Simon the Sorcerer stands as a classic example of a person who fails to truly convert because of the unrepentant pride and arrogance in his heart. Immediately after we witness the washout of Simon, we discover the determination of the Ethiopian Eunuch. God serves up a picture perfect example of how a humble, hungry heart accepts the word of God and obeys it. These two conversion stories stand in immediate succession and in stark contrast. Here’s what happened.
After Philip the Deacon finishes his work in Samaria he is called by an Angel of the Lord and told to head south and find a road which winds through the desert connecting Jerusalem to Gaza. This was a pretty good distance from where he had been working but off he goes in obedience to the angel’s command.
Acts 8:26-31
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Why Such Great Detail about One Man?
Why do we have so much detail about who this man was, where he was from and what he was doing? For some reason, God thought it important to make sure these tidbits of information made it into the Bible.
Sometimes, I think we read a passage of Scripture, like this one, and skim over it far too quickly. When we don’t spend some time contemplating the details, the story becomes fixed or wooden. Ask some questions and the scripture comes alive!
Did you notice that the man was not going to Jerusalem, he was leaving? He had been to Jerusalem to worship. Does this mean he is a Jew? Not necessarily! Why did he go? Was it a Passover or some other special feast? Is he alone? Would that be safe? Philip is invited to sit with him. Did you know a chariot had seats? I didn’t. What was the day like? Was it hot? Was it cold? What is the attitude of this man? He is quite powerful. Why would he have a complete stranger join him in his chariot? He must have been impressed with Philip’s knowledge of the word of God. He seems to be pretty humble.
The point of all this is to say, there is so much more to a story than what we read in our Zondervan. These are real people with real lives which extend quite a distance in both directions; both before and after we glimpse their one shining moment God chose for us to see. Let’s use our imaginations and a little logic as we process all of this. There are riches to be found when we dig the mines of scripture.
The South Jerusalem Truck Stop
Apparently, almost before he even arrives at the desert road (probably just south of Jerusalem) Philip meets this eunuch from Ethiopia. As it turns out, this man is an important official in the Ethiopian government. He is the treasurer to the Queen and is now on his way home from worshiping in Jerusalem. He is in a chariot. It seems likely to me that he was not alone. He was probably part of a larger entourage. Just think about it. It would be unlikely for such and important official to make a long journey alone. This type of journey was a serious undertaking. Considering the individual, this trip was probably well financed. He would have been well supplied both going to Jerusalem and returning home. What about the security of this man. He travelled a long distance with valuable goods. A chariot alone could not hold all the supplies for a trip of this nature. So, I find it reasonable to believe our Ethiopian friend is in good company. We join the caravan at the south Jerusalem truck stop. And what is he doing? He’s having his quiet time!
Precious Scrolls
Now, this man did not pull an iPhone out of his pocket and start reading from his YouVersion Bible. He didn’t even have a paper Bible like we have today. He was reading from a scroll… a large cumbersome document, which he had either carried along on the journey or perhaps bought in Jerusalem; sort of a souvenir of his trip. A scroll of this nature is large, bulky and very expensive. Scrolls are hand written, being painstakingly copied by a scribe. These documents were not cheap or plentiful! This man is not just any ol’ worshiper of God on a little holiday to Jerusalem, he is a dedicated, devoted, powerful person, completing a pilgrimage of roughly 1500 miles!
The Spirit tells Philip to go and stand near the Chariot and Philip hears music to his ears…
Acts 8:32-34
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
The eunuch asks Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”
Wow! This is the heart of a learner. This is the heart of a disciple! We get no indication that this man thought he was any better than Philip. He is humble and inquisitive. He asks questions about the scriptures. He is willing to be taught by a complete stranger. He is eager to learn. And, what happens next is amazing.
Acts 8:35-40
Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
Philip presented the full Gospel message.
Using the exact scripture the man is reading, Philip describes its fulfillment with the advent of Jesus. Now remember, that scripture talks about the death of the Messiah. Let’s think about this a second. Do you think Philip also told him about the resurrection of the Christ? Why? That part of the story is not in this Acts account. Why do we assume Philip told him about the resurrection? Well, because we know “the good news” about Jesus includes far more than Jesus death, “like a lamb led to the slaughter.” We are able to fill in the blanks because we know the full Gospel story.
Acts 8:36
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”
Now, how in the world would the treasurer have ever known about baptism and how would he ever know that it involved water? Why did the eunuch think this was so important that he would be willing to stop everything in order to be baptized? Why not wait until he returned to Ethiopia?
The obvious answers are that Philip told him about baptism and that it was the appropriate response to the Gospel and it was urgent. This is reasonable and we make this conclusion using the same logic we used when we reasoned that Philip told him about the resurrection!
Even though we do not have a specific record of Philip telling the Ethiopian anything about the resurrection of Christ or about baptism, we know these things are integral in the Biblical Plan of Salvation and Philip would not ignore them. The eunuch had no way of knowing about any of these things and he did not just pull the idea about baptism out of the thin desert air!
By the way, we don’t see Philip asking the eunuch to say a prayer, invite Jesus into his heart or make a silent profession of faith. We do see Philip take a very specific action, just as he was commanded to do, in the passed down instructions of the Great Commission.
Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch
Acts 8:38-41
And he (the eunuch) gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 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.
This passage, introduces the mode of water baptism. Two people leave the chariot and go down into the water. Philip baptized the Ethiopian Eunuch. Why did they go “down into” the water. Why didn’t Philip just fetch some water in a cup or jar and bring it to the eunuch if sprinkling was a valid method of baptism? Why all the effort to go down into a muddy ol’ Gaza road pond or stream? Why not use clean fresh water from the caravan stores? Because, Philip understood the Great Commission. We are to immerse believers in a body of water large enough to have them completely covered. This is what the word baptize… derived from the Greek word bapto, means. It means immerse.
The Ethiopian rises out of the water, a changed man. He is full of joy. The change is instant, dramatic and verifiable. Something happened in this humble man’s heart. In hindsight, we understand he was Born Again. He is a new creation, a Spirit filled believer in Christ. This is a picture perfect image of a correct conversion and it produces inexpressible joy. Compare this conversion to the so-called conversion of Simon the Sorcerer. It is so vastly different.
The hidden verse!
Now, here’s something fun. Stop the Podcast. Grab your bible and read Acts 8:37… I’ll wait….
What? What do you mean you can’t find Acts 8:37. It’s right there in your bible. Acts 8:36 ends with the eunuch saying, “Look here’s water, why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And Acts 8:37 is… wait a minute… it just jumps to Acts 8:38! Where’s Acts 8:37? What gives here!
Acts 8:37 can be found in the foot note. Here’s how mine reads:
“Some manuscripts…” why shouldn’t I be 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.”
Most bible translations do not include verse 37 in the main part of the text because the verse only appears in some later discovered manuscripts. Including verse 37 for our purposes changes nothing but does provide greater fortification. Philip says, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” In other words, you may be baptized… or I am willing to baptize you if this is not simply an emotional decision… you must have a deep conviction about Jesus!”
Philip’s comment also helps us understand true biblical belief is something that occurs in our hearts and must be sincere. This type of faith precedes baptism and in fact, is a requirement for baptism. Remember what happened on the day of Pentecost.
“Those who accepted the message were baptized.” Acts 2:41
This means ONLY baptized people have actually accepted the message! Philip would not have baptized him if his belief was not sincere. This may be a lesson he learned from his encounter with Simon. The eunuch confirms his desire to obey the Gospel and makes a great statement of faith. “Jesus is the son of God!”
There is nothing in verse 37 which takes anything away or changes anything we believe about the Bible but it is fun to watch people’s reactions when they think they have discovered a major typo or error in the Bible.
The Treasurer had a Faith that Obeys!
So, there we have it. What a refreshing story of conversion after the debacle of Simon the Sorcerer. No wonder Philip runs up to the chariot when the angel tells him to go stand near it. Philip was ready for some encouragement hoping to find it in a charioteer with a Faith that Obeys.
Enjoy!
Dana Haynes