunuch, and treasurer of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians. He was like Daniel and the three Hebrew children in the court of the Chaldaean monarch. He had utilised his Jewish genius and power of adaptation so well that he had risen to high position. The African queen may have learned, too, as Darius did, to trust his Jewish faith and depend upon a man whose conduct was regulated by Divine law and principle. This power of the Jewish race, leading them to high place amid foreign nations and in alien courts, has been manifested in their history from the earliest times. Moses, Mordecai, and Esther, the Jews in Babylon, were types and prophecies of the greatness which has awaited their descendants scattered among the Gentiles in our own time. This eunuch was treasurer of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians. Here again we find another illustration of the historical and geographical accuracy of the Acts of the Apostles. We learn from several contemporary geographers that the kingdom of Meroe in Central Africa was ruled for centuries by a line of female sovereigns whose common title was Candace, as Pharaoh was that of the Egyptian monarchs. There were, as we have already pointed out, large Jewish colonies in the neighbourhood of Southern Arabia and all along the coast of the Red Sea. It was very natural, then, that Candace should have obtained the assistance of a clever Jew from one of these settlements. A question has been raised, indeed, whether the eunuch was a Jew at all, and some have regarded him as the first Gentile convert. The Acts of the Apostles, however, seems clear enough, on this point. Cornelius is plainly put forward as the typical case which decided the question of the admission of the Gentiles to the benefits of the covenant of grace. Our history gives not the faintest hint that any such question was even distantly involved in the conversion and baptism of the Ethiopian. Nay, rather, by telling us that he had come to Jerusalem for the purpose of worshipping God, it indicates that he felt himself bound, as far as he could, to discharge the duty of visiting the Holy City and offering personal worship there once at least in his lifetime. Then, too, we are told of his employment when Philip found him. "He was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet." His attention may have been called to this portion of Holy Scripture during his visit to the temple, where he may have come in contact with the Apostles or with some other adherents of the early Church. At any rate he was employing his time in devout pursuits, he was making a diligent use of the means of grace so far as he knew them; and then God in the course of His providence opened out fresh channels of light and blessing, according to that pregnant saying of the Lord, "If any man will do Gods will, he shall know of the doctrine." The soul that is in spiritual perplexity or darkness need not and ought not to content itself with apathy, despair, or idleness. Difficulties will assault us on every side so long as we remain here below.
We cannot escape from them because our minds are finite and limited. And some are ready to make these difficulties an excuse for postponing or neglecting all thoughts concerning religion. But quite apart from the difficulties of religion, there are abundant subjects on which God gives us the fullest and plainest light. Let it be ours, like the Ethiopian eunuch, to practise Gods will so far as He reveals it, and then, in His own good time, fuller revelations will be granted, and we too shall experience, as this Ethiopian did, the faithfulness of His own promise, "Unto the righteous there ariseth up light in the darkness." The eunuch read the prophet Esaias as he travelled, according to the maxim of the rabbis that "one who is on a journey and without a companion should employ his thoughts on the study of the law." He was reading the Scriptures aloud, too, after the manner of Orientals; and thus seeking diligently to know the Divine will, God vouchsafed to him by the ministry of St. Philip that fuller light which he still grants, in some way or other, to every one who diligently follows Him.
And then we have set forth the results of the eunuchs communion with the heaven-sent messenger. There was no miracle wrought to work conviction. St. Philip simply displayed that spiritual power which every faithful servant of Christ may gain in some degree. He opened the Scriptures and taught the saving doctrine of Christ so effectually that the soul of the eunuch, naturally devout and craving for the deeper life of God, recognised the truth of the revelation. Christianity was for the Ethiopian its own best evidence, because he felt that it answered to the wants and yearnings of his spirit. We are not told what the character of St. Philips discourse was. But we are informed what the great central subject of his disclosure was. It was Jesus. This topic was no narrow one. We can gather from other passages in the Acts what was the substance of the teaching bestowed by the missionaries of the Cross upon those converted by them. He must have set forth the historic facts which are included in the Apostles Creed, the incarnation, the-miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and the institution of the sacrament of baptism, as the means of entering into the Church. This we conclude from the eunuchs question to Philip, "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptised?" Assuredly Philip must have taught him the appointment of baptism by Christ; else what would have led the eunuch to propound such a request? Baptism having been granted in response to this request, the eunuch proceeded on his homeward journey, rejoicing in that felt sense of peace and joy. and spiritual satisfaction which true religion imparts; while Philip is removed to another field of labour, where God has other work for him to do. He evangelised all through the Philistine country, preaching in all the cities till he came to Caesarea, where in later years he was to do a work of permanent benefit for the whole Church, by affording St. Luke the information needful for the composition of the Acts of the Apostles.
VI. Let us in conclusion note one other point. Our readers will have noticed that we have said nothing concerning the reply of Philip to the eunuchs question, "What doth hinder me to be baptised?" The Authorised Version then inserts ver. 37 {Act_8:37}, which runs thus: "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." While if we take up the Revised Version we shall find that the revisers have quite omitted this verse in the text, placing it in the margin, with a note stating that some ancient authorities insert it wholly or in part. This verse is now given up by all critics as an integral part of the original text, and yet it is a very ancient interpolation, being found in quotations from the Acts as far back as the second century. Probably its insertion came about somehow thus, much the same as in the case of Joh_5:4, to which we have already referred in this chapter. It was originally written upon the margin of a manuscript by some diligent student of this primitive history. Manuscripts were not copied in the manner we usually think. A scribe did not place a manuscript before him and then slowly transcribe it, but a single reader recited the original in a scriptorium or copying-room, while a number of writers rapidly followed his words. Hence a marginal note on a single manuscript might easily be incorporated in a number of copies, finding a permanent place in a text upon which it was originally a mere pious reflection. Regarding this thirty-seventh verse, however, not as a portion of the text written by St. Luke, but as the second-century comment or note on the text, it shows us what the practice of the next age after the Apostles was. A profession of faith in Christ was made by the persons brought to baptism, and probably these words, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," was the local form of the baptismal creed, wherever this note was written. Justin Martyr in his first "Apology," chap. 61, intimates that such a profession of belief was an essential part of baptism, and this form, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," may have been the baptismal formula used in the ritual appointed for these occasions. Some persons indeed have thought that this short statement represented the creed of the Church of the second century. This raises a question which would require a much longer treatment than we can now bestow upon it. Caspari, an eminent Swedish theologian, has discussed this point at great length in a work which the English student will find reviewed arid analysed in an article by Dr. Salmon published in the Contemporary Review for August, 1878, where that learned writer comes to the conclusion that the substance of the Apostles Creed dates back practically to the time of the Apostles. And now, as I am concluding this book, an interesting confirmation of this view comes to us from an unexpected quarter. The " Apology" of Aristides was a defence of Christianity composed earlier even than those of Justin Martyr. Eusebius fixes the date of it to the year 124 or 125 A.D. It was at any rate one of the earliest Christian writings outside the Canon. It had been long lost to the Christian world. We knew nothing of its contents, and were only aware of its former existence from the pages of the Church history of Eusebius. Two years ago it was found by Professor J. Rendel Harris, in Syriac, in the Convent of St. Catharine on Mount Sinai, and has just been published this month of May, 1891, by the Cambridge University Press. It is a most interesting document of early Christian times, showing us how the first Apologists defended the faith and assailed the superstitions of paganism. Professor Harris has added notes to it which are of very great value. He points out the weak points in paganism which the first Christians used specially to assail. Aristides "Apology" is of peculiar value in this aspect. It shows us how the first generation after the last Apostle was wont to deal with the false gods of Greece, Rome, and Egypt. It is, however, of special importance as setting forth from a new and unexpected source how the early Christians regarded their own faith, how they viewed their own Christianity, and in what formularies they embodied their belief. Professor Harris confirms Dr. Salmons contention set forth in the article to which we have referred. In the time of Aristides the Christians of Athens, for Aristides was an Athenian philosopher who had accepted Christianity, were at one with those of Rome and with the followers of Catholic Christianity ever since. Aristides wrote, according to Eusebius, in 124 A.D.; but still we can extract from his "Apology" all the statements of the Apostles Creed in a formal shape. Thus Professor Harris restores the Creed as professed in the time of Aristides, that is, the generation after St. John, and sets it forth as follows:-
"We believe in one God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth: And in Jesus Christ His Son, Born of the Virgin Mary. He was pierced by the Jews, He died and was buried; The third day He rose again; He ascended into Heaven. He is about to come to judge."
This "Apology" of Aristides is a most valuable contribution to Christian evidence, and raises high hopes as to what we may yet recover when the treasures of the East are explored. The "Diatessaron" of Tatian was a wondrous find, but the recovery of the long-lost " Apology" of Aristides endows us with a still more ancient document, bringing us back close upon the very days of the Apostles. As this discovery has only been published when these pages are finally passing through the press, I must reserve a farther notice of it for the preface to this volume.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 26. The angel of the Lord spake unto Philip.…
26. The angel of the Lord spake unto Philip. In some way he was supernaturally directed to go far south of Samaria to the road from Jerusalem to Gaza for his next work. Gaza. An old Philistine city, on the sea-coast plain in southwest Palestine. It was taken by Alexander the Great, and had endured many sieges, but is still a town of 15,000 or 16,000 inhabitants.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Act_8:18. And when Simon saw.—Most likely through hearing the…
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_8:18. And when Simon saw.—Most likely through hearing the baptised speak with tongues. He offered them money.—From Simon’s name and proposal arose the expression “Simony” for the purchase of spiritual offices. Inde Simoniœ vocabulum (Bengel).
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Act_8:19. To me also.—I.e., “as well as to you”; not “as well as to others,” “since no example of such transfer was known to him” (Hackett).
Act_8:20. Thy money perish with thee.—Lit., thy silver with thyself be for destruction. Neither an implication nor a prediction, but a strongly expressed negation. May be purchased.—The verb in Greek being active, the clause should be translated, “because thou didst think to acquire,” etc.
Act_8:21. In this matter.—Or, in this word—i.e., doctrine or gospel which we preach (Olshausen, Neander, Lange, Zöckler, Hackett).
Act_8:22. For God the best authorities read Lord, as in Act_8:24, signifying the exalted Christ If perhaps.—Taken in connection with Joh_20:23, these words show “how completely the apostles themselves referred the forgiveness of sins to, and left it in the sovereign power of God, and not to their own delegated power of absolution” (Alford).
Act_8:23. Art in the or wilt become gall or a gall root of bitterness.—As in Rom_3:14; Eph_4:31; and Heb_12:15. And in the bond or a bond of iniquity.—As in Isa_58:6.
Act_8:24. Pray ye to the Lord for me.—Compare the language of Pharaoh to Moses (Exo_8:28; Exo_9:28; Exo_10:17).
Act_8:25. The imperfects returned or kept returning, and preached or kept preaching, show that the evangelistic activity of the home-returning apostles was not confined to isolated acts of preaching but was continued all along the route.
Act_8:26. For the read an before angel. Towards the south.—κατὰ μεσημβρίαν might be rendered, but not so well, at noon (compare Act_22:6). Gaza, the modern Guzzeh, was one of the five cities of the Philistines at the southern boundary of Canaan (Gen_10:19), about an hour’s journey from the Mediterranean. Originally belonging to Judah (Jos_15:47) it was subsequently captured by the Philistines (1Sa_6:17; Jdg_16:1). Gaza “is an important place still, though no vestige of the ancient city remains. It stands on an isolated mound one hundred and eighty feet above the sea, from which it is about two miles distant, and is surrounded by gardens; it is said to have still a population of eighteen thousand” (Palestine, by Rev. A. Henderson, M.A., p. 167). Which, better this or it or the same, is desert; but whether Gaza (Lekebush) or the road is meant, and whether the clause was spoken by the angel (Holtzmann, Zöckler, Alford, Hackett, and others), or by Luke (Bengel Olshausen, Winer, De Wette, and others), is doubtful, though perhaps it is more correct to regard the clause as the angel’s direction to follow the desert or unfrequented road to Gaza. Robinson (Biblical Researches, ii. 514) mentions several routes from Jerusalem to Gaza, the most frequented being by Ramleh, another by Bethshemesh, and a third by Eleutheropolis. A fourth went by Hebron and across the plain, passing through the southern part of Judæa, which in Luke (Luk_1:80) is called “the desert.”
Act_8:27. A man of Ethiopia.—Or an Ethiopian, but whether a native or only a resident cannot be inferred from this clause, though the former is the more probable. An eunuch.—Not a term of office, but a description of bodily condition (see Tacit., Ann., vi. 31: ademptœ airilitatis. Of great authority.—An official or ruler; in this case a courtier and statesman. According to Oriental custom to employ such persons in high offices of state. Candace.—Not a personal, but a dynastic name, like Pharaoh and Cæsar. Strabo and Dio mention a queen of Ethiopia of this name in the twenty-second or twenty-third year of the reign of Augustus Caesar; while Pliny (Nat. Hist., vi. 35), states that a Candace ruled in Ethiopia in his day. The Ethiopians inhabited the region in the Nile Valley south of Egypt—Meroe, a fertile island, formed by two branches of the Nile, being a portion of their territory, The word for tressure, γάζα, is Persian, and occurs in the LXX. (Ezr_5:17; Ezr_6:1; Est_4:7). To worship.—Heathen proselytes (Joh_12:20) as well as foreign Jews were accustomed to perform pilgrimages to Jerusalem for this purpose.
Act_8:32. The place, or passage, of the Scripture—i.e., of the Old Testament—which he read, or was reading, the verb being imperfect, was this.—The citation, from Isa_53:7-8, follows the LXX., and differs from the Hebrew which gives in the 8th verse—“By (or, from) oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation who among them considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living?” or “and his life who shall recount?” etc. (R.V.).
Act_8:37. Of the A.V. is omitted from the R.V. in accordance with the best authorities, א A. B.
Act_8:39.—The Alexandrian MS. (A) reads “The Holy Spirit of the Lord fell on the eunuch but an angel of the Lord caught away Philip.” The other codices read as in the text. That Philip’s disappearance was not a natural occurrence, such as an impulsive and hasty withdrawal, but a supernatural removal (compare 1Ki_18:12; 2Ki_2:16), effected by the Spirit, was obviously the view of the historian.
Act_8:40. Azotus.—Or, Ashdod, originally a seat of the Anakim (Jos_11:22), became one of the five chief cities of the Philistines (Jos_13:4; 1Sa_6:17), and the principal seat of the Dagon worship (1Sa_5:1; 1Ma_10:83; 1Ma_11:4). It was handed over to the tribe of Judah at the conquest (Jos_15:46), but did not continue long in their possession, and after the exile appeared among Israel’s foes (Neh_4:7). It is represented by the present day Esdud, a miserable Mohammedan village, two miles south of Jamnia, and half an hour’s journey from the sea. Philostratus mentions that Apollonius of Tyana was found one day at noon in Rome before the tribunal of Domitian and at evening in Puteoli. Cæsarea.—Six hundred furlongs distant from Jerusalem, built by Herod the Great on a site before called Strato’s Tower, named Cæsarea Sebaste, and inaugurated with great pomp and splendour in the twenty-eighth year of his reign, B.C. 12 (Jos., Ant. XV. ix. 6). As the official residence of the Herodian kings and Roman governors, it soon became the most important city in Palestine, as well as its chief port. Paul visited Cæsarea more than once (Act_9:30; Act_18:22; Act_21:8-16; Act_22:23-30; Acts 24-26.). In the third century it became the seat of a bishopric and of a public school in which afterwards Origen taught. Eusebius was born in Cæsarea in the fourth century. At the present time “by the sea shore, midway between the Nahr-er-Zerka and the Nahr-Mef-jir, a vast expanse of ground is covered with the almost indistinguishable débris of Herod’s once splendid city.”—Picturesque Palestine, iii., 126).
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_8:26-40
The Conversion of the Eunuch; or, the Gospel carried into Ethiopia
I. Occasioned by Providence.—The preparatory steps which led to this remarkable occurrence were seven.
1. The Eunuch’s adhesion to the Hebrew faith. An Ethiopian from the upper valley of the Nile, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians (Ethiopia being at this time ruled by female sovereigns, of whom Candace was the official title), who had charge of all her treasure, who was her Finance Minister—five clauses descriptive of his extraction, his condition, his dignity, his time, and his office—he had in measure at least renounced his original heathen superstitions, having, like so many others about that period, come to realise their inability to satisfy the wants of the soul. It has been supposed indeed that he was a Jew who had risen to eminence in Ethiopia, as Moses had done in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon, and Mordecai in Shushan (Stokes), chiefly on the ground that had he been a heathen, Cornelius could not have been designated the first Gentile convert. As an argument, however, this is scarcely convincing, since in the Eunuch’s case no question arose about terms of admission to the Palestinian Church, while if as stated he was a circumcised pagan, his case was sufficiently distinguished from that of Cornelius, who was certainly an uncircumcised Gentile. The probability, therefore, is that he was an African who, having embraced the Jewish faith, was attached to the temple as a proselyte (compare Act_10:2; Act_13:16), but whether of the gate (Alford, Renan) or of righteousness (Plumptre) cannot be determined. Neither can it be ascertained how he had been led to such an act of renunciation and acceptance as this his proselyte relation to Judaism implied. Jews, it is known, had for centuries been settled in Ethiopia; and the Greek or Septuagint translation of the Scriptures was at this time widely diffused throughout the world.
2. The Eunuch’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship. It was the custom for proselytes as well as for foreign Jews to undertake such pilgrimages in order to attend the great annual religious festivals at Jerusalem (Act_2:10; Joh_12:20); and the Treasurer of Meroë had manifestly been in the Jewish capital, observing one or other of these feasts; most likely a Pentecost, which was usually attended by the largest numbers. That he had done so had no doubt been of God’s ordering.
3. The Eunuch’s homeward journey through the desert. What particular motive the African statesman had for selecting the desert route to Gaza, viâ Bethlehem and Hebron, in preference to any of the other roads, as for instance that which led through Ramleh or that which ran by Bethshemesh, cannot be conjectured; but it need not be questioned that God’s object in directing him to the choice he made was to secure the quietude necessary for conversation with the messenger of heaven who was about to be despatched to join him.
4. The Eunuch’s meeting with Philip at the moment of his need. According to the story, while his chariot, “a mode of locomotion at all times almost unknown to Syria and Palestine” (Renan), rolled along upon its homeward way, the distinguished traveller, following a custom then quite common, occupied himself in reading. The book which engaged his attention was that of Esaias the prophet. It is not necessary to suppose (Stier) that he had only for the first time procured a copy of the Scriptures when in the Jewish capital. It is more likely that he had long possessed one, but that, having heard in Jerusalem about the death and resurrection of Jesus, he may have been examining the prophecies to ascertain how far these had been fulfilled in Christ’s person and work (Hackett). Anyhow, he had just arrived at a passage in the narrative for which he felt the need of an interpreter when he encountered Philip, whom, the moment before, he could hardly have expected to find in a solitude like that through which he was passing. But this also was of the Lord.
5. The Eunuch’s occupation at the moment of Philip’s appearance. Not merely reading but reading aloud, which furnished Philip with an opportunity and an excuse for striking in with a query—“Understandest thou what thou readest?”—which perhaps he could not otherwise so readily have done.
6. The Spirit’s direction to Philip to approach the Eunuch. Although Philip had been sent to the desert road from Samaria—not from Jerusalem (Zeller)—by an angel, he had not been instructed by the angel as to what was the object of his journey. Even when the opulent African appeared, he could not be certain that his mission related to a personage so great without further instructions. These, however, were conveyed to him by a special inspiration: “The Spirit said to him, Go near and join thyself to this chariot”; and with that, of course, all hesitation vanished. It is worth observe that this is “the first mention in the Acts of that inner prompting of the Spirit which is referred to again, probably in Act_13:2, but certainly in Act_1:19, Act_16:6-7” (Alford). Such inward guidance is not unknown to Christians yet.
7. The Eunuch’s request to Philip to ascend his chariot. Had the Eunuch resented Philip’s inquiry, which from a worldly or at least modern point of view was not remarkably polite, there had been no conversation and no conversion; but being anxious to understand, and perhaps solicitous about salvation, and obviously humble withal, the distinguished official did not discern any lack of courtesy in Philip’s question, or, if he did, he passed it over, and, like one willing to be taught, invited Philip to ascend and sit beside him. And so the providential chain was complete.
II. Effected by the word.—If, as already suggested, the Eunuch’s conversion from heathenism to Judaism was brought about by a believing study of the Old Testament Scriptures, through the same instrumentality was he now to be led over from Judaism to Christianity.
1. By the word read. Or heard. Salvation is not a magical or supernatural transformation to be effected on the soul without intelligent co-operation on its part, but an inward moral and spiritual renewal which can be carried through solely by means of the truth. In accordance with this the Eunuch was engaged in reading the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah when Philip met him. Modern critics, on what seems to the present writer altogether insufficient grounds, have decided that the passage named was not penned by the son of Amos but by an unknown prophet who lived towards the close of the exile; but it is obvious that this was not the view taken either by the Ethiopian treasurer who was groping his way out of heathen darkness, or by Philip the Christian deacon, who at the moment was under the special guidance of the Holy Ghost, or by Luke the evangelist, whom the Holy Ghost employed to record the incident.
2. By the word understood. Mere reading without intelligent apprehension can effect nothing. Hence the question of the deacon was directed towards ascertaining whether the Eunuch comprehended the import of what his eye followed and his tongue uttered; and on learning that he did not, immediately the deacon undertook the office of expounding to him the sense of the sacred text. The Eunuch could indeed perceive that the prophet spoke of a suffering servant of Jehovah; what was not apparent was whether that suffering servant should be identified with the prophet himself or with another. That he was neither, but, as the newer critical school asserts, the people of Israel, did not occur to either the Eunuch or the Deacon. Both sought him in an individual, and that individual Philip told his distinguished scholar was Jesus, whose death was foreshadowed in the prophet’s language, which pointed out—
(1) the meekness of it on Christ’s part—“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter,” etc.;
(2) the iniquity of it on the part of those by whom it was compassed—“In His humiliation His judgment was taken away,” meaning that “through oppression and a judicial sentence he was taken away”—i.e., the rights of justice and humanity were denied Him, or in other words He was judicially murdered;
(3) the fruitfulness of it in the number of spiritual descendants secured by means of it to Christ—“Who shall declare His generation?” or “Who shall count the number of His posterity?”—a translation which the Hebrew will support, though another rendering makes it equivalent to the preceding thought—“who shall declare the wickedness of His contemporaries?” and
(4) the triumph of it, inasmuch as through it His life was taken away from the earth, not merely by a violent death, but by exaltation to heaven—“for His life is taken from the earth” (Luke’s translation is from the LXX., and every clause in Act_8:33 has been debated by interpreters; but as all the above renderings are possible, they may be used as representing the course of evangelical instruction through which Philip put the Eunuch).
3. By the word believed. As salvation comes not by reading or hearing where understanding is wanting, so neither does it result from understanding where faith does not ensue. The truth concerning Jesus must be accepted as correct, in so far as it is a testimony, and relied on by the heart’s trust in so far as it is a means of salvation. Faith in Scripture is always more than intellectual assent. It involves as well cordial reliance on Him of whom the testimony speaks. This faith was unquestionably exhibited by the Eunuch.
III. Accompanied by confession.—The particular mode in which the Eunuch avowed his acceptance of Christianity was by submitting to the rite of baptism, concerning which four things may be noticed.
1. The place where the rite was performed. Not otherwise indicated than by the circumstance that in its immediate vicinity was “a certain water,” it cannot now be identified, although Eusebius and Jerome have decided for Bethsur (Jos_15:58; Neh_3:16), near Hebron, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem, and two from Hebron, against which stands no improbability; but rather for which may be urged that a fountain named Ain-Edh-Dhirweh rises near the town, which still retains the old name in a slightly altered form, Beil-Sur. Other sites have been selected, as Ain-Haniyeh, about five miles south of Jerusalem, and a Wady in the plain near Tell-el-Hasy.
2. The talk before the rite was performed. Drawing attention to the water by the wayside, the Eunuch expressed a wish to be baptised, from which it has been inferred that Philip must have enlightened him concerning the nature and necessity of baptism. Of this, however, he may have learnt in Jerusalem. Philip’s reply must have been something like that contained in Act_8:37, though by the best MSS. this is omitted. Yet, if spurious, the insertion must have been as old as Irenæus, who cites the words without misgiving. Meyer thinks they have been culled from some baptismal liturgy, to show that the Eunuch was not baptised without a formal profession of his faith (see “Hints on Act_8:37”).
3. The mode in which the rite was performed. It is commonly asserted that the words “and they went down both into the water” imply that the Eunuch was immersed; but if “into the water” signifies that the Eunuch was immersed then as Philip went down into the water, in company with the Eunuch, Philip also must have been immersed; while if Philip could have gone down into the water without being immersed, it is obvious that the Eunuch could have done the same. The impromptu character of the baptism suggests something simpler than immersion, most likely sprinkling or pouring.
4. What happened after the rite was performed. The Alexandrian text reads, “And the Holy Spirit of the Lord fell on the Eunuch,” which may have been inserted to harmonise the incident with theological requirements (see Act_1:5), or with what was supposed to have usually occurred after baptism (Act_2:38); but the Samaritans were not endowed with the Holy Ghost immediately after baptism (Act_8:16), and the gracious indwelling of the Spirit in the heart of a believer is not necessarily connected with baptism (Eph_1:13). What did occur was that Philip was miraculously caught away by the Spirit of the Lord from the Eunuch’s side, as Old Testament prophets had often been supernaturally rapt from the eyes of beholders (1Ki_18:12; 2Ki_2:16), as Paul afterwards was caught up into the third heaven (2Co_12:2; 2Co_12:4), and as the then living believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air at His second coming (1Th_4:17). By that (mysterious) departure the Eunuch’s faith could scarcely fail to be confirmed (Bengel), unless indeed it was a purely natural, though sudden and impulsive withdrawal on the part of Philip (Zeller, Hackett, Plumptre, Olshausen, Meyer), in which case its effect upon the Eunuch would rather seem to have been disturbing. But the appended statement that Philip was found at Azotus, or Ashdod, one of the principal cities of the Philistines near the sea-coast, rather points to a miraculous removal (Bengel, Alford, Stier, Spence, Lechler, Holtzmann, Zöckler).
IV. Followed by joy.—Though the Eunuch no more beheld the evangelist he went on his way rejoicing, thus showing that the change which had passed upon him was independent of the agent by whose mediation it had been effected. The causes of the chamberlain’s rejoicing may be set down as four.
1. He had found the true object of worship. This in a manner he had known before, inasmuch as the object of his journey to Jerusalem had been to worship Jehovah, but since meeting with Philip he had learnt that Jehovah had revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, “the image of the invisible God” (Col_1:15), “the brightness of His Father’s glory and the express image of His person” (Heb_1:3), as the supreme and sole object of adoration.
2. He had found the key to the Bible. Before he encountered Philip the Bible which he read had been a dark book to him; after his conversation with Philip he discovered that he had obtained a light which enabled him to peruse its prophecies with understanding. “The golden key to the Psalter” says Bishop Alexander, “lies in the pierced hand.” The same key unlocks the mysteries of the law and the prophets. “Moses wrote of Me,” said Christ (Joh_5:46); and of the prophets Peter affirms “The Spirit of Christ was in them” (1Pe_1:11).
3. He had found a personal Saviour. The faith professed by the Eunuch was more than a bare intellectual assent to the truths propounded by Philip. It was a heart reception of Jesus whom Philip had set forth as the Redeemer. It was a trust which reposed on His death as a true atonement for sin, and looked to His resurrection as the source of spiritual life for his soul. It was a faith that might have said “I am crucified with Christ,” etc. (Gal_2:20). A faith which enabled him to rejoice in Christ Jesus (Php_3:3) as his Saviour and friend.
4. He had found a blessed gospel for his countrymen. On his upward journey to Jerusalem he was only treasurer of Candace, the Queen of the Ethiopians; on his downward way he had become a treasurer of the King of kings, and was bearing to his benighted countrymen, in the name of that King, riches more precious than all the wealth of Ethiopia, the joyful tidings that for them, too, had arrived a day of salvation, and a heavenly Saviour who could, and would, rescue them from sin and misery, if only they put their trust in Him. Tradition preserves the Eunuch’s name as Indich, and credits him with being the first to preach the gospel in Ethiopia, even converting Queen Candace, after which he departed to India and taught in Ceylon.
Learn.—
1. That earnest seekers after God will eventually be guided into the truth concerning God.
2. That the best companion for an anxious inquirer after God and salvation is the Bible.
3. That nothing is so effective for conversion work as the story of the death and resurrection of Christ.
4. That Old Testament Scripture was intended to point the way to Christ.
5. That the ordinance of baptism should not be neglected by professed disciples of Jesus Christ.
6. That the mode of Christian baptism may be by sprinkling or pouring as well as by immersion.
7. That no joy can be compared to the joy of salvation.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_8:26. Angels.
I. Their nature.—Spiritual intelligences (Psa_104:4).
II. Their number.—Practically beyond reckoning (Psa_68:17; Heb_12:22; Rev_5:11).
III. Their dignity.—Superior to man (Psa_8:5; 2Pe_2:11), they stand in God’s presence (Psa_68:7; Zec_6:5; Rev_5:11; Mat_18:10).
IV. Their character.—
1. Holy (Dan_4:13; Dan_4:17; Mat_25:31; Rev_14:10).
2. Reverential (Isa_6:2).
3. Obedient (Isa_6:2; Mat_6:10).
4. Powerful (Psa_103:20; 2Th_1:7).
V. Their employment.—
1. Worshipping God (Neh_9:6); Psa_148:2; Luk_2:13; Rev_4:8).
2. Doing God’s will (Psa_103:21; Mat_6:10).
3. Studying the manifold wisdom of God (Eph_3:10; 1Pe_1:12).
4. Rejoicing in the conversion of sinners (Luk_15:10).
5. Ministering to the heirs of salvation (Heb_1:14), as, for instance (to mention only cases that occur in the Acts), to the disciples at Christ’s ascension (Act_1:10-11), to Peter and John (Act_5:19), to Philip (Act_8:26), to Cornelius (Act_10:7), to Peter (Act_12:8), to the Church in the destruction of Herod (Act_12:23), to Paul on ship board (Act_27:23).
Act_8:27. The Heavenly Treasure.
I. Where it was found. On a solitary way through the desert.
II. The chest that contained it. The Scripture with its dark sayings and seals.
III. The key which opened it. The preaching of Philip.
IV. The jewel which sparkled to him. Christ who died for our sins and rose again for our justification.
V. The seal of possession. Granted to him by baptism.
VI. The joy which it occasioned. That of forgiveness and salvation.—Adapted from Gerok.
Act_8:28. Bible Reading.—A duty.
I. Divinely commanded.—Even Christians forget this; but see Deu_6:6; Deu_16:19; Deu_31:11; Jos_1:8; Joh_5:39; 2Pe_1:19.
II. Greatly neglected.—Not by the unbelieving world only, but also by the professed followers of Christ.
III. Highly profitable.—Imparting light, strength, and joy to such as practise it (Psa_19:11; Pro_6:23; Rom_15:4; 2Ti_3:16).
Act_8:30. Three Questions about the Bible.
I. Readest thou what thou hast?—
1. Thou hast the Bible, which is the word of God, and worthy of being read.
2. It was given thee to be read, and cannot be neglected without sin.
3. If not read it will one day testify against thee.
II. Understandest thou what thou readest?—
1. It supposes that we read the Bible—which is good.
2. It discloses to us our natural blindness—which is better.
3. It excites us to seek the true interpreter and guide—which is best.
III. Obeyest thou what thou understandest?—
1. What is not understood cannot be obeyed. An extenuation of the sins of the heathen and the ignorant.
2. What is understood is designed to be obeyed. Hence arises the responsibility of the enlightened.
3. If what is understood is not obeyed, it will entail upon the disobedient both loss and guilt. No duty can be neglected without inflicting hurt upon the disobedient as well as exposing him to punishment.—Adapted from Gerok.
Act_8:28-31. Four Marvels.
I. A courtier reads.—Here deplore the sad neglect of education on the part of many and the little attention paid to books even by not a few great men.
II. A courtier reads the Bible.—Comment upon the melancholy want of religious sentiments in mankind and the inattention paid to the Bible.
III. A courtier owns himself ignorant of his subject.—A good sign and a happy omen of coming enlightenment and progress wherever it appears, but one seldom present in those who fill exalted stations in life.
IV. A courtier applies to a minister of Christ for information and follows his counsel. The right thing to be done by such as require instruction, but an example too seldom followed.—Adapted from a well-known incident.
Act_8:32-33. The Sufferings of Jesus.
I. Foretold in Scripture.—The hope and consolation of Israel.
II. Realised in history.—The atonement for a world’s sin.
III. Preached in the Gospel.—The greatest moral force on earth.
IV. Believed in by a sinner.—The source of his individual salvation.
Act_8:39. The Ethiopian Eunuch.
I. The character he bore.—
1. A professor of true religion.
2. A man of sincere devotion.
3. A devout lover of the Scriptures.
II. The change he experienced.—
1. Ministerial in its agent.
2. Personal in its principle.
3. Practical in its influence.
III. The happiness he obtained.—A joy of—
1. Heartfelt gratitude.
2. Gracious experience.
3. Glorious anticipation.
Lessons.—
1. Religion not confined to any class or condition.
2. The insufficiency of a form of godliness without its power.
3. The influence of piety upon its subjects.
The Joyful Traveller on his way Home.
I. Where did his joy come from?—He had not brought it with him. It came from what he heard from Philip, or rather from what he read in Isaiah. But how did that statement bring him joy? It told him of a Sin-bearer,—long-predicted, come at length. What he read was as blessed as it was true.
II. Where should our joy come from?—From the same testimony to the same finished work. The sinner is not happy. His sin comes between him and joy. That burden must be removed ere he can taste of joy; and it can only be removed by approaching the cross. Why is there so little joy among Christians?
1. Not because God does not wish them to have it. It is not forbidden fruit.
2. Not because joy dishonours Him. Gloom dishonours God; joy honours Him.
3. Not because joy is not safe for us to have. True joy is the safest of all things. It makes a man stedfast and earnest.
4. Not because God’s sovereignty interposes.
5. Not because joy was not meant for these days.
6. Not because it unnerves us for work. “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” It is joy from God; joy in God; it is THE JOY OF GOD. To all this we are called. That which we possess is full of joy. The present favour and love of God. That which we hope for is full of joy.—H. Bonar, D.D.
Act_8:26-39. The Eunuch from Ethiopia; or, Words to Seekers after God.
I. God must be sought where He has graciously been pleased to reveal Himself.—The Eunuch understood this, and sought Jehovah.
1. In the temple at Jerusalem, and,
2. In the sacred Scriptures. And in like manner seekers after God to day must seek Him in Christ, who is the image of the invisible God (2Co_4:4; Col_1:15), or, first, in the Scriptures which testify of Christ (Joh_5:39), and second, in the Christian sanctuary, where believers speak of Christ (1Co_1:2).
II. Seekers after God are never unobserved by Him whom they seek.—As Jehovah saw the Eunuch start upon his journey to Jerusalem and again upon his homeward track, and knew exactly all that was in his heart and what he more particularly required, so does He still behold from heaven every soul that is inquiring after Him, whether within or without the pale of Christendom (Pro_15:3; Jer_32:19; Heb_4:13).
III. It is certain that they who seek God with their whole hearts will ultimately find Him.—That, on the word of Jehovah (Jer_29:13), and of Jesus (Mat_7:7). As Jehovah’s angel (Act_8:26), servant (Act_8:26), and Spirit (Act_8:29) were all set in motion to secure that the rich treasurer should not fail in his quest, so will God by the same Spirit, and if not by the same minister by the same truth which he taught, and if not by visible angels by the same providence meet the earnest soul who is longing after Him (Isa_64:5; Mat_5:4).
IV. When seekers have found God they should make public acknowledgment of the same.—Not hiding their joy in their bosoms, but giving it free expression, letting it be known, not only for the honour of God, but for the encouragement of souls in a similar seeking condition.
Act_8:27-29. Philip and the Eunuch; or, Meetings on the Highway of Life. Such meetings are—
I. Often accidental.—At least to appearance. When Philip arose and went from Samaria, and the Eunuch se this face toward Ethiopia, neither had the least idea of encountering each other. Many meetings are, of course, purposed at least by one of the parties, as, e.g., that of Melchisedek and the King of Sodom with Abraham (Gen_14:17-18), that of Joseph with his father (Gen_46:29), that of Moses with Jethro (Exo_18:1-7), that of Saul with Samuel (1Sa_13:10), and that of the Roman Christians with Paul (Act_28:15); but probably an equal number are undesigned, like that of Elijah and Obadiah (1Ki_16:7), that of Paul and Aquila (Act_18:2), and others.
II. Frequently at most unlikely times and places.—Probably the last place in the world that either Philip or the Eunuch would have expected to meet each other would be the desert road to Gaza. Had intimation been conveyed to them beforehand that they were to cross each other’s paths, it is barely likely that either would have pitched upon the Judæan wilderness for the spot, or after the breaking up of the Jewish festival for the time. But the unexpected is that which mostly happens, so little prescient is man of the future.
III. Always providentially arranged.—“It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer_10:23). “Man’s goings are of the Lord” (Pro_20:24). This was signally illustrated in the experiences of both Philip and the Eunuch, who were brought together not by chance but by heavenly guidance.
IV. Sometimes fraught with momentous consequences.—As was the meeting of Philip and the Eunuch, to the former of whom it presented a glorious opportunity of preaching the gospel, and of leading a soul into the light, and to the latter an equally glorious opportunity of finding that which he sought, the pearl of great price, even Jesus, and with Him the salvation of his soul.
Lesson.—Be on the outlook for life’s chances, study their significance, and endeavour to use them for heaven’s purposes.
Act_8:26-40. Philip the Deacon; or, the Characteristics of a good Evangelist.—These may be summed up in the motto, semper paratus, or, always ready. Ready—
I. To go where God sends, whether the order comes through a natural or a supernatural channel, whether through a vision, as with Paul (Act_16:9), or through an angel, as with Philip. “Here am I, send me” (Isa_6:8), should be his constant attitude.
II. To listen to the promptings of God’s Spirit, which will come to him as they came to Philip and again to Paul (Act_16:7), if only he train himself to recognise them and discipline himself to follow them. It is the Holy Spirit’s province to lead the people of God (Rom_8:14), and He never fails to guide them who hearken to His counsels.
III. To take advantage of every opportunity of preaching, or teaching, the gospel that Providence may open, as did Philip when he met the Eunuch, and as did Paul in Ephesus (1Co_16:9). The good evangelist will lie in wait for such (2Ti_4:2).
IV. To expound whatever portion of Scripture is presented to him, which will require him to be a diligent student of the word of God, as Paul counselled Timothy to be (1Ti_4:13-15). Ignorance of Scripture absolutely inexcusable in one whose office it is to instruct others.
V. To direct inquiring souls to Jesus Christ, who is the central theme of Scripture and to bring souls to whom is the end of all preaching. The minister or evangelist that does not know how to point anxious inquirers to Christ has mistaken his calling.
VI. To assist young converts in making public confession of their faith, as Philip did, when he administered the rite of baptism to the Eunuch, whose faith might otherwise have wanted confirmation and eventually declined.
VII. To hide himself behind his Master, as Philip was taught to do, when he was suddenly caught away by the Spirit so that the Eunuch saw him no more. Evangelists are only instruments in conversion; the sole agent is the Spirit. Hence the glory of any conversion belongs not to the evangelist but to the Spirit. Nor does the convert longer need the instrument, while he must never be parted from the Spirit.
Philip and the Ethiopian.
I. Certain characteristics of his work.—
1. His implicit obedience to the Spirit. The angel said, “Arise and go.” He arose and went. His faith must have been severely tested. He was preaching in a city already deeply roused. A revival was in progress. The joy of the new converts was spreading the spiritual fire. The people of Samaria were in just the condition to receive the gospel, and it seemed as if he was the one appointed messenger to proclaim it to them. The angel that commanded him to go from the revived city into the desert did not disclose the object of his journey. But Philip knew whence the message came, and without question into the desert he went. But some things concerning that guidance may be noted. It is always in perfect accord with the Scriptures. Philip might well be prompt. His work was greater than that of the angel.
2. His eagerness to impart the gospel. Those who love souls as Christ did, find opportunities to tell them of Christ’s salvation. Whatever openings we see, we must press into. They are abundant. No one lives where souls are still unsaved, where God does not open a way for him to carry the gospel. Take the first step, and God will point out the next.
3. His usable knowledge of the Scriptures. Philip had made no immediate preparation for that lesson, but he knew what was in it. He had prepared himself for such emergencies, both by experience and study. He seized the heart of it, and opened its meaning to his hearer. This scholar felt that his teacher was in earnest, and in earnest for him. The teacher’s heart was kindled with the presence of the Lord. This is living, potent teaching. The great central theme of it is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners. It is most effective, even with the indifferent and unbelieving. There are many graces and virtues and duties taught in the Bible as essential to Christian character, but the entire revelation of God is pervaded by one life. As the human body has arteries, veins, muscles, and other organs, but all dependent on the heart’s blood, which supplies the life, so the mighty complex system of revealed truth has for its centre Christ.
II. Some of the Christian labourer’s rewards as illustrated in this lesson.—
1. He finds a heart prepared to receive the truth. He hungered for a new convert. We cannot always judge who are most likely to receive the truth. Sometimes the message is new to an old man who has heard preaching all his life, and to the earnest teacher on the watch for all opportunities is given the inestimable privilege of leading him to Christ. Philip expected immediate results. It was not his purpose to sow the seed and be content to leave it. He led the Eunuch on from willingness to learn to eagerness to be a recognised disciple of Jesus. He found the way to his pupil’s conscience and heart. Such a reward is Divine. We never forget the triumphs of such moments. The pathway of those who turn many to righteousness will be as the shining light in their memories.
2. He found, new evidence of being a co-worker with God. His interest was quickening in one soul; but he was only one link in the chain of God’s mighty purpose to save that soul. The angel, the Holy Spirit, the messenger called aside from a great work, were all intent on one individual. Only occasionally is the curtain lifted for us to view the operations of God’s providence to save men; but He has provided for every inquirer complete satisfaction, and for every faithful worker sufficient help. What a reward is the evidence that God makes the efforts of His faithful servant effective! What a fact is always revealed to the unconverted soul in this lesson! God is not willing that any should perish. He has here for once shown His working while the sinner is seeking. His angel is sent on an errand to earth for the sake of one man. His minister is called away from a revival into the desert. A special word from the Holy Spirit directs that minister on his errand. All this is to show to one soul that Jesus has already died to save him.
3. Philip secured a witness for the gospel. That which he was so eager to make known would now be proclaimed by another also; for, when a miracle of healing had been wrought in the Eunuch, of course he wanted to confess who had healed him. He who believes he is accepted by Christ, will, of course, want to receive baptism and unite with the followers of Christ. There was no presumption in this. It was not a profession of his religion, but a confession of his faith. To lead another soul into real fellowship with this great company is a heavenly reward. They who strive for it prize it above earthly joys.
4. Philip filled a life with joy. The Eunuch went on his way rejoicing. That great desire of his heart was satisfied. But, wherever Philip goes, he leaves a trail of joy behind him. Samaria rejoices in his presence: so did also the desert. He left happy hearts, at peace with God, wherever he went. Could there be a higher reward than this?—Monday Club Sermons.
Act_8:27-40. Philip and the Ethiopian.
I. Philip’s ready response.—We know not the exact kind of call which brought him from Samaria way—possibly angelic and supernatural; but as the word may mean any messenger, the message may have come from a vision of the night, or by the voice of a friend, or by the inward and yet real compulsion of a spiritual conviction. At any rate Philip knows, as any level-headed Christian man may know, what duty is and where it lies. And he had, what many of us lack, the grace of promptitude in Christian service. Why go to Africa?
1. Because the marching orders say “Go.”
2. And secondarily, because it pays to obey orders—scientifically, archæologically, commercially, socially, historically, and spiritually. Such spontaneous, willing response as Philip’s to this call into desolate Gaza is an index of the healthy, unselfish character of his Christian life. This promptitude of response is not only self-registering as to the quality and quantity of the obedience that is in us, but it is a tremendous advertisement to all lookers-on of the vitality and joy of the gospel itself. To move towards duty-doing with halting steps, as children drag themselves to school in June days, is to lose the zest of service and its reflex influence of soul cheer.
II. God always matches an obedience with an opportunity.—This incident is a concrete illustration of the Divine oversight which is constantly mating wings and air, tins and water, in a world of providence and design, and teaches us that when God sends a call he also blazes a path for our feet—a fact of Christian philosophy which the acts of all Christian apostles, ancient and modern, have verified for nineteen centuries. You speak, after long hesitation and fear, to a friend upon the theme of personal religion, and lo! you find him waiting for your word and ripe for your wish. You walk out upon an unfrequented path of Christian endeavour, and discover that the way was already trodden by unseen feet before you. Philip is called into the desert with no apparent purpose. The way is lonely and the country is desolate—when behold! a royal traveler approaches, troubled over the great question of the ages—what to do with Jesus of Nazareth. Here is Philip’s opportunity. He takes it, and an arrow of light is sent into upper Egypt from this bow, drawn, as we say, at a venture. Obedience is the pivotal thing; God takes care of the rest. This factor of providence in Christian service must not be overlooked, for it will inspire us with courage and a sense of companionship as we go upon out-of-the-way pilgrimages and take up heavy burdens. With this lesson of Divine plan in life and all its ministries, every Divine call will have such large possibility as to warrant no delay or selfish balancing of accounts for the triumphs of the desert. We never know along what road God’s providences are coming, the way of the desert or the way of the cross, in the desolate border town or in “Jerusalem the Golden,” and therefore we must travel all roads.
III. This scene illustrates also the part which the incidental experiences of life play in the interpretation of the truth.—We dwell much upon the light which, in the Leyden pastor’s phrase, shall break forth from the word itself. The truth does grow clearer the longer we look, and multiplies itself as the stars do in the night sky, as every student of God’s Book may testify; but to the rank and file of Christian disciples the sidelights of others’ experiences are more illuminating than their own insight. The Ethiopian was in darkness with the roll of prophecy open before him, until Philip poured the light of his own eyes, and the hopes of his own heart, upon this strange vision of Isaiah, when suddenly a meaningless chapter in a familiar prophet glows with “the light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Thus we all grow in knowledge and in grace, more than we think, through the experiences of our neighbours and the insights of our friends. The chance conversations, the familiar conference and prayer meeting, the Bible class, the passing comment, the public providence and the personal sorrow, are all commentators upon the eternal truths. Besides, these incidental helps are unexpected and therefore the most winsome and abiding. We venture to think that Philip here on the highway was more influential with this stranger than he would have been the preceding Sabbath in the synagogue at Jerusalem. He found his man off guard and natural, as a pastor may find his people in their daily perplexities, or the teacher her scholar in his out-of-door naturalness.
IV. The teachable temper with which this Ethiopian faces new truth.—He hears strange news in Jerusalem, news which blights the most cherished hopes of an ancient race. Suspension of judgment, a patient waiting for light, and an earnest spirit of search, these are the characteristics of this treasurer of Candace—characteristics which we need in the nineteenth century as in the first: for each generation has to travel a new path and solve a new problem, and the Ethiopian, rather than the Pharisee, is the type of the world’s hope.—William H. Davis.
Act_8:26-40. The Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch.
I. Notice the method of the Holy Spirit with the evangelist Philip.
II. We turn now to the Spirit’s method with the Ethiopian Eunuch, for further illustration of our subject.—Here, then, you see the first step in the dealing of the Holy Spirit with the Ethiopian Eunuch. It was to reveal to him the vanity of earthly good as a means of support for the soul; it was to bring the conviction of need, guilt and peril; it was to make him discontented with himself and the world, and to fill his heart with longings for the favour of God and the forgiveness of sin. To this vague yearning for good God has added a deep sense of personal sin, and has led him to the sincere use of means in prayer and the study of His revealed word. In the same way does the Spirit of God now and ever incline sinners to act.
III. Consider the harmony of these two methods of influence in their final adjustment.—As the obedient Christian stands waiting on the highway, and as the anxious heathen comes on in his chariot reading the prophet Isaiah, the well-timed plan of God approaches its consummation. The preacher had been brought there to find his audience, the convicted sinner had been brought there to hear. This subject of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch imparts several practical lessons.
1. We see by it how important it is that Christians should yield prompt obedience to the impulses of the Spirit of God, and especially to those which impel them to present Christ to the impenitent.
2. This lesson shows us the importance of personal guidance for the inquiring and anxious mind.—Had the eunuch turned from Philip or failed to hear the word of counsel from his lips, he would have lost the saving grace of God.
3. Our subject also shows us the simplicity of saving faith. “Believe with thy whole heart,” was Philip’s word, and the Eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Here is the touchstone of all sincere desire. What doth hinder? Nothing but your will stands in the way, and it is your duty to bend that will in an instant submission before God. Mark the blessedness of faith and the joy of pardoned sins as here displayed! See the Eunuch on his way rejoicing with a joy that just begins, and that will go on increasing through eternal ages!—R. R. Booth, D.D.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 26-40. After the apostles have completed their Samaritan tour…
THE CONVERSION OF THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH
26-40. After the apostles have completed their Samaritan tour and returned to Jerusalem, leaving Philip surrounded by hosts of his converts pressing the battle, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in visible form, and with audible voice sending him away on a southern tour down toward Gaza, the most southern city in Palestine, in the olden time occupied by the Philistines, the road leading through a desert. For expedition he leaves Jerusalem on the east, taking a bee-line toward Gaza. Ere long he recognizes a man in royal costume slowly riding along before him on a chariot, lost in meditation as he reads the wonderful prophecy of Isaiah 52, 53, describing the Lord’s Christ in His first advent into the world, “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, despised and rejected of men,” bleeding and dying to redeem a wicked world from sin, death and hell. The strange traveler proves to be the first comptroller of the royal treasury of Queen Candace, of Ethiopia. He is a Jewish proselyte, a worshiper of the God of Israel, who has traveled fifteen hundred miles to Jerusalem to worship the Most High in His temple, and is now returning. He has in his possession the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament, translated by seventy learned Jews, B. C. 280, under the administration of Ptolemy Philadelphus, at Alexandria, Egypt, for the benefit of his Jewish subjects. It had no divisions into chapters, out he was reading the prophecy of Isaiah, found in chapters 52 and 53. Pursuant to his kind invitation, Philip mounts the chariot, and, seated beside his brother in ebony, preaches to him the Christ of prophecy, about whom he has been reading.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain Subdivision 2. (Act 8:26-40.)
Subdivision 2. (Act 8:26-40.)
The Word still going further, and the Old Testament conducting to the New.
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We are carried off to other scenes, in company with the fruitful preacher at Samaria; who is taken from the work in which he has been blessed and honored, upon a journey which would seem naturally a strange one, announced to him as it is beforehand as to an indefinite place upon a desert road, -the road to a Philistine city. But God claims obedience as a first requisite for blessing; which surely follows it: the labor of believing simplicity shall not go unblessed. In fact he is to be now the evangelist of far-off lands.
A man of Ethiopia has been to Jerusalem to worship, and is returning by that desert road. We may be confident that Jerusalem had not much at that time to reward a pilgrimage. The road might well be to him a dreary one. With a heart for God, such as he surely had, the contact with priests and rulers of the stamp of Caiaphas and his Sadducean company must have thrown a shadow upon his soul. He was besides an outcast religiously, spite of a high position and his heart for God. As a eunuch, (if we are to take that literally, as I doubt not,) he could not come into the congregation of the Lord (Deu 23:1); whatever precious assurances there might be for him of future blessing (Isa 56:3-5). Sitting in his chariot, on his return from the city of hollow forms and barren solemnities, he turns naturally to the pages of the prophets, and of Isaiah most of all, to find consolation; but here too he was met by sorrow, and of a kind also that he could not penetrate, -the sorrows of One from whom Israel, it seemed, had turned, of One led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb dumb before its shearers, His judgment taken away, His life from the earth. He is reading this aloud as he overtakes Philip upon the road, as if he would impress himself with something which should have significance for him, but has not; the cloud is over it hopelessly, as it seems to him, without some guide; and he has none. How could he think of finding an interpreter upon that desert way, his back upon Jerusalem, and after his useless visit there?
How the voice of the evangelist, cheery with its message ready, the Voice of the Spirit astir in him to deliver it, must have made his heart leap in response to the question which penetrated already with a ray of light the gloom of his perplexity, "Understandest thou what thou readest?" "How should I?" he answers simply; "except some one should guide me?" And immediately there springs up in his soul the eager hope that in this unknown stranger, God may have sent him help. He asks Philip, therefore, to sit with him in his chariot, and soon is an enwrapt hearer of the gospel of Christ.
Philip’s text has been already found for him: from the prophet’s picture of the Servant of Jehovah he begins to preach Jesus as the fulfilment of Old Testament prediction; and the good seed sinks into soil prepared. The eunuch finds that he too can have his place in the congregation of the Lord; and he finds One who can do for him what Jerusalem and the law have been unable to do. He takes his place without hesitation as owning in baptism Jesus as his Lord; and, Philip being immediately caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, he goes upon his way with the living Saviour, who is to be henceforth his Guide and Friend, rejoicing.
This story closes here too soon to satisfy the interest that has been awakened in it. We would fain follow this simple-hearted traveler, and learn whether he is permitted to become the evangelist of the land to which he is returning, -whether, or in what measure, Ethiopia will now stretch out her hands towards God: but nothing of all this is made known to us. If we find in it a hint of the gospel now to go out to the nations afar off, yet it is but a hint, and not an assurance. The apostle of the Gentiles is not yet raised up, and it is his work that we are to pursue in this connection, though there are preliminaries, as we are now to see. But if this be the purport of the story here, it does not seem completed as we might expect. There must be, one would say, another purpose in it; and we are naturally led to look at it again, to see if we may not discover this.
And here at once it strikes us, that this is a child of the old dispensation, in whom its necessary limitations and failure to satisfy those to whom it ministered are plainly set forth, and to whom it is but a hand pointing forward to Him who alone can do this. It is, in short the Old Testament leading on its disciples to the New, that we have before us here; an important point in the history of these times we are considering. We have but just now seen in Samaria how the New Testament takes care to vindicate the Old. Now we have the converse of this; it is the Old Testament seen awakening the longings of the heart after that which it cannot itself supply, while it does testify to the Living Source of it. With this meaning all the details of the story agree: the appearance of the angel of the Lord -that is, of Jehovah* -to Philip, to make known to him his commission. When his work is accomplished, again, it is "the Spirit of Jehovah" who snatches away the messenger. This is both Old Testament speech and action. The Spirit of Jehovah occurs once in the Gospels (Luk 4:18), and once before in the Acts (Act 5:9); it never occurs in the New Testament again. Jehovah also, or what stands for it here, the Name for Israel’s covenant God, is naturally found also in Old Testament connection, or in that part of the New in which it is not yet decided whether Israel is or is not to be the special people of God. The Gospels have it frequently, and the first eight chapters of the Acts; after this, except for special reasons in the twelfth chapter, it occurs but twice, or possibly thrice (Act 13:10-11; Act 15:17). The Old Testament has in fact handed over its disciples to the New; and in the Epistles we find it only in such references as before mentioned, or two or three times in those written to believers of the circumcision, as in James and Peter. A very few times (again most naturally) it occurs in Revelation. The significance here is therefore plain.
{*In the Septuagint, as in our common version of the Old Testament, from which (with the apparent vindication of it in the New) the practice is derived, "the Lord" is commonly substituted for the "Jehovah" of the Hebrew. It is distinguished in the New from the general reference to the Lord Jesus (except where it is a direct quotation from the Greek version) by the omission of the article, bracketed in our text, -"[the] Lord."}
The eunuch is a man in high position, a man of wealth, and of an earnest heart. He is therefore one in whom the character of the Old Testament can be most conspicuously seen; while we see also the care of God for His own to relieve the darkness for those who in their perplexity sought to Him. The Psalms illustrate abundantly both the darkness and the relief. Now the dawn of a brighter day had begun; and the Old Testament hails with gladness its coming so long delayed. It was yet but the dawn, though how bright a one!
Philip is caught away; the mere human teacher is not to take the place of the Divine. His coming and his departure are both well fitted to assure the new disciple how safely he may rest in the all-sufficiency that has thus met and ministered to him. Philip on his part is found at Azotus, the Philistine Ashdod; and from thence, with the joy in his heart of one who is taking the spoil* from the strong one whom a Stronger has overcome, he evangelizes all the cities as far as Caesarea.
{*Ashdod means "spoiler."}
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain Act 8:26 - Act 8:40.
Acts
A MEETING IN THE DESERT
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Act 8:26 - Act 8:40.
Philip had no special divine command either to flee to, or to preach in, Samaria, but ‘an angel of the Lord’ and afterwards ‘the Spirit,’ directed him to the Ethiopian statesman. God rewards faithful work with more work. Samaria was a borderland between Jew and Gentile, but in preaching to the eunuch Philip was on entirely Gentile ground. So great a step in advance needed clear command from God to impel to it and to justify it.
I. We have, then, first, the new commission.
Philip might well wonder why he should be taken away from successful work in a populous city, and despatched to the lonely road to Gaza. But he obeyed at once. He knew not for what he was sent there, but that ignorance did not trouble or retard him. It should be enough for us to see the next step. ‘We walk by faith, not by sight,’ for we none of us know what comes of our actions, and we get light as we go. Do to-day’s plain duty, and when to-morrow is to-day its duty will be plain too. The river on which we sail winds, and not till we round the nearest bend do we see the course beyond. So we are kept in the peaceful posture of dependent obedience, and need to hold our communications with God open, that we may be sure of His guidance.
No doubt, as Philip trudged along till he reached the Gaza road, he would have many a thought as to what he was to find there, and, when he came at last to the solitary track, would look eagerly over the uninhabited land for an explanation of his strange and vague instructions. But an obedient heart is not long left perplexed, and he who looks for duty to disclose itself will see it in due time.
II. So we have next the explanation of the errand.
Luke’s ‘Behold!’ suggests the sudden sight of the great man’s cortege in the distance. No doubt, he travelled with a train of attendants, as became his dignity, and would be conspicuous from afar. Philip, of course, did not know who he was when he caught sight of him, but Luke tells his rank at once, in order to lay stress on it, as well as to bring out the significance of his occupation and subsequent conversion. Here was a full-blooded Gentile, an eunuch, a courtier, who had been drawn to Israel’s God, and was studying Israel’s prophets as he rode. Perhaps he had chosen that road to Egypt for its quietness. At any rate, his occupation revealed the bent of his mind.
Philip felt that the mystery of his errand was solved now, and he recognised the impulse to break through conventional barriers and address the evidently dignified stranger, as the voice of God’s Spirit, and not his own. How he was sure of that we do not know, but the distinction drawn between the former communication by an angel and this from the Spirit points to a clear difference in his experiences, and to careful discrimination in the narrator. The variation is not made at random. Philip did not mistake a buzzing in his ears from the heating of his own heart for a divine voice. We have here no hallucinations of an enthusiast, but plain fact.
How manifestly the meeting of these two, starting so far apart, and so ignorant of each other and of the purpose of their being thrown together, reveals the unseen hand that moved each on his own line, and brought about the intersection of the two at that exact spot and hour! How came it that at that moment the Ethiopian was reading, of all places in his roll, the very words which make the kernel of the gospel of the evangelical prophet? Surely such ‘coincidences’ are a hard nut to crack for deniers of a Providence that shapes our ends!
It is further to be noticed that the eunuch’s conversion does not appear to have been of importance for the expansion of the Church. It exercised no recorded influence, and was apparently not communicated to the Apostles, as, if it had been, it could scarcely have failed to have been referred to when the analogous case of Cornelius was under discussion. So, divine intervention and human journeying and work were brought into play simply for the sake of one soul which God’s eye saw to be ripe for the Gospel. He cares for the individual, and one sheep that can be reclaimed is precious enough in the Shepherd’s estimate to move His hand to action and His heart to love. Not because he was a man of great authority at Candace’s court, but because he was yearning for light, and ready to follow it when it shone, did the eunuch meet Philip on that quiet road.
III. The two men being thus strangely brought together, we have next the conversation for the sake of which they were brought together.
The eunuch was reading aloud, as people not very much used to books, or who have some difficult passage in hand, often do. Philip must have been struck with astonishment when he caught the, to him, familiar words, and must have seen at once the open door for his preaching. His abrupt question wastes no time with apologies or polite, gradual approaches to his object. Probably the very absence of the signs of deference to which he was accustomed impressed the eunuch with a dim sense of the stranger’s authority, which would be deepened by the home-thrust of his question.
The wistful answer not only shows no resentment at the brusque stranger’s thrusting himself in, but acknowledges bewilderment, and responds to the undertone of proffered guidance in the question. A teacher has often to teach a pupil his ignorance, to begin with; but it should be so done as to create desire for instruction, and to kindle confidence in him as instructor. It is insolent to ask, ‘Understandest thou?’ unless the questioner is ready and able to help to understand.
The invitation to a seat in the great man’s chariot showed how eagerness to learn had obliterated distinctions of rank, and swiftly knit a new bond between these two, who had never heard of each other five minutes before. A true heart will hail as its best and closest friend him who leads it to know God’s mind more clearly. How earthly dignities dwindle when God’s messenger lays hold of a soul!
So the chariot rolls on, and through the silence of the desert the voices of these two reach the wondering attendants, as they plod along. The Ethiopian was reading the Septuagint translation of Isaiah, which, though it missed part of the force of the original, brought clearly before him the great figure of a Sufferer, meek and dumb, swept from the earth by unjust judgment. He understood so much, but what he did not understand was who this great, tragic Figure represented. His question goes to the root of the matter, and is a burning question to-day, as it was all these centuries ago on the road to Gaza. Philip had no doubt of the answer. Jesus was the ‘lamb dumb before its shearers.’ This is not the place to enter on such wide questions, but we may at least affirm that, whatever advance modern schools have made in the criticism and interpretation of the Old Testament, the very spirit of the whole earlier Revelation is missed if Jesus is not discerned as the Person to whom prophet and ritual pointed, in whom law was fulfilled and history reached its goal.
No doubt much instruction followed. How long they had rode together before they came to ‘a certain water’ we know not, but it cannot have been more than a few hours. Time is elastic, and when the soil is prepared, and rain and sunlight are poured down, the seed springs up quickly. People who deny the possibility of ‘sudden conversions’ are blind to facts, because they wear the blinkers of a theory. Not always have they who ‘anon with joy receive’ the word ‘no root in themselves.’
As is well known, the answer to the eunuch’s question {Act 8:37} is wanting in authoritative manuscripts. The insertion may have been due to the creeping into the text of a marginal note. A recent and most original commentator on the Acts {Blass} considers that this, like other remarkable readings found in one set of manuscripts, was written by Luke in a draft of the book, which he afterwards revised and somewhat abbreviated into the form which most of the manuscripts present. However that may be, the required conditions in the doubtful verse are those which the practice of the rest of the Acts shows to have been required. Faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God was the qualification for the baptisms there recorded.
And there was no other qualification. Philip asked nothing about the eunuch’s proselytism, or whether he had been circumcised or not. He did not, like Peter with Cornelius, need the evidence of the gift of the Spirit before he baptized; but, notwithstanding his experience of an unworthy candidate in Simon the sorcerer, he unhesitatingly administered baptism. There was no Church present to witness the rite. We do not read that the Holy Ghost fell on the eunuch.
That baptism in the quiet wady by the side of the solitary road, while the swarthy attendants stood in wonder, was a mighty step in advance; and it was taken, not by an Apostle, nor with ecclesiastical sanction, but at the bidding of Christian instinct, which recognised a brother in any man who had faith in Jesus, the Son of God. The new faith is bursting old bonds. The universality of the Gospel is overflowing the banks of Jewish narrowness. Probably Philip was quite unconscious of the revolutionary nature of his act, but it was done, and in it was the seed of many more.
The eunuch had said that he could not understand unless some man guided him. But when Philip is caught away, he does not bewail the loss of his guide. He went on his road with joy, though his new faith might have craved longer support from the crutch of a teacher, and fuller enlightenment. What made him able to do without the guide that a few hours before had been so indispensable? The presence in his heart of a better one, even of Him whom Jesus promised, to guide His servants into all truth. If those who believe that Scripture without an authorised interpreter is insufficient to lead men aright, would consider the end of this story, they might find that a man’s dependence on outward teachers ceases when he has God’s Spirit to teach him, and that for such a man the Word of God in his hand and the Spirit of God in his spirit will give him light enough to walk by, so that, in the absence of all outward instructors, he may still be filled with true wisdom, and in absolute solitude may go ‘on his way rejoicing.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain 26. When the congregation in Samaria had been supplied…
26. When the congregation in Samaria had been supplied with spiritual gifts, and sufficiently instructed to justify leaving them to their own resources for edification, Philip was called away to other fields of labor.
We are now introduced to another of those minutely detailed cases of conversion which are recorded for the purpose of instruction in reference to the means of turning men to God, and inducing them into the kingdom. The purpose of bringing him to a knowledge of salvation was formed in the divine mind, and specific means of accomplishing it put into operation, ere the man himself was aware of it. The narrative traces the steps by which this purpose of God was accomplished, and enables us to know, when God determines upon the conversion of an individual, how he proceeds to effect it.
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The first step taken in the case was to send an angel from heaven. But where does the angel make his appearance? To the man for whose benefit he came? So it must be, if he is to hold any direct communication with him. But, strange to say, while the man was south of Jerusalem, traveling toward Gaza, the angel descends into Samaria, to the north of Jerusalem, and appears to Philip. (26) " And an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south, into the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert. " This is all that the angel has to say; and now his part of the work, which was simply to start the evangelist in the direction of the person to be converted, is accomplished. He retires from the scene.
The statement "this is a desert" is correctly supposed, by the best commentators, to be no part of the angel's speech to Philip, but to have been added by Luke to note the singularity of a preacher being thus peremptorily sent away from a populous country into a desert. The term desert is not here to be understood in its stricter sense of a barren waste, but in its more general acceptation, of a place thinly inhabited. Such an interpretation is required by the geography of the country, and by the fact that water was found for the immersion of the eunuch. The only road from Jerusalem to Gaza, which passed through a level district suitable for wheeled vehicles, was that by Bethlehem to Hebron, and thence across a plain to Gaza. According to Dr. Hackett, this is "the desert" of Luke 1:80 , in which John the Immerser grew up. Dr. S. T. Barclay, who traversed this entire route in May, 1853, says that he traveled, after leaving "the immediate vicinity of Hebron, over one of the very best roads (with slight exceptions) and one of the most fertile countries that I ever beheld."
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain angel (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
angel (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
desert Contra, Act 8:6-8.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Ethiopian Eunuch.
The Ethiopian Eunuch.
The divine commission to Philip:
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v. 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.
v. 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,
v. 28. was returning, and, sitting in his chariot, read Esaias, the prophet.
Through the visit of Peter and John the congregation of Samaria had been so thoroughly established and furnished with special gifts of the Spirit that Philip could well be spared for other missionary work. And so an angel of the Lord, one of those special messengers whom the Lord makes use or in carrying out the work of His kingdom, spoke to Philip, whether in a dream by night or in a vision by day, is immaterial. He had a special order for the evangelist. He who had just preached the Gospel to hundreds and to thousands was to be sent a long way to open the Scriptures to one individual soul. Philip was to arise, be ready at once, and journey due south from Samaria down to and along the road which led down from Jerusalem (at an elevation of about 2,400 feet) to Gaza, formerly a city of the Philistines, only a few miles from the Mediterranean. There was a Roman road, built probably for military purposes, which passed from Jerusalem almost due southwest and led over Gaza down to Egypt. For a large part of the way this road led through desert places, comparatively uninhabited districts, The obedience of Philip was immediate and implicit; he did according to the word of the angel. By God’s arrangement, Philip either struck the road or was traveling along the road designated by the angel when a chariot came along. In this vehicle sat an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, who was a powerful officer of queen Candace, being her minister of finances or secretary of the state treasury. Though he was a eunuch and as such debarred from actual membership in the Jewish congregation, Deu 23:1, he could very well have been a proselyte of the gate and admitted to the Court of the Gentiles to perform his acts of worship. He was in the service of the queen of the Ethiopians, the queen of Nubia, whose official title was Candace, and had made the long trip for the express purpose of attending to his religious duties. It is difficult to say whether he had come up in the season without festivals, or whether the fall of the year, with its Festival of New Year, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles, had meanwhile come, the latter being very likely. In returning home, the eunuch was employing his time in the best possible manner. Sitting in his chariot, he was reading the book of the Prophet Isaiah, very probably aloud, after the Oriental fashion, Act 8:30, and trying incidentally to get the meaning of the text. In this he gives an example which might well be emulated in our days. The Christians of our days, in many instances, read the Bible neither at home nor anywhere else, whereas this heathen proselyte was not ashamed to read it on the public road. It was not the original Hebrew text which he was conning, but the so-called Septuagint, or Greek translation, which had been made in Egypt almost two centuries before.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
This begins the part of the story about Philip and the man from Ethiopia.
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General Information:
Verse 27 gives background information about the man from Ethiopia. (See: Background Information)
Now
This marks a transition in the story. (See: Introduction of a New Event)
Arise and go
These verbs work together to emphasize that he should get ready to start a long journey that will take some time. AT: "Get ready to travel"
goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza
The phrase "goes down" is used here because Jerusalem is higher in elevation than Gaza.
This road is in a desert
Most scholars believe Luke added this comment to describe the area through which Philip would travel. (See: Background Information)
Behold
The word "behold" alerts us to a new person in the story. Your language may have a way of doing this. (See: Introduction of New and Old Participants)
eunuch
The emphasis of "eunuch" here is about the Ethiopian's being a high government official, not so much his physical state of being castrated.
Candace
This was a title for the queens of Ethiopia. It is similar to the way the word Pharaoh was used for the kings of Egypt. (See: How to Translate Names)
He had come to Jerusalem to worship
This implies that he was a Gentile who believed in God and had come to worship at the Jewish temple. AT: "He had come to worship God at the temple in Jerusalem" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
chariot
Possibly "wagon" or "carriage" is more fitting in this context. Chariots are normally mentioned as a vehicle for war, not as a vehicle for long-distance travel. Also, people stood to ride in chariots.
reading the prophet Isaiah
This is the Old Testament book Isaiah. AT: "reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
angel
lord
Philip, the evangelist
Jerusalem
Gaza
desert
raise
Ethiopia
eunuch
queen
chariot
prophet
Isaiah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 8:26-40 Philip obeyed the Holy Spirit’s leading and then…
8:26-40 Philip obeyed the Holy Spirit’s leading and then seized the opportunity to share the message of Good News with a eunuch on the desert road . . . from Jerusalem to Gaza. This incident shows Philip’s remarkable effectiveness as a Christian apologist and evangelist in his outreach for Christ and in his commitment to bringing the Good News to all people regardless of social class or ethnicity.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.