And as they went along the way, they came upon a certain water, and the eunuch says, Behold water; what hinders my being baptised?
The man from Ethiopia has just heard Philip preach Jesus to him. Now water appears beside the road, and his new faith turns straight into a question.
The story Philip told began at a line about a life taken away from the earth. That line stayed with the eunuch, and his call for water was his answer to it.
It is sweet to see the effect on the man listening to that wonderful story. The story started at the point that seems to have impressed his soul most deeply: "His life is taken away from the earth." So he exclaimed, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" If the One who had won his heart was gone from the earth, then from now on he would live under the shadow of His death in this world.
The account never records Philip raising the subject. The eunuch himself sees the water and speaks first.
I do not read that Philip said anything about baptism, but the eunuch says, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" Now, what did he mean by this? He had heard of the life and death of the Lord, and he learned that Jesus had gone into the grave and risen again. He seems to say, "He came into this scene for me, and He has died out of it. Now I would like to identify myself with Him, even if only in the figure of baptism. In this water I would like to put on His name."
The eunuch's question can be read as asking for burial. He had just heard that One died for him, and in the water he could put away everything he had been.
So the eunuch says, Here is water, why not let me own the judgment of God? Let me be buried here at once, on the spot. In this he justified God. He owned the full redemption in the precious death of Jesus for him. Then he gave himself up as entirely dead with Him. Think of all that he was: an Ethiopian, a religious man who had been to Jerusalem to worship, a child of the first Adam. He committed all of it to the grave, buried with Christ.
The wording of his question carries weight. A man asking permission is not a man carrying out an order.
Where is His command to the person to be baptised or to take the Lord's Supper? A command puts things in an altogether wrong light. Christian baptism is a favour conferred on the soul on the authority of the Lord Jesus. The Ethiopian asks, "What prevents me from being baptized?" And Peter, in the case of Cornelius, says, "Can anyone withhold water?" It would be strange to talk this way if it were a command. Who would think of hindering or forbidding a command of the Lord?
Faith came first, then the water. Some give baptism credit for more than it carries.
Baptism follows the hearing of faith. So when they come upon some water, the stranger asks what prevents his being baptized, and receives the privilege on the spot… Without the heart's subjection to the Lord and His grace, the outward mark is worse than worthless. Yet its importance is neither small nor slight. Those who despise it lose the truth it stands for as plainly as those who make an idol of it. They fail to see that life is never attributed to baptism. Salvation is what baptism sets forth — the washing away of sins, and death to sin, the blessed portion the gospel bears witness to in Christ dead and risen for the believer.
Some Bibles carry a verse 37 where Philip replies about believing with the whole heart. Others leave it out or drop it into a footnote.
The next passage omitted of any importance is Acts 8:37: "And 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." The context shows that this verse is in no way needed for the story. For many years, people on all sides have agreed that it is an addition with no warrant. To believe with the heart is a divine condition (Rom. 10:9-10), but let us thank God — for who could stand the test? — that we are not required to work out whether we believe with our whole heart.
- Word first. Philip preached Jesus to him. His call for water grew out of what he had heard, not out of a ritual someone pressed on him.
- Water next. He asked for it himself, on the spot, wanting to put on the name of the One whose life was taken away from the earth.
- Grave next. The water pictured a grave: Christ's death put away his sins, and burial with Christ put away the man he had been.
- A favour, not an order. "What prevents me?" is the language of a man seeking a privilege; nobody asks permission to obey a command.
- Road after. Nothing hindered him. He went into the water to put on Christ's name, and lived from then on under the shadow of His death.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they went down both to the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptised him.
The Ethiopian official had just asked what stood in the way of his being baptized. Nothing did. This verse shows what baptism pictures, who carries it out, and what it cost this man.
The traveller called the halt, not the preacher. He had just heard that the life of the One who suffered was taken from the earth, and he drew his own conclusion.
From that Scripture Philip preached Jesus to him. As he listened to the story of the utter humiliation, the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus, the glory of this world lost its shine and faded from his eyes. Another Object filled his vision — Jesus, whose life was taken from the earth. He cried, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" He would follow Him. He would turn his back on the world that had rejected Him. He would be identified with Him in His death as far as this world was concerned. Even self and all its former hopes must go in death. He was eager for it, nothing must stand in his way.
Both men stepped down into the water. The action itself carries the meaning: a burial, not a washing.
He had learnt he was a dead sinner, and what should hinder his burial? This is how it was done: "they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him." That is, he buried him in water as a dead sinner. It was a figure of the death and burial of Christ the adorable Substitute. And then he was raised out of the water, and went on his way rejoicing. He did not go down into the water to wash the man clean; no, it was to bury him. The water of baptism does not pour some virtue or grace into the dead sinner. And do not for a moment suppose it can wash away his sins and their stain. It is simply the figure or expression of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
The order here is fixed: he heard, he believed, and then he asked for water. Kelly warns against two errors: throwing the sign away, or making everything of it.
Baptism follows the hearing of faith. And so, when they come upon a certain water, the stranger asks what hinders his being baptized, and receives the privilege on the spot… The outer mark is worse than worthless without the heart's subjection to the Lord and His grace. Yet it has its importance in ways neither few nor small. The loss of the truth it represents is as clear in those who despise it as in those who idolise it. They fail to see that life is never attributed to baptism. Salvation is set forth in it: the washing away of sins, and death to sin. This is the blessed portion the gospel testifies to in Christ dead and risen for the believer.
No congregation, no committee, no ceremony. Philip did it himself, and that shows where the responsibility for baptizing lies.
With the Ethiopian all was simple and assured. There was no thought of going before the assembly in Samaria. Baptism is individual, no matter how many souls are baptized. The church has nothing to do with it. The Lord directed His servants — not the church as such — to baptize. They are responsible to Him for this, as they are for the preaching of the word. The church does not baptize, any more than it preaches and teaches; the evangelist does, though he may ask another to do it for him.
This man held rank in the world. Baptism would settle what he could still be there.
He saw the conclusion. If the only One who had a perfect title to live here had His life taken from the earth, then it was time for him to be associated with that One in the place of death and burial. Baptism sets that out in figure. That would close the record of his life as a man of the world. The eunuch was also a man of marked distinction in the world's affairs. Baptism for him would mean that he could never again be recognised as one of the world's great men.
Others were watching from the chariot.
That man was not driving his own chariot that day; somebody else was driving it. He had a fine carriage, and I expect there were a good many servants looking on. It is a fine thing when the master takes a stand for Christ; you will generally find that a blessing then comes to the servants as well.
- Hearing — Baptism follows the hearing of faith. It is never credited with giving life; it sets salvation forth.
- Halting — The eunuch stopped the chariot, not Philip. He was eager, and nothing must stand in his way.
- Burial — The water buries a dead sinner. It is a figure of Christ's death and burial, not a washing that makes him clean.
- Charge — The Lord told His servants, not the church, to baptize. Baptism is individual, whatever the numbers.
- Cost — For a man of rank, it closed the record of his life as a man of the world. His servants watched him take that stand, and blessing tends to reach them too.