(Suggested Reading: Isaiah 53; Acts 8)
The Jews had once thought highly of the believers who met together in Solomon’s Porch. But as in the case of feeding the multitude with the loaves and fishes, it is no more than a mental assent that God is working. They are relieved that their devils are cast out and their bodies healed. When the time of testing comes their rulers are once again able to manipulate them against the Church as they had previously done against Christ. The Lord had appeared before their Sanhedrin in His humiliation, and again in Stephen, a member of the body of the glorified Man. They will not have Christ either way. The death of Stephen triggers the latest hostility to the believers at Jerusalem, which the governing body is quick to nurture. Saul emerges from this class as a devoted agent of the High Priest. He “ravaged the Church, entering every house and dragging off both men and women delivered them to prison.” Prison leads to death. Many believers lay down their lives for the Lord’s sake in the virulent persecution that arises—26:10.
Saul traces and arrests the believers at Jerusalem with no difficulty because their Christianity is really superimposed upon their Judaism. They are intimately involved in Jewish social and religious life. They go to the Temple and pray there with other Jews—3:1. And since “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” —6:7—they unintentionally deny the meaning of the Lord’s Supper by continuing to sacrifice animals. They break bread daily, but they also observe the Passover and other Jewish feasts. They observe the Jewish Sabbath. They keep the law, like other Jews—see 21:20-26, take vows, circumcise their sons and attend the synagogues, which are the social centers of the Jews. That is why Saul desires letters to Damascus to the synagogues “that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” —9:2. When Peter addresses the people as “men and brethren” he simply means Jewish brethren and not brethren in the Lord, for he uses the same term for the people in 3:17. But one thing that sets these early believers apart from other Jews is the salutation “the Lord is risen” with which they greet one another. The Lord bears patiently with this mixture of things at Jerusalem, but when Stephen is stoned, He starts to wean them slowly out of Judaism. The persecution which follows Stephen’s death drives these Jewish Christians out of Jerusalem where they are clinging to the law. Away they go to far off towns and preach the gospel. It is not the will of God to confine it to Jerusalem.
Now the account of the commencement of the persecution contains an expression which is easily overlooked— “and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles.” Why should the Apostles remain in Jerusalem? Various explanations have been given but they all overlook the Lord’s commission to them which others were carrying out— “ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” True the Apostles had witnessed in Jerusalem but in Judea and Samaria the witness is from ordinary believers forced to flee out of Jerusalem. That this is the purpose of God is clearly stated in verse 4 “therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word.” But the Apostles rightly remained behind in the city which still served as a center out of which the gospel should radiate, even though persecution caused it. Later we find a flourishing Assembly at Jerusalem. The Apostles were its nucleus when it came together and of the resurrection testimony to the City too.
Philip the Evangelist
Stephen is buried and Philip replaces him in the public sphere. Of the twelve Apostles Peter and John are prominent; of the seven deacons Stephen and Philip are prominent. Stephen and Philip are men full of the Holy Spirit, and this shines out in Stephen’s face, which is as the face of an angel—and in Philip’s movements—the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip . . . but Philip was found at Azotus. Like Christ in so many other ways, Stephen is given the honor of being like Him in death. “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life” —Rev. 2:1010Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2:10). Stephen’s name means “a crown.” But Philip, in the sovereign ways of God, which we must never question, is spared to live a normal life and raise a family. For the present he leaves Jerusalem with the outbreak of the fierce persecution. The believers are scattered and his service in Jerusalem ends. But he has fulfilled the Apostle’s clear statement to Timothy “those who shall have ministered well obtain for themselves a good degree, and much boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus” —1Tim. 3:1313For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 3:13). He at once exhibits this great boldness in the faith in Samaria where he preaches Christ to them. Later he is called “Philip the Evangelist.”
The Apostles remain in Jerusalem which was to be the center of their work. God would raise others up to carry out their mandate. The Lord has many servants, and no man is indispensable in His work. Also, He is sovereign in the service He gives to us or allows to come to a close, as we saw with Stephen. The preaching of Philip seems to strengthen this interpretation. He preaches first in Samaria. Then he preaches to the eunuch, who returns to Ethiopia, so that the witness is indeed carried to “the uttermost part of the earth” —in the eyes of the ancients.
A good foundation was laid in Samaria before Philip came there. At the well of Sychar the woman left her waterpot, went into the city and said “come, see a Man, which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?” They came and saw and abode with Him—c.f. John 1:39, 4639He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. (John 1:39)
46And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. (John 1:46). “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto Him, they besought Him that He would tarry with them and He abode there two days. And many more believed because of His own word, and said to the woman, now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world” —John 4:39-4239And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41And many more believed because of his own word; 42And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. (John 4:39‑42). Because the Samaritans asked Christ to stay with them, unlike the Gadarenes who asked Him to leave, the Lord remembers them. The believers at Jerusalem are scattered into Judea and Samaria. The fields are ready for harvesting. It is a case of Paul preaching, and Apollos watering, but God giving the increase. “There was great joy in that city” and “they preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.” But now, in the midst of this work the angel of the Lord instructs the great evangelist to depart. Why should this be?
Seek and Ye Shall Find
The answer is the value of one soul, one earnest, seeking soul, in the eyes of God. Let us never forget that God does not depend on us though we must depend on God. Dr. W.T.P. Wolston used to tell the story of a man who was saved through a cow! He had given his cow a lump of sugar and it licked his hand in gratitude. Then he remembered a Scripture he learned in boyhood— “the ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master’s crib but . . . My people doth not consider” —Isa. 1:33The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. (Isaiah 1:3). Perhaps God had to use the cow because everybody was too busy with other things to bother with this poor farmer. God wants unquestioning obedience from His servants. This He found perfectly in Christ who left Judea to go to Samaria—to reach one soul. Now He finds it in Philip, who has Christ’s life. He leaves Samaria to go after one lone soul, though he does not know that when he goes.
The angel tells him to go toward the South—that is in a general direction South of Jerusalem. In Scripture God always reckons direction from Jerusalem, for that is His center. Thus, in Scripture “the King of the North” and “the King of the South” simply mean the powers North and South of Jerusalem. It is the will of God that the gospel shall spread in a Southerly direction first, and toward the West later, through the Apostle Paul. It is now to go to Ethiopia, the first country mentioned in the Bible which we can identify today—Gen. 2:1313And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13). Moses married an Ethiopian woman. Travel routes are open between Ethiopia and Israel in Philip’s day.
What does Philip see when he obeys the angel and goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert? Why “a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem to worship.” He is returning and sitting in his chariot is reading the prophet Isaiah. This marks the eunuch as a man under exercise, searching for God, as Nicodemus was when he came to Jesus. He knows that Jerusalem is God’s center in the earth and has gone there to worship. “That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the West, that there is none beside Me, I am the Lord, and there is none else” Isa. 45:66That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:6). Israel is the lighthouse of the ancient world although the light is going out. But of this the eunuch is ignorant. Where the heart is right God never leaves people in ignorance. And so we find Philip gazing at the eunuch. And what a contrast there is between the two men.
The Contrast Between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
By nationality the eunuch is of the land of Ethiopia; Philip of the land of Israel. The eunuch is thus a Gentile—Philip a Jew. The eunuch is a black man—but so much so that his skin is noted in Scripture— “can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?” Jer. 13:2323Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. (Jeremiah 13:23); Philip is a white man. Philip is also a normal man, but the Ethiopian is an eunuch, of whom it is written that such cannot come into the congregation of the Lord—Deut. 23:11He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 23:1). The eunuch is a man in power; Philip the servant of a God whose strength is made perfect in weakness. The eunuch serves Queen Candace; Philip serves the King of Kings. The eunuch is the official representative of Queen Candace; Philip is an ambassador for Christ—2 Cor. 5:2020Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20). The eunuch is rich, for he rides in a chariot; Philip is poor, and walks. The eunuch is reading the Scriptures but cannot understand them; Philip has the Scriptures written in his heart. The eunuch is a Jewish proselyte; Philip a Christian. The eunuch has travelled to Jerusalem; Philip away from Jerusalem. The eunuch is an educated man, judging not only from his position but his leading question; nothing about Philip suggests a comparable standing.
It is obvious then, that speaking naturally these men have nothing in common. It is equally obvious that they have everything in common once the eunuch accepts Christ. This is the great lesson in these contrasts. Since the Jews have totally rejected their Messiah God is ending the system of exclusive Jewish religious privilege, and sweeping away all barriers, distinctions and vested interests. He demonstrates this by bringing together two completely opposite men in the gospel Philip and the eunuch. In Christianity “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all, and in all” —Col. 3:1111Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11). This truth is now ready for assertion. There is a freshness too, in Philip’s preaching to the eunuch, which we do not find in the stern—but necessary—preaching of Peter and Stephen to the guilty nation. The eunuch is not guilty of the death of Christ. His heart is ready for divine teaching and blessing. And at last God’s heart can be universally revealed in the precious gospel.
Christ the True Solomon
The angel has commanded Philip “go toward the South” —a command which is full of meaning in the light of the past. It was “the Queen of the South” as the Lord called the Queen of Sheba, who came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions—1 Ki. 10:11And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. (1 Kings 10:1). The eunuch in Acts, representative of the Queen of the South, goes to Jerusalem. But there is no Solomon there to answer his questions. And so God sends Philip to do just that.
Now note the beauty of Scripture. The Queen of Sheba did not visit Solomon until he was at the pinnacle of glory. David his father had subdued his enemies and he reigned in peace and vast prosperity. So much so in fact, that when the Queen of Sheba saw all his glory there was no more spirit in her. But this is exactly the Lord’s position when the eunuch comes to Jerusalem. True He cannot be seen like Solomon, but Stephen has seen Him in all His glory, at the right hand of God, a power and a glory far exceeding Solomon’s.
“Unseen we love Thee; dear Thy Name
But when our eyes behold
With joyful wonder we’ll exclaim
The half had not been told!
“For Thou exceedest all the fame
Our ears have ever heard
How happy we who know Thy Name
And trust Thy faithful Word.”
A Difficulty in Scripture and Its Explanation
The understanding of the Lord’s position at the right hand of God as Stephen saw Him, is vital not only to the understanding of this passage, but to much that Peter does in the Acts. The Lord had said that He would give Peter the keys to the kingdom of the heavens. Peter turned one key at Pentecost and let the Jews in. Later on, he will turn the other key to let Cornelius and the other Gentiles in. But Peter hasn’t done this yet, so immediately a question arises. Aren’t the Samaritans to whom Philip preached Gentiles? Isn’t the Ethiopian a Gentile? Most assuredly. How then can they enter the kingdom of the heavens before Peter turns his second key to let them in? For our baptism admits us not only to the kingdom of the heavens but to all the blessings of Christianity, just as it shuts us off from what we were formerly identified with.
The answer to the difficulty is that Peter is acting in an official administrative capacity, but that does not prevent the Holy Spirit, who is God, and completely sovereign, from admitting Gentiles before Peter acts. Man always lags behind God in his understanding of God’s ways, and Peter is no exception. It takes a vision to move him away from his Jewish thinking, and even then, he argues with the Lord. And so, we have the free sovereign action of the Holy Spirit admitting Gentiles to the kingdom of the heavens before Peter turns his second key. An analogy might be helpful. When a bridge is under construction the workmen use it long before it is officially opened. They must be free to move building materials back and forth to do their work. Then the day comes when the bridge is to be officially opened. Some dignitary arrives and performs a ceremony, or makes a speech, declaring the bridge open. But in actual practice this is not the first time it was used.
The great truth of the kingdom of the heavens is best understood by reading Ephesians 1. It is that all believers, be they Jew or Gentile, are seated in heavenly places in Christ.
The Conversion of the Eunuch
As his chariot is being driven along the desert, the eunuch is reading the Scriptures out loud the ancient way of reading. Because he is concentrating on reading, he does not see Philip, and so does not halt the chariot for him. “Then the Spirit said to Philip, Approach and accompany this chariot.” Note that it is not the Lord but the Spirit Himself who says these words, indicating the importance of the eunuch’s conversion in His eyes. Philip runs, hears him read the prophet Isaiah and asks him if he understands what he is reading. The eunuch says “How can I, except some man should guide me?” At this point he asks Philip to come up and sit beside him. Philip does, and the chariot continues on. There are no introductions. The eunuch does not ask Philip if he wants to travel in his direction. There is a common desire to help and receive help from the Word of God, and that is enough.
The eunuch says “Tell me, of whom speaks the prophet this? Of himself or of some other man?” He must have posed this question to the rabbis at Jerusalem and come back confused. For, at this time, they have a mixed teaching as to Isa. 52:1313Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. (Isaiah 52:13) is who the servant in Isa. 52:1313Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. (Isaiah 52:13) is.1 Is the servant Isaiah as some rabbis teach or some other man the expected Messiah perhaps? Others teach that the servant is the nation of Israel. No wonder he is confused. Since the rabbis have rejected Christ, they cannot see in Him Jehovah’s servant. Philip does not bother to refute their teachings. The truth that Jesus was Jehovah’s servant has been proclaimed in the world by Peter 3:13; 3:26 and confirmed and stated in the Church 4:27, 30. Instead he begins at the same Scripture and announces the glad tidings of Jesus to him.
The Servant of Jehovah
Philip preaches the gospel to the eunuch from the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, which really begins with the thirteenth verse of the fifty-second chapter. A brief summary of the teaching in this passage of Scripture might prove helpful to the reader.
The prophet opens with the exclamation “behold, My servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and be lifted up, and be very high.” This corresponds to the position of the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God the One whom Stephen saw. It is therefore the present position of Christ Jehovah’s servant to Philip. Then this position is projected into the future “so shall He astonish many nations kings shall shut their mouths at Him, for what had not been told them shall they see, and what they had not heard shall they consider.” That looks forward to the day of Christ’s power. That the lowly Nazarene should govern the nations with an iron rod will astonish the rulers of this world in a future day Rev. 21:2424And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. (Revelation 21:24). How could Jesus have become the unquestioned ruler of this world? Wasn’t He the Man who humbled Himself, and what ruler does that?
This raises two questions “who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” While the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah is peculiarly treasured in the heart of every true Christian, in its primary application it is Jewish. It is Israel, restored as God’s people in the millennium, reviewing and lamenting the way their fathers treated the Lord Jesus. Had they, that is their fathers, “believed our report” that is the preaching of the Lord in Israel? Had they recognized the arm of the Lord when, for example, Lazarus was raised from the dead, a work as mighty as the parting of the Red Sea? Alas no, but the Father’s eye was on Him. “For He shall grow up before Him” (that is before God the Father) “as a tender sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground” (Israel barren and worthless) “He has no form or lordliness, and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” They wanted a Messiah riding a white horse to deliver them from the Romans a David to destroy their enemies. Instead “thy King cometh unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass” Mat. 21:5 exactly as predicted in Zech. 9:99Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9). But they are blind to this Scripture, seeing no external beauty in the True David, like Jesse and even Samuel before them see 1 Sam. 16:7-137But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. 9Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. 10Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. 11And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 12And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 16:7‑13).
The result is that “He is despised and left alone of men a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom men hide their faces, despised and we esteemed Him not.” They called Him the carpenter’s son. “How knoweth this Man letters, having never learned?” John 7:1515And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? (John 7:15) they said of the One who created the Universe. “Say we not well that Thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil” John 8:4848Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? (John 8:48) they said of the One who did everything in His life by the power of the Holy Spirit. “I am a pelican of the wilderness, I am like an owl of the desert I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled My drink with weeping My days are like a shadow that declineth, and I am withered like grass” Ps. 102:6-11.
Such was His position. And the Jews in the Lord’s days noted it, and attributed it to God’s displeasure against Him, so far were they removed from His thoughts “we did regard Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.” But the godly Jew of the future day knows better, entering into God’s thoughts as to His life v. 2 and here and in subsequent verses as to His death and the reason for it. “But” note that word it is in contrast to the evil thoughts of their fathers “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” In this way Jesus is shown to be Jehovah’s servant obedient unto death, and that the death of the cross.
After these general statements Isaiah turns to the detail of the Lord’s crucifixion. It is at this point that Philip takes up the Scriptures with the eunuch. Philip, by the Spirit, quotes a verse not in Isaiah “in His humiliation His judgment was taken away.” This statement is inserted between His trial and His death and draws our attention to the extreme injustice of the trial and His sensitivities as a perfect Man to the way man treated Him. He was fully aware of what was being accorded Him and the position in which He was placed “Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee unto me. What hast Thou done?” John 18:3535Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? (John 18:35). “As a sheep before her shearers is dumb so He openeth not His mouth” was fulfilled before Pilate “speakest Thou not unto me? Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?” John 19:1010Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? (John 19:10). The cross follows. The prophet gives no details of it because he has already taken it up as to its necessity and the Lord’s suffering vs 5-6.
Instead he raises a larger question “who shall declare His generation?” The first question “who hath believed our report?” has been answered. Nobody has. The second question “and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” has been answered. It had been revealed to unbelieving Israel. The third question, then, seems even more hopeless to the natural eye “who shall declare His generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living.” Judas had betrayed Him, Peter had denied Him, they all forsook Him and fled, the nation delivered Him to the Romans. He was crucified, died, and buried. God now puts an end to further humiliation. Verse nine might be better translated ... “And (men) appointed His grave with the wicked, but He was with the rich in His death.” This means that it had been decided to bury the Saviour with the two thieves who had been crucified with Him. A felon’s grave for the Lord of glory! That was their thought. But God interferes, and Joseph of Arimathea a rich man, petitions Pilate for the body of Jesus. So though man wills a criminal’s grave for Him, God sees to it that He is buried in the rich man’s tomb. To a Jew worldly riches are a sign of God’s favor.
That is why, with the mark of God’s approval shown even before His resurrection, the prophet turns to another line the explanation of why the perfect servant of Jehovah had to suffer on the cross “yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, He hath put Him to grief, when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin.” We will stop here briefly. God had noted in verse 9 His perfect sinless life. He had a body not subject to death like ours, but capable of it. When man then puts Him to death, He is buried in the rich man’s tomb “because He hath done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.” It was man who crucified Him, but God who took the opportunity to make Him sin on the cross “when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin.”
Now comes the answer to the third question “who shall declare His generation?” It is the continuation of verse 10 where we stopped “He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” “He shall see His seed” means that His generation should indeed be declared, even though He was cut off out of the land of the living, for all His fruit is in resurrection. “Behold I and the children whom God has given Me” Heb. 2:1313And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. (Hebrews 2:13). “He shall prolong His days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand” is the twenty-first Psalm. “For Thou goest before Him with the blessings of goodness, Thou settest a crown of pure gold on His head. He asked life of Thee, and Thou gavest it Him, even length of days forever and ever. His glory is great in Thy salvation, honor and majesty hast Thou laid upon Him. For Thou hast made Him most blessed forever. Thou hast made Him exceedingly glad with Thy countenance” Ps. 21:3-6.
Isaiah closes with an elaboration of that theme and a short summary of the sufferings that led up to it.
The Fruit of the Travail of His Soul
The eunuch believes the gospel. When the chariot arrives at “a certain water” he says “see, here is water what prevents me from being baptized?” He orders the chariot to come to a stop. Both men enter the water and Philip baptizes the eunuch. “And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing” 8:39.
Commenting on this a noted teacher writes “it is remarkable that the name of Christianity remains to this day in that country, much corrupted (it is true) but in the form which this man implanted. They believe as to the profession of Christ, but practice circumcision.”2 Perhaps a hundred years have passed since this comment was made, and God has begun a fresh work in Ethiopia. Springing from a small number of converts, evangelical churches have grown throughout the land and many have turned to the Lord. The story of this work is now in book form.3 This brings to mind an interesting quotation “the gospel being thus the display of God’s goodness in Christ, not the measure of human duty nor a system of religious shadows, its theater according to God’s intentions is not a single land or family, but ‘all the world’ and its operation is not condemning and killing, but producing fruit and growing ... ”4
Then the Spirit of the Lord snatches away Philip in an act of power. He is found at Azotus. In obedience to God he had broken away from his mass evangelism to bring the gospel to this one man. The result is that he is remembered for this action more than for all his preaching elsewhere, though notably blessed. God values obedience in His children. So, He rewards Philip. “Passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.” God merely shifted the sphere of his service and at the end gave him a home at the last of these cities Caesarea. We find him there later in the Acts with a believing family the crowning blessing of the Lord.