Acts 8:30-31- So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
Amazing things happen in our lives when God is involved. Things that can seem small to us can become the catalyst for God to show up in an unusual way. Such was the case in the life of this eunuch.
And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
Acts 8:27-28 NKJV
Over the years, I have found great value in the reading of God’s word. Although, I must admit that I spend more time reading it during the summers and holiday seasons when I am off than I do when I’m working. And I have found that listening to the Bible is a great supplement when I am busy. There’s no excuse for neglecting the reading and hearing of God’s word!
The eunuch was sitting in his chariot, reading a scroll of the prophet Isaiah, not realizing his life was about to change. Luke wrote that the man had traveled from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship God. Maybe he also had business to take care of for the queen, but that isn’t mentioned in this text, as Luke didn’t seem to think it was important.
When I Googled the distance between Ethiopia and Jerusalem, I found that they are approximately 2,500 miles apart. Today it would take about 3.5 days of continuous driving to travel that distance. When the eunuch traveled, by chariot, it would have taken over a month to travel one way. To travel such a great distance in a chariot, he had to have been hungry for God!
As a teenager, I became serious about wanting to know God. One of my favorite scriptures at the time was a part of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.Matthew 5:6 NKJV
It was my greatest longing, to know God. It is still my desire, although I know Him better today than I did at that time. That verse brought hope and comfort to me that as I pursued God, I would be satisfied. I see that hunger for God in this eunuch.
The eunuch was a man of great authority. He served the queen of Ethiopia and was in charge of her treasury, similar to a chief financial officer. He was also a man of wealth. Yet, he understood that there was something more that he needed to fill the void in his life. So he was in pursuit of God, not realizing that he needed a Savior!
Luke wrote, that God was moving on behalf of the eunuch before he even knew it:
Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose and went.
Acts 8: 26-27a NKJV
In obedience to the direction of the angel, Philip headed down the road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza. While he was walking down the road, he spotted a chariot. Riding in that chariot was the eunuch who was reading the book of Isaiah. Look at God!
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
Acts 8:29 NKJV
Philip picks up his speed and catches up to the moving chariot. As he got near, he realized that the eunuch was reading from Isaiah. Was he reading out loud? Since Philip heard him, he had to have been reading out loud. So Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading?
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
Acts 8:31 NKJV
There was such a hunger, such an interest in the eunuch for understanding, that he wanted to hear what Philip’s thoughts were on the scriptures. So he invited him to sit in his chariot with him. This probably caused the driver to wonder about the wisdom of a complete stranger getting in the chariot, but Philip was now an invited guest of the eunuch. The thing that grips me every time is that he asked, “How can I (understand) unless someone guides (teach) me?
As an educator, I have spent years teaching students, but I have also worked with my colleagues as we push each other to be better at our craft. We often talk about how nice it would be to actually have students in front of us who really wanted to learn! More often than not, we feel like we are trying to make the horse drink, when he should realize he is thirsty! Philip didn’t have this problem! He had an eager student waiting to learn!
I believe the eunuch sensed that this was a divine hook-up. I believe he realized that only God could have provided an “instructor” while he was reading a text he did not comprehend, but one that was crucial to him going to the next level in God. Luke wrote that Philip started at that verse in Isaiah 53 and preached Jesus to the eunuch as they traveled down the road. The eunuch (I wish we had been given a name) was so convinced in his heart that he was hearing the truth he had been waiting on, that he asked Philip to be baptized.
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?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 8:36-38 NKJV
And just like that, another soul was added to the kingdom of God!
As I was rereading this passage last night, I had the thought, “What will it take for people to have this type of surrender to God today? What will it take? And this morning, the Spirit of God spoke to my heart and said, “The same thing it has always taken, a hungry heart!”
The eunuch was hungry for God. He didn’t know that the thing that stood between his hunger and a deeper relationship with God was actually not a thing, but a Person. The Person Jesus Christ! But when Jesus was explained to him through scripture, it resonated in his spirit and he knew Jesus was what was missing in his heart. When he received that truth, he was filled! He was satisfied knowing that it was well with his soul and he had been reconciled to God the Father through Jesus the Son!
For those of us who are already saved, what will it take for us to know God in a deeper way? The same thing it took for us to know Him from the start! A hunger and a thirst for Him and for righteousness! Nothing has changed! As I am journeying through the book of Acts, I find my hunger and my thirst for Him increasing. There is something truly anointed about this book. Understanding how Jesus transformed their lives and even their communities by His Spirit, and studying how the Spirit of God moved on their behalf makes me hunger and thirst even more.
So basically, even though there are some things we shall never hunger or thirst for again, knowing Jesus shouldn’t be one of them. What will it take for you to hunger and thirst more for Jesus? What will it take? Wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 