Acts 8:40

But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

But Philip was found at, [ heurethee (G2147) eis (G1519)], q.d., 'was found brought to:' see Winer, 50. 4, b, and 65. 8]. The idea is that of 'made his appearance,' or 'was next heard of at;' an expression confirming the miraculous manner of his transportation:

Azotus - the ancient "Ashdod," (1 Samuel 5:1, etc.)

And passing through he preached in all the cities - lying along the coast, proceeding northwards-Lydda, Joppa, etc.

Till he came to Cesarea - 55 miles northwest of Jerusalem, on the Mediterranean, just south of mount Carmel; and so named by Herod, who rebuilt it, in honour of Caesar Augustus. At the time when this was written Caesarea was the place where the Roman Procurators resided. Henceforth we lose sight of zealous and honoured Philip, with the exception of a momentary re-appearance when Paul visited him at Caesarea, where he resided Acts 21:8) - as by and by we shall lose sight even of Peter. As the chariot of the Gospel rolls on, other agents are raised up, each suited to his work. But "he that soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice together" (see the note at John 4:37).

Remarks:

(1) The bearing of this beautiful episode on the commission given forth by the risen Savior to His apostles, "Ye shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in Samaria, and in all Judea, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth," is worthy of notice. So fully had they executed the first part of this commission, that, even their enemies themselves being judges, they had "filled Jerusalem with their doctrine" (Acts 5:28). When persecution drove them from Jerusalem, the brethren then went to "Samaria and all Judea," preaching the Word. The time for the formal opening of the door of faith unto the Gentiles had not yet quite come; but doors for reaching them being meantime providentially opened, it was doubly anticipated-on the one hand by the simple impulses of Christian love in the dispersed disciples (see the note at Acts 8:4), constraining them to declare even to the Gentiles what they had seen and heard, and here, by express divine direction to Philip, taking him out of the midst of blessed work in Samaria, to fetch in a distinguished Gentile proselyte then on his way home to Upper Egypt from Jerusalem.

And not only so, but whereas it was to the apostles that the commission was given, we see this witness borne "in all Judea and in Samaria, and (initially) to the uttermost part of the earth," not by the apostles themselves, who remained in Jerusalem, but by the dispersed disciples, apparently without any special call; nor was Philip divinely directed to carry the Gospel to the eunuch until he had been richly blessed in voluntary work at Samaria. What does all this proclaim? Surely, that while provision is divinely made for the work of the Church being formally and officially done, it is the privilege of all that love the Lord Jesus to embrace whatever openings the providence of Goal may present for extending or building up the kingdom of Christ, according to their gifts; and wherever the joy of God's salvation is strong in any community of Christians, there will such breakings forth of voluntary effort be sure to occur; and when they have the seal of Heaven set upon them-often even more visibly than upon the stated work of the ministry-it will be the part of wise ministers of Christ to recognize and had such efforts, regulating and comprehending them within the sphere of their own labours, as so much additional gain for their Master.

(2) Philip, though called away from a sphere of labour in which he was divinely owned, to go on a desert track, and without any further information, "was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." One soul thereby gained to Christ was his reward: many others, it may be, were gathered in through him; but of this no trace remains in history. Yet, doubtless, in the eye of Heaven that service was of more importance than any which he might have rendered to the cause of Christ by remaining in Samaria. And since the good that the servants of Christ are to do depends not so much on the largeness of the field, or its apparently promising character, as on the Master's countenance in their work, they will do well to ensure this first, by studying to know His will in all their movements, following simply the manifest leadings of His providence and the guidance of His Spirit.

(3) The preparation of the eunuch for receiving the Gospel was as remarkable as that of the instrument for bringing it to him. His conversion first to the Jewish Faith; his strong desire to mingle in its religious services, leading him, though occupying a high and responsible post, to take a journey to Jerusalem to keep the festival of Pentecost; his remaining there for some time after it was over, evidently from the interest which he felt in all that related to his new Religion; his not only having a copy of the Scriptures in his possession (no doubt the Greek Septuagint), but reading it alond on his way home; still more, "the place of the scripture which he read" - of all others the richest in the Old Testament in Evangelical matter; then Philip's coming up just as he had come to the meek submission of the slaughtered Lamb, in a somewhat obscure part of the chapter; the eagerness with which the traveler, coming up to him, asked if he understood it; his frank confession that he needed a guide, and his invitation to the traveler to come up and sit with him; and, beyond all, the alacrity with which he drank in Philip's exposition of the work of Christ from that text, his eager desire to be baptized at the first place where water was found, and the joy with which he went on his way alone after this-all these majestic steps in this case show a divine preparation for the result, as instructive as it is remarkable.

Another such series of preparatory steps we shall by and by find in the case of Cornelius (Acts 10:1) - just the reverse of the case of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1); and there can be no doubt that similar preparations in providence are made in every age and every land for most of the more important accessions to Christ, whether of individuals or of territories. In the view of this, should not the servants of Christ be on the watch, and lie in wait to be employed on such errands as this of Philip? and if they did, perhaps they would have more of them than otherwise falls to their lot.

(4) Are we, or are we not, to regard Philip's views of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, and the change on the eunuch's views in consequence, as indicating the true interpretation of that chapter? That after being divinely directed to meet this distinguished convert to the Jewish Faith, and bring him to the reception of the Gospel, Philip should have been permitted to do this by an erroneous (even though honest) application of that celebrated prophecy to Christ, and that the eunuch, yielding to this false view of the connection between the Faith he had before embraced and that now propounded to him, was baptized and departed rejoicing in what was, to a large extent, a mistake-is not for a moment to be thought of. Nor let it be said that though Philip took "this scripture" as his starting-point, it was the historical sketch which he would doubtless give him of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, with the subsequent descent of the Spirit, and the beginnings of the Church, that he would lay the chief stress upon, and that would constitute the ground of the eunuch's faith and joy, and not the sense put upon that prophetic chapter.

On the contrary, the natural impression certainly is, that Philip's express design was to show, and that he succeeded in showing, to this inquiring eunuch that "this scripture" which he had been reading had its divinely intended and proper fulfillment in the sufferings and death of "Jesus" - the history and the prophecy being just the complement of each other. If this be correct, it refutes some modern theories of the interpretation of prophecy. We speak not here of those which are based on the denial of all that is supernatural in the Old Testament, but of such as that of the late Dr. Arnold-that prophecy is not intended to predict historical events at all, and has to do only with principles, holding forth the conflict of good and evil, and the ultimate issues of both. But even such theories as that of the late Dr. J.A. Alexander, in his 'Commentary on Isaiah'-that not Christ personally, but Christ and His Church together, as one complex, mystical Person, is the proper subject of all the Messianic prophecies-must be regarded, we think, in the light of this narrative, as an inadequate key to the interpretation of that chapter. Though there is an important truth at the Bottom of that theory, we cannot but think that, as a key for the interpretation of this chapter, it would have been positively in Philip's way, if it had been before his mind at all; and that the facility and directness with which he got from "this scripture" to "Jesus," whom he preached from it, and the readiness with which the eunuch fell in with the view given him of the chapter and the tidings brought him of Jesus, speak much for the old and all but unanimous opinion of the Church, that the personal sufferings of Christ, and the glories to follow them, are the direct and proper burden of this prophetic chapter.

(5) The joy with which the eunuch embraced Christ crucified, and went on his way after his baptism admits of no satisfactory explanation except that of the expiatory character of Christ's death. We have the old Socinian theory of it now dressed up in new forms and more plausible phraseology, by a school of divines professing orthodoxy, but fond of inveighing against all traditional conceptions of biblical truth. Such hold Forth Christ's sufferings and death simply as a historical event, but one by which God intended that a transcendent examples should be given to the world of self-sacrifice in His service, by drinking into the spirit of which we are to be made partakers of the glory in which He now reigns. Who can possibly suppose that this, or anything like this, was what made the eunuch go on his way rejoicing? But if, as Peter told Cornelius and his company, "the word which God sent unto the children of Israel" was a word "preaching peace by Jesus Christ" (Acts 10:36); if, as Paul told the Jews in the synagogue of Antioch, "through this man was preached unto them the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe are justified from all things" (Acts 13:38); if, in short, he taught the eunuch, in terms of the prophetic chapter which he was reading, that "the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all" - then is the joy of the eunuch easily understood. For it is the joy of a purged conscience, the joy of peace with God through the blood of the cross, the joy of having found the God with whom He had become acquainted through the Old Testament a reconciled Father-a joy which every pardoned child of God understands from his own experience-a joy which would send him home lightened of his chiefest burden, to serve his mistress in a new character and to higher ends than ever before.