Led To The Slaughter
Acts 8:29–33 (NKJV)
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.”
Picking up where we left off in our last study of the Ethiopian we discovered what it meant to be a eunuch that was emasculated for the service of a monarch in the days of the apostles and before Christ. We also uncovered, to a degree, why a male who has been emasculated was not permitted into the assembly of worship around the tabernacle and temple of the Lord. It was given to keep those who are defiled from defiling what God has made holy and to preserve His holiness among the assembly. We saw how it applies to us today, that men are not to change the definition of God’s holiness or to call common what God has made holy (Acts 10:15; Heb. 10:29). We also discovered the eunuch’s deep desire to know God through Isaiah’s writings as Philip was providentially sent by an Angel to intercept the eunuch on his way home from the yearly Sabbath feasts in Jerusalem. This was a divine appointment specifically for the Ethiopian to receive the power to understand the Scriptures and return to the queen with good news about the salvation of Gentiles through Jesus Christ. We should also lay aside the foolish idea that this “man” was transgender or a homosexual. His emasculation was either a voluntary act of self-sacrifice to serve the queen or against his will as a slave who was bought at a price. The Angel was sent to empower Philip with the faith to operate in God’s electing love and pity upon this particular eunuch. The eunuch was predestined to have an opportunity to call upon Lord of the Sabbath for salvation from sin and eternal death. It was also to his own privilege and advantage that he was emasculated to cause him to seek God for his purpose and meaning behind this personal suffering. This man’s emasculation was not a “vanity affair” but for the glory and honor of His Lord and to be a witness of Lord’s sovereign mercy.
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
The Angel had sent Philip to this road, but the Spirit will lead Philip to the eunuch. Philip did not know what he was looking for on this desert road. All he knew was that he would have an opportunity to share the gospel of Christ as he is led by the Holy Spirit. When Luke says, “the Spirit said;” what does he mean? And how does it apply to us when we are also looking for opportunities to share Christ? Philip was not led by any specific or individual Scripture that said, “Go near and “stick close” [κολλάω] to the chariot.” What then does Luke mean by the Spirit said? It is important for us to understand how the Spirit works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure (Php.2:13). Luke is being led by the Spirit to write down for us an infallible, inerrant, and sufficient account of truth that has the authority and equivalency of Holy Scripture; but what he intends for us to understand about how the Spirit is leading Philip is little different. The Holy Spirit is using the human instincts and the loving ambition of Philip to boldly come alongside and join himself to the chariot. There was no external voice or OT Scripture that commanded Philip to join the chariot party. It was the Holy nature of God, who now abides in Philip, to cause him to act in obedient love and curiosity of this traveling party, to create an open door, and to share the love of Christ. I say human instict because Philip didn't know why he was sent to this desert road and the road probably was the least traveled, therefore, an Ethiopian party would have stood out like a sore thumb and would have been Philip's first instict to assume that this party was who God had in mind when he was sent out by the Angel. And it must have took great courage to boldly confront a whole party of men traveling with the prestige of wealth and honor while Philip would have likely been viewed as a poor and ignorant peasant wandering alone on a desert road. Philip must have also had a struggle with his own sinful flesh that would be pulling him away not to obey the prodding and prompting of the Holy Spirit to open his mouth to these wealthy travelers. We, too, must be ready to hear the Holy Spirit leading us to open doors of opportunity and share the knowledge of salvation in Jesus Christ. We know that we are commanded to go into all the world and make disciples by the means of the gospel; but seldom do we look for open doors to be led by the Holy Spirit, acting in obedience to the love of God. If the love of God dwells in us we should be praying with the Spirit to give us opportunities to disciple others in the way of Christ.
So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
What we are about to dive into is just one of many ways Christians can make disciples. Philip was just sent out of the region of Samaria where he openly preached the gospel in the streets of the villages. But we are about to see another way we can disciple others and by which we all can be ‘evangelists.’ Not everyone is called to have the office of Evangelist like Philip to preach open air in the streets, but we all are able to do what we are about to witness Philip do with the Ethiopian eunuch with the exception of baptizing in the water.
Philip was so motivated by love and driven by the authority of the Angel that he quickly caught up to the Ethiopian chariot. The high financial officer of the queen was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud. This says a lot about his respect for the Scripture. He was not ashamed to allow others to hear the words of the God of Israel. His traveling companions would have also been listening to the words of the prophet as he read aloud. This also gives us the assumption that he understood the Law of Moses to some degree according to the Jewish custom. So there was already some ground work laid for Philip to expound Jesus Christ to him. Philip did not need to shout or raise his voice as he often did in the streets, for the encounter begins as a one on one conversation about what the eunuch was reading from the prophet.
Philip is mostly likely walking at a fast pace to keep up with the chariot. One commentator suggests that the chariot was ox driven and moved along at a slower pace than a chariot that was designed for war. This was a chariot that was only designed for distant traveling and moved at a pace of a brisk walk. This would have enabled Philip to walk alongside the chariot for a distance. As Philip listened to the eunuch read aloud, he was moved from within to ask a serious question. Some commentators understand the question to be a pun or a play on words, but I find that doubtful when I consider the culture’s understanding of the law and the prophets. Philip was not asking this question with a prideful arrogance as if the eunuch should have been able to understand what he was reading. Philip himself and the rest of the apostles were just beginning to understand how the person of Jesus Christ is understood in the OT Scriptures. Nevertheless, Philip probes the wealthy eunuch’s understanding looking for an opportunity to explain what the Scripture said of the promised Messiah.
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
The Ethiopian responds immediately with a humble and teachable spirit. He confesses his ignorance and looks for additional help. This is the open door that Philip was looking for and the providence that God had orchestrated for the benefit of both the eunuch and Philip. God was building both of these men up and preparing them for His divine purposes. Both of these men were seekers of the one true God and the Holy Spirit was leading them both. One was being led by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the other was being led by the external Word (which is Spirit) that had been preserved for him to come to faith in the Messiah (Jn.6:63; 16:13). An interesting fact of the eunuch’s humility is that he bids the wandering "stranger" to come up and sit with him in the chariot.
This exposes an interesting trust of the Ethiopian in the stranger. Philip didn’t even introduce himself or use any sort of “friendship evangelism” technique. The wealthy eunuch could have easily suspected the wandering stranger as a “gold digger;” but his mind was so captivated by the writings of the prophet, that his child like faith trusted utilizing the knowledge of Philip, and requests his presence alongside in the chariot. What an honor for Philip! Now he gets to ride in style for a time. But what is most important is that these men were driven by knowing the Lord more clearly and had no concern for their own safety or wellbeing. The one thing that united them was the love of the Truth and nothing would separate them from the desire to know God more intimately. The conversation was completely and wholly centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father’s word concerning His beloved Son. The eunuch didn’t ask to see the stranger’s preaching license, or what synagogue he was a member of, or for any credential of any kind. The high official didn’t ask for a background check to dig up any sin that he could use against the man if he didn’t agree with what he taught. All he wanted to know was God more personally and intimately.
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.
Again, it may be good for us to remember the likelihood that the eunuch heard of a man who was claiming to be the Messiah and was charged with blasphemy just weeks before the yearly feast of Pentecost. The apostles had been preaching around the temple during Pentecost and were also openly proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. It is highly doubtful that this eunuch didn’t hear of the strange events happing during his stay in Jerusalem for the feast of weeks. This may have been why he was so eager to understand the Scriptures more. The blasphemer and his disciples were without question the gossip of the city and this may have raised many questions in the mind of the wise and wealthy eunuch. Therefore the so-called rumors may have already been lurking in his mind as to why a man was crucified for claiming to be God in the flesh. Therefore, the questions that are working in the heart of the eunuch are providentially going to be answered as he reads the Scriptures and as Philip explains them to him.
The portion of Scripture that was being read is a section of Isaiah 53. Luke only quotes verses 7 & 8 as a summary of the chapter; but the whole chapter and possibly the whole book was the means that Philip used to expound Christ. The highlight of the book is in this “place” [περιοχὴ] of Scripture and would have been the easiest and clearest way to get to the understanding of the Messiah suffering for sinners. This would have also been what the eunuch would have needed to understand the most, not being able to come into the innermost assembly of worship around the temple. He would not have been able to see the how the sacrifices were slaughtered and burnt, expressing God’s hatred and wrath against sinners. He would not have been able to watch the execution of the animal sacrifices as a substitution for the worshipers, as the priests slit the throats of the bulls and goats offered to the Lord. He would not have been able to watch them butchered and ‘consumed’ by fire and by mouth when the organs were burnt to ash and the meat internalized. The true and spiritual worshipers of the Lord would have understood this when offerings were made to the Lord. But as often happens, when offerings are given in a routine fashion, the true meaning is often lost or misunderstood. The people knew that they were commanded to bring their tithes and offerings but did not understand the significance and purpose behind those offerings. The Law was often taught but was seldom done according to the Spirit.
The Ethiopian proselyte in that current Jewish culture would have only understood his responsibility to the Law, not the purpose of the Law to reveal the knowledge of sin and the holiness of God. But what the eunuch was most eager to know was what God’s responsibility was to him, as a convert, and for his hunger of the truth, not being able to come close enough to the full counsel of God. Upon understanding this section of Isaiah, he would have been able to reconcile in his mind the need of an atonement for sin, and the purpose in the coming of a suffering servant who would end all the sacrifices of animals, as a once and for all offering for sin (Heb.10:1-10). No longer would the Ethiopian be separated from the innermost sanctuary of God. Through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God he would now have access into the very presence of God without having to travel to Jerusalem or offer some kind of animal sacrifice. All he needed was the OT Scriptures, the knowledge of the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit to lead him into the truth of the Word.
Therefore, upon hearing Philip explain why the Messiah had to be crucified, the law would have made more sense to the Ethiopian. Philip would have had to teach why God commanded the feasts and Sabbaths of the Lord. He would have had to give the true history and culture behind the Law because the present culture had corrupted God’s original purposes. The prophet Isaiah is one of many that calls the nation of Israel back to God’s original intentions for her to be obedient to the Law in the Spirit upon which the Law was instituted. That Spirit is found in this section of the prophet’s writings. The Law was to point forward to a man who would suffer for the sins of the believing world.
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. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”
