²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. ²⁷ And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” ³⁰ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.³² Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴ And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” ³⁸ And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

1) What is the significance of Philip meeting an Ethiopian?
Philip was a Jew, God’s chosen people, and not only was the Ethiopian a Gentile, but he was likely from Africa, beyond Egypt. Historically, Ethiopians were considered “the meanest and most despicable of nations” (according to Matthew Henry’s commentary found on studylight.org). Here was a middle eastern skinned man with the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and hope and a black African official for the court of royalty that everyone despised.

2) The passage says the Ethiopian was worshipping in Jerusalem, was he already a believer?
When the Bible notes that a Gentile was a “worshipper” or “God-fearer”, it denotes that this person has heard of the Jewish God, Yahweh, and chosen to worship Him. As to when exactly salvation experience happens, only the Lord who sees the heart is able to judge that, but we can see from this passage is that the Ethiopian was seeking more truth than what he had and was ready to surrender more to God’s work in his heart and life.

3) An angel of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord are both mentioned in this passage and play important roles, what are the differences and the significance of them?
Angels are agents used by God to deliver important messages for His people. Notice that the angel doesn’t do the work of sharing the full gospel, rather the angel is the messenger to the human agent, Philip, that God has invited in to do His work of declaring freedom in Christ. Later in the passage, God’s own Spirit (not the same as an angel) prompts Philip to engage the Ethiopian.

1) What is the significance of Philip meeting an Ethiopian?
The Lord delights in bringing His freedom gospel to all peoples of all nations, regardless of race or rank in society. The gospel is for everyone. What’s even more incredible, is the over and over again, the Lord chooses to use human agents to be the bearers of that good news! The Ethiopian and Philip could not possibly have been more different in culture, religious background, skin color, perhaps even linguistically, but God clearly wanted exactly these two men to meet for His purposes. Philip grew beyond his comfort zone, and a new brother in Christ was added to the body of believers! Imagine what God will do when we move as He prompts our hearts!

2) The passage says the Ethiopian was worshipping in Jerusalem, was he already a believer?
Just like we can’t tell when the Ethiopian gave his heart fully to God, neither can we make that judgment on others. Our calling is to “go and make disciples”, not converts. As we engage with people of all backgrounds, races, and cultures, pour into them everything you know about your Lord and Savior and leave the rest to the Spirit of God.

3) An angel of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord are both mentioned in this passage and play important roles, what are the differences and the significance of them?
This encounter was orchestrated by the Lord God from beginning to end. He used His Spirit, an angel in His army, and a disciple who loved Him named Philip to reach the heart of one court official from a different land, a different culture, and a different race. The same God is using the same tools today! We are His human ambassadors, carrying around the truth of the whole gospel. Listen to His Spirit’s prompting and be ready to engage those around you!

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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