20  The Faith  That Does Save (8:25-40)

And so, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Arise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) And he arose and went; and behold, there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship. And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.” And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” [And 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.”] And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus; and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea. (8:25–40)

Throughout redemptive history, God has poured out His blessings to mankind through the channel of His covenant people. God never intended Israel to be a reservoir, storing up divine blessings for themselves. Instead, they were to be a funnel through which those blessings could be dispersed to a lost world. In Isaiah 42:6 God identified them as a lamp lighting the darkness around them. He said to Israel, “I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations.”

Israel largely failed in her mission. She tended toward two extremes, both of which blocked the channel of God’s blessings. First was a separatistic nationalism that wanted no contact with the Gentile nations. Jonah typifies such an attitude. Commanded to preach to the hated Assyrians, he instead took off in the opposite direction. Only after spending three days in the stomach of a large fish would he reluctantly agree to go to Nineveh. Then, instead of rejoicing when Nineveh repented, he became extremely upset:

The other extreme was that of compromise. Influenced by the surrounding nations, Israel frequently fell into pagan idolatry. An idolatrous Israel had no message to give to the idolatrous Gentile nations around her. By the time of Jesus, the worship of pagan idols was gone, disappearing for the most part after the Babylonian Captivity. It was replaced, however, by a corrupted form of Judaism that advocated salvation by works.

Because of Israel’s failure, God cut a new channel through which His blessings could reach the world—the church. Unlike national Israel, the church would embrace all nations. Beginning on Pentecost and in Jerusalem as an exclusively Jewish group, the church soon reached out to the half-breed Samaritans. Another milestone was reached as Philip presented Jesus Christ to a Gentile. Through this man, a high official in the court of the Ethiopian queen, the gospel would first penetrate the souls of the great African continent. In contrast to Simon, his faith was genuine, resulting in salvation. That genuine faith required three elements: the proper preparation, the proper presentation, and the proper response.

THE PROPER PREPARATION

And so, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Arise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) And he arose and went; and behold, there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship. And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. (8:25–28)

Genuine saving faith demands the proper preparation. In the parable of the sower, only the good, properly prepared soil brought forth the fruits of salvation. The text indicates four features which prepared the soil of the eunuch’s heart.

THE SOVEREIGN WORK OF THE SPIRIT

And so, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Arise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)(8:25–26)

Salvation, both in its eternal planning and its temporal outworking, is totally God’s work. Salvation originates in the sovereign will of God (Acts 13:48; Rom. 8:29ff.; Eph. 1:3–7) and is implemented by His grace (Eph. 2:8–9; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1).

Two insurmountable barriers keep man from grasping God’s salvation by his own efforts. First, men are spiritually dead and therefore unable to respond to God. Ephesians 2:1 says simply and directly, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins.” To be physically dead means to be unable to respond to physical stimuli, and to be spiritually dead means to be unable to respond to spiritual stimuli. As the saying goes, “Dead men don’t believe!”

Our Lord was equally blunt in John 6:44: “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that “a natural man [rebellious, sinful man apart from God] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” Consequently, the preaching of the gospel, apart from the quickening work of the Spirit, is perceived as nothing but a “stumbling block,” and “foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:23).

As if man’s spiritual deadness were not enough, a second factor keeps him from God. Paul writes, “If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:3–4). Satan and his demon hosts are also actively involved in keeping men from finding God’s truth. Like the birds in the parable of the sower, they snatch away from fallen men the truth of the gospel. As a result, “when anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart” (Matt. 13:19).

In light of those truths, it is ludicrous to assume that anyone, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in his or her lifeless soul, could ever come to saving faith in Christ. Man cannot climb the barriers separating him from God. Sovereignly, God, in His love and mercy, must reach out to man. If He did not do so, no one could ever be saved.

The Spirit began his preparatory work by maneuvering Philip into a strategic position. After Peter and John had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem. On their return trip, they were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans, carrying on the evangelistic work begun by Philip. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Arise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) The circumstances that were to lead to the eunuch’s salvation were sovereignly and specifically arranged by the Spirit.

Gaza was one of the five chief cities of the Philistines, along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath. Old Gaza had been destroyed early in the first century B.C. and a new city was built nearer the coast. A road from Jerusalem to Egypt, however, still ran through the ruins of old Gaza. Luke’s footnote that this is a desert road underscores the strangeness of the Spirit’s command to Philip. There were two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, and the Spirit commands Philip to take the one that was seldom used (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Acts [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990], 311). It is also possible to translate the Greek phrase kata mesēmbrian (toward the south) “at noon” (I. Howard Marshall, The Acts of the Apostles [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984], 161). That rendering would “make the divine command to Philip all the more unusual and perplexing: at noon the road would be deserted of travelers because of the heat” (Marshall, Acts, 161).

This was no mere chance encounter and certainly not the result of clever human ingenuity. Apart from the Spirit’s orchestration of events, it would have never taken place at all. That emphasizes again the sovereign work of the Spirit in salvation.

THE SUBMISSIVE WILL OF PHILIP

And he arose and went; (8:27a)

God often accomplishes His sovereign work through human instruments (cf. Acts 2:4, 14; 4:8, 31; 6:3–8; 7:55; 8:17; 10:1–48; 16:25–34). Like a master sculptor, He takes otherwise useless and inconsequential tools and uses them to create a masterpiece. There is a prerequisite, however, for being used by God. Paul writes, “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:20–21). God uses holy tools to do His work.

Philip was such an instrument. When ordered to go on what must have seemed an illogical journey, he arose and went. He did not struggle with the irrationality of the command before obeying, nor did he question God. To leave the thriving work in Samaria for a deserted road might seem absurd to many but not to the man of God who has just been visited by an angel of the Lord. By willing obedience he became the means by which God saved the eunuch.

THE SEARCHING WORSHIP OF THE EUNUCH

and behold, there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship. (8:27b)

The Ethiopian eunuch was a seeker after the true God, as shown by his long journey to Jerusalem to worship. How he came into contact with Judaism is not told, but there was a large Jewish colony at Alexandria. He was a high ranking official in his country, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. Ethiopia in that day was a large kingdom located south of Egypt. To the Greeks and Romans, it represented the outer limits of the known world (John B. Polhill, The New American Commentary: Acts [Nashville: Broadman, 1992], 223). Its kings were believed to be incarnations of the sun god, and the everyday affairs of government were held to be beneath them. Real power lay with the queen mothers, known by the hereditary title Candace (which is not a proper name, but an official title, like Pharaoh or Caesar). This man was in charge of all her treasure. In modern terms, he was the Minister of Finance, or Secretary of the Treasury.

Despite his power and prestige, he had a vast emptiness in his soul. He made a long, arduous journey from his homeland to Jerusalem, searching for the true God. Unfortunately, given the state of contemporary Judaism, he probably went away still empty. It is not certain whether he was physically a eunuch. The term was also used to speak of government officials who had not been emasculated (such as Potiphar [Gen. 39:1 LXX], who was married). He likely was an actual eunuch, though, since Luke uses both eunuch and court official to describe him. If that were true, he would have been denied access to the temple (Deut. 23:1) and therefore been unable to participate fully in the Jewish worship services. Further, he would not have been allowed to become a full proselyte to Judaism (Polhill, Acts, 224). He would have been limited to the status of a God-fearer—one who attended the synagogues and read the Scriptures but stopped short of becoming a full proselyte. The Gentile Cornelius was an example of such a God-fearer (Acts 10:1–2).

God’s sovereignty in salvation does not obviate man’s responsibility. That God rewards the seeking heart is the clear teaching of Scripture. In Jeremiah 29:13 God said, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart,” while in John 7:17 the Lord Jesus Christ said, “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” The eunuch is a classic example of one who lived up to the light he had. God then gave him the full revelation of Jesus Christ through Philip’s ministry.

THE SCRIPTURAL WORD OF TRUTH

And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. (8:28)

While returning to his own country, the eunuch was sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. He had a desire to know God and was aware that He was to be known through the Scripture. He was indeed an eager seeker. He had no doubt paid a great price in Jerusalem for that scroll, which would have been difficult for a Gentile to acquire. Perhaps Isaiah had special meaning to him, since the book speaks encouragingly to eunuchs (Isa. 56:3–5).

While God’s existence, and some of His attributes, can be discerned from nature (Rom. 1:20), saving knowledge of Him comes only through the Scriptures. Jesus said in John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me.” In verse 46 He added, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.” Encountering two of his followers after His resurrection, he chided them for their obtuseness: ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:25–27).

Paul’s grand words to the Romans serve to enrich the understanding of this account:

All the essentials were in place; the Spirit’s work of preparation was complete. Philip had obeyed the Spirit’s call and was in place to meet the man. The eunuch’s heart was seeking, prepared by reading the Scriptures. All was set for the next step.

THE PROPER PRESENTATION

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.” And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. (8:29–35)

When the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot,” he instantly obeyed. Although the eunuch’s entourage must have been impressive, Philip was not intimidated. Boldness belongs to Spirit-filled people (Acts 4:31). We can discern in Philip’s words the essence of an effective presentation of the gospel.

IT MUST CENTER ON SCRIPTURE

And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.” And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” (8:30–34)

Apparently without the benefit of a formal introduction normally required for an audience with such an exalted leader, and demonstrating his eagerness by having run up, Philip heard him reading Isaiah the prophet. The ancient custom of reading aloud provided an opening for Philip, who, though a complete stranger, boldly asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man was so perplexed by the passage he had been reading that he seems not to have cared who Philip was or why he was in his presence. The eunuch just exclaimed, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” Amazingly, he then invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The evangelist’s heart must have been rejoicing in the confidence that God had so prepared this man. That the official invited Philip to explain the Scriptures to him speaks of the eunuch’s seeking, humble, and teachable spirit (cf. Isa. 55:6–7).

The passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.” That passage, taken from Isaiah 53:7–8, puzzled the eunuch. “Please tell me,” he asked Philip, “of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” His confusion was understandable, since contemporary Jewish thought was divided on the interpretation of this passage. Some held that the slaughtered sheep represented the nation, others that Isaiah spoke of himself, still others that he referred to the Messiah. There was no doubt in Philip’s mind, however, of whom Isaiah wrote.

Like his Lord (John 3:1ff.; 4:5ff.), Paul (1 Cor. 9:22), Apollos (Acts 18:24), and Stephen (Acts 7:2ff.), Philip was knowledgeable enough in the Scriptures to meet the eunuch where he was. Every believer should strive to be proficient in the Scriptures so that we, too, can meet people at the point of their perplexity and lead them to the Savior. In the words of Peter, we are to “always [be] ready to make a defense to everyone who asks [us] to give an account for the hope that is in [us]” (1 Peter 3:15).

An effective presentation of the gospel must be based solidly on Scripture. The use of personal testimony, stories, tracts, and other tools is no substitute. For Scripture alone is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). The power is in the Word.

IT MUST CENTER ON JESUS CHRIST

And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. (8:35)

Philip was ready. Beginning from the very Scripture the eunuch had been reading, he preached Jesus to him. He showed the eunuch that the Lamb of which the passage spoke was none other than the Messiah, who would be the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin. He then presented evidence that Jesus was that Messiah.

Any gospel presentation, to be effective, must clearly and comprehensively present the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the reason some reject Jesus is that He has not been presented well enough for them to understand who He is and what He has accomplished. To proclaim to others what Christ has done in our lives is important, but the biblical truth about Jesus Christ is the essential message the sinner must hear. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “Faith comes from hearing … the word of Christ” (10:17).

THE PROPER RESPONSE

And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” [And 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.”] And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus; and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea. (8:36–40)

The Spirit’s preparation and Philip’s presentation combined to produce the proper response on the eunuch’s part. That response was threefold: faith, confession, and rejoicing.

FAITH

And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (8:36)

At some point as they went along the road the eunuch was granted saving faith and was instructed about baptism. That is implied by his reaction when they came to some water. The eunuch said to Philip, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”They came across a pool or stream in the desert at just the appropriate moment for the man to publicly testify to his saving faith by being obedient to the ordinance of immersion. That is yet another example of the sovereign Spirit’s control of events.

CONFESSION

[And 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.”] And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. (8:37–38)

The oldest and most reliable manuscripts do not contain verse 37, which should be omitted from the text. Still, something like that confession must have occurred. Coming to the water, the eunuch ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. As noted in the discussion of Acts 2:38 in chapter 6, baptism is the public confession of faith expected of all believers. The eunuch not only confessed his faith personally to Philip but openly in front of his entire entourage. That both he and Philip went down into the water indicates that his baptism was by immersion. So does the word baptizō, which means “to dip” or “to immerse.”

REJOICING

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus; and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea. (8:39–40)

After they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more. Elijah (1 Kings 18:12; 2 Kings 2:16) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 3:12, 14; 8:3) were also miraculously snatched away. By performing this startling miracle, the Holy Spirit confirmed to the entire caravan that Philip was indeed His spokesman. As for the eunuch, he went on his way home rejoicing. Joy is a mark of a true believer (John 15:11; 17:13; Acts 13:52; Rom. 12:12; 14:17; 15:13; Gal. 5:22; Phil. 1:25; 1 Thess. 1:6; 1 Peter 1:8; Jude 24).

Philip, meanwhile, found himself at Azotus. Azotus, twenty miles north of Gaza, was the current name for the ancient Philistine city of Ashdod. As he passed through the coastal region, he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities. No matter where he was, Philip had only one thing on his mind. As he made his way north toward Caesarea, where he and his family apparently made their home (Acts 21:9), he preached in the cities (such as Joppa and Lydda, which Peter would shortly visit) as he traveled.

Luke does not give us the subsequent history of the Ethiopian eunuch. According to the church Father Irenaeus, he became a missionary to the Ethiopians (Richard N. Longenecker, “The Acts of the Apostles,” in Frank E. Gaebelein, ed., The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981], 366). What is clear is that the Spirit’s preparation, coupled with Philip’s presentation, produced in him the faith that does save.