Acts 8:32-40 - Be armed to share Christ

The passage that the Ethopian eunuch was reading was taken from the servant song of Isaiah 52:13-53:12. This is a prophecy that the the Prophet Isaiah wrote to describe the suffering of the Messiah.

The eunuch's question in verse 34 was understandable. He wanted to know who was the Prophet Isaiah referring to. The Prophet himself or someone else? Seizing the opportunity, Philip shared Jesus Christ the Messiah with him from these scriptures.

Among other things, Philip could have shared about repentance, salvation and baptism etc,  with the eunuch. Hence when they came to a pool of water, the eunuch wanted to know what else was required for him to be qualified for baptism.

The eunuch exclaimed in verse 36, "Look! Water! and then asked, "What prevent me from being baptised?" Was this a co-incidence? Of course not! This was divine guidance. God had led him this far and he responded.

This was truly a dramatic outcome. The eunuch himself came into personal faith in Christ Jesus and saw the need to identify with Christ in baptism. What a joy it must have been for Philip. It showed that the eunuch had grasped the essence of true faith.    

Philip enforced the message by stating  the pre-requisite for baptism: To believe Jesus with all his heart. Without hesitation, the eunuch said, "I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God." The eunuch then order the chariot to stop. Together, they both got into the water and there Philip baptised the eunuch.

Luke's intention was to show that the Gospel had begun to spread. Earlier, he desrcibed  how Philip's message had reached the Samaritans and now, it reached an ethopian eunuch.  This incident could be the ignition that later gave rise to the Ethopia Coptic Church.

On coming out of the  water, supernaturally Philip was snatched away at once. Meanwhile the eunuch went on his way rejocing. Verse 40 tells us that Philip was found in Azotus and as he went he kept on preachng Jesus to all the cities in Caesaria.

This account of the evangelistic trail of Philip showed us a person who was truly in touch with God's Spirit and Word, his ability to share Christ was natural and spontaneous. It was a result of being in constant communion with the Lord.  He leaves us an example.

Realize it or not, all of us are called to stay in touch with the Spirit and with the Word. We are all called to be His witnesses. Like Philip, we are to take the Gospel wherever we go. All of us must come to the point where we are able to share Christ from the Scriptures spontaneously. With God's help we must make it our life work.