Acts 8:26-40 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Acts 8:26-40. As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Acts 8:26-28 (NIV)
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
27 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,
28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.
On verses 26-28: God tells Philip to go south to the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. God doesn’t tell Philip why. On his way Philip meets the treasurer of the Egyptian government. According to the New American Commentary, eunuchs in the ancient Near East were men who had been castrated at a young age and were put in charge of the royal harem and the treasury. Not only was this eunuch therefore carrying great responsibility and authority, but also this eunuch was spiritually hungry. In fact this Ethiopian eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship God and was reading the book of Isaiah on his way home.
What can we learn from this?
First, power, influence and status cannot satisfy the spiritual thirst in our hearts. That’s why even the rich and powerful find themselves searching for answers that money and power cannot provide.
Second, you can tell a person’s spiritual hunger by the decisions they make and the actions they take. Anyone can say, “I’m a spiritual person”, but the proof is in their habits, the way they use their time and resources.
Acts 8:29-35 (NIV)
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 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.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”
35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
On verse 29-35: I love this. Instead of waiting for the Ethiopian eunuch to come to Philip, the Holy Spirit tells Philip to go to where the Ethiopian eunuch is at. Then Philip notices what the eunuch is reading, asks him questions and starting from the very place where the eunuch was at, begins to lead the eunuch to Jesus.
What can we learn from this? If you want to lead someone to Jesus, start with where they are at. Don’t simply expect them to come to you; rather you go to them. Instead of imposing your will upon them without any context about what they are going through, take an interest in them, understand where they are coming from and the questions they are asking, and let the Holy Spirit lead from there.
Acts 8:36-38 (NIV)
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?”
37
38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
On verses 36-38: Once again, just as we see over and over in Acts, belief in Jesus and baptism go hand in hand. The moment someone believes that Jesus is the Son of God, that’s the moment they can get baptized. Baptism is not a graduation, but a beginning. It’s God’s simple way for people to say: “I need a Saviour and His name is Jesus.”
Also, under the law of Moses, a castrated man was not allowed to draw near to the Holy Place of God (Leviticus 21:18-23). Yet here we see the eunuch, who was probably castrated, a black Gentile, and the Holy Spirit reaches to him through Philip and accepts him fully as a baptized member of the church. It goes to show once again that God’s love is greater than racial and cultural barriers, and God’s heart beats for people of every ethnicity and background.
By the way, maybe you’re wondering why verse 37 is empty. Apparently, later manuscripts contained an added verse where, in response to the eunuch’s question in verse 36 “Why shouldn’t I get baptized”, Philip is quoted as replying, “If you believe with all your heart, you may”, to which the eunuch says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” However, earlier manuscripts do not have this. A later scribe thought it was necessary to add it in when in fact it wasn’t necessary, for the Scriptures in their original form already strongly imply that the eunuch believed the message of Jesus and thus got baptized. Still, this later addition, even though it is not part of Scripture, suggests that early Christians confessed their belief that Jesus is the Son of God as part of getting baptized.
Acts 8:39-40 (NIV)
39 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.
40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
On verses 39-40: Soon after baptizing the eunuch, Philip is suddenly taken away and continues to preach the gospel in other places. Meanwhile, the eunuch rejoices on his way back home.
What can we learn from this? We never know when it’s our turn to be taken away, so wherever we are, let’s remember that we are ambassadors and representatives of Jesus Christ. Just like the Ethiopian eunuch was a royal representative of Ethiopia and entrusted with great treasure, so you are a royal representative of the kingdom of God and you have been entrusted with the greatest treasure: the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Father, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to meet me where I was and to show me who You are. Now, wherever I go, I am through Jesus Christ Your royal representative, entrusted with the greatest treasure of all. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
