College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Acts 8:26-40
D.
THE LATER WORK OF PHILIP. Acts 8:26-40.
1.
ON THE ROAD FROM JERUSALEM TO GAZA. Acts 8:26-39.
But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert.
And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship;
and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this,
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb,
So he openeth not his mouth:
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away:
His generation who shall declare?
For his life is taken from the earth?
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other?
And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus.
And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 8:26 In verse twenty-six we again encounter the much used word but. This time it is a stop sign designating a halt in our consideration of the work of Peter and John; indeed it is the last mention of John in the historical record. We are now to turn our attention to Philip the evangelist. Right in the midst of the most encouraging of evangelistic efforts, when it would seem that surely one could stay a long while and reap many souls an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying Arise and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza; the same is desert. Philip's faith was the kind that caused him to know that God's way is always the best way. Since God had started him on this work he knew that however strange and inexplainable the directions, there was one directing who could see the whole pattern and that he was but an instrument in performing God's work. So he arose and went.
It is such a well known fact that it hardly merits mention but to someone it might be helpful to state that the word desert as used in Acts 8:26 b means uninhabitable. The word does not carry the same thought that is commonly associated with it in the English. There has never been anything but a fertile plain called the plain of Philistia in the district where Philip met the eunuch. For comparative references as to the use of this word see Matthew 14:15; Matthew 14:19; Mark 6:35; Mark 6:39; John 6:10.
Acts 8:27-28 What was Philip to find in this uninhabited territory? Luke does not mention any of the events that might have occurred on the fifty mile journey from Samaria to this road. In Philip's day the road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza was a fine paved Roman thoroughfare. Perchance Philip encountered several persons upon this highway, but there was but one person on this road in the plan of God for Philip. There traveled in this way a certain Ethiopian eunuch of great authority. He was the treasurer of queen Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had been to Jerusalem to worship and was now on his way home. He was evidently either an Ethiopian Jew or a proselyte. At this time we find him reading aloud from Isaiah the prophet.
260.
Show how the request of the angel to Philip was strange and why he immediately obeyed.
261.
How is the word desert used in Acts 8:26 b?
262.
How far was it from Samaria to the road from Jerusalem to Gaza?
263.
Was the Ethiopian a Gentile? Why so, or why not?
264.
How did Philip know the eunuch was reading from Isaiah?
Acts 8:29-30 As Philip beheld the chariot and its retinue he had no reason to be particularly interested. Then it happened, the question of Philip's heart was answered; the Spirit said to Philip go near and join thyself to this chariot. Philip did not hesitate a moment but ran to carry out the divine request. As his swift steps carried him close to the chariot, familiar words fell upon his ears, for he heard the occupant of the chariot reading from Isaiah the prophet. Probably this very passage he heard had formed a basis for many a sermon to Philip's Jewish friends. There is no plainer prophecy of the suffering Servant.
It was natural for Philip to inquire of this one as he did. Philip came up alongside of the chariot and asked informally: Understandest what thou readest?
Acts 8:31-32 The eunuch, seeing in the words of Philip an invitation to learning, immediately spoke of his own inability and asked Philip to come up and ride with him that he might instruct him. This surely manifested a good and honest heart on the part of the eunuch. Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: for his life is taken from the earth. Philip. beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus. Yes, yes, and where Philip began we must all begin if we are going to truly preach Jesus. To leave out the vicarious suffering of Jesus is to leave out the gospel from our preaching. Repentance, confession and baptism mean very little, if anything, without a deepseated knowledge and faith in Jesus as the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world.
Acts 8:33-38 Verse thirty-three speaks of the fact that because of the manner of Christ's trial He was given no judgment. This we hold to be the meaning of the word humiliation. In the latter portion of the verse there is likewise an allusion to the humiliation of Jesus; in His trial and death He was to be like a man who was the last of his family; that being taken by death there would be no one to carry on the generation.
What did Philip preach when he opened his mouth and preached unto him Jesus? This can be answered by turning to the sermons of Peter and Stephen, for the same Spirit that spoke through these men was now speaking through Philip, When Philip finished his message in Samaria he baptized both men and women. When Peter finished his sermon on the day of Pentecost 3,000 were added by baptism, So it is not at all strange to read here that when they came to a certain water the eunuch desired to be baptized. What water would be found in this desert? Geographical and historical surveys tell us that there were several bodies of water in this district that could have accommodated the baptism described. The mode of baptism is not before alluded to but here it is described, And he commanded the chariot to stand still and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water. Could anything be more clearly descriptive of a burial with Christ in baptism? Is not immersion the inevitable conclusion of an open mind? The action of going down into the water and coming up out of the water would have been entirely superfluous had Philip only sprinkled or poured water upon the candidate.
265.
What do you think of the approach of Philip to the eunuch?
266.
What real lesson in preaching can we learn from Philip?
267.
Explain verse thirty-three.
ASHDOD (AZOTUS).
Ashdod was one of the five cities of the Philistines. These cities were famous in the days of Saul. Ashdod is between Lydda on the east and Joppa on the west. Into this ancient city the young evangelist Philip walked on his way to Caesarea. It was here that he was found preaching to the inhabitants the good news of Christ. What type of response do you suppose these people gave Philip? Was it easier for him to speak to these Philistines of Christ and his salvation than it is for you to speak to your next door neighbor? The ark of God was carried here in the long ago and placed in the temple of Dagon, an ancient Canaanite deity. Dagon was cast down and broken up by the power of God. What God's power did in the days of Saul (1 Samuel 5:1-8) it did in the day of Philip. The gospel is the power of God today to the casting down of idols. We have the same power and the same opportunity for the salvation of souls today that Philip had in Azotus.
Acts 8:39 Upon the completion of the baptism two events occurred.
1) The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. How this happened, whether the Spirit transported Philip bodily from the scene, or directed him suddenly to another field of service we have no way of knowing.
2) The eunuch saw Philip no more but went on his way rejoicing.
It might be well to note that the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), the blotting out of sins (Acts 3:19) and now the rejoicing (Acts 8:39) all occurred following belief, repentance and baptism. No doubt the eunuch went back to establish a work for Christ among his own people.
2. AT AZOTUS. Acts 8:40 a, Acts 8:3. (LYDDA) Acts 8:40 b, Acts 8:4. (JOPPA) Acts 8:40 c.
But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
Acts 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus. This terminology would seem to indicate some sudden appearance by Philip in this city. The Azotus at which Philip was found is the Ashdod of the Old Testament, one of the five cities of the Philistines. It stood a few miles from the seashore, nearly at a right angle to the line of the eunuch's travel and probably fifteen miles distant. (McGarvey: Commentary On Acts I, p. 163).
268.
How can we know of the content of Philip's sermon? Name two ways.
269.
What water could be found in this desert place? Give a full answer.
270.
What inevitable conclusion do we find from the account of the baptism of the eunuch?
271.
What two events occurred at the completion of the baptism? Explain each.
272.
What do you know of Azotus mentioned in Acts 8:40 a?
PHILIP'S FOUNTAIN (Acts 8:38).
And they came to a certain water. this is only one of the bodies of water in this district. There are several possible places where immersion could take place. And they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
The broad fertile plain of Philistia was thickly set with villages in Philip's time and offered a productive field for many years of evangelistic effort,
5. IN CAESAREA. Acts 8:40 d.
The distance from Azotus to Caesarea was about sixty miles. Caesarea was the northernmost city in the evangelistic tour of Philip, It is here with his family that we find him some five or six years later, (Cf. Acts 21:7-8.)
273.
Tell two facts about Caesarea.