Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized… I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 

Acts 8:36-37

Over these last past several devotionals, I have focused on women and their interactions with the love of God. Today, however, we’re going to hone in on the story of a man - because this story contains important lessons for us on just how merciful God is in saving people from the whole world. 

In Acts 8:26-40, we see that an angel of the Lord told Philip to go south along the road that went from Jerusalem to Gaza, to a deserted place. Philip obeys and encounters a prestigious Ethiopian official, a eunuch who had charged all over the Kandake’s (Candace in Latin) treasury and was returning to Jerusalem.  Ethiopian doesn’t necessarily refer to the modern country of Ethiopia; the Greeks used the term to refer to all of Africa south of Egypt (likely similar to Sub-Saharan Africa today). In this case, this eunuch came from the kingdom of Kush - we know that from the word Candace, transliterated from the title Kandake, which the Kushites used as their term for the queen.

Both the fact that this man was Ethiopian and a eunuch is important, so keep them in mind. Philip hears this man reading from the scroll of Isaiah, seated in his chariot. Told by the Spirit of God to overtake the chariot, he did, and he asked the man, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The eunuch is reading from Isaiah 53:7-8. 

The eunuch responded, “How can I unless someone guides me?” Reading out loud from Isaiah 53:7-8, the eunuch asks the apostle if the titular prophet is talking about himself or someone else. Philip seizes the opportunity and explains that this Suffering Servant passage is talking about Jesus, who opened not his mouth when he was accused and oppressed - for us. 

Here, we pause. There are so many little details that combine together to form a beautiful story of God’s love towards all people - both Jews and Gentiles. Even though the African eunuch was a Gentile, clearly, he feared God - he had been going to Jerusalem to worship all the way from Southern Africa. And even though he was a eunuch - someone made infertile for the benefit of the queen - God still accepted his worship. This carries significance because in Judaism, eunuchs and people who were castrated (e.g., by a birth defect) could not become full members of the temple. 

And in the midst of desert, there was water. It seems to me that God wanted this man to know Him, and to publicly declare his obedience to the Christ. Philip told the eunuch that if he believed in Christ with all his heart, he could get baptized.

The nameless eunuch made a confession of faith. “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” He received his baptism and went away rejoicing. 

Why? For the one who did not belong - either in Kush with its polytheistic religion or to Judaism because of his infertility - was now a son of God (John 1:12). 

This story illustrates the poetry found in Isaiah 56:3-7, where God promises that the foreigners and the eunuchs who join Him will be given an everlasting name and memorial, and their worship (in regards to eunuchs) will be acceptable to Him. This was a prophecy now fulfilled in this man, who was both a foreigner, being an African Gentile and a eunuch. 

One of the things I have learned growing up is that we tend to reduce Christianity down to our personal relationship with God. And while it is true that we enjoy a personal relationship with Him, our faith isn’t meant to be private. We as Christians belong to God as His adopted children, and to one another as a family and a body (1 Corinthians 12). The good news of the gospel is that Jesus, a Jewish man and the Son of God, lived a perfect life, died for the sins of the world - both Jews and Gentiles - and rose again so that all who believe in Him may have eternal life. He entrusted this message to his 12 Jewish disciples turned apostles, and through them and history, the gospel has trickled down to you and me. 

There’s a good chance that most of you reading this are Gentiles. We have all the more reason to be thankful to God and worship Him (Romans 12:1-2) because salvation is of the Jews, and the gospel went to the Jews first (John 4:21, Romans 1:16). But by the grace and mercy of God, we as Gentiles have been grafted as a wild olive branch into the cultivated olive tree, and we belong to God, forever (Romans 11:17-18). 

We who were once not the people of God were not even looking for Him, have become thus, and it is all because of Him (Romans 9:24-26). This story shows us that, and like the eunuch, gives us a reason to praise our Savior. 

Discussion Questions

1. How is your understanding of God impacted by the fact that He chose to save you, as a (likely) Gentile?

2. How does it make you feel that because of Jesus, you belong to both God forever, and a family with other Jesus-followers?

3. What is one thing you want to do this week to remind you that you belong to God?