Chapter Eight –
Spread of the Church and the Gospel
ACTS 8:26-40:
In our previous lesson, Luke revealed the work of Philip in Samaria, and
consequently, the Apostles of the Lord traveling down to them in order to
bestow spiritual gifts.
At the conclusion of these events in Samaria, Luke is now going to reveal
that Philip is going to be Divinely moved to the south. An angel of the
Lord; as a Divine messenger (Hebrews 1:14),
will instruct Philip to go to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza.
His Divine instruction to Philip at this time, is not mysterious, but in
fact is accomplishing the very purpose of the spread of the Gospel to the
world. Note that the message does not come to anyone miraculously, but the
only miraculous intervention here is bringing preacher and sinner together!
Text #1:
Acts 8:26-29
“Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the
south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is
desert.
27
So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great
authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all
her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28
was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the
prophet.
29
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.””
Gaza:
This city sets on a hill along the caravan route to Egypt and was once one
of the five chief cities of the Philistines. It lies about 50 miles S.W. of
Jerusalem and was connected to Jerusalem by a highway.
Keep in
mind that Philip was north of Jerusalem prior to the instruction to go
south. This would have been a lengthy journey from
verse
25 to
verse 26!
Desert:
This term being translated desert is also found in
Matthew
14:15; where it is translated as a
“deserted place”. This is the
meaning of the term here as well. We know that it is not devoid of water, as
in a true desert, because of the statement found in
verse
36. It is simply a place without permanent residence or
unpopulated.
Ethiopia:
This is a nation that has often been connected to the Bible narrative. It is
located south of Egypt and was inhabited by the sons of Cush, the grandson
of Noah –
Genesis 10:6-8.
Eunuch:
First,
a eunuch is an emasculated man. This was a common practice among servants
with great responsibility in order to devote themselves to their duties.
This is explained by Luke in the narrative,
“of great responsibility under
Candace”.
The
scriptures mention emasculated men on more than one occasion. In the Law of
Moses, emasculated men were not allowed to serve in the temple, or allowed
into the assembly of the people –
Leviticus 21:16-23;
Deuteronomy 23:1. In the prophesied spiritual kingdom of heavenly
Zion, even the emasculated man will be given a place and an everlasting name
–
Isaiah 56:4 (fulfillment taking place here). The Lord would refer
to emasculated men who would become such for the sake of control over lust
of the flesh for the security of their place in the kingdom –
Matthew
19:12.
Second,
Candace the queen of the Ethiopians was a title used for this line of
rulers, like Pharaoh, or Caesar.
Third,
it should be noted that the eunuch has traveled from his native country to
Jerusalem to worship. This suggests that he has been made a proselyte to the
Jewish faith and also then explains his desire to know the teaching of
Isaiah.
Even as devote as he is demonstrated within the text to be, we must
recognize that he along with all men can only come to God now through
Jesus Christ –
Acts 4:12.
Text #2:
Acts 8:30-31
“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said,
“Do you understand what you are reading?”
31
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to
come up and sit with him.”
Having been
instructed by the Spirit, Philip would overtake the eunuch’s chariot and
consult him concerning his comprehension of the text he is reading. A good
instructor attempts to ascertain the level of understanding of the student,
and then begins his instruction there. This is the wisdom of God for the
dissemination of the Gospel to the world -
1
Corinthians 1:21 “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through
wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the
message preached to save those who believe.”
Text #3:
Acts 8:32-35
“The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a
sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33
In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will
declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”
– Isaiah 53:7-8
34
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet
say this, of himself or of some other man?”
35
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture,
preached Jesus to him.
Scripture:
The passage being read by the eunuch was from the final of four Servant
songs which Isaiah makes known concerning the work of God’s Messiah – The
first song is found in
Isaiah 42:1-13; the second in
Isaiah
49:1-13; the third in
Isaiah 50:4-51:8; and the fourth in
Isaiah
52:13-56:8.
Isaiah is
effectively two books in one through the work of the prophet. The first part
is the Assyrian period (chapter
1-39), which is immediate and poignant to the need to repent
during the Assyrian crisis. It concludes with some very dire words
concerning the future of Judah.
The second
book (chapter
40-66) is often referred to as the Babylonian period. The entire
second narrative stands as a universal challenge from God through Isaiah to
the idolatrous influences that Judah is flirting with. Have these idolatrous
gods predict anything and have it come about! All the while God through
Isaiah is giving detailed looks into the future. Thus the four Servant songs
are part of God’s great work of showing true hope for the righteous (few
that they were). A detailed look into a kingdom, the likes this world has
never known (justice, mercy, peace, inclusion without prejudice, etc…).
The text being read by the eunuch is a glimpse into the coronation of
this Great Servant of God, which would be a suffering victory!
Isaiah 53
– Suffering victory of God’s Great Servant.
Isaiah 54
– The King on His throne and the splendor of Zion.
Isaiah 55
– An invitation will go out.
Isaiah 56:1-8
– The invitation will include the Gentiles.
This would
be an intricate and detailed view of the events unfolding here in the book
of Acts; as well as the fulfillment of the work of Jesus of Nazareth as this
great Servant of God, now after His suffering, on His throne.
A fitting
place for the eunuch to be reading to initiate the teaching of Jesus to him.
Philip would have an easy time starting from this source teaching and
demonstrating that Jesus was this Great Servant of God and the salvation
Isaiah would speak of has come to those who believe in Him.
Text #4:
Acts 8:36-40
“Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch
said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37
Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38
So he
commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went
down into the water, and he baptized him.
39
Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip
away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40
But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the
cities till he came to Caesarea.”
Preached
Jesus:
As Philip
began to instruct concerning Jesus from the passage in Isaiah, the following
events speak volumes on the results of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There are
many who state a different conclusion from what they say is the preaching or
witnessing of Jesus Christ??? The fact of the matter is evident from the
conclusion of the eunuch, having heard the true Gospel of Christ; you
cannot preach Jesus Christ, without preaching baptism!
The same
result on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts
2:38), the same result in Samaria (Acts
8:12-13), the same result for Saul of Tarsus (Acts
9:18), the same result for Cornelius (Acts
10:48), etc…
The fact of
the matter is that Philip gives us an insight in his response to the eunuchs
question by stating “If you believe
with all your heart, you may”; which tells us that baptism is only for
true believers (does this mean that there is a difference between
true believers and those who simply say they are believers? YES!).
The Great
Confession:
Having been
instructed concerning the fact that baptism is for true believers of the
true Gospel, the eunuch, with clarity of mind, makes the great confession –
“I believe that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God.”
Baptized
Him:
Completing
the conversion process, Philip baptizes the eunuch in an act of true
submission. This demonstration for the purpose of establishing precedence is
the first of many times when we, as servants of the Most High God, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, will submit to one another in the fear of the Lord –
Ephesians 5:21. It should also be noted that they went down into
the water in order for the eunuch to be submerged (the definition of the
word baptize).
Concluding
Events:
The eunuch
would continue along his way to Ethiopia rejoicing in his new state. Philip
would leave from there and go on to Azotus (this was the city of Ashdod of
the O.T.; a chief city of the Philistines –
1
Samuel 5:1-8), and came to Caesarea.
Luke writes
that Philip would go from Azotus to Caesarea (Caesarea is about 60 miles
north of Azotus), preaching along the way. Luke records Philip in Caesarea,
and does not speak of him again until
Acts
21:8; where we find him still in Caesarea where Luke includes the
title of evangelist to his name. So, for anywhere from 15-18 years, Philip
has stayed in Caesarea and engaged in the work of an evangelist – ‘one who
speaks well the glad tidings’ (2
Timothy 4:1-5), demonstrating the wisdom of the Lord in putting
evangelists in all His bodies (Ephesians
4:11).