Acts 8:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.

NIV: 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.

NASB: Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: 'HE WAS LED LIKE A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND LIKE A LAMB THAT IS SILENT BEFORE ITS SHEARER, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.

CSB: Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.

NLT: The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: 'He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

KJV: The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

NKJV: 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.

An Ethiopian court official is on his way home from worshiping God in Jerusalem. He is on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza; in Gaza, he will take the road south toward Egypt. An angel has sent the evangelist Philip to meet up with him. Philip hears the official reading from the book of Isaiah and asks if he knows what it means. The Ethiopian invites Philip to explain it (Acts 8:26–31).

Some time before, a pair of men who followed Jesus were walking on a road out of Jerusalem. They were perplexed by the report that although Jesus had been crucified and buried, He was alive again. Jesus met them and, "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).

Illuminating the Old Testament was standard operating procedure for those who witnessed to Jews and worshipers of the Jewish God. Peter used the prophecies of Joel (Acts 2:16–21) and David (Acts 2:25–28). Paul did as well, as he traveled from city to city, generally starting his teaching in the synagogues (see Acts 17:1–3).

The Ethiopian is reading from Isaiah 53 which speaks of the Suffering Servant. In Isaiah 53:7, the Servant is described as a silent lamb being led by others. There is some confusion about this verse because when Jesus was on trial, He did speak to His accusers and to Pilate (John 18:19–23, 33–38). And yet, He did not defend Himself (Mark 14:60–61; 15:4–5). The charges were obviously false and had He said something, He may have been released. But He had come to do His Father's work—to die for our sins.

Acts 8:26–40 completes the story of Philip's early ministry. Driven out of Jerusalem by persecution, he first travels north into Samaria and spreads the gospel to a people Jews had believed accursed (Acts 8:5–13). Now, an angel tells him to go south where he meets an official of the Ethiopian court who is reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip's ministry shows that God doesn't care if someone is born into His chosen people, or are ethnically and theologically confused, or are even a foreign eunuch. He loves equally and desires that everyone will repent and come to Him.

Jesus told the apostles they would spread the gospel (Acts 1:8) and persecution makes that happen. Upon the death of the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60), a young Pharisee named Saul builds on the momentum to arrest and, if possible, execute Jesus followers (Acts 8:1–3; 26:10). The apostles mostly stay in Jerusalem, but the church members flee, spreading the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Important encounters in this passage include a magician named Simon and the conversion of an Ethiopian court official.

Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the book of Acts; Acts 1—7 describes the spread of the gospel through Jerusalem; Acts 8:1—11:18 shows the gospel spreading in Judea and Samaria; Acts 11:19—28:31 sees the gospel spread to the ''end of the earth,'' finalizing in Rome. Ironically, although Paul is the central figure in spreading Jesus' good news to the ends of the earth, his early persecution of the church in Jerusalem is instrumental in spreading the gospel through Judea and Samaria.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.