THE CONVERSION OF THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH

Introduction

In Acts chapter 8, we have Luke’s account of the conversion of an Ethiopian treasurer’s conversion to Jesus Christ. Luke tells us about Philip’s call to preach the gospel to this man on the road to Gaza.

Let us see what Philip instructed this man to do.

 Phillip’s Call

Phillip, one of the six men who were chosen to provide food for the Hellenistic (Greek speaking Jews [1]widows in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1-6), had gone to Samaria to proclaim Christ after the martyrdom of Stephen. There, an angel of the Lord spoke to him, telling him to go down to the road that went from Jerusalem to Gaza. He did not tell him what he was to do there, but he obeyed the command of the heavenly visitor.

When Philip arrived on the Gaza road, there was an Ethiopian Eunuch, Queen Candace’s chief treasurer who had who was returning home after worshiping in Jerusalem. This man was either a natural-born Jew or a proselyte (a gentile who had converted to Judaism[2]). That he traveled from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship, a distance of about fifteen hundred miles, shows that he was a devout Jew. Nevertheless, as a eunuch (a castrated person), he was not allowed full religious privileges enjoyed by other Jews was not allowed full religious privileges enjoyed by other Jews (Deuteronomy 23:1).           

The Spirit instructed Phillip to join the chariot, which he did. The man was reading a passage of Scripture from Isaiah 53:7-8 (Acts 8:32-33). Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading, and he responded, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:30-31). He asked Philip in verse 34, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Who was Isaiah speaking of? The angel had sent Philip here to answer that, and other vital questions, for this devout but confused Jew.

Luke writes in verse 35, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.” What does it mean to “preach Jesus?” What did Philip preach to the Ethiopian treasurer? Let us see.

What Does It Mean to Preach Jesus?

What did Philip preach to the Ethiopian? What must one preach when he preaches Jesus? There are many things that are involved in preaching Jesus.

Who Jesus Is.

Who is Jesus? John writes in John 1:1-4, 14:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the “only begotten from the Father.” He is the only begotten Son of God, the

Creator of heaven and the earth (Genesis 1; John 1:1-3; 3:16).

The Gospel

Philip preached the Gospel to the Ethiopian. What is the Gospel? The word gospel means, “good tidings” (Thayer[3]), and “a good message” (Strong[4]). Paul explains what the “good tidings,” the “good message,” is in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Paul and Stephen preached the same thing, the gospel, “by which we are saved” (1 Cor. 15:1-2).

The gospel is the “glad tidings,” good news, that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (verse 3). The Eunuch was reading a passage from Isaiah 53 which is one of hundreds of Old Testament passages that teach that Christ would die for our sins.

Further, the gospel is the good news that Christ “was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (verse 4). Jesus said in Matthew 12:40 that He would be  “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,” “just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster” (Jonah 1:17).

Why Jesus Died

The passage that the Ethiopian was reading reads:

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

That question, “Who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?” is key here. Jesus died for the transgression of the people of Israel, and every other human being, not for His own transgressions, for He had none (Heb. 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). Jesus died for our sins. All have sinned (Rom. 3:23). The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Jesus died to save us from the consequence of sin: spiritual death (John 3:16; 1 John 3:5; 4:9-14).

The Exaltation and Return of Jesus

 Another important truth concerning Jesus Christ is that He ascended back into heaven where He was exalted at the right hand of God (Acts 1:9-11; 2:33; 5:31) and that He will come again to receive us into heaven to be with Him forever (John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

God’s Plan of Salvation

Hear the Gospel

Philip “preached Jesus unto him” (Acts 8:35). This is as Jesus had commanded (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).  Peter was the first to preach Jesus (Acts 2:1-41). One cannot be saved until he has heard the gospel preached.

Some things that are included in preaching Jesus can be seen in the treasurer’s subsequent actions.

Believe

Let us return to Acts 8:25-40. After Philip “preached unto him Jesus,” they “they came to some water” (Verse 36). The Ethiopian “said, ‘Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?’” Notice Phillip’s answer, “‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’” 

Repent                                    

Though repentance is not specifically mentioned in Acts 8, the fact that Jesus sets forth its requirement (Luke 24:46-48), indicates that Philip would have included it in preaching Jesus.

Confess

When Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may,” the Ethiopian answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). That is the same confession that Peter made in Matthew 16:16. Paul writes in Romans 10:9-10:

…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes,  resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Baptism

Notice that the first thing the man did after Philip preached Jesus to him was to request baptism. This indicates that baptism is included in preaching Jesus. The Eunuch’s request to be baptized in an urgent manner indicates that preaching Jesus includes preaching that baptism is urgent and should be received immediately upon believing in Jesus. In fact, when Peter preached Jesus in Acts 2, he told his believing, penitent, audience to “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38), indicating the necessity of baptism for the forgiveness of sins (See also 1 Pet. 3:21).

Luke writes in Acts 8:38-39, “They both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away…” Notice: They both went down into the water. They both came up out of the water. This would not have been necessary for a sprinkling or a pouring. This indicates that baptism is a water immersion. If fact, Thayer defines the Greek word transliterated (not translated), baptized, that is, baptizo — bap-tid'-zo, “baptized, to cleanse by dipping or submerging[5].” Vine writes on the word, "to baptize," primarily a frequentative form of bapto, "to dip," was used among the Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment, or the drawing of water by dipping a vessel into another, etc.[6]” So, baptism is an immersion in water.

One final point. Luke writes in Acts 8:38-40, “The eunuch…went on his way rejoicing.” Now notice, the eunuch did not go “on his way rejoicing” until after he was baptized. What does that indicate? That indicates that he realized that he was not saved until after he was baptized! Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:21,  ^“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Conclusion

What steps did the Ethiopian Eunuch take in his conversion? He heard Jesus preached to him. He believed in Jesus. He repented of his sins. He confessed his faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. And he was baptized by immersion. 

Have you been converted to Christ?