Ethiopia

“Why can’t I be baptized?” This question from the Ethiopian treasurer tells us that he was properly discipled in the Lord Jesus. This was the purpose of Philip’s day. He had completed a whirlwind discipleship and the message of Jesus would spread to Ethiopia…

26 As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”

30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.
And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
33 He was humiliated and received no justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.
Acts 8:26-40 NLT

This is a divine appointment. Not every single thing that happens to us is such. We are called to be ready (1Peter3:15), and the ‘coincidences’ of God are all around us because he is actively working among us. For Philip on this day, however, this is a very specific divine appointment.

If God tells you to go to a specific place at a specific time, he has something for you there. The treasurer of Ethiopia was a follower of the Jewish God, returning from worshiping in Jerusalem. He was reading Isaiah 53:7-8 out loud. This is a wonderful example of how the prophets of old were inspired to write words about the coming Messiah.

In Jesus 40 days of teaching with them after the resurrection, this would have been one of the passages that Jesus revealed to his followers. As we can see from vs. 34-35, Philip was able to unpack the prophet’s words to share the truth about Jesus.

Isaiah’s words are so incredibly descriptive of Jesus’ torture and crucifixion that, as you read them fully in his book, you cannot help but see Jesus. This lamb, led to the slaughter, was humble and willing to go, even though he was humiliated and received no justice. He was forsaken completely.

In Philip’s explanation, he must have covered baptism, because the man was ready as soon as they found water. “Why can’t I be baptized?” This is the attitude of a new follower of Jesus whose heart is fully committed to the Lord. There is no, ‘I’m not ready,’ or ‘I want to wait for the right circumstances.’ Baptism is a command and followers of Jesus obey it.

This was the purpose of Philip’s day. He had completed a whirlwind discipleship program with this treasurer, a person who would take the message of Jesus back to Ethiopia to be part of establishing the church of Jesus there. We know Philip’s work was done because the Lord physically moved Philip 100 miles away. He had other work to do sharing the Good News with towns toward Caesarea.

Amen.

Marc Kinna