WORD
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.)
27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Kandake, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”
30 Philip ran up to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he does not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation his justice was taken away.
Who can relate his descendants?
For his life is taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?”
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he 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 prevents me from being baptized?”
38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
When Jesus called his disciples to follow him, he also gave them a new mission—to fish for people (Mat 4:19). This mission seems complicated, even for those who follow Jesus today. But fishing for people can be as easy as preaching the gospel to others, one person at a time. One of the methods that we can use to effectively preach the gospel is the SALT method—Start a conversation, Ask questions, Listen, and Tell the Story. (This acronym was coined by Dr. Rice Broocks.) Today, let us look at the encounter of Philip and an Ethiopian eunuch to see SALT in action.
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” MAT 4:19
20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law (though not being myself under the law), so that I might win those who are under the law;
21 to those who are without law, as without law, (though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ), so that I might win those who are without law.
22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by all means save some. 1CO 9:20-22
1 Start a conversation.
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.)
27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Kandake, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” ACT 8:26-29
At the command of the angel of the Lord, Philip went to the desert. Though it seemed like an odd place to go, Philip obeyed. There he met a eunuch, a high-ranking court official, and the Spirit told him to join this man’s chariot, and he obeyed again (Act 8:27–29). In the same way, we preach the gospel by obeying the Holy Spirit and starting a conversation with unbelievers. Philip’s conversation starter was joining a eunuch on a chariot. When was the last time you started a conversation with someone with the intent of preaching the gospel to them? How did it go?
39 And you shall hear in heaven your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart you know; (for you, even you only, know the hearts of all the children of men) . . .
41 Moreover, concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, but has come from a distant land for your name’s sake—
42 for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,
43 hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your Name. 1KI 8:39, 41-43
Rashi’s Commentary
According to all for which the foreigner called to you—And relating to the Jew it states (v. 39), “and give to every man according to his ways,” because the Jew recognizes the Holy One blessed is he, and he knows that he has the ability in his power to answer; and if his prayers are not heard, he will blame the matter on himself and an account of his sins. But the non-Jew complains and says, “a house, whose fame reaches to the ends of the world, I have exhausted myself on many roads, and have come and prayed in it and found no substance in it, just as there is no substance in idol worship.” Therefore, “according to all for which the foreigner called to you,” but a Jew, if you see that he uses his wealth to destroy his friend, do not give him.
7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants.
22 They replied, “Cornelius the centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to ask you to come to his house and hear a message from you.” ACT 10:7, 22
2 Ask questions.
Philip ran up to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ACT 8:30
Upon striking up a conversation with the eunuch, Philip did not immediately bombard or overwhelm him with the gospel. Instead, Philip asked him about what he was reading. In order to preach the gospel to someone, we have to ask them questions to know where they are or what they are going through. The question can be simple and doesn’t require Bible knowledge. What sort of questions can you ask when talking to an unbeliever?
19 When anyone hears the message of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the path.
23 But the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”
They said to him, “Yes.” MAT 13:19, 23, 51
3 Listen.
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ACT 8:31
We don’t just ask questions; we also listen to their response and understand them. In Philip’s case, Philip knew that the eunuch needed help with the passage in Isaiah. As we preach the gospel, we must listen and respond in compassion. How have you learned to be a better listener?
8 Good and upright is the Lord [and desirous of vindicating his creations];
therefore he instructs sinners in the road [of repentance].
Rashi’s Commentary
Good and upright is the Lord—And desirous of vindicating his creations.
Therefore he instructs sinners in the road—Of repentance.
9 He guides the humble in [the] justice [of their way]
and he teaches the humble his way. PSA 25:8-9
4 Tell the Story.
34 The eunuch asked Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?”
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he 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 prevents me from being baptized?”
38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. ACT 8:34-39
Preaching the gospel means we tell the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Philip connected the prophecies in Isaiah to Jesus. This simple gospel presentation led the eunuch to believe in Jesus and even declare his faith in God publicly through water baptism (Act 8:36–38). Philip’s obedience led the eunuch to know Jesus and have joy (Act 8:39). How do you present the gospel to others?
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he would not open his mouth;
he is led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he would not open his mouth.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted—He was sorely punished for our sins. But there is another translation, which seems to be more emphatical, and more agreeable to the Hebrew text; It (to wit, our iniquity last mentioned, or the punishment of all our sins) was exacted or required, (as this word most properly and frequently signifies, of which see my Latin Synopsis. God’s justice expected and required satisfaction from us for our sins; which, alas! we could not make to him,)
And he was afflicted or punished—He bore the guilt and punishment of our sins in his body upon the cross, as is said, 1Pe 2:24; or, as others render this last word, and he answered, i.e. became our surety, or undertook to pay the debt, and to suffer the law in our stead, and for our sake.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1PE 2:24
Yet he would not open his mouth—He neither murmured against God for causing him to suffer for other men’s sins, nor reviled men for punishing him without cause, nor used apologies or endeavours to save his own life; but willingly and patiently accepted of the punishment of our iniquity.
Is silent—Bears the loss of its fleece or life without any such clamour or resistance as other creatures use in such cases.
8 From oppression and from judgment he was taken:
and who shall declare his generation?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished. ISA 53:7-8
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
Taken away—Out of this life.
By distress and judgment—By oppression and violence. and a pretence of justice.
His generation—His posterity. For his death shall not be unfruitful; when he is raised from the dead, he shall have a spiritual seed, a numberless multitude of those who shall believe in him.
Cut off—By a violent death. And this may be added as a reason of the blessing of a numerous posterity conferred upon him, because he was willing to be cut off for the transgression of his people.
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[“COMMENTARY Rashi on I Kings Chapter 8:43”] (https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_I_Kings.8.43.1?lang=en) by The Metsudah Tanach Series, Lakewood, N.J
Poole, Matthew, "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/isaiah-53.html. 1685.
[“The Rashi Ketuvim on Psalms 25”] (https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.25?ven=The_Rashi_Ketuvim_by_Rabbi_Shraga_Silverstein&lang=en) by [Rabbi Shraga Silverstein,] (https://www.sefaria.org/shraga-silverstein) used under [CC BY 3.0.] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:8". "John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/isaiah-53.html. 1765.
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