Acts 8:26-40 NIV
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip beganwith that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” 37 Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
The One
Luke takes his readers from a scene of mass evangelism (v. 6) to a snapshot of personal evangelism. The Angel of the Lord directed Philip away from the Samaritan town that had become a hotbed of revival to a desert wilderness where he could witness to one person, an Ethiopian eunuch. This was a living out of Jesus’ parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7).
In the wider context of Acts, this pericope displays the spread of God’s Word beyond ethnic and social barriers (cf. Acts 1:8). Not only Jews, but Samaritans, could be saved through Jesus. Not only Samaritans, but even a eunuch can receive full salvation (Deuteronomy 23:1, cf. Isaiah 56:3-8).
In the wider context of Scripture, God’s sovereign purpose for human life is seen in His selection of this Ethiopian. We do not know the extent, but can imagine how greatly God would impact Ethiopia through this man’s witness. Further, it demonstrates God’s compassion and desire for every individual to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-6).
Who is “The One” God is calling you to reach?