One of the most devoted, humble men in the Bible is someone you rarely hear about—the Ethiopian eunuch. He is an amazing, Biblical example of what it means to seek after God wholeheartedly, so we wanted to do a deep dive into Acts 8: 26-39 for today’s Bible study.
So grab your Bible, notebook, and a cup of coffee or tea, and let’s dig deep into the Scriptures to learn more about the Ethiopian eunuch!
ACTS 8: 26-39
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 8:37 Some manuscripts include here “Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ The eunuch answered, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’”
There is so much to unpack here! What do you see about the Ethiopian eunuch as you read the Scripture above? What are your initial impressions? Take a moment to write that down before diving deeper.
Got your notes down? Alright, let’s walk through this!
VERSES 26-29
The Ethiopian eunuch’s story starts out with an angel of the Lord telling Philip to travel along the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip was an evangelist in the first century church, and he was also one of seven deacons that was appointed to help care for the widows in Acts 6:1-7.
It was on this desert road that Philip meets our favorite, “whollyhearted” guy, the Ethiopian eunuch!
If you read verses 27 through 29, you get a quick glimpse about this Ethiopian eunuch—he was in charge of the treasury for the queen of the Ethiopians, he was reading the book of Isaiah, and he was on his way back from Jerusalem.
If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God (2 Peter 1:20-21), then that means that these “minor” details are in the Bible for a reason… And if you dig deeper, it actually tells you a lot about this man’s character.
So let’s go deeper into what the Scriptures say about the Ethiopian eunuch:
1. He was a eunuch (verse 27).
A lot of people don’t actually know what a eunuch is, but just so you don’t have to Google it—a eunuch is a man that has been castrated to serve a specific role.
Talk about being dedicated to your job!
In this case, the Ethiopian eunuch was a eunuch because he was working closely with the queen, and there was to be no “funny business” between the two.
It’s easy to gloss over the fact that this man had become a eunuch for the purpose of serving the queen, but this is actually one of the first clues we get about his character—this man was wholehearted in whatever he did. He was committed.
To become a eunuch for the sake of a job (“career”) was probably not something this man took lightly. By becoming a eunuch, he removed any possibility of having his own children, and he was committing his life to serving the queen.
This shows that the eunuch was the type of guy who would give his whole heart to something. If he was willing to give his whole heart to his job, surely he could give his whole heart to God.
2. He was a treasurer to the queen of the Ethiopians (verse 27).
The Scriptures say that the Ethiopian eunuch was an “important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake” (and if you’re using the 1984 NIV, it says, “in charge of all the treasury of Candance, queen of the Ethiopians”). Basically, this man wasn’t just some basic guy—he had access to some of the most influential people in his country.
This seems minor, but if you did an initial, full reading of Acts 8:26-39, you know that the Ethiopian eunuch ended up being taught the true gospel message and he responded to that message by becoming a true Christian and getting baptized. We’ll talk about this more later, but what does that have to do with him being a treasurer?
Well, Ethiopia is a predominantly Christian country, and I’d like to think that the person who started it all was this Ethiopian eunuch. Perhaps he used his influence to convert many high ranking officials to the true gospel message, and those influential people went on to convert others.
3. He had a copy of the Book of Isaiah (verse 28).
Having the Book of Isaiah back in those days meant that you had a handwritten scroll with the Scriptures on it. There was no printing press, so it’s not like this eunuch had a literal, leather bound book that he was reading… Instead, he was reading something that was hand written on some type of natural material (papyrus or leather parchment perhaps? We have no clue).
Whatever the material was, we can assume it probably cost a lot of money.
But that’s actually the benefit of the job that the eunuch had—it provided him with access to resources that an average person just didn’t have. So obtaining his own personal copy of the Book of Isaiah was definitely one of those perks. It shows that this man was truly seeking after God and wanted to get his life together—so much so that he was willing to spend big money for access to the Scriptures.
4. He went to Jerusalem to worship (verse 27).
The end of verse 27 says that the Ethiopian eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship and was now on his way home. This actually gives us the biggest clue as to how devoted this guy was:
- A round trip journey from Ethiopia to Jerusalem is far when you have to go by chariot. I struggle to take straight flights from the East Coast to the West Coast! I can’t imagine trying to do that by chariot… This eunuch was so wholehearted in his devotion that he was willing to take off work and travel 1600 miles one way just to go to Jerusalem to worship!
- A round trip journey from Ethiopia to Jerusalem is far when you can’t even go inside the temple. That’s right—according to Deuteronomy 23:1, eunuchs were not allowed to worship inside the temple. So this eunuch travelled a round trip of 3200 miles just to stand outside the temple to worship!
- A round trip journey from Ethiopia to Jerusalem is far when you have to take months off from work. With how long this journey was going to be, the eunuch probably had to take months off from work. Who knows what that actually looked like back then (it’s not like they had PTO…), but the fact that he was willing to do that says a lot about his heart. Who knows if he had to train someone to fulfill his duties while he was out, or if he would even have a job when he got back. I’m sure there was some risk involved in taking off that long just to go worship, but the eunuch was willing to take that risk.
Despite all of the hurdles, the eunuch made it a point to go to the temple to worship in person. He undoubtedly had a very devoted and dedicated heart that was seeking after a true relationship with God.
VERSES 30-35
We see in verses 30-35 that Philip actually approaches the eunuch and asks him what he’s reading—what a bold move! Philip could probably tell that the eunuch was an important official based on the way he was dressed and the fact that he was reading something.
Yet this didn’t intimidate Philip, and he had enough boldness to ask the eunuch,“Do you understand what you are reading?” (Verse 30).
This is when the interaction could have gone awry. The Ethiopian eunuch could have brushed Philip off or even questioned why some random guy would have the audacity to ask him if he understood what he was reading—but that wasn’t the eunuch’s response.
Instead, with humility, he says, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” (Verse 31). It then says that the eunuch invited Philip up into the chariot to sit with him.
It takes a very humble heart to admit that you don’t fully understand the Scriptures and need someone to teach you, especially when you have as committed of a heart as the eunuch had.
Really think about it. The Ethiopian eunuch was such a high caliber guy that it could have come off as embarrassing to admit that he didn’t actually understand the content of that expensive scroll that he bought…
Instead, the eunuch was very humble in his response and admitted that he needed someone to teach him. He probably didn’t know too much about who Philip was, but he trusted him enough to invite him into the chariot and learn from him.
[While this post is about the Ethiopian eunuch, I do want to detour and note how knowledgeable of the Scriptures Philip actually was. Verse 35 said that Philip took the passage of Scripture that the eunuch was reading (which was Isaiah 53:7-8), and from there was able to tell him about Jesus. Now that’s a man of God that knows his Scriptures!
I’ve often heard people say, “I don’t understand the Old Testament,” or “I mainly read the New Testament because it applies most to my life today.” What’s interesting though, is that Philip took an Old Testament Scripture and related it to the New Testament gospel message.
The Old Testament is a spiritual foreshadowing of what happens in the New Testament. That’s a whole other lesson, but the question is—how well do you know the Old Testament? Are you able to explain all of the New Testament “concepts” using the Old Testament Scriptures?]
VERSES 36-40
As we close out this passage of Scripture, we see in verse 36 that the eunuch and Philip came across some water in the hot desert (which you can only assume was put there by God), and the eunuch asked Philip if he could be baptized. The eunuch had immediate action based off what he had learned from the true gospel message, and he didn’t want to delay getting right with God.
Think about it… As was mentioned before, the Ethiopian eunuch had access to things that the average person back then didn’t. I’m sure there was probably some beautiful, clean bathing pool or fountain he could have gotten baptized in back at the queen’s palace. Yet, the Ethiopian eunuch didn’t wait until he was back at home to get baptized—he saw water in the desert and took the opportunity to get right with God immediately. He was urgent in his response to the Gospel message.
And his urgency paid off. After getting baptized, it says that the eunuch went on his way rejoicing (verse 39). He was happy! His wholehearted devotion to God had paid off.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE EUNUCH?
1. How wholehearted are you for God?
Sometimes we can treat God like he’s our favorite celebrity.
We love them, support them, know things about them, and would even stand up for them when someone else has something bad to say, but most of us wouldn’t really sacrifice our time, money, or energy because we love them.
I’m a super huge Tom Hanks fan and have seen practically every movie of his, can quote the entire Forrest Gump movie, and nearly cried when we and Rita Wilson tested positive for the coronavirus. But I don’t ever plan on running across country to stand outside a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant that Tom Hanks is eating at. I at least better have a confirmation to personally meet him!
It seems trivial, but really ask yourself—how wholehearted are you for God? Are you willing to prioritize him first in your life? Are you willing to sacrifice your time for him and love him wholeheartedly?
2. Do you have a humble heart?
Unfortunately, humility is a lost virtue in the world today…
We gas ourselves up according to our experience or intellect. We put on a facade because we live in a social media, everyone-is-perfect-and-a-guru-at-something, era. We consider virtues like humility as weakness, or wrongly assume that if we’re humble, it automatically means that someone is taking advantage of us.
Scripture after scripture is paved with examples of those who are truly humble, compared with those that are not. God opposes a prideful, arrogant, haughty heart (James 4:6).
Do you have a humble heart? Are you willing to allow others to teach you the Scriptures?
3. Do you understand what you’re reading?
I remember being in college and having to re-read certain sections in my biology textbook because I just didn’t understand what was going on. I obviously knew how to read, and the words themselves made sense, but when I tried to put everything together, I still could not understand all of the metabolic pathways that go on in the human cell…
There’s reading the Bible and then there’s actually understanding it. The most important part about reading the Bible is actually understanding and comprehending what you’re reading—do you understand what you read in the Bible? If not, feel free to check out our How to Read and Understand the Bible post to help you get started.
4. Do you have a Philip in your life?
Honestly, many of us are ready to be the Philip in other people’s lives. We’re eager to teach others and share what we’ve learned, and we can all get there at some point.
But before that, we need a Philip in our lives to help teach and train us spiritually. At work, we all have mentors or peers that help us grow and flourish in our careers. We need the same type of mentorship in our spiritual lives. Do you have someone in your life who can teach, rebuke, correct, and train you (2 Timothy 3:16) in your daily walk with God?
5. Do you respond to God’s word?
The eunuch responded to the Gospel message immediately and took action. Sometimes it’s easy to read through the Scriptures and use them as a “power thought” or “motivational quote” for the day, but we can fail to actually implement what we learn in our everyday lives. Having a wholehearted devotion to God means apply the word of God to your life immediately. Do you respond to God’s word immediately?
CONCLUSION
The Ethiopian eunuch’s story truly is a great example of what it means to worship God with all of your heart. There are so many great practicals that we can take away from just 15 Bible verses. The eunuch was humble, teachable, devoted, and urgent—all qualities that make for a wholehearted devotion to God. We all should imitate his heart!
What do you like about the Ethiopian eunuch’s story? Is there anything in him that you want to imitate? Feel free to share your takeaways in the comments below!
