Cut
For any number of reasons, this is one of my favorite Acts stories, and one I always enjoy discussing in Sunday School or my old midweek Bible Seminars. It'd all be perfectly clear to any Jews who might read Luke's report, but I wonder whether Theophilus "got it," and even whether Luke himself did, assuming Luke to have been writing as a gentile. Of course, if the story is entirely of Luke's composition, he would or should have understood, but regardless, the story is wonderfully, glaringly subtle.
The Ethiopian eunuch, perhaps a Jew or at least of the θεοσέβής "God-worshipers" or "God-fearer" gentiles who behaved jewishly, has made pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship at temple; but in accord with Jewish law, and grievously hurtful to him personally, as a "cut male" he is unacceptable, forbidden full access to temple worship. Luke's double-entendre is clear: castrated, the man is cut off from his people, can have no future generations, and the Isaiah 53 passage is comforting to him because he identifies entirely with the suffering servant there. Philip thereby helps the man relate himself and the suffering servant and Jesus, and leads him to Christ. It is a wonderful story of Philip's evangelism as well as introducing the early church's practice of baptizing new converts.
Just as I am, without one plea ...
O Lamb of God, I come. I come.
Acts 8:26-40
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 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 silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.’
The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.
As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
The Ethiopian eunuch, perhaps a Jew or at least of the θεοσέβής "God-worshipers" or "God-fearer" gentiles who behaved jewishly, has made pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship at temple; but in accord with Jewish law, and grievously hurtful to him personally, as a "cut male" he is unacceptable, forbidden full access to temple worship. Luke's double-entendre is clear: castrated, the man is cut off from his people, can have no future generations, and the Isaiah 53 passage is comforting to him because he identifies entirely with the suffering servant there. Philip thereby helps the man relate himself and the suffering servant and Jesus, and leads him to Christ. It is a wonderful story of Philip's evangelism as well as introducing the early church's practice of baptizing new converts.
Just as I am, without one plea ...
O Lamb of God, I come. I come.
Acts 8:26-40
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 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 silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.’
The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.
As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.