The Ethiopian Eunuch

²⁶ But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert road. ²⁷ And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of the Can'dace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." ³⁰ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" ³¹ And he said, "How can I, unless some one guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this: "As a sheep led to the slaughter or a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. ³³ In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken up from the earth." ³⁴ And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, pray, does the prophet say this, about himself or about some one else?" ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news of Jesus. ³⁶ And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What is to prevent my being baptized?" ³⁷ 38 ³⁹ And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

Acts 8:26-39


How was it an Ethiopian Eunuch was in Jerusalem to worship? Going back to the days of King Solomon and his interaction with the Queen of Sheba, there was a group of people who converted to Judaism that lived in what we now call the Sudan. In 1 Kings 10:13 we read:

¹³ And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants.

Today, the Beta Israel in Ethiopia traces its roots back to this origin. See link. What amazes me was the faith of one who traveled all the way to Jerusalem to worship; but, whom was excluded from participating in the worship in the temple. First, he would have been deemed to be a foreigner and excluded from temple worship. Secondly, under the Mosaic law, he was also excluded by his status as a eunuch. Deuteronomy 23:1 - "He whose testicles are crushed or whose male member is cut off shall not enter the assembly of the LORD." Yet, we find a man who is searching the scriptures diligently looking for God's revelation. The Lord must have heard his prayers and thought of him highly enough to send an angel to Philip to direct him to this man as specific time and place. Does the Word of God act in the same manner today? I believe that the Holy Spirit can certainly act in a believer's life to direct one to an opportunity to witness one's faith. I do not see this as miraculous but a normal part of the leanings of the Spirit. The promise to every believer who wishes to be saved is:

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38

I visited a church where the minister brought up the family with a small infant and sprinkled water on the child's head proclaiming to "baptize" her. While I can certainly identify with the desire of a family to bring one's child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and asking the church, as a community, to help in the process, I find no such example of such baptism in the New Testament. In fact, historically, we know that infant baptism was not introduced well into the third century after the coming of Jesus. In the above story, as in each and every other example in Acts, the believer was immersed in water baptism after a profession of faith in Jesus as Messiah. In fact, it was the coming up out of the water of verse 38 that shows this immersion. The reason for this was explained by the apostle Paul in Romans, Chapter 6: 3-5:

³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a Resurrection like his.

As much as a parent may wish for one's child to be saved, it is the individual believer's faith that is a prerequisite for baptism. For without faith, the sprinkling of water on a baby's head is meaningless and without precedent in scripture. It comes from an errant belief that original sin condemns all of humanity. Yet, in every legal system there is a requirement that before one can punished for a crime that the person must have "capacity" to understand the nature of one's action. Until one reaches the age when one has the capacity to understand the nature of his or her own actions, there cannot be judgment. What is that age? I dare say that it comes differently at various times for most believers. I am content to leave the judging to a holy and just God who has all the facts and knowledge to make righteous decisions. Seeing the conversion of the eunuch who went on his way "rejoicing" is the result of faith and a new birth.