26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
POINTS OF INTEREST
- v26: Philip had clear and direct instructions from God, which he obeyed without question, even when it meant travelling through a desert place.
- v27: the Ethiopian eunuch had travelled a great distance to Jerusalem just to worship in the Temple showing him to be an extremely dedicated believer in Judaism.
- v29: The encounter between the Ethiopian eunuch and Philip was clearly a divine one, in which God was using to fulfill his purpose of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.
- v31: The Ethiopian eunuch’s response to Philip’s question, “do you understand what you are reading?” was a man hungry for understanding and truth. He was not proud to ask for guidance, even as a person of high position, he invited Philip to sit with him in his chariot.
- v35: Philip opened his mouth and out poured the good news of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. No words of Philip could have convinced the Ethiopian eunuch to believe and ask to be baptised, it was the work of God’s Spirit through Philips obedience.
submitted by Kiet Van
PRAYING IN FAITH
For Yourself
Pray to be as Philip, a Spirit filled, faithful and obedient servant.
For your Five
Pray that your 5 will have a hunger and thirst for the word of God that leads to conviction and change.
For Our Church
Pray that BCEC will be a place of spirit filled worshippers not bound by earthly traditions and comforts.