Acts 8:26–39 (ESV) — 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran 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 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. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
Once a person truly, sincerely puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, there are landmarks or milestones in their walk with Jesus. These become times of reflection in your life. Sometimes, they are reminders of what Jesus has done in your life. We can see this in Scripture. For example, after Jesus had resurrected from the dead, Jesus appeared to the disciples from the shore at the Sea of Tiberias. The disciples were fishing, and they looked up and saw Jesus on the shoreline. Peter jumps into the water and swims to meet Jesus on the shore. Jesus takes him aside and tells him what he is called to do with his life. This was a milestone in Peter’s life with Jesus.
Water Baptism is one of those significant milestones in a believer’s life. This morning, seven believers have experienced a significant milestone in their faith and walk with Jesus Christ. We are going to learn about this milestone.
My purpose today in sharing this message is to highlight two key points in these verses. These points are intended to deepen your faith and, for some of you, to spark excitement about being baptized for Christ. Others listening will be challenged in what they believe, or what they think they believe, about Jesus.
There are four characters mentioned in this story. The Angel of the Lord, who directs Philip. Philip, a deacon in the church, full of the Spirit and wisdom. An Ethiopian, who believed in Israel’s God—Yahweh. This man believes in the God of Israel, but does not know the way to God. He is called a “Eunuch” – a male who has denied marriage companionship to serve in significant positions in royal courts. There is also the Spirit of the Lord, who carried Philip away after the baptism.
Let’s make sure you understand what we just read in the story. An angel of the Lord led Philip to go speak to a man sitting in a chariot, reading the scriptures. The Ethiopian, on his way back home, pulled into a rest stop to take a break and was reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading, and the Ethiopian replied that he did not know who these prophetic words were talking about.
Then we get to what I want us to zoom in on in verses 34-36.
Acts 8:34–36 (ESV) — 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
Again, the question the Ethiopian asks, after reading Isaiah Chapter 53, is, “Who is the prophet talking about?” Here is the passage the Ethiopian was reading:
Isaiah 53:7–8 - He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
“He” and “his” are found eight times in these two verses. There’s no name attached. It is a good question to ask. Philip began explaining the who, and also the why, and also the what of the passage. Philip led him to see that Isaiah was speaking of the coming Savior. And that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled this prophecy just days ago on a cross. This led the Ethiopian through the good news of Jesus Christ. We call this the Gospel. Why is it good news? A few verses earlier in Isaiah 53, we are told why.
Isaiah 53:6 -All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
In that one verse of scripture, we see the bad news of the gospel and the good news of the gospel. Do you see it? We have (“all” of us) have strayed from God. We turned our backs on him by pursuing and living in rebellion against God. That is the bad news. We are alienated from God. We chose to alienate ourselves. We made ourselves enemies of God by committing treason against Him. We are more than separated from God; we cannot reconcile ourselves back to him. The Psalmist gives a rhetorical question:
Psalm 89:48 — What man can live and never see death? Who can save himself from the power of Sheol (hell)?
Every person is facing death one day, and no one can save themselves from the consequences of their sinfulness. That is bad news. It is extremely bad news. It is the worst of news because it is eternal. Understanding the gravity of the bad news, the second part of Isaiah 53:6 is great news. Your iniquity (sin) was put on Jesus Christ when he hung on the cross. That which condemned you was put on him. He took your condemnation for you. Jesus turned our bad news into great news.
If you look at Isaiah 53:11, you will see the ugliness of the good news. Yes, the ugliness of the good news of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 53:11 - Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
I have added 'who's who' in parentheses to clarify.
Out of the anguish of his (Jesus) soul he (God the Father) shall see and be satisfied; by his (God the Father) knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant (Jesus), make many to be accounted righteous, and he (Jesus) shall bear their iniquities.
The ugliness is what Jesus endured and took upon his soul, which belonged to you. He bore your iniquities! This satisfied justice. The sin had to be punished. Just as a criminal must be punished in our courts, more so in the heavenly realm. Sin cannot be swept under a rug. Justice and righteousness must be satisfied. And it was by Jesus Christ. He took our penalty upon himself. Jesus didn’t simply die. He was condemned. He didn’t simply leave heaven for me; he was crushed for me. He, not deserving to be condemned, ABSORBED my sin in my place. He didn’t just say, “I love you, I sure wish you could be with me.” He came and bore the sin that separated me from a Holy God. His love could not sit still in heaven. He came to be crushed and condemned that you and I may be forgiven and be accepted by God.
Back to our story in Acts 8, and look at verse 36.
And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
Philip was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The message of having faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and to be made right before God prompts the Ethiopian to stop the chariot upon seeing the water. He asks Philip, “What prevents me from being baptized?” What prompted the Ethiopian to want to be baptized with urgency? It is because the Gospel of Jesus Christ that Philip shared included the instruction to be baptized in water.
Does this surprise you? This is what Jesus taught the apostles, and what the apostles taught the church. Jesus told his disciples (Matthew 28:19), “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” This is what the Apostles preached in the first sermon after Jesus went back to heaven. Read Acts 2:37–38. Peter preached the Gospel, and the people were convicted in their hearts and asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then we read that all who believed were baptized. There is the story of Lydia and her family in Acts 16:14-15. After hearing the Gospel from the Apostle Paul, he baptized Lydia and her family. Philip preached the gospel that Jesus commanded to be preached, and the gospel that the Apostles preached. It included the believer’s response to be water baptized.
My point is, water baptism is what we do as followers of Jesus Christ. That is what Jesus taught and the Apostles taught, and what I will teach. Many people consider water baptism as an optional extra to Christianity. But that is not what we read in the Bible. Why? Why is this important to the Christian faith?
Does the act of Water Baptism save you from hell? Does it wash your sins away? Does it make you a Christian? Does it make you a child of God? No. No. No. and No. Does it make you a better Christian? It makes you an obedient Christian to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Why is Water Baptism important? The simplest answer is found in what water baptism is. In its simplest form, baptism is a public identification with Jesus the Christ. This act of immersion underwater and coming up is also a reenactment of the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old man (the sinner that you were), and coming up out of the water symbolizes a resurrection to a newness of life with Christ (Rom. 6:4). This is symbolic of salvation, a public profession of faith, and a witness to the work of salvation.
I think of the story told of St. Patrick baptizing a king. It was the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the water baptism, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king’s foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king’s forgiveness.
“Why did you suffer this pain in silence?’ St. Patrick asked the king. The king replied, “I thought it was part of the ritual.”
It is a symbolic profession. No actual blood is necessary. Jesus already shed the blood. We who believe now enter into what he did for us.
This morning, here among us, seven people publicly professed their faith that Jesus Christ is their Savior. They symbolically showed us that they are new creations in Christ Jesus. The old is dead and buried, and they are spiritually born again. Amen! They have professed today that Jesus Christ changed their hearts to love God, and they now belong to Jesus. Amen!
Are you a Christian and have done this? It is never too late.
The Ethiopian asked Philip another Question. When they came upon some water, he asked, “What prevents me from being baptized?”
Do you hear him ask this question? Not what he is asking as much as how he asked. He has heard about Jesus Christ coming from heaven to die on the cross to free him from the sin that separates him from God. About how Jesus took his penalty of sin that would eternally separate him from God. He heard about the love of God that did this so that he could be born again, free, and alive in the kingdom of God. And he hears that those who believe and trust Jesus as the Savior show their faith to Jesus by being baptized. He is so excited that when he sees a body of water, he stops the chariot and cries out, “What prevents me from being baptized?” It is like, “I have heard the Gospel and believe it. I put my trust in Jesus Christ and the love of God for me. By faith I now belong to Jesus. I want more than anything to follow through and be baptized, just as Jesus commanded. ‘What prevents me from being baptized?’”
The Ethiopian didn’t say to Philip, “Do I have to be baptized?” or, “Why are you making me get baptized?” or, “I heard what you said, but water baptism just isn’t my thing.” or, “I’m going to pass on that last part of confessing my faith in Christ. I personally don’t see it being necessary.” No! He asked, “What prevents me from being baptized?” Do you see the heart of this new believer? Do you hear his excitement to belong to Jesus and to obey His new Savior?
A pastor friend of mine told me about a baptism that took place in an El Salvadoran prison. These prisons had the MS 13 gang members and their rival gangs. These were the most ruthless criminals. This place was spiritually dark and demonic. But a spiritual revival broke out in this prison, and hardened criminals were surrendering to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And according to the biblical gospel, they wanted to be baptized.
A local ministry received permission to place a large barrel in a courtyard area for baptisms. The men who had given their lives to Christ climbed into the barrel, made a public confession of their faith in Christ, denounced their former life, and were dunked.
My friend said that when one of these men came up out of the water, there was a joy over them that was to be coveted. These men did this in front of the other inmates who had surrendered to Christ, and also to their old gang members. It was a “no turning back” landmark in their commitment to Jesus Christ. “This is who I am now! I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. I am a child of the living God. I have been washed clean of all my sins and have been embraced by God the Father.”
In closing, we summarize some key lessons and points. Concerning water baptism, it is not a ticket of admission into heaven. It is an outward picture of what Jesus Christ has done in you and for you. Baptism is a way to formally and publicly commit yourself to Christ and to His people, the Church.
If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, believing and holding to the gospel, have you been water baptized? This is a part of obeying the gospel that the Bible sets forth before us. If you have not been baptized since putting your faith in Jesus for salvation, it is time. Please talk to me about being baptized. Let’s follow the Gospel all the way through. Amen.
