This strange story of the Ethiopian eunuch could have easily laid out a rigid dogma of belief which the early church was supposed to follow. This story could have easily set the course for practice which would have shaped the Church for generations to come. Instead, it offers a glimpse into an encounter where the Holy Spirit is present. It offers us an invitation to share the faith through conversation and dialogue. In other words, instead of rigid dogma, this strange story reminds us that what is needed to share the Gospel message is compassion, openness, and a willingness to follow the Spirit where it leads.
May 25, 2025
Fifty Days of Easter
“Do You Really Understand What You Are Reading?”
Acts 8: 26-39
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Acts 8: 26-39
An angel from the Lord spoke to Philip, “At noon, take the road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he did. Meanwhile, an Ethiopian man was on his way home from Jerusalem, where he had come to worship. He was a eunuch and an official responsible for the entire treasury of Candace. (Candace is the title given to the Ethiopian queen.) He was reading the prophet Isaiah while sitting in his carriage. The Spirit told Philip, “Approach this carriage and stay with it.” Running up to the carriage, Philip heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you really understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “Without someone to guide me, how could I?” Then he invited Philip to climb up and sit with him. This was the passage of scripture he was reading:
Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent so he didn’t open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was taken away from him. Who can tell the story of his descendants because his life was taken from the earth?
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? Is he talking about himself or someone else?” Starting with that passage, Philip proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. As they went down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look! Water! What would keep me from being baptized?” He ordered that the carriage halt. Both Philip and the eunuch went down to the water, where Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Lord’s Spirit suddenly took Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.
Do You Really Understand What You Are Reading? Acts 8: 26-39
This week, we continue our conversation with the stories of the early Church. We are spending some time with the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. If we remember from last week, Philip is one of the seven called to serve, to literally wait tables so the disciples could focus on the Word of God. And like Stephen, his ministry and mission is not confined to one moment.
In our text for today, we are told that an angel of the Lord sends Philip on a journey on a desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza where he encounters an Ethiopian eunuch. The interesting thing to note is that the author of Acts stresses that this is not just an ordinary person Philip encounters along the road. We are told that he is a high ranking official. We are also told that he is returning home from Jerusalem where he had come to worship.
As readers and as people of faith, the importance of these two things cannot be overlooked. Through Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, the author of Acts is setting up an important turning point for the early church. As we take a deeper look at this story, we realize that the early church would have known that this Ethiopian eunuch was an outsider. They would have known that he would not have been welcomed at the Temple for worship for many reasons. Yet, here in our story, the Spirit sends Philip over to the carriage to engage this supposed outsider in a faithful conversation and dialogue, something which would have gone against all the rules and regulations of the religious institution.
Let’s stop and think about the implications of this encounter for the early church. In reading this story, they would have realized that the author of Acts was setting up a crossroads for them, a challenge for them, to them to practice what they preached. They would have realized that this encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch was a turning point for them. It would have been a way, an invitation extended to them, for them to discern, to discuss, to decide, to determine what it means for them to be the fully realized Body of Christ here on Earth for all of God’s people. It would have challenged them to think about their practice and belief. It would have challenged them to think about what their faith means, what their mission and ministry means in regard to race and ethnicity, meaning that they would have had to have some hard conversations about who is in and who is out. They would have had to determine if those boundaries, labels and divisions that the world puts upon us, that we use to define everyone, they would have had to determine if those boundaries, labels and divisions really stood up in light of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch.
Through this story, the author of Acts sets up a crossroads for the early church, challenging them to discern what it means to be disciples of Christ in this world, recognizing that oftentimes living into this new identity as Christ followers puts us at odds with the way this world operates, puts us at odds with the powers that be who embrace the systems of oppression which create disorder and brokenness in our world. The author of Acts is inviting the early church, inviting us, to see beyond the way things are to the Beloved Community in our midst.
Or let me say it this way… I fully admit that this is a strange story. We have Philip speaking to angels. We have him wandering desert roads. We have Philip running up to random carriages. The image of all this together is, well, laughable. We assume that the author really doesn’t expect us to take this story seriously. After all, it does not feature any “main” characters. It doesn’t have any “real” action. No one is being healed. No miracles are being performed. This story is just two people talking about the Gospel, just two people seeking understanding of who Jesus is and how his life, his ministry, his death and resurrection transformed the world. I fully admit this story is not the most exciting one in the Bible and yes, it is a little strange to our modern day understanding. But we would be doing a disservice to our faith, to our calling to be disciples of Christ, to be a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world if we dismissed this story so easily and quickly
Here’s why I say this…notice that when the Ethiopian eunuch asks about being baptized Philip’s first reaction isn’t one of determining the Ethiopian’s worth. Philip doesn’t ask if he truly believes in Jesus. Philip doesn’t ask if he belongs to the right church. Philip doesn’t ask which creed, or faith statement the Ethiopian eunuch holds to. Instead, they find some water and Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch.
Now it can be argued that there is more to the story. After all, our text skips from verse 36 to verse 38. In most translations, either verse 37 is in brackets or there is a footnote about it which says: Philip said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you can be.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son.”
However, verse 37 is not included in the oldest and most reliable Greek manuscripts of this text. Commentators believe that it was added later as the Church became more of an organized religion. The leaders were uncomfortable with the fact the Ethiopian eunuch didn’t make a confession of faith. They added it later to reflect their understanding of the necessary steps one must take before being baptized. Yet, Verse 37 was removed as scholars translated the Bible over the years, with the goal of being as authentic to the original text as possible.
What this tells me as a person of faith is that I need, we need to pay attention to this strange story, that we need to take this strange story seriously …. because this strange story could have easily laid out a rigid dogma of belief which the early church was supposed to follow. This story could have easily set the course for practice which would have shaped the Church for generations to come. It was a perfect opportunity to do so. After all, the leaders at that time were making it up as they went. This strange story could have easily said this is the way it has to be, and this is what you have to do to be a follower of Jesus Christ. It could have easily confirmed the prejudices against race and ethnicity, but it doesn’t!
Rather what this strange story teaches us, reminds us, shows us is that all that is needed for the Gospel message to take root is an encounter with the Holy Spirit. This strange story offers us as followers of Christ an invitation to share the faith, to share our faith through conversation and dialogue, not by berating people, not by thumping them over the head with our bibles, not belittling them until they believe what we believe is correct or right. What this strange story does is that it offers us a glimpse into what can happen when we as followers of Jesus Christ engage the other in our midst. Instead of rigid dogma, what this strange story reminds us of is that as people of faith, what is needed to share the Gospel message is compassion, openness, and a willingness to follow the Spirit where it leads. What this strange story does is remind us that the Gospel message does not play by our rules. Rather, it is given as a gift for all of God’s people and we as disciples of Christ are called to always, always, always, practice what we preach by embracing the Beloved Community in our midst. May it be so. Amen.
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, May 25, 2025 – Do You Really Understand What You Are Reading? Acts 8: 26-39.
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