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26 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.” 30 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. 32 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.” ~ Acts 8:26-33
Today, we return to our study of Acts 8. The book of Acts opens with an emphasis on three symbols which characterize the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The three symbols are the rushing wind, the tongues of fire and the gift of tongues. In today's passage the focus shifts from the conversion of Simon the Sorcerer to Philip. Like Stephen, Philip had been appointed as a deacon. He was also like Stephen in that he was quick to share the gospel with others. It was Carl H.F. Henry who said,“The gospel is only good news if it gets there fast enough.”
In v.26 of today's passage we read, "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."
Throughout the Bible the word "angel" means messenger. In both Acts 8:29 and Acts 8:39, the Holy Spirit is mentioned as communicating with or physically transporting Philip. It may be that the "messenger" of the Lord came to Philip in a dream or a vision. He very well may have come to him physically and directly. Since it is not explicitly mentioned, we only speculate. Regardless, Philip was given a direct communication from the Lord through a messenger.
Interestingly, the last time Philip was mentioned was in Acts 8:13. He may have received these instructions while he was still in Samaria. Due to his faithfulness in evangelizing, he was personally selected to fulfill the role he had in today's passage. It happened accordingly because he had responded to the previous revelation from God. This is the way it works with the Lord, the more truth we respond to the more truth we are given. If someone identifies their Christianity as boring they have themselves only to blame. This life God has called us to is an exciting adventure only if we are willing to entertain God.
The message from God to Philip began with: "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." God provided specific directions for a specific purpose. The conversation to come will fit a pattern that goes all the way back to the early Genesis narrative. The Lord is purposefully directing Philip to represent this pattern for the New Testament. Since there were several roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, Philip was given exact directions and instructions. The phrase, "This is desert" proves it. Of course, it is just like God to bring forth new life out of such a context. This story pictures the endearing nature of the gospel. We do well to remember the words of the late Tim Keller who once said, "The gospel says you are simultaneously more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope."
In v.27-30 of today's passage we read, "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.' 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what you are reading?'"
The message from the Lord led Philip to a man who was "a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians." This eunuch was a man who had been set apart for the purpose of guarding the treasury of the Ethiopian Queen. He had come to Jerusalem to worship God. Worship of God prepares us best to receive the truth of God. After worshipping God at the temple and on his way back home, this eunuch was reading a passage out of Isaiah 53. It was in that moment the Holy Spirit told Philip to chase after the chariot. When Philip got close enough to the eunuchs chariot, he just so happened to be able to hear him reading the words of Isaiah 53.
This was a divine encounter that was prepared by the Holy Spirit. Philip was quick to obey God's call. Since the eunuch was reading Isaiah 53, it was evident that God had been wooing this man to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. I met a young lady in a bar in Brunswick Georgia back in 1982 who was much like this eunuch. She was like the eunuch in that God was wooing her. She was sick of the life she had been living and she had been watching Christian programming on TV. As I sat there in that bar with my friend, I struggled whether to share the gospel with her because she was beautiful. I wanted to be led by the Lord not by my lust. To make a long story short after she and her band had completed their gig in that bar she trusted the Lord Jesus as her Savior. It was electric and I was only four months old in the faith. She left the band and the last I checked she was walking with the Lord. The Lord is always wooing people to believe on His Son. We do well to quickly seize every opportunity we get to share the gospel with the lost.
In v.31-33 of today's passage we read, "31 And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 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.'"
After Philip asked the Ethiopian Eunuch if he understood what he was reading, the eunuch asked, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" The eunuch just so happened to be reading the most important chapter in the whole book of Isaiah about the cross of the Lord Jesus. After being invited to come up into his chariot the eunuch asked Philip to help him understand. As a result Philip described the substitutionary atonement of Christ as He was led as the silent sacrificial Lamb of God to the slaughter. This man could not have been better prepared to hear and believe the gospel. He had been to Jerusalem to worship and Philip was anxious to obey the Lord. And then, God led him to be reading Isaiah 53 when Philip happened to come along. One day, I want to be shocked at the numbers who trusted the Lord Jesus due to my faithfulness to His call on my life. My friend, how about you?
