Emasculated For Christ!
Acts 8:26–40 (NKJV)
26 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. 27 So he arose and went. 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, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 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?” 37 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.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
In our last study we uncovered the conversion of Simon known magus. His conversion came in two stages. The first was repentance, although an imperfect act of recognition of sin, and an imperfect understanding of the fear of God, Simon, in fact, did turn from all known sin in his life and believed in the righteousness of Christ. But upon the testing and examination of his repentance and faith, he found the need to continue on in that repentance and faith. Salvation is not a flu shot, as one preacher has coined it. The seed of the gospel must continue to abide in the believer and he must grow up into the mind of Christ. The Christian life is full of testing, by God’s divine design, to push us towards this growth. Therefore, we are to count it all joy, as the apostle says, when we meet various kinds of trials, for it is God who is at work to sanctify us. Our responsibility, as it was Simon’s, is to continue on in whom we have believed. Simon was empowered to do this through the first work of repentance and faith. It was the fear of God that kept him from departing (Jer.32:40) and faith that cried out for the help of the Holy Spirit (Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit) to abide with him. The compassion of Peter could not turn this new disciple away; for it was Christ who said, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (Jn.6:37). Not only was it Simon’s responsibility to believe, but it was Peter’s responsibility, as an apostle, to keep Simon to whom Peter would give an account on Judgment Day (1Cor.6:1-5). Lord willing in this study we will continue to learn from the methods of the early church how to evangelize the lost.
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.
The transition here has no comparison or contrast between Philip and the previous actions of Peter and Simon. In fact, it is most likely that as Peter and Simon went throughout Samaria testifying; Philip was commissioned simultaneously. The Greek word for “angel,” in the original language, is capitalized and is not referring to a human messenger, but a heavenly being sent out from the presence of the Lord Himself. Philip was already commissioned by the church in Jerusalem; and the Angel is now sending him off again, as he was before, working alone in the region of Samaria preaching the gospel. It is not clear why the Angel calls Philip to arise, but it is a fair assumption that Philip was in a position of prayer seeking his next mission from the Lord. The Angel tells him to go toward the midday sun (μεσημβρίαν), as was often used as a compass in those days to determine time and direction, until he comes upon the road that leads through the desert from Jerusalem to Gaza.
So he arose and went. 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, . . .
Philip responds to the Angel and obeys immediately. Somewhere on the desert road between Jerusalem and Gaza, Philip, providentially lead by the Lord, comes upon an Ethiopian eunuch who had come all the way up from the authority of his queen to worship in Jerusalem. Luke, who was writing this historical account to Theophilus, wants the reader to pay particular attention, καὶ ἰδοὺ, (And behold) to the subject, who is a eunuch of the dynasty of Candace of the Ethiopians. It is most likely Luke’s intent for Theophilus to have a relevant sympathy for the eunuch since Theophilus himself was a high servant to a dynasty of high degree. Just as the Caesars were a long line of kings, the Candace were also a long line of succeeding queens. Theophilus who served the current Caesar, as some kind of governor, would most likely be able to quickly identify himself with the circumstances of the Ethiopian eunuch. Luke’s goal in writing the account of the life of Jesus Christ (the gospel of Luke) and the account of the Holy Spirit (the book of Acts) was to evangelize Theophilus with a full counsel of God. Therefore, Luke wants Theophilus to pay particular attention to the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch for his own particular benefit.
First, we should remind ourselves about the culture and history of what it meant to be a eunuch in the days of the apostles and before the arrival of Christ. This will help us get into the mind of the eunuch and the Holy Spirit who is working in the heart of the Ethiopian.
Exactly where and why human castration began is still uncertain. The tradition reported by the Byzantine historian Ammianus Marcellinus (Rerum gestarum libri xiv.6.17)—that it was instituted by the legendary Assyrian Queen Semiramis (Sammu-ramat, ca. 810–805 b.c.)—at least suggests Mesopotamia as its place of origin, though it is now known that the Assyrian practice of making men eunuchs actually antedates this queen by many centuries. Castration as a means of punishment was known in Assyria already in the 2nd millennium b.c. An example may be noted in the “Middle Assyrian Laws” (tablets from the time of Tiglath-pileser I, 12th cent. b.c., but laws and regulations which may actually derive from the 15th cent. b.c.): “if a seignior has caught a (nother) seignior with his wife … if the woman’s husband puts his wife to death, he shall also put the seignior to death, but if he cuts off his wife’s nose, he shall turn the seignior into a eunuch [aīla(LÚ) ana ša rēšēn útâr] and they shall mutilate his whole face” (Tablet A.15; tr. T. J. Meek, ANET, p. 181; text, R. Borger, Lesestücke, II, 51; III, plate 34).
Commonplace from early times in Mesopotamia was the employment of eunuchs as servants or supervisory officials in the women’s quarters of royal households (see E. Weidner, pp. 264ff). But eunuchs in ancient Mesopotamia were known not only as bodyguards or domestics, but also as palace officials, statesmen, and military generals (see, e.g., Borger, Lesestücke, I, lxxvi, s.v. šūt rēši).
Concerning the origin of eunuchs, it is generally assumed that human castration was first suggested by analogy with that of animals. Xenophon (Cyropaedia vii.5.60–65) reports that it was the belief of the Persian king Cyrus the Great that emasculation yielded more docile and easily managed slaves who, undistracted by family ties, were characterized by single-hearted loyalty (and in the harem by unquestioned fidelity). Thus Xenophon says of Cyrus, “Recognizing these facts, he selected eunuchs for every post of personal service to him, from the doorkeepers up” (Cyropaedia vii. 5.65 [LCL]).
Burke, D. G. (1979–1988). Eunuch. In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 2, p. 200). Wm. B. Eerdmans.
The man of Ethiopia is not from the region of the current geography known as Ethiopia today. The Ethiopian eunuch would have been traveling southwest from Jerusalem to Gaza where he would have been able to travel by boat from the Mediterranean Sea down the Nile River or a canal to the Red Sea to what is modernly called the Sudan which is just below Egypt. The eunuch was some kind of financial officer to the current queen in the region of Cush. The fact that he came all the way up from Cush may indicate that he was a Jew born in the exile or of the traditions of the queen of Sheba who was a Jewish proselyte of Solomon. Some commentators argue that he may not have been a literal eunuch that had been emasculated, because of the Old Covenant law that prevented eunuchs from entering the assembly (Dt. 23:1). But let’s take a timeout and meditate on why God would not allow someone into the assembly for being emasculated? Is this a moral issue that we should pay attention to today? What was the purpose of this law?
Deuteronomy 23:1–8 (NKJV)
1 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the Lord. 2 “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. 6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever. 7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. 8 The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
There is not much history as to why this law was instituted, as it is in the following context of laws that have some sort of history connected to them, and the previous context of laws are all regarding sexual sins. Therefore why is it that God excludes males who have been emasculated? Is God speaking only of those who purposely emasculated themselves to prevent themselves from having children? Is He also excluding those who have been emasculated by accident or those who are born impotent? Is He excluding foreign eunuchs who were emasculated by pagan religious rituals? Or could He be excluding, based on the previous context of sexual sins, a man who has been emasculated by the deceitfulness and revenge of a battered wife or prostitute? We also need to consider that this was not a requirement to be a citizen of the commonwealth of Israel but to participate in the gathering of the offered sacrifices of worship to the God of Israel.
In the book of Leviticus we see the laws that applied to the priesthood that have similar connotations.
Leviticus 21:17–21 (NKJV)
17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
Leviticus 22:24 (NKJV)
24 ‘You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land.
Looking at the full context of God’s purpose in these laws we find our answers, if we have the ears to hear and the eyes to see. The purpose of this law was to be a ministry of death to the one who would seek God by his own means and his own righteousness. It is a law that speaks of God’s high and holy righteousness. It is a law that prevents and excludes all evil from the presence of God. It is a law that was written to humble man to the point that he cries out, “What must I do to be saved?” Indeed, God has a purpose in this law; and we later come to a day when this law has fulfilled its work in the heart of evil, so that God shows mercy and institutes a promise to those who would seek God by faith rather than by the works of law (2Cor.3:7-18). Isaiah 56:1–8 (NKJV)
1 Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be revealed. 2 blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3 Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying, “The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.” 4 For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, 5 Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off. 6 “Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants— everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant— 7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” 8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him.”
It was God’s desire and intent that men would seek Him with a heart of faith and love; not merely with a heart of fear, for fear involves torment and the love of God has not been perfected in the one who only fears God. The fear of God is necessary to keep us from turning away from Him but the love of God is necessary to keep us coming to Him for life. Therefore, the prophet Isaiah urges the eunuchs to keep the Sabbaths of the Lord that they may find rest in the bread of Life. There was a need for the eunuch to keep the Sabbaths of the Lord (before Christ) so that he would be in a position to receive the bread of life in the providence that would come to him. The eunuch may not have been able to come into the innermost presence of the assembly but would be able to assemble in the outer courts eating the crumbs that had fallen from the table of Israel. Therefore, the law was to prevent the defiled from defiling the holiness of God; not to prevent the defiled from becoming holy through the holiness of God.
. . . was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
It was for this reason that this particular eunuch had come up to Jerusalem for the yearly Sabbath to worship, but it was only at the grace and wealth of the dynasty of Candace. It is no doubt that the eunuch loved the prophet Isaiah for this special pleasure of knowing this promise. Again, it is most likely that the eunuch was literally emasculated having been chosen to be a treasurer to the queen. It was most likely that the men were to be castrated for the safety of the queen, to give their full loyalty and allegiance to her service, and to prevent any attempts of sexual assault. Depending on what culture a eunuch served under depended on whether it was a voluntary action of service or were bought through slavery. It was for this reason that the eunuch had his very own manuscript of the prophet’s writings. It is most likely that the queen loved her eunuch and gave him much liberty to keep the Sabbaths according to Jewish custom. The eunuch must of had been in Jerusalem for a very long period of time to be returning home on this desert road to Gaza so long after Pentecost. It is also my assumption that the eunuch may have already been introduced to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the preaching of the apostles having been in Jerusalem for so long. It is not certain but doubtful that he had not heard, in some way, about a deranged man and some wayward disciples claiming that a crucified man of Nazareth was the Messiah. Indeed, with the eunuch’s desire to continue on in the study of the Scriptures, he was surely looking forward (by faith) to the promise:
For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters [Israel]; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
The eunuch just may not have understand how this promise would come being yoked to the law that prevents him from the innermost assembly. Lord willing we will know how this promise will be applied to the eunuch in our next study. The eunuch may have been ‘cut off’ from the pleasure of knowing a woman sexually and intimately, but it was to the advantage of knowing God more intimately with the ‘deep’ affection of His love. Lord willing we shall see how the everlasting Name of Jesus Christ will be his identity through the circumcision of Jesus Christ.
