Acts 8:34 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”

NIV: The eunuch asked Philip, 'Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?'

NASB: The eunuch answered Philip and said, 'Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?'

CSB: The eunuch said to Philip, "I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about--himself or someone else? "

NLT: The eunuch asked Philip, 'Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?'

KJV: And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

NKJV: So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”

A God-worshiping Ethiopian court official is reading the account of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 (Acts 8:32–33). He has good reason to ask Philip whom the passage refers to. Jews still can't accept that the Suffering Servant is the same person as their triumphant Messiah. Although the Bible says little about Isaiah's life, Jewish tradition says that he fled from King Manasseh's guards and hid in a cedar tree. The guards saw the hem of Isaiah's robe and sawed the tree down, cutting Isaiah in half as they did so.

But Philip explains that the passage refers to Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 8:35). Like the Passover lamb, He was led to His death (Mark 14:43–46, 53; 15:1). Although He spoke to His accusers and judges (John 18:19–23, 33–38), He did not defend Himself against the false charges (Mark 14:60–61; 15:4–5). He was humiliated unjustly (Mark 14:55–59; Matthew 27:17–23) and rejected by His contemporaries (Matthew 27:20–23).

Philip includes these horrors Jesus endured as part of the "good news" (Acts 8:35). Not that it was good for Him to be beaten and crucified, but that He rose again on the third day and offers forgiveness of sins. Unlike the Pharisees, priests, and scribes who know the Jewish Scriptures inside and out, yet either rejected Christ or resisted before coming to faith (Acts 6:5), this Ethiopian court official immediately accepts the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy and accepts Christ as his Savior (Acts 8:36–39).

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.