water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And
he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still:
and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were
come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on
his way rejoicing.
For our lesson we want to consider a royal example of conversion to Jesus Christ that is recorded in Acts 8.
What we want to do is to review the events of this story, and learn some defining characteristics which are found in the
story that give us a clear example of what constitutes true conversion to Jesus Christ.
Introduction - One of the great advantages that we have today in having the perfected, all sufficient, complete Word
of God, is the advantage of being able to look back in the record of the Bible and study certain examples that are
recorded which reveal the mind of God concerning certain salient subjects. The book of Acts is a book that is
dedicated to the subject of divine examples, especially in regard to the subject of true conversion to Jesus Christ.
The example of the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch, is evidently a very special example of conversion that the
Holy Spirit chose to share with us. And so for our time we want to study this divinely revealed example as we go
through the events that takes place in this story piece by piece.
One thing that is for sure in this story, is that there is some great plainness of speech as to what this man did
whenever he was converted to Jesus Christ. It is sure that if we can follow and do what he did, as well as Philip, we
can have a good understanding of conversion to Christ and be able to teach the lost who are in sin today.
Main Body:
This story actually begins a few verses before the reading of the above text. Philip, a man who had been preaching
the word in the city of Samaria, directly receives a message from the Angel of the Lord that he was to take his travels
down from the region of Samaria, all the way down south of Jerusalem to the way in the desert which is in the direction
of Gaza from Jerusalem. The Bible does not tell us that this conversation lasted very long between Philip and the
Angel, but what it does say that Philip when he received the message to go from the Angel, that he very stoicly went
to where the Angel had told him to go.
Expound: On the nature of the work of these who were preaching then, and how that the Lord even
worked supernatural wonders in helping them to confirm the spreading of the Word, and even to the
giving of supernatural insight to places where people could be converted.......Compare that to today,
without supernatural insight, yet we have been given a perfected, supernaturally revealed word, that
gives us really the same kind of insight in determining who and where we need to go to reach the lost
and convert them. Notice ALSO HERE: that the Angel has not given Philip any saving message or
doctrine, only he gives him the location where that Philip needed to go and wait.
Well, the story continues from verse 26, and we find Philip is traveling quite a distance to go where the Angel told him
but he goes without question, and there he finally arrives at this place in the desert, between Jerusalem and Gaza.
Expound: I have often wondered what Philip was actually thinking to himself at this point in our story.
Perhaps he was looking around and thinking, you know I just left a very populated area of Samaria where
people are there by the multitude and now I’m out here in the middle of nowhere waiting on something to
happen? We really don’t know what he was thinking, but according to the facts here, Philip is out there
along this traveling route and there is little doubt in his mind that he is there for a very special reason.
Actually, the reason for him being there is coming down the path riding along in a royal chariot. We can assume that
Philip may not have been to this location very long, until there comes into view a man riding along in this a royal
vehicle...How strange!! Without hesitation, the Bible says the Spirit speaking directly to Philip says to him, “Go near
and join thyself to this chariot that you see coming.”
As we see in the text Philip immediately follows the direction of the Spirit to go join himself to this chariot and what an
experience is about to happen.
Expound: I want you think about something here, Philip has been brought to this place by a direct
message from the Angel of the Lord, when he arrives and he sees this chariot coming down the path, the
Holy Spirit then directs him to go join himself to this chariot. Notice that the reason for Philip doing this
has not been revealed to him yet, he just knows what he has been told to do, and he does it.
We do not find as some would like it to be, that the Angel appeared gloriously and speaking the great message to the
weary traveller, or the Holy Spirit miraculously working within this chariot vendor’s heart so that he would be able to
understand God’s Will when Philip, instead the Angel and the Holy Spirit both retrieve this preacher from Samaria to
travel by foot many miles just to talk and preach to the ready heart of this one man! His heart was ready by his
inquiring mind and soul, and here Philip is to tell him what he needed to know.
Application: Notice the Angel and the Holy Spirit works toward one goal, and that was to get the Word into the
heart of that individual, and then have a chosen one who knew the message to teach that man what he must do to be
saved.
Lesson: All kinds of things which happen today are being attributed to the work of angels and also the work of the
Holy Spirit in view of conversion and living the Christian life. Here we see how that both of them worked with to bring
the saving message to this one traveler.
Well, the story continues....Philip sees this man riding along in this chariot. The Bible says that this fellow going along
this pathway was a special individual from the land of Ethiopia. He was a noblemen, in fact the Bible says that he was
the treasurer for Candace the Queen of Ethiopia. This was a man that by every royal standard was a man of special
rank, and authority in the government there. His job would imply that he was a greatly intelligent person to have such
a position, he was perhaps a wealthy person and here he was, out in the middle of nowhere, in a place that was
certainly fit for thieves and robbers and he’s riding along reading and it appears that maybe he’s reading out loud as
he rides.
Expound: I like singing out loud while I’m driving down the road, and maybe this traveler liked to read
out loud going down the road.
The Bible indicates that this man had been to Jerusalem, and had obviously been there to worship. This would imply
that he must of been a Jew. Whether he was proselyted or was by his raising a Jew, it really doesn’t matter, he’s
heading back home and he is reading from the Inspired Word of the prophet Isaiah.....He is now at chapter 53, and he
is reading about the execution of the prince of Peace. He is so enthralled with it, that he doesn’t realize any dangers
that might be ahead of him, only that he doesn’t understand what the prophecy meant, and just at that very moment, a
man comes upon the path and hears the nobleman reading this prophecy and he asks him, “Do you understand what
you are reading?”
Expound: Think about the exact timing here of the Holy Spirit as this happens.......Notice how many
things are divinely brought together here so that this man could have someone to teach him about the
meaning of this OT prophecy.... Several things are interesting about that fact to me.
1. How this opportunity to teach the truth, compares to our opportunities today to teach the truth
today.
2. How important the message of the OT did play, in the conversion of this man........Some view the OT as not
important to our soul Salvation, yet the Angel and the Holy Spirit and this preacher are going to use one prophecy in
the OT, to teach this man what he must do to be saved.
3. How this man had been prepared to hear the truth and obey it (This man longed to be right, regardless of the
price)
Well, as Philip asks this noblemen the question that he does, the man doesn’t think, well who is this person? What is
this hitchhiker doing out here in the middle of nowhere asking me a question? He doesn’t respond to Philip with, well
Mr. Thief are you wanting some money to be asking me any questions?......Instead this man is so enthralled and is so
humble in his character that he answers by saying, “How can I understand this, unless some man would guide me or
tell me the meaning of this scripture!”
You know this man, understood something then, that many still do not understand today and that is that learning the
Word of God, requires that we have inquiring minds, and that we peek our interest in study by reading and meditating
upon the Word. By seeking answers to the questions we have regarding the Bible and truth found therein helps to
fortify our interest in God and the Bible..
I know folks today, who will not ask a question about the Scriptures simply because they do not want other folks to
think that they are not intelligent people.
Here is a man who is obviously intelligent, and he shows us why he is the intelligent fellow that he is, by simply saying,
“I don’t understand this, and it would be grand if someone could expound on this so that I can understand what this
means! "
Lesson: Listen folks, we will never learn what we need to learn about God’s Will, unless we receive
wise instruction from those who have the ability to teach us.
Romans 10:13-17 – For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call
on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how
shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all
obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.
Now as the noblemen responds to Philip, he invites him into the chariot and Philip and as he rides, the Noblemen turns
again to the passage in Isaiah 53 that he was reading and he repeats it it seems again to Philip and then asks him,
“Who is this prophet talking about here?” Is it about himself or some other man?”
Expound: On the nature of understanding prophecy......Difficult? To some it is, actually its not difficult
if the prophets words have all come true....And these words had already come true as this nobleman is
reading it!!
At this point, Philip began right there at that same scripture and preached unto this noblemen the story of Jesus. We
need to recognize here that the story of Jesus begins in the words of the OT, and its power is revealed, fulfilled and
completed in the NT. Philip has this grand opportunity to teach the saving message to this man because his heart
was longing to know who this was that was lead as a lamb to the slaughter.
We are not told specifically all the words that Philip used to tell the story of Jesus to this man, but what ever these
words were, this man was totally overtaken by it. He was so compelled as he listened and took in this message from
Philip that as they were riding along, they came upon a certain pool of water along the side of this road, and so as
they approach this, the noblemen as he had been listening, seemingly interrupts the preacher and says to him, “See
here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized?”. Several things in these words should be of interest to us here:
This man didn’t wait for Philip to offer him an invitation to be baptized, he interrupted and ask on his own volition about
being baptized. We have to wonder also, “Why would this man ask the question of being immersed, in water when all
that he was hearing from this preacher was the story of Jesus?” The answer? It was because Philip could not tell the
story of Jesus and not mention the necessity of baptism!
Expound: On the necessity of when we preach Jesus, we by necessity must preach baptism!Also, this
noblemen is asking Philip, “Do you know what would hinder me from being baptized as I need to be?”.......
This man asked a pertinent question here that need s to be asked today by many and that is, “Are there
any hindrances that are keeping us from doing as we know that we really ought to do?.......This man asks
the question so that he could alleviate any hindrance and just do what he needed to do to be saved!
Philip, after hearing this come from the heart and voice of this royal servant, simply responds to his question with the
remarks, “If you believe with all your heart, you may. That is you can be baptized if you truly believe in this message
that I am preaching with all your heart , and the man answers by saying to him, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God”. As the man then confessed the fact that he did believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God we find that he
is going to be baptized and receive the blessing of the forgiveness of his sins.
You know there are some translations of the Scripture that leave this confession of the Noblemen completely out of
the text and add it only in the foot note of the translation (i.e. NIV, RSV and others). Their reason for is that they
contend that this statement is no where to be found in the Earliest found manuscripts, and because it is found in some
of the later manuscripts they make the assumption that it was interpolated into the text. The word interpolated
meaning that “material was added to the autographs”. While such may be asserted and even affirmed as an
interpolation from those texts in which the NIV and others are based, the statement or confession made by the
Noblemen fits perfectly to the intent of all that is revealed in all text types. That is to say, what this confession being
stated does, is simply reflect the nobleman’s response of one who believes with all his heart in Jesus as being the Son
of God.
We are reminded here, that when this noblemen makes this statement, he does not assume that he is saved just by
making this statement or acknowledging Jesus. Nothing by his words would indicate that he rejoiced when he made
this confession.....
Expound: Some would have you to believe that when this statement is spoken that this is statement
that affirms ones’ Salvation in Christ, BUT NOT so for this Ethiopian. He is not rejoicing because he has
something more to do in order to be Saved.
Compare this to: Mark 16: 16 - He that Believeth and Is Baptized Shall be Saved, He that Believeth Not Shall be
Damned...........
Believe + Baptism = Salvation The Bible says this!!
Believe = Salvation Then Baptized The Denominational World says this!
Some contend and say, “Well the Bible does not say, He that believes not and is baptized not will be damned and thus
confirming that belief is all that is necessary because the idea of unbelief they say is all that is mentioned in regard to
damnation.
But consider this illustration - He who (digs a well) + (and encases it) = Can have water to drink.
But he that does not dig a well, can not have water to drink.
You see by simply using reason and some common rules of deduction, we don’t have to mention encasing the well do
we, because if I don’t dig the well, I can necessarily know that there is nothing to encase if the well is not dug.
The same deductive reasoning holds true regarding the subject of Belief and Baptism as they are together related to
the conclusion of being saved. If I don’t believe in Jesus Christ, then I can positively know that there is not a need for
Baptism. What would baptism do for me? NOTHING without belief in Jesus Christ as being the Son of God! But if I
desire and long to receive Salvation from my sins and in my heart I believe in Jesus Christ as being the Son of God,
then Baptism coupled with the belief I have in my heart, makes it possible to receive Salvation in the operation of God
in Christ Jesus.
The Noblemen makes the confession clear and plain in the hearing distance of Philip, and now he and Philip set forth
to do what was necessary in order that he could be converted to Jesus Christ.
The Bible then reveals that the Noblemen commanded the chariot to stand still, and he and Philip got down from the
chariot, they then walked to the waters edge where they both went into the water and Philip baptized him, just as the
preacher had preached it.
Notice that they went down into the water......From this we can necessarily infer that when the Nobleman was baptized,
he was not sprinkled with water, Philip did NOT fill up his canteen and give him boy scout bath, by pouring water on his
head, but rather Philip did as he was commanded and as he had witnessed in the region of Samaria just prior to this,
Philip immersed this man, he buried him in that water and when he came forth his sins were washed away in the blood
of the Lamb.
I want to share something with you all here this morning, that when we consider every single event recorded by the all
seeing eye of God, regarding every single conversion event in the entire book of Acts, not ONE was converted without
hearing the gospel, NOT one was converted without Believing that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, NOT one was
converted without having a change of heart, resulting in a change of conduct or repentance, NOT one was converted
without properly with their voice acknowledging that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, AND NOT ONE was Saved
without the record that they were immersed for the purpose of receiving the forgiveness of their sins or the gift of
eternal life found in Jesus Christ the Lord!
This nobleman hears the message one time and he obeys it immediately. He obeys it because he knew that he was
lost without Jesus and he knew he couldn’t have Jesus, he knew that he couldn’t be IN Jesus without obeying the
teaching of the gospel. When he heard it the first time, he obeyed it!!
Expound: What a special man this was! He wasn’t special because of his intelligence or royal
rankings or his ability to count his perhaps thousands of dollars in the dark, he wasn’t special because of
his collection rolls royce chariots, or his royal apparel, he was special because he opened his heart as
open as he could and he obeyed the Words of Jesus!!
Lesson: Today, how do we compare to this great individual? Are we today willing to do what he did
here? Are we as compelled to find the truth and to obey it, as this man was?
You know the Bible reveals that, when this man was baptized, that the Spirit sent or caught Philip away to another
location, but this Noblemen left that spot and he went on his way rejoicing.
I have often wondered in my own mind what actually did happen to this fellow after he obeyed the gospel........We don’t
know for sure.....But I would like to think something grand and wonderful happened after this fellow went on down the
road and headed for home. Perhaps when he arrives back home and he is back at the palace office of treasurer,
perhaps he walks in and he is whistling with joy and happily comes forth to everyone in a great mood. Perhaps a
good friend comes to him and says, boy you are in a good mood and you are so happy, what happened on your trip
to make you so happy and gleeful?
I’d like to think that this fellow with a smile on his face, grabs his good friend under the arm and says to him, well let me
tell you what happened, and I’m going to tell you ALL about it. I was riding along out in the middle of nowhere, out in
the desert just reading from my scroll of the Scriptures, and as I was going along I read a scripture that I just couldn’t
understand. All of the sudden this fellow, actually this preacher just comes up to my chariot out of nowhere and he
asks me, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And I said, “How can I understand unless some man would
guide me!!” And that fellow climbed up in my chariot and I asked him about this scripture that I couldn’t understand, I
asked him, who is the prophet talking about here, is about himself or some one else. Well, when I asked him that he
began at that same scripture and began to tell me the story of Jesus of Nazareth. As I listened I was amazed at the
story. Here I had just come from the holy city, and I really never heard about this man, but as this fellow began to tell
me about him, the more he talked the more that I realized that this man that he was talking about was actually the
Messiah himself, and the fact was, He had already come, He came by a miraculous conception. He was born of a
virgin.....He had lived amongst the people, and by every standard of the Law He lived a perfect life, but then as was
written by the prophet He was brutally murdered on a cross by the Romans and even was tortured and placed there
by the Jewish elect in the holy city. He was murdered just like Isaiah said he would be murdered as an innocent lamb
taken to the slaughter, and executed, but listen.... here is the fantastic part....after all this, they buried him in a tomb
and on the first day of the week, he rose from the grave......Can you believe it? He rose from the grave, and he
appeared before the eyes of those who were his disciples. He showed himself alive by many infallible proofs, and
then right before he ascended back to Heaven he gave a promise and commission. The promise was given to his
chosen men to go to Jerusalem and wait for something that was soon to happen there, and from there Jesus told them
to go into all the world preach the gospel to every person on earth, into all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Preach the message that He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that
believeth NOT shall be condemned!
Well, after he said this, Jesus departed up out of their sight and when the day of Pentecost, this man said that while
those men were waiting up there in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to preach the message
of Jesus. During the preaching of Peter, this man said the Jews interrupted the message, and said “Men and brethren
what shall we do? And Peter told them to repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit........And he said that there about 3000 people baptized that day! And these things
happened the church came into existence. Well, after hearing that story, we are riding along and over here to the
side of the chariot was a certain pool of water, so I kind of interrupted him and said, “See, here is water, what doth
hinder me from being baptized? And he said to me, if you believe with all your heart you can be, and I said as plainly
as I knew how, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”. And we stopped that chariot, we waded out there into
the water, and friend he immersed me in that water, and I’ve never felt anything so good in my life before......For the
first time, I knew that Salvation was now mine in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you know what friend, what do you think
about this story, isn’t this amazing? How about you, all you have to do from your heart is obey the same message
that I just told you about, and you can be saved!!!
I don’t know if thats the way it happened or not, but I really would like to think that it happened somewhat in that way!
In summary to all this, there is one thing that I believe the text reveals about this man’s conversion that is something
we really today need to consider and that is that, this man when he left Jerusalem did not know that he was going to
run into a preacher out in the desert. But the fact is, he did!!
There is a reason why that he ran into him, God through the Angel, and by the supernatural work of the Spirit lead
Philip all the way from Samaria, down to Gaza, just because this one man was looking for the truth, and Philip taught
him the truth. If you are here today, and you are not a Christian, have you stopped to consider the fact, that the
reason you are here listening to this story today, is because the Lord has given you the opportunity to hear this story
and obey the gospel. I believe it can be rationally said that the Lord, has prepared this moment for you, so that you
can do just like the Ethiopian did in obeying gospel. You know the Lord is long-suffering and is patient. If you have
an interest in being saved at all, He’s doing everything in His power to bring opportunities you way so you can take
advantage of a great opportunity. The reality is that the day comes when our opportunities are over, and if we are
lost, there are second chances, there are no other ways of making it heaven. We either will follow Jesus here, or
suffer an eternal damnation that our minds cannot even comprehend.
As we close our conversion story, we now offer to all an invitation today to any who would come to the Lord in
obedience by believing, repenting of your sins, confessing Jesus just as this Ethiopian did and be immersed in water
for the remission of sins.
Come while you may!