The next installment from the book A Heart Hungry To Worship, available on Amazon
“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked the Ethiopian. “How can I?” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?”[1]
Chapter 4
The Ethiopian Eunuch
Of all the people whose stories the holy pages of Scripture record, the Ethiopian eunuch stands out as one of the most fascinating. We find clues to who he was in Scripture, though we do not find his actual name recorded. He was from what is present day Sudan. He was what we would term the Minister of Finance or Secretary of the Treasury for his country: a person, therefore, of power and prestige in the ancient kingdom of Meroe (also called Cush). While the Merovians viewed their king as an incarnation of the sun, the position was largely ceremonial. Considered too holy as a Child of the Sun to be involved in secular affairs, the queen mothers, known by the title, “the Candace,” held the real power in the kingdom.
Eunuchs were often slaves employed to keep guard over the royal harem. They became so trustworthy and loyal in that role that it became customary to place them over the treasury. After all, if a person could be trusted with the king’s wives then he could be trusted with the king’s money; at least, that is what the Merovians believed. In fact, the term eunuch would become a synonym for “treasurer” in many countries.
This particular eunuch was returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Apparently, he had become attracted to Judaism and was seeking further answers. He could not become a full proselyte (convert) to that religion because the Old Testament forbids castrated people from entering the Temple. Now, the passage of Scripture found in Acts 8 tells us that this eunuch had gone all the way from his country in Africa to Jerusalem, in the Middle East, to worship. Unfortunately, for him, he would experience great disappointment when he arrived.
We don’t know how this man even obtained a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures or how he started considering Judaism as a belief system. It might have been from a trade delegation to his country from Israel or friendship with Jews from the Diaspora that settled in Meroe. However he received the Hebrew Scriptures, whatever the means of his awareness of the Hebrew God, this man was drawn by a desire to worship Him.
Understand that a man like this, a man who held an important post in his government, would weigh very heavily a decision to change religious loyalties. The people of his nation believed their king to be a god, a most holy person. For the Minister of Finance to show allegiance to another god would have brought suspicion of treason and sedition. For the eunuch, though, the desire to find and worship the Hebrew God was overwhelming. God’s Spirit was drawing him and thus he is led to plan a trip to Jerusalem, to seek this God in His Temple.
Upon his arrival at the Temple, though, he found that he could only enter the outer courtyard, the Court of the Gentiles. Not just because he was non-Jewish, an Ethiopian, but also because he had been castrated. While he could interact with people on the area considered non-holy ground, he could not enter the inner areas, the Temple proper.
He wanted to worship God, was being drawn to worship God, but his worship was incomplete. There existed a barrier, erected to keep people like him away. He thought that by going to a certain location, he would find answers, but the questions remained. Frustrated, he began the journey home where he fortuitously meets Philip.
The Holy Spirit has instructed Philip to make contact with the Ethiopian and he does so. Running alongside the chariot, he hears the eunuch reading from Isaiah. In those days, it was customary to read aloud, not silently when one read to their self. Philip asks him a simple question: “Do you understand what you are reading?” The English translation does not do justice to the original Greek wording. Philip’s question really asks the eunuch if what he is reading has any meaning for him, if what he is reading makes any sense.
The response is so telling! It is a response of frustration, discouragement and disappointment. “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” Despite his apparent regalia and retinue, no one in Jerusalem had taken the time to answer his questions. No one helped quench his thirst for the knowledge of the One True God. He had a copy of the Scriptures, but could not understand what the words meant. He could read them, he was an educated man fluent in languages, but the meaning, the import, and the supernatural impact of the words eluded him.
There is a reason why the Bible says that only those who are spiritual can understand spiritual things.[2] Until a person comes to submit their life to the Lord Jesus, the Bible depicts them as spiritually blind, unable to see or comprehend spiritual truths.[3] They need the Holy Spirit to open their spiritual eyes and illuminate their minds. Often, the Spirit uses believers, like Philip, in that process.
The Ethiopian invites Philip up into his chariot and asks him a question about the passage he is reading. “Who is the prophet referring to?” Without being able to identify the subject talked about, a person cannot make a proper interpretation. Philip begins introducing the Ethiopian to Jesus through this passage. The Book of Isaiah was tailor-made for a person like this Ethiopian. It’s in Isaiah that many prophecies of Jesus’ birth and reign are found.[4] It’s in Isaiah where one finds promises to eunuchs of their inclusion in God’s Holy Temple[5] alongside other worshippers of God. Isaiah described God Himself, high and lifted up, as having compassion on people who have wandered away from the truth; who are like sheep.[6]
Philip begins with the passage the Ethiopian is wrestling with and uses it as a springboard to tell the story of Jesus, God’s Messiah. As Philip expounds the meaning of what the Ethiopian was reading God’s Spirit illuminates his mind. Now, he realizes how a person is to worship God. Now, he realizes that it’s not at a Temple made by human hands but through faith in Jesus Christ that a person comes to approach God. As they pass by some water, he interrupts Philip to ask, “Is there anything that hinders me from being baptized right now?” He understands; he wants to identify with Jesus Christ and he desires to proclaim his newfound faith.
Water baptism was quite common in those days. In Judaism, it stood as a symbol for a Gentile’s repentance and conversion to Israel’s religion. In Christianity, it stands for each person’s repentance and as a symbol of his or her submission to Christ’s Lordship.
Philip baptizes the Ethiopian, which shows us an important picture. Philip, an olive skinned man, baptizes the Ethiopian, a black man, into the fellowship of the church. Philip, a former adherent to Judaism, and the Ethiopian, a former adherent to the religion of Meroe, become equal in standing before Christ. In Christ, racial barriers, national barriers, cultural barriers fall. Each person finds themselves equal at the foot of the Cross.
As Dinah found herself struggling with the meaning of Scripture so did the Ethiopian eunuch. Both of them left the unsatisfying religion of their youth to find true answers in a relationship with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit used believers to explain Scripture to them as He illuminated their minds and spiritually enlightened them. He continues to do so today. He continues to reach out and draw people into the knowledge of the truth. What a wonderful God we have, one who is willing and able to reach out to His creation.
[1] Acts 8:30-31
[2] 1 Corinthians 2:13-16
[3] 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
[4] Isaiah 7:14, 11:1-16
[5] Isaiah 56:3-8
[6] Isaiah 6:1-4, 53:6
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