26 Now 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 place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
In verse 26, we see Philip getting a mission straight from God. God tells him to go to a desert place. Philip goes. This tells us something very important about Philip. Earlier in Acts we see that the has a thriving ministry in Samaria. But to Philip’s credit, he hears God and listens. He leaves his success for another place God wants him. If God’s plans are to be hindered, it would be because Philip didn’t listen.
There he finds an Ethiopian Eunuch returning from Jerusalem. This Eunuch is on a desert road reading a bible. Somehow this Ethiopian found God, or at least the bible, perhaps in Jerusalem or elsewhere. But nonetheless, this is where Philip has been swept to. A dirt road in the desert to administer to this man.
What we can also see is a little of the journey this man is on. First, he is a noble man, for he is in charge of all the treasures of the ruling Ethiopian royal (Candace). He is reading the book of the Isaiah, and we can see that the man is truly trying to understand what he is reading.
29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over 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 someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The spirit guides Philip to approach the chariot. In the old world, this is a very bold move. But Philip does it and hears the man reading. In the old world, often reading was done aloud. God had opened a door for Philip to interact with this man.
The Ethiopian does not understand what he is reading, but Philip is there to enlighten him. It is important to note that a guide is a good way to help understand the bible. Some religions rely on a superficial reading of scripture and a hefty helping of tradition. But here we see that God wants us to understand scripture, and oftentimes we need help from someone mature in the faith.
32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
The Eunuch is reading a passage from Isaiah 53, a very specific passage about the coming of Jesus. So Philip has the divine meeting with this man, which allows him to take the Eunuch from understanding the gospel to preaching the gospel.
36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
The Eunuch responds the gospel. He understands what Jesus has done for him and wants to be baptized immediately. This shows us that the Ethiopian truly did believe.
Most remarkably, when the Ethiopian comes out of the water immersion, Philip is whisked away to another place, Azotus, also known as Ashdod, a Philistine city of old. The Ethiopian goes away rejoicing, showing that even after Philip’s strange departure, his is filled with the joy of the Lord.
And Philip goes onto more cities to preach, some of them Gentile cities. Philip is given the title “The Evangelist” and is seen throughout the book of Acts preaching in Caesarea (Acts 21:8).
The real meaning of this passage is to show us that God moves in our world in a very direct way. He uses us for His purpose, but we have to be willing to share it at any time, any place. It requires us to be active in our faith, and even more so, actively listening.