Acts 8:36

Act_8:36-39

The eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

The baptizing of the eunuch

Note--

I. That to an obedient and cheerful hearer the word of God is never preached without success. This one discourse prevailed through Gods mercy to the enlightening of the eunuchs mind; it wrought also upon his affections in such a measure that nothing was more desired of him than to show himself a Christian, and to have some pledge of the favour of God. The Word never is unprofitable where it meets with such an auditor. Learn, then, the true cause why there is no such profiting of the Word preached as there should be and was in purer times. Then one sermon won many; now, many sermons scarce prevail with one. Surely the cause is men want that ready, cheerful disposition, which the good people in those times had; then they sued to be taught, as the eunuch here, those at Pentecost, the Antiochians, and the jailer.

II. That where the heart is truly touched, and the soul indeed turned unto God, there is a desire to be partaker of the sacraments. The apostles urged the use of the sacrament upon the people yielding to the doctrine as a trial of them. If they had refused it, their hypocrisy had been soon discovered; if they embraced it, it was an evidence that their hearts were seasoned as was meet. Thus John Baptist bound his hearers to the sacrament (Mat_3:1-17.), and Peter, Amend your lives and be baptized; and after that order did the rest proceed. There be just causes of desiring the sacrament in him that is enlightened.

1. He knows the use of the sacraments to be Gods ordinance, and therefore, in obedience to His will, he will make conscience thereof.

2. He conceives them to be seals of the righteousness which is by faith, assurances of society with Christ; for which cause they must needs be sweet unto his soul.

3. He apprehends them to be badges of his profession, and of his service unto Christ, and therefore he cannot but desire them.

4. He believeth them to be bands of the communion of saints, and in that respect he must needs affect them. In these days there is not that respect to the sacraments that there should be. Baptism we have received in our childhood, but what man of many laboureth to make the right use of it? And as for the Lords Supper, generally it is made no more reckoning of than some three-half-penny ordinary, save only at some season of the year. Certainly this is an argument of scantness of grace amongst men. There cannot but be a stomach to the sacrament, where there is felt sweetness in the Word.

III. That in whom there is any truth of Christianity, in him there is also a desire to make it known to the world that he is a Christian. It was an evidence of great resolution in this convert to return into his own country as one of that sect which was everywhere spoken against. This is the nature of true conversion, albeit, it may stir but weakly at the first, and seem almost not to dare to show itself, yet, when it is come to a fuller growth, then there will be a desire to show the colours of the Lord Jesus. So Nicodemus, when he was but a beginner, came to Jesus by night. Yet in time he joined with Joseph in the interring of our Saviour. This deserves to be commended to the care of all that fear God, that howsoever the vain applause of men be not to be hunted after, and it be hypocritical and pharisaical to practise the duties of godliness to be seen, yet it is necessary to make it appear what we are, and that we be not ashamed of it. Will some say, This is a needless exhortation, for we have done as much for the showing of ourselves to be Christians as this eunuch did? I answer, that albeit baptism might be a witness unto this mans Christianity, among a people not esteeming it, yet some further thing is necessary to the end our sincerity may appear. There be some things as hateful among the men of this generation as the name of a Christian could be among the Ethiopians, as, namely, for a man to make conscience of his ways to show himself fearful to offend God, to follow after holiness.

IV. That he that administereth the sacrament ought to be careful to instruct the people in things necessary to the comfortable partaking of it. Every one that is entrusted with the dispensing of the sacrament is bound to acquaint the people carefully upon what conditions only they may receive it to their comfort. The doctrine appertaining to the right use of the sacrament is part of the counsel of God, and therefore not to be secreted by him that desireth to be pure from the peoples blood.

V. That since the coming of Christ there is no precedence of one place above another for the administration of holy things. Here is baptism administered by the wayside, and that in an ordinary river the sacrament had been no whit better to the eunuch if he had received it in some hallowed place, or in some consecrated vessel. Formerly the worship of God was limited to a certain place, but Christ being manifested, who was the Body of all former shadows, the distinction of places is abolished, and neither is Gods worship tied to Jerusalem, nor to Gerizim. Therefore Christs forerunner exercised his ministry openly in the wilderness, and baptized in the river Jordan; and our Saviour preached in mountains, by the seaside, and out of boats, anywhere where the audience was. So the apostles after, preached in houses, in fields, and baptized in any river which came next to hand. Wheresoever two or three are gathered together in My name, etc.; there is no exception of place, so that in other things the due form be observed. Conclusion: This may put us all in mind what use to make of our baptism.

1. So often as we think upon our baptism, it ought to be a spur to holiness. A servant to a great man, when he looketh upon his livery, cannot for shame be an enemy to him of whom he had received it; the sight of it is rather a common caller upon him to be faithful to him into whose service he is entered. So baptism is the cognizance of a Christian, and by it we have taken on us to wear the colours of our Captain; the very thought thereof should restrain us from doing the business of Satan, and work us by all means to the willing obeying of the Lord, to the studying, learning, and practising of His will. How excellent were it, if in doing of anything, which we rush upon without any scruple, we would say to ourselves, Is this according to promise, is this agreeing to the vow of baptism?

2. To those that thus make use of baptism as a motive to obedience, it is a storehouse of much comfort. When mens titles to land be in question, they fall to perusing their sealed evidences; and so a Christian must often look to the will and deed of his heavenly Father sealed up in baptism, and by it he shall have comfort. (S. Hieron.)

The open door of the Church

As you read this story you get the impression that the way into the kingdom of heaven, in the days of our Lord and His apostles, was a very obvious and straightforward way to any willing to enter it. It might cost one an inward struggle to consent, but to one consenting, the way of entrance was plain, even if it was not easy. Such an one might find difficulties in himself; but he would have no hindrances put upon him in the name of the Lord--nothing but helps and encouragements. How wide open the happy gates of gospel grace did seem to stand in those days! And what a simple business they seemed to make of it! Not a word about a judicious deliberation and delay in the case of new converts. Not a word about preparing them by catechism, or taking them awhile on probation, or about examining them on their religious experience. Here is water; what hinders me from being baptized? says this eunuch; as if to one who had learned about Jesus Christ and wished to be His disciple and follower, it was the most natural thing in the world. And at once the evangelist seems to answer, Of course; why not? And right then and there he baptized him.

I. Rites. Our Lord, providing for the need which His believing followers would have of some way of declaring their discipleship in visible form, named two ordinances. The commonest acts of daily life--the daily bath and the daily meal. The bath, by which one coming to Him signified his putting away, from that time forth, of the sinful, defiling service of the world, and his new, clean life of consecration to the:Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and the supper, in which he remembers his Master and Friend, declares his dependence and allegiance, and shows his Lords death until He comes.

II. Experiences. Needless, it should seem, to declare that the experience of other disciples was meant to be a help and encouragement to each one of us in one way into the heavenly kingdom. Looked at in any large and reasonable way, the lesson from the vast diversity in the spiritual history of true and holy Christians is a lesson of unbounded encouragement. He who is the Way, and the Door to the way, does not care by what path we come up to Him, if only we do come.

III. Doctrines. Gods truth is very plain; very easy; and oh, how helpful! What confidence it gives you toward Him! As He declares to us the great fact of the reconciliation of the world to Himself in Christ, how it wins us to trust in His plain, faithful promise, and to rest in the perfect peace of Him whose mind is stayed on God! (L. W. Bacon.)

Baptism, Water in

Some one sent to know whether it was permissible to use warm water in baptism? The doctor replied, Tell the blockhead, that water, warm or cold, is water. (Luthers Table Talk.)

Baptism and the visible Church

One of the parish ministers preaching at Whitewell Chapel, Mr. Philip Henry and his family and many of his friends being present, was earnestly cautioning people not to go to conventicles, and used this as an argument against it, that they were baptized into the Church of England. Mr. Henrys catholic charity could not well digest this monopolising of the great ordinance of baptism, and thought it time to bear his testimony against such narrow principles, of which he ever expressed his dislike in all parties and persuasions. Accordingly he took the next opportunity that offered itself publicly to baptize a child, and desired the congregation to bear witness that he did not baptize that child into the Church of England, nor into the Church of Scotland, nor into the Church of the Dissenters, nor into the Church at Broad Oak, but into the Visible Catholic Church of Jesus Christ. (Whitecross.)

The Word and the Sacrament

There are two means of grace which mutually complete each other, and the one must not be valued over the other, or despised in comparison with the other. When the sacrament is despised, the body of the Church falls to pieces: when the Word is set aside its spirit dies. (K. Gerok.)

The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more.--

The rapture of Philip and the eunuch

The eunuch was the earliest first-fruits of the Gentile Church, his baptism was therefore authenticated by a remarkable operation of the Spirit of God, both on the part of its subject and its administrator.

1. The subject went on his way rejoicing, and in order to connect his joy with the Spirit we have but to remember that the first-fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace.

2. The missionary was caught away by the Spirit--the same word as that of Paul, caught up into the third heaven, only there the region was invisible and heavenly, and the apostle knew not whether he was in or out of the body; here the transportation is merely to another spot of earth, and was clearly in the body. The same word is used of those who are alive at Christs coming, who shall be caught up together with the dead in Christ in the clouds. Hero the transport will be of the glorified body, not to another spot of earth, but into the air. The more complete parallel, however, is the case of Ezekiel, of whom we read on several occasions that the Spirit took him up, etc. And that the prophets underwent this kind of transport frequently may be gathered from the apprehensive words of Obadiah to Elijah (Kings 18:12), and from the petition respecting Elijah (2Ki_2:16).

3. There is something striking in this instantaneous confirmation of baptism which reminds us of the descent of the Spirit on our Lord at His own, and we may parallel with it the old legend that at St. Augustines baptism, he and Ambrose, the administrator of it, were so filled with the Spirit that they burst forth alternately into the Te Deum. Note--

I. The bodily transport of the evangelist.

1. This was miraculous, but we may learn from it--

(1) That there may be an operation of the Spirit on the body of man. I pray God that your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless. He that raised up Christ shall also quicken your mortal body. We commonly regard the body as an encumbrance, and look to our disenthralment from it by death. But St. Paul, who felt painfully enough the infirmities of his body--We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened--yet cautions us against supposing that he wished to lay down his body at death, not for that we would be unclothed, etc. Nor while he felt the burden of the flesh did he ignore the possibility of the bodys consecration, and the noble uses it may serve (Rom_12:1). Let us, then, conform our view to Pauls. Let us consecrate our eyes to God by mortifying their lusts, and by studying His words and works; our ears by turning them from flatteries and sinful enticements, and by opening them to His Word; our hands, by labouring in our vocation, and by giving alms; our feet, by making them carry us on errands of mercy, etc.

(2) That the ministers ambition should be to lead men to Christ and leave them there. The Baptist pointed his disciples away from himself to the Lamb of God, and, without a single pang of envy, saw them following the Lamb, and thus fulfilled his own joy. So with Paul, We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. But while the minister may not personally obtrude himself, it is quite possible to thrust his office into undue prominence. Christ did not send us to preach His ministry, but Himself.

2. Philip was found visiting the district afterwards traversed by Peter, thus again preparing the way for apostles. He had had a most interesting and refreshing conversation with the eunuch, and it must have occurred to him that thus it might please God to open a door for the evangelisation of Ethiopia. But now he was snatched away and planted down in a town full of heathen associations. The lesson is, that spiritual refreshment must be succeeded by work. The Christian must not expect to spend his life in delicious feeling.

II. The mental transport of the convert. The evangelist was carried away in one direction, the Ethiopian in another; which may be the force of for (A.V. and), or for may mean the converts ecstasy was so great that he did not notice Philips departure. This seems strange, and hardly the conduct due to so great a benefactor. But we must remember that the ordinary ministerial tie could scarcely exist between these two strangers who had only known each other for an hour. And then, again, a glorious field had been opened to the eunuch in the new light thrown upon the Scriptures. But like all such strong emotions, the joy would presently subside, when Philip s absence would be noted; and this, with his advent, so miraculous, would confirm the converts faith, as assuring him of a personal interposition of God. This joy, however, is the great evidence of having received Christ. It was so with the Samaritans (verse 8), and with the jailer. Have we this evidence? Do not let us deceive ourselves. In the sunshine of life it is possible to mistake happiness for joy. But happiness arises from circumstances, joy from an internal spring in God. (Dean Goulburn.)

He went on his way rejoicing.--

The rejoicing life

I. In what it consists. I have read of a man who, though possessing all the good things of this life, declared that he had never known one happy day. And here is one who went on his way rejoicing. What makes the difference? The one knew and loved his Saviour and Friend, the other had not so learned Christ. Of all secrets the best is the secret of a happy life. Some people imagine that it consists in having plenty of money, but money cannot cure a sick man or sweeten a bad temper; some that it lies in having good health, but a healthy man is not happy if he is discontented; others that it lies in great positions, but we know that many of the greatest statesmen and rulers have been haunted by fears and anxieties; others again that it may be found in scenes of continual amusement, but they are mistaken. There was once a famous comic actor whose appearance always created laughter. Once he went to consult a doctor who did not know him, and told him of his low spirits and bad health. The doctor advised him to go and see the famous clown, and his patient answered, Alas! I am that unhappy man. No, the secret of a happy life is to be found only in God. David, St. Paul, Mary, and others found it so.

II. Why is it that we have so many gloomy Christians? It is because they have not learned to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Friend. They believe in Him as some one elses Saviour perhaps, but have not realised Him as their own. This is not because they have too much religion, as the scoffers say, but because they have not enough. Be sure of this, that if your religion does not make you go on your way rejoicing, you have not learned it aright. But why are we who come to church not equally happy? The same seed is sown in all our hearts, but our hearts are not all the same. I have got a stony plot in my garden, and however much good seed I sow there, it wont grow. So it is with some of our hearts--they are not prepared, and the good seed falls as on a stone. Our first care, in learning the secret of happiness, should be to pray to God, the heavenly Husbandman, to prepare our hearts that we may receive the Word, and find the joy of that good part which no man taketh away from us. Sometimes people tell us that their food does them no good--they eat and drink, yet they waste away. Why? Because there is something wrong with their digestion. The food is good enough, but the mischief is in themselves. If religion does people no good, the fault is not in the religion, there is something wrong inside them, they cannot digest their spiritual food. They have lost a healthy taste for what is good; some sin is spoiling their taste for religion; they are like children whose appetite is clogged with unwholesome sweetmeats, so that they cannot enjoy honest food. You know that if you sow good seed in your field or garden, but suffer the thorns and thistles to grow, the good seed will have no chance. So it is with our lives--the good seed of Gods Word cannot grow if we allow the thorns to choke it. And how abundant those thorns are! There is the thorn of pride. A young girl or lad is reproved for doing wrong. Instead of expressing sorrow, the one who is in fault stiffens their neck. Religion cannot benefit such an one. Then there is the thorn of bad temper. Some people hear the message of Divine love, and go home and straightway fly into a passion, and so the good is lost.

III. How to lead the rejoicing life.

1. Let us be sure that we are on the right way; if our way be not a rejoicing way, it is not the right way; we must quit it, and start again. Have you ever seen a child which has lost its way, wandering along crying? Well, when you have put that child into the right road, all is changed. We who are not happy in our religion are the children who have lost their way. Hold Thou up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

2. If we are once on the right way we cannot help rejoicing, because we have so much to be thankful for. The man who takes all the good things which God sends him, and never feels thankful, cannot expect to be happy. I have read of a man who was once telling his religious experiences at a public meeting; he dwelt upon his trial, his troubles, and the hardness of the roar on which he had to travel. Presently another man spoke, and said, I see our friend is living in Grumbling Street. I lived there myself once upon a time, and nothing prospered with me. I never had good health, the air was bad, the house was bad, the sun never seemed to shine there, and no birds ever sang in that street. I changed my residence. I moved into Thanksgiving Street, and now I have good health. The days are bright, the sun shines, the air is pure, and the birds sing oftener than anywhere else. I advise our friend to change his quarters, there is plenty of room in Thanksgiving Street. One great secret of happiness is to be thankful--in everything give thanks. A woman who was too poor to cover her little boy with extra bedclothes to shelter him from the snow, which drifted through the broken wall, used to shelter him with boards. One night the little fellow asked, Mother, what do the poor folks do who have no boards to cover their children with these cold nights? That little child was thankful, even for a bit of board! But to be thankful we must be contented; that is another great secret of happiness. The poorest Christian has all that he needs, as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. He has God for his Father, Jesus Christ for his Saviour, the Holy Spirit for his Guide, and heaven for his home.

3. You must love your brethren, and strive to help them along the road. If you would be happy yourselves, try to make others so, learn the luxury of doing good. There is a beautiful story of a woman who had met with many trials and sorrows, yet was always cheerful, as though she were always in the sunshine. When she was dying, a stream of golden sunlight streamed across her bed, and a butterfly lighted on her breast. As she breathed her last the beautiful insect flew upward into the sunshine. So passes away a Christian soul into the light of perfect day, and goes on its way rejoicing. (H. J. W. Buxton, M. A.)

Divine working in the unions and separations of man

I. Divinity bringing men together.

II. Divinity separating men from one another. They had to part, but who parted them? The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch saw him no more. Two thoughts are suggested.

1. Their attachment; was already strong. Christ brings souls together, and centralises them in Himself.

2. The separation was only bodily. Souls thus united cannot be separated--no distance, no time, no force can do it. Indeed, bodily separation often deepens and intensifies soul attachments.

III. Divinity uniting and separating men for the highest ends.

1. The eunuch departs with a new joy. He went on his way rejoicing.

2. Philip departs to prosecute his evangelic mission. But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea. Thus the Divine Spirit that united and separated these men did it not only to bless them, but through them to bless undoubtedly countless throngs. Thus Divinity ever works for beneficent ends. (Homilist.)

Spiritual joy

I. The causes of this Ethiopians joy.

1. He had heard the best of all news.

2. He had seen the most glorious of all sights (Isa_35:1-2; Isa_35:5-6). He saw the glory of the wisdom of God, of the power of God, of the holiness of God, of the justice of God, of the faithfulness of God, of the grace and mercy of God, manifested in the salvation of men; therefore he went on his way rejoicing.

3. He had found the richest of all treasures. He could say, with an air of spiritual pleasure, as the two disciples did (Joh_1:41) I have found Him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote; I have found riches Of goodness, riches of grace, riches of glory, unsearchable riches, a kingdom that cannot be moved, a crown of life, a crown of righteousness, and a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

4. He had attained to the greatest of all honours. He was made a servant of the King of heaven; and some suppose that from this time henceforth he became a preacher of the gospel of His kingdom. Nay, not only a servant, but a son; a son of God, by faith in Jesus Christ. If a son, then an heir; an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ.

5. He had got his title-deeds to heaven and eternal glory ratified and sealed.

6. He was blessed with all spiritual blessings, and had obtained the most glorious prospects for time and for eternity.

II. The nature of this joy.

1. The Holy Spirit is the author of this joy. It is planted in the heart by the power of the Spirit, it is drawn forth into exercise by His Divine agency.

2. The knowledge of our interest in Christ and God as our reconciled God in Him is the source and spring of this joy.

3. All the tribulations to which the people of the Lord are subjected in this present state cannot extinguish this joy.

4. The Word and ordinances of God are the means of communicating joy to the souls of the people of the Lord, and they are the means of feeding this joy.

5. The Christian himself, when in the highest raptures of spiritual pleasures, cannot fully describe the excellence of this joy.

6. This joy is perfected at death, and prolonged to all the endless ages of eternity.

III. Inferences.

1. Learn that pure and undefiled religion is not a melancholy thing.

2. That the Lord knoweth them that are His.

3. From this subject at large see the danger of returning home from the ordinances of God without your proper errand.

4. From this subject learn that men may wait long on God in the ordinances of His grace before they meet with Jesus. The man who gets a saving sight of Christ, though not till the last day of the feast, though not till the time of the preaching of the last sermon, the presenting of the last prayer, the singing of the last praise, the pronouncing of the blessing--nay, though not till he be on the road to his habitation, he will nevertheless go on his way rejoicing.

5. Is there a broken-hearted believer, under painful apprehension, that though he has been seeking Jesus, he has not found Him, and now saying, in the bitterness of his soul, I must go on my way sorrowing? Godly sorrow is not only consistent, but is inseparably connected with this joy in the Lord (Isa_29:19). (John Jardine.)

Address after communion

Your condition is in several respects similar to that of this man, He had solemnly avouched the Lord to be his God: you, with equal solemnity, have this day done the same. He had just received one seal of the covenant of grace you, this day, have received the other. He had a long journey before him: ye also are travellers through this wilderness, toward the promised land of rest. In these circumstances I take occasion to address you with a twofold exhortation.

I. Arise and go forward. Many who mistake the nature of this ordinance are very anxious and busy for a few days in making a sort of formal preparation for it. Then their countenances are demure, and their conversation is precise, and their attendance upon the most protracted services of devotion indefatigable; and this they call religion, and trust in its merit to absolve them from all the dishonest, worldly, uncharitable, and ungodly practices of which they are guilty in the other periods of their time. But I trust that ye have not so learned Christ. Let your present attainments, instead of satisfying you, only incite your zeal and ambition to rise still higher in the excellencies of the Divine life. Do not flatter yourselves with the prospect of uninterrupted ease and unclouded enjoyment; but consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself when at any time ye are weary or faint in your minds, and study to know Him in the power of His resurrection, and in the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death. Exercise yourselves daily in mortifying the deeds of the body; in crucifying the flesh, with its affections and lusts; and in opposing your inclinations as often as they oppose your duty. Thus labouring to be examples of patience, meekness, contentment, and to come behind in no good thing to which you are called; go on in the strength of the Lord.

II. Rejoice as you go on.

1. If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, then rejoice that ye have passed from death to life, and that there is now no condemnation for them who are in Christ Jesus.

2. Rejoice that you are advanced to the dearest and most intimate relation to all the persons of the ever-blessed Godhead. By your new birth ye are become the sons of God, members of Christ, and temples for the Holy Ghost.

3. Rejoice that God has made with you an everlasting covenant, well ordered in all things and sure.

4. Rejoice that the life which is begun in you is an immortal principle that can never be extinguished.

5. Rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Even amidst our most sublime delights we are conscious of a certain blank in our feelings which reminds us that this is not our rest; but in the presence of God there is fulness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures for evermore. (R. Walker.)

Christian joy

How is it that so few are like this eunuch is a very solemn and practical question. Some easily dispose of it.

1. They tell us, we are not now in days of persecution, and that when God tries His saints, He stands by His saints with peculiar consolations. No doubt He does so; but the Word of God that is written, not for that day, but for all days, sets before us this truth--that gladness of heart is the very element of our dispensation.

2. Neither do they dispose of this matter who account for it by the sovereignty of God--alleging that God has so appointed it, and that therefore we must be contented without it. What Gods secret purposes are we know not; but what His Word is, we know--Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice. Note, then--

I. How the scripture describes the joy that is here spoken of. It is especially marked out as a fruit of the Spirit. If you turn to Philippians

1. it is described as the fruit of faith. Your furtherance and joy of faith. In Heb_3:1-19. rejoicing is said to be the fruit of hope. The rejoicing of the hope--that rejoicing that hope giveth. It is needful to lay some stress upon this description because some imagine of joy as if it were always some ecstatic state of mind. It is rather the highest exhibition of peace. High peace and low joy come so near to one another that it would be difficult to draw the line of distinction. But joy may still stop short of that which is ecstatic. A man may be joyful in the Lord, peacefully and quietly. And numbers imagine, too, that one who rejoices in the Lord is one who always rejoices in Him; as if there were no ebb and flow. But if this is a holy joy, it must be affected by sin; and you may be assured that that mans joy that is not affected by sin never came from God. It is the joy of a sailor that has faith for his cable and hope for his anchor, but he is in the midst of the stormy ocean, and continually does he stand exposed to all the changes of the storm, tempest, and the treacherous calm. It is the joy of a traveller through a wilderness, which he finds to be a wilderness, for it would show a want of sensibility (and a want of holy sense too) not to feel it so; but a man may have the keenest sense of the desolation of the wilderness, and yet realise this joy in his soul. It is the joy of a penitent; one who knows what is the element of a broken heart and contrite spirit; for where faith is repentance is, and they that have joy in believing know it to be the joy of a penitent spirit. It is the joy of a returning prodigal, and they who know the most of what this holy joy is can understand the most of what that state of mind is--Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. There are many things said concerning this joy which I cannot touch on. I would only say, the stranger intermeddles not with it; it is a joy that is unspeakable, and full of glory. It is a union of opposites. The more a man rejoices after this sort, the lower he walks before God; the lower he walks before God, the more he ascends in holy desires after Him.

II. The inducements which are given us to go on our way rejoicing.

1. Gods command. I do not object to its being called a high privilege; but the highest point of all is Gods command, Rejoice in the Lord alway. Do not trifle with this Word of God. It may be one of the holiest precepts if the Holy Ghost should lay this upon your soul. And if it leads us into a serious inquiry wherefore it is not so, it shall be one of the most sanctifying inquiries both as it regards the causes that lead to it and the effects that follow from it.

2. The example of the family of God (1Th_1:6; Php_3:2).

3. The privileges of a believer. Does he look at God in the greatness of His perfections? All His perfections are the favour of God, the light of Gods countenance, the strength of Gods arm, the love of Gods heart, the hearing of Gods ear, and the omniscience of Gods mind (to say nothing of His justice, His holiness, His faithfulness), all surround His child day by day, night by night, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Do we look at the covenant? All that I can want is there; the pardon of my sin, the acceptance of my person, the sanctification of my soul, the help to strengthen me in my hours of need.

III. Some of those hindrances that prevent the child of God from going on his way rejoicing. I do not speak now of those who have no right to joy. Ah! there are some whose joy I should be glad to see turned into heaviness. And there are numbers of Gods children that cannot rejoice. They are living at an uncertainty with regard to their election to God. But with regard to those who do know something of what joy is, let me give you a word of caution that you lose it not. Beware of--

1. Unbelief. It is the great hindrance (Psa_77:1-20.). It led Asaph to write hard things, not only against himself, but against God.

2. Low views of Christ; In proportion as Christ sinks, everything sinks in you.

3. A hasty spirit in dark dispensations (Psa_116:1-19.).

4. Worldly entanglements.

5. An uneven walk. Indulged sin, indulged neglect, the tampering with sin upon the conscience will quite prevent the joy of a mans soul.

6. All selfishness in religion. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)

Christian joy

I. The source. He went on his way rejoicing, because of--

1. The great discovery he had now made. He had found a Redeemer--Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write.

(1) As a man awakened to a sense of spiritual danger, he must have felt the need of a Saviour prior to this.

(2) As a proselyte to the Jewish faith, he must have been expecting the consolation of Israel; all the faithful longed for the coming one at this time. And nosy he discovers the deliverer in Jesus of Nazareth.

2. The great, change which he had now experienced. His mind was enlightened and his heart was changed. No thoughtful man could have reflected on what had now taken place within him without feeling grateful and happy. The joy of the bondman is great when delivered from the slavery of earth; but the joy of the emancipated is greater. We read of an ancient race who had been slaves for many years, and who were at last released; and when the great blessing of liberty was tasted by them they cried for several hours, Liberty! liberty! liberty! Some years ago we redeemed 800,000 of West Indian slaves, and we are told that when the night of their emancipation arrived the excitement among the poor slaves became most painful, and when the midnight hour came the shouts of gratitude and joy were utterly beyond description. The deliverance of the slave of sin is a greater source of joy still.

3. The clearer views he must have had of Gods nature, and the character of His dispensations. He was a worshipper of the living God before, but his views must have been very contracted in regard to the object and nature of worship. He confined his ideas of worship to one place far distant from his own home. He must have thought, too, that it was by becoming a proselyte to Judaism only he could be saved, salvation being of the Jews. But now his mind was expanded by Divine truth, and he has broader views of the Father of Spirits, and of the spirituality of his religion. The wilds of Gaza were now converted into a house of God, and the very gate of heaven.

4. The prospects of usefulness; the hope of doing good in his own country. Every good man is happy at this. Having tasted that the Lord is gracious, he is ever anxious to tell others of what God has done to his soul. When a true-hearted man has any good news to publish, he feels a burden resting on his soul and finds relief only when he accomplishes his mission. This is especially the feeling of a true Christian. Religion is expansive in its very nature. She seeketh not her own.

5. The glorious scenes opening before him in eternity. His views of futurity must have been unsatisfactory before he became a hearer of Philip. The heathen had but faint notions of a future life, and even among the Jews the idea of immortality was not clearly understood. Many of the saints of the Old Testament were all their life subject to bondage through fear of death. But now life and immortality were brought to light through the gospel, and the Ethiopian was filled with the hope of the glory of God.

II. The lessons. We find here--

1. A noble example of regular attendance on the means of grace, and the study of the Holy Scriptures.

2. That true happiness is connected only with true piety. Happiness is not found in wealth, honour, or worldly pleasure. This distinguished man possessed all these before his conversion; but till now he was not happy. Nor does true happiness consist in mere outward forms of worship, or mere profession of religion. The eunuch was a convert to the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish religion; yet never before this do we find him going on his way rejoicing from the great feasts. His soul was not satisfied with shadows. Now he finds the reality, and he finds joy and peace in believing. The path of duty is the path of safety, it is also the path of pleasure.

3. That the grand theme of the gospel ministry in all ages is Jesus and His Cross. (H. P. Bowen.)

Happiness and joy

Happiness, according to the original use of the term, is that which happens, or comes to one by a hap; i.e., by an outward befalling, or favourable condition. Some good is conceived, out of the soul, which comes to it as a happy visitation, stirring in the receiver a pleasant excitement. It is what money yields or will buy--dress, equipage, fashion, luxuries of the table; or it is settlement in life--independence, love, applause, admiration, honour, glory, or the more conventional and public benefits of rank, political standing, victory, power. All these stir a delight in the soul which is not of the soul, or its qualities, but from without. Hence they are looked upon as happening to the soul, and in that sense create happiness. But joy differs from this as being of the soul itself, originating in its quality. And this appears in the original form of the word, which instead of suggesting a hap, literally denotes a leap or spring. The Latin has exult, which literally means a leaping forth. The radical idea, then, of joy is this--that the soul is in such order and beautiful harmony, has such springs of life opened in its own blessed virtues, that it pours forth a sovereignty from within. The motion is outward not toward, as we conceive it to be in happiness. It is not the bliss of condition, but of character. The soul has a light in its own luminous centre, where God is, which gilds the darkest nights of external adversity--a music charming all the stormy discords of outward injury and pain into beats of rhythm and melodies of peace. (H. Bushnell, D. D.)

The joy of the first Christian experiences

What delight there is to us in first things! The first primrose pushing through the clods telling of winter gone, and summer on the way; the first view of the sea in its wondrous expanse of power; the first sense of peace that came through faith in Christ as a Saviour. A certain authoress who became very famous, speaks of the exquisite sense of delight she felt when she began her first literary work in the reviewing of books: the opening of the first parcel was as the bursting of a new world on her eyes. Dickens describes how he dropped his first published paper stealthily one evening at twilight, with fear and trembling, into a dark letter-box up a dark court in Fleet Street, and his agitation when it appeared in all the glory of print--on which occasion I walked down to Westminster Hall, and turned into it for half an hour, because my eyes were so dimmed with joy and pride that they could not bear the street, and were not fit to be seen there. (H. O. Mackey.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 8:36-37. And as they went on their way — Discoursing together of the person and sufferings of Christ, and of the method of salvation by him; they came to a certain water — For even the circumstances of the journey were under the direction of God; and the eunuch, having learned what was the rite of initiation which the great Prophet and Sovereign of the church had appointed, and being willing to embrace the first opportunity that Providence offered of making a surrender of himself to Christ, and of being received into the number of his people; said, Here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? — Why should I not, from this hour, become one of the Christian community? Probably he had been circumcised; otherwise Cornelius would not have been the first-fruits of the Gentiles. Observe, reader, in the solemn dedicating of ourselves to God, it is good to make haste, and not delay, for the present time is the best time. Thus the psalmist, I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments, Psa 119:60; and thus the eunuch here: he feared lest the good affections now working in him should abate; and therefore was desirous immediately to bind his soul with the baptismal bonds unto the Lord, that he might bring the matter to a good issue. And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest — That is, if thou believest this doctrine which I have preached to thee concerning Jesus; if thou receivest the record God has given concerning him, and set to thy seal that it is true; if thou not only assentest to the gospel truths in thy understanding, but embracest gospel blessings in thy affections, and consentest in thy will to obey the gospel precepts; if thou indeed believest with thy heart unto righteousness, thou art by that faith united to Christ, and mayest, by baptism, be joined to his church. And he answered, I believe that Jesus Christ — Whom thou hast now been preaching to me; is the Son of God — And the promised Messiah, who was to be sent into the world for the salvation of lost sinners. He was before a worshipper of the true God, so that all he had now to do, in order to be a true Christian, was thus to receive Christ Jesus the Lord. In many ancient copies and versions this verse is omitted; (see Dr. Mill on the place.) “Nevertheless,” says Beza,

“God forbid I should think it ought to be expunged, since it contains such a confession of faith as in the apostolic times was required of the adult, in order to their being admitted to baptism.” Allowing it to be genuine, it fully proves that Philip had opened to the eunuch the doctrine of Christ’s divinity; and indeed, if he had not done it, he must have given him a very imperfect account of the gospel.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 8:36. Κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν, along the way) Even the circumstances of one’s journey are divinely guided. The kingdom of GOD adapts itself to external circumstances without force: as air yields to all bodies, and yet permeates all things: ch. Act 13:5; Act 13:14, Act 16:13, Act 17:2; Act 17:17, Act 21:3.—τί κωλύει, what doth hinder) He was prepared and eager to submit himself to whatever even yet remained to be done. Faith within, and water without, were ready (were here).—βαπτισθῆναι, to be baptized) Therefore he had heard from Philip as to baptism. It is probable that the Eunuch had been circumcised; for Philip presented himself to him: whereas Cornelius [who was uncircumcised] had to send for Peter. Peter at the beginning hesitated, ch. Act 10:14; but Philip did not hesitate. At least the proceeding with the Eunuch at that time was secret. For it is in the case of Cornelius that the beginning of the call of the Gentiles is fixed.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 8:36 . ἰδοὺ ὕδωρ : “intus fides , foris aqua præsto erat” Bengel. According to Jerome ( Epist. , ciii.) and Eusebius ( περὶ τόπων ), the site of the baptism was placed at Bethsura (Bethzur, Jos 15:28 , 2Ch 11:17 , Neh 3:16 , etc.), about twenty miles from Jerusalem, and two from Hebron. Robinson ( Biblical Researches , ii., 749) thinks that the place is more probably to be found on the road between Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) and Gaza, whilst Professor G. A. Smith (see above on Act 8:26 ) considers that the fact that Philip was found immediately after at Azotus suggests that the meeting and baptism took place, not where tradition has placed them, among the hills of Judæa, but on the Philistine plain ( Hist. Geog. of the Holy Land , pp. 186, 240). But as he finds it impossible to apply the epithet “desert” to any route from Jerusalem to Gaza, whether that by Beit Jibrin, or the longer one by Hebron, he does not hesitate to apply the epithet to Gaza itself, and as the meeting (according to his view) took place in its neighbourhood, the town would naturally be mentioned. Gaza and Azotus, Act 8:40 , are the only two Philistine towns named in the N. T. τί κωλύει με βαπτισθῆναι ; “mark the eager desire, mark the exact knowledge … see again his modesty; he does not say Baptise me, neither does he hold his peace, but he utters somewhat betwixt strong desire and reverent fear” Chrys., Hom. , xix.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See, here is water--more simply, "Behold water!" as if already his mind filled with light and his soul set free, he was eagerly looking out for the first water in which he might seal his reception of the truth and be enrolled among the visible disciples of the Lord Jesus.

what doth hinder me to be baptized?--Philip had probably told him that this was the ordained sign and seal of discipleship, but the eunuch's question was likely the first proposal of its application in this case. (Act 8:37 is wanting in the principal manuscripts and most venerable versions of the New Testament. It seems to have been added from the formularies for baptism which came into current use).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 36. See, here is water] He was not willing to omit the first opportunity that presented itself of his taking upon himself the profession of the Gospel. By this we may see that Philip had explained the whole of the Christian faith to him, and the way by which believers were brought into the Christian Church.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

36. What letteth me? The eunuch’s baptism ensueth now, whence we gather how greatly he profited in a small time, seeing he offereth himself willingly to give Christ his name. For it must needs be that faith was after a sort ripe in his heart, seeing that he brake out into external profession with such desire. I like not that which Chrysostom noteth, that he was kept back with modesty from requiring baptism plainly; for that interrogation hath greater vehemency than if he should simply have said to Philip, I will have thee to baptize me. But we see that Christ was preached to him in such sort, that he knew that baptism was a sign of new life in him, and that therefore he would not neglect the same, because it was added to the word, and such an addition as was inseparable. Therefore, as he embraced that willingly which he heard concerning Christ, so now he breaketh out with a godly zeal into the external confession of faith; neither doth he think it sufficient for him to believe inwardly before God, unless he testifieth before men that he is a Christian. There might many things have come into his mind, which might have kept him back from being baptized, lest that he should lay himself open to the hatred and rebukes both of the queen, and also of the whole nation. But he denieth that any of these things doth hinder him from desiring to be numbered amongst the disciples of Christ. If being instructed but a few hours he came to this point, how filthy is the sluggishness of those men who suppress the faith which they have conceived, having been taught five, ten, or twenty years?

If thou believest with all thy heart. Whereas the eunuch is not admitted to baptism, until he have made confession of his faith, we must fetch a general rule hence, That those ought [not] to be received into the Church, who were estranged from the same before, until they have testified that they believe in Christ. For baptism is, as it were, an appurtenance of faith, and therefore it is later in order. Secondly, if it be given without faith whose seal it is, it is both a wicked and also too gross a profaning. But frantic fellows do both unskillfully and also wickedly impugn baptizing of infants under color hereof. Why was it meet that faith should go before baptism in the eunuch? To wit, because seeing that Christ marketh those alone which are of the household of the Church with this note and mark, they must be ingrafted unto the Church who are to be baptized. And as it is certain that those who are grown up are ingrafted by faith, so I say that the children of the godly are born the children of the Church, and that they are accounted members of Christ from the womb, because God adopteth us upon this condition, that he may be also the Father of our seed. Therefore, though faith be requisite in those which are grown up, yet this is untruly translated unto infants whose estate is far unlike. But certain great men have abused this place, when as they would prove that faith hath no confirmation by baptism. For they reasoned thus, The eunuch is commanded to bring perfect faith unto baptism, therefore there could nothing be added. But the Scripture taketh the whole heart oftentimes for a sincere and unfeigned heart, whose opposite is a double heart. So that there is no cause why we should imagine that they believe perfectly who believe with the whole heart, seeing that there may be a weak and faint faith in him who shall, notwithstanding, have a sound mind, and a mind free from all hypocrisy. Thus must we take that which David saith, That he loveth the Lord with all his heart. Philip had, indeed, baptized the Samaritans before, and yet he knew that they were yet far from the mark. Therefore, the faith of the whole heart is that which, having living roots in the heart, doth yet notwithstanding desire to increase daily.

I believe that Jesus Christ. As baptism is grounded in Christ, and as the truth and force thereof is contained there, so the eunuch setteth Christ alone before his eyes. The eunuch knew before that there was one God, who had made the covenant with Abraham, who gave the law by the hand of Moses, which separated one people from the other nations, who promised Christ, through whom he would be merciful to the world. Now he confesseth that Jesus Christ is that Redeemer of the world, and the Son of God; under which title he comprehendeth briefly all those things which the Scripture attributeth to Christ. This is the perfect faith whereof Philip spake of late, which receiveth Christ, both as he was promised in times past, and also showed at length, and that with the earnest affection of the heart, as Paul will not have this faith to be feigned. Whosoever hath not this when he is grown up, in vain doth he boast of the baptism of his infancy. For to this end doth Christ admit infants by baptism, that so soon as the capacity of their age shall suffer, they may addict themselves to be his disciples, and that being baptized with the Holy Ghost, they may comprehend, with the understanding of faith, his power which baptism doth prefigure.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(36) They came unto a certain water.—Men have naturally endeavoured to identify the locality. In the time of Jerome, probably in that of Eusebius (de loc.), it was fixed at Bethsura, the Bethzur of 2Ch_11:7), about twenty miles from Jerusalem, and two from Hebron. A fountain, now known as Ain-Edh-Dhirweh rises near the town, which retains the old name in the slightly altered form of Beit-Sur. On the other hand, Robinson is inclined to find the spring in the Wady-el-Hasey, between Eleutheropolis and Gaza, not far from the old sites of Lachish and Eglon. This agrees better with the mention of Gaza and with the epithet “desert” as attached to the “way.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

36. And as they went on their [the] way] We must suppose that Philip travelled for some time with the eunuch, for not only has he explained that in Jesus was fulfilled all that the prophets had spoken concerning the sufferings of the Messiah, but has taught him that believers in Jesus are to be admitted into the Christian Church by baptism, of which sacrament he desires to be a partaker at once.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest,.... Intimating, that if he did not believe, he had no right to that ordinance; though he was a proselyte to the Jewish religion, a serious and devout man, and was employed in a religious way, when Philip came up to him, and was very desirous of being instructed in the knowledge of divine things; and yet notwithstanding all this, he had no right to the ordinance of baptism, unless he had faith in Christ, and made a profession of it; nor would Philip administer it to him without it; from whence it appears, that faith in Christ, and a profession of it, are necessary prerequisites to baptism: and this faith should not be a mere historical and temporary faith, nor a feigned one, but a believing in Christ with the heart unto righteousness; or such a faith by which a soul relinquishes its own righteousness, and looks and goes unto Christ for righteousness, life, and salvation, and rests and relies upon him for them; and it should be a believing in him with the whole heart, which does not design a strong faith, or a full assurance of faith, but an hearty, sincere, and unfeigned one, though it may be but weak, and very imperfect. And that this is necessary to baptism is manifest, because without this it is impossible to please God; nor can submission and obedience to it be acceptable to him: nor indeed can the ordinance be grateful and pleasing to unbelievers; for though it is a command that is not grievous, and a yoke that is easy, yet it is only so to them that believe; nor can any other see to the end of this ordinance, or behold the burial, and resurrection of Christ represented by it, or be baptized into his death, and partake of the benefits of it; and besides, whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God: which though a short, is a very comprehensive summary of the articles of faith respecting the person, offices, and grace of Christ; as that he is a divine person, truly and properly God, the only begotten of the Father, of the same nature with him, and equal to him; that he existed from all eternity, as a divine person with him, and distinct from him; and that he is the Christ, the anointed of God, to be prophet, priest, and King; and is Jesus, the only Saviour of lost sinners, in whom he trusted and depended alone for righteousness, life, and salvation. This whole verse is wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and in five of Beza's copies, and in the Syriac and Ethiopic versions; but stands in the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions, and in the Complutensian edition; and, as Beza observes, ought by no means to be expunged, since it contains so clear a confession of faith required of persons to be baptized, which was used in the truly apostolic times.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

Ver. 36. What doth hinder] He stood not upon the reproach of Christian religion, what the courtiers at home would censure of him. He would hardly suffer death for Christ that cannot suffer little breath for him.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As they went on their way - In their journey.

A certain water - The expression used here does not determine whether this was a river, a brook, or a standing pool. And there are no circumstances to determine that. It is well known, however, that there is no large river or very considerable stream in this vicinity. All that is intimated is that there was water enough to perform the rite of baptism. Grotius says they came “to a fountain which was in the neighborhood of Bethsora, in the tribe of Juda, at the twentieth milestone from Aelia (Jerusalem) to Hebron.” This is, however, a tradition taken from Eusebius. The place is still shown (Pococke).

What doth hinder me ... - This shows that he had been instructed by Philip on the nature and design of baptism. It evinces also a purpose at once to give himself to Christ, to profess his name, and to be dedicated to his service.

To be baptized - On the meaning of the word “baptize” βαπτίζω baptizō, see all the notes on Mat 3:6, Mat 3:16.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Here is water. This shews, that baptism is to be given with water. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

A certain water; this water is supposed to be a fountain in a town called Bethsora, or a river called Eleutherus, which in that road must needs be passed over; it being otherwise very dry, and water very scarce there.

What doth hinder me to be baptized? Although it was not expressly mentioned, Philip had informed this eunuch concerning baptism, its nature and use, which made him express such desire after it; which else he had not done.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The way for their way, A.V.; saith for said, A.V.; behold for see, A.V. Here is water. "When we were at Tell-el-Hasy, and saw the water standing along the bottom of the adjacent wady, we could not but remark the coincidence of several circumstances with the account of the eunuch"s baptism. This water is on the most direct road from Belt Jibrin (Eleutheroplis) to Gaza, on the most southern road from Jerusalem, and in the midst of a country now "desert," i.e. without villages or fixed habitations. There is no other similar water on this road" (Robinson," Bibl. Res.," vol. it. p. 345). There were three roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, of which the one above described still exists, and actually passes through the desert" (ibid. p. 514). What doth hinder me to be baptized! This question clearly shows that the doctrine of baptism had formed part of Philip"s preaching, as it had of Peter. (Act_2:18)

Testing the impulse to confession.

The eunuch knew how his own proselytism had been sealed. When he accepted the Jewish faith, he made confession of it by the rite of baptism. So now, when he had accepted a new faith, his first impulse was the desire to seal it by a renewal of the rite, and the site of the water reminded him of the possibility of making his confession of Christ there and then. Though ver. 37 is not found in the Revised Version, and may be only an editor"s explanation that has crept into the text, we may be quite sure that Philip would not baptize the eunuch in response to his impulsive request without some such test as this a test which would bring out whether his faith was whole-hearted and sincere. He must know if his belief was belief with all the heart. On this test, which needs to be still put to would-be confessors, we may dwell.

I BELIEF OF THE HEART IS THE BELIEF OF SINCERE CONVICTION. A man becomes intellectually convinced that Jesus Christ is the Savior. That conviction may come by very different agencies adapted to individuals. Mere ideas never urge to faith, convictions do.

II BELIEF OF THE HEART IS THE BELIEF OF DEEP FEELING. The intellectual grasp of truth is not enough. The sense of sin and the gratitude for salvation urge the outgoing of trustful affections towards the Savior.

III BELIEF OF THE HEART FINDS EXPRESSION IN PRACTICAL RESOLVE. First all entire decision for Christ; then a full and unreserved consecration to him; then a turning round of our whole life to his obedience, and a daily devotion of our powers and talents to his service. But this belief with the heart is no mere fitting association of the first act of confession; it needs to be daily maintained, growing knowledge of Christ giving fuller apprehensions of him, and our hearts lovingly responding to all we can learn and know. Heart-belief alone can ensure the active, noble, and self-denying Christian life. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And as they went on the way they came to a certain water - Thus, even the circumstances of the journey were under the direction of God. The kingdom of God suits itself to external circumstances, without any violence, as air yields to all bodies, and yet pervades all. What hindereth me to be baptized? - Probably he had been circumcised: otherwise Cornelius would not have been the first fruits of the Gentiles.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Observe here, 1. The eunuch is instructed before baptized, and he desireth baptism of Philip; it was not forced upon him by Philip against his will, The eunuch said, What hinders me to be baptized? To drive men to baptism, as they drive beasts to watering, and force Christianity upon them against their wills, to send forth booted apostles with javelins in their hand, and crosses on their breasts, as the Romish church doth to dragon men into Christianity, is the way to make hypocrites, but not proselytes; for it is not whole armies that can besiege my reason, nor cannons batter my will. It is conviction, not compulsion, that must induce assent.

Observe, 2. The eunuch after instruction desired baptism, See, here is water; let me be baptized. As if he had said, "O Philip! as thou hast instructed me, I pray thee also baptize me. Now that I have received the benefit of thy doctrine, let me not want the comfort of the sacrament." Where the heart is truly touched by the ministry of the word, and the soul thoroughly converted unto God, there is a desire to be partaker of the sacraments.

Observe, 3. The condition required of the eunuch before he was baptized, namely, A profession of his faith in the promised Messias; If thou believest, thou mayest be baptized. There is a necessity of faith, to render man a meet partaker of the holy sacraments: If we come to any of the sacraments without faith, we are sure to depart without fruit.

Observe, 4. The qualification of that faith which gives a right to the holy sacrament: If thou believest with all thine heart: only that faith gives a right to baptism, and intitles to salvation, which is with all the heart. The eunuch believed with his whole heart, that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. This gave him at once a right to baptism, and a title to heaven.

Observe, 5. The manner of the administration of baptism to the eunuch: he went down into the water and was baptized by Philip: In those hot countries it was usual so to do, and we do not oppose the lawfulness of dipping in some cases, but the necessity of dipping in all cases. In sacraments, it is not the quantity of the elements, but the significancy of them that ought to be attended to; as in circumcision, it was not the quantity of the flesh cut off, and in the Lord’s supper, it is not the quantity of the bread, and wine taken down; so in baptism, a few drops of water poured upon me, doth signify and seal, and convey and confirm to me a right and interest in all the benefits of my Saviour’s death and resurrection, as fully as if, with Jonah, I were plunged into the main ocean.

Observe, 6. What followed upon the eunuch’s baptizing and coming out of the water.

1. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; by the ministry of an angel he was carried out of his sight, that the eunuch might be the more assured of the truth of those things which were taught him by Philip’s ministry; and that he was a person sent of God to direct him in the way to true happiness.

2. The eunuch went on his way rejoicing, as well he might; it was the happiest journey he ever took, to meet with Christ and conversion in his way, and heaven and salvation at his journey’s end. A converted man hath great cause of rejoicing; the gospel proclaimed, much more, heartily embraced, is matter of great joy. Behold the fruit of faith, joy and rejoicing; the eunuch is instructed, believed, is baptized, and goes home rejoicing. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Observe lastly, Philip was found at Azotus, or Ashdod, thirty-four miles from Gaza, so far had the ministry of the angels carried him, and there safely set him down.

Learn, How good it is to obey God in the most difficult command. Philip had a hard and tiresome journey from Samaria to Gaza, footing it through a desert, in untrodden paths, and running as fast as the eunuch’s chariot, to join himself unto it at the command of God. But now from Gaza to Azotus he has a swifter and easier passage, he rides in an angelical flying chariot. When we attend the execution of God’s commands, the holy angels shall attend us, and take care of us, and administer necessary help unto us; like tender nurses, they keep us fast whilst we live, and bring us home in their arms to our Father’s house when we die. Blessed be God for the ministry of his holy angels.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

36. " And as they went along the road, they came to certain water. And the eunuch said, What hinders me to be immersed? " The appearance of the water to which they had come suggested this question, but it could not have been done so unless the eunuch had been taught something concerning immersion as a religious ordinance. But he had enjoyed no opportunity for instruction on this subject, except through the teaching of Philip. Had Philip, then, preached him a sermon on immersion? No. Luke says Philip "preached to him Jesus." How, then, had he, while hearing Jesus preached, obtained instruction in reference to immersion? There is only one answer to this question. It is, that to preach Jesus, after the apostolic method, involves full instruction upon the subject of immersion. The prejudice, therefore, which exists at the present day against frequent introduction of this subject in discourses addressed to sinners, is altogether unscriptural; and those only preach Jesus correctly who give to it the same prominence which belongs to it in apostolic discourses. It was a part of Peter's sermon on Pentecost, of Philip's preaching to the Samaritans, and of his present discourse to the Ethiopian; and we will yet see, in the course of this commentary, that it always occupied a place in the preaching of inspired men on such occasions. Indeed, it would be impossible to preach Jesus fully without it. For the beginning of the gospel, historically, according to Mark, is the immersion of John, to which Jesus submitted, and near the conclusion of it is the commission given in the last words of Jesus on earth, commanding every believer to be immersed. Thus he who preaches Jesus has immersion in the beginning and in the end of his sermon.

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

36. They came to a certain water. The locality of the baptism is not certain. There are several roads from Jerusalem to Gaza. The one by Hebron is through “desert” more than the others. Eusebius and Jerome state that the baptism occurred at a perennial stream, coming from a fountain at Bethsur, not far from Hebron. Robinson places the baptism not far from Gaza, at the old site of Eglon. See. The Greek is, “Behold! Water!” As if his soul was filled with joy that he could obey. What doth hinder me? Nothing, if he was a believer and the means were at hand.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

they went on the road

"they continued to travel along the road"

What prevents me from being baptized?

The eunuch uses this question as a way of asking Philip for permission to be baptized. AT: "Please allow me to be baptized" (See: Rhetorical Question)

commanded the chariot to stop

"told the driver of the chariot to stop"

translationWords

water

eunuch

baptize

Philip, the evangelist

believe

Ethiopia

Jesus

Christ

Son of God

chariot

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

36. ὡς δὲ ἐπορεύοντο κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, and as they went on the way. We must suppose that Philip travelled for some time with the eunuch, for not only has he explained that in Jesus was fulfilled all that the prophets had spoken concerning the sufferings of the Messiah, but has taught him that believers in Jesus are to be admitted into the Christian Church by baptism, of which sacrament he desires to be a partaker at once.

On the full teaching which the eunuch had received from Philip, Chrysostom says, ὅρα πῶς τὰ δόγματα ἀπηρτισμένα εἶχε, καὶ γὰρ ὁ προφήτης πάντα περιεῖχε, τὴν σάρκωσιν, τὸ πάθος, τὴν ἀνάστασιν, τὴν ἀνάληψιν, τὴν κρίσιν τὴν ηέλλουσαν. ἅ δὴ καὶ πολλὴν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτῷ μάλιστα ἐνεποίησαν. αἰσχύνθητε ὄσοι ἀφώτιστοι τυγχάνετε.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

36. τὶ ὕδωρ] In the scholia to Jerome’s Epitaph of Paula (not in Jerome himself) on the words, ‘A Bethsur venit,’ we have, ‘hæc ætate Hieronymi vocabatur Bethsura: vicus est in tribu Juda, obvius vigesimo lapide euntibus ab Hierosolyma Chebron. Juxta hunc fons est ad radices montis ebulliens, qui ab eadem in qua gignitur humo sorbetur. In hoc fonte putant eunuchum Candacis Reginæ baptizatum fuisse.’ Jerome’s own words (Ep. 108 (27) ad Eustochium, 11, p. 700) are: ‘cœpit per viam veterem pergere quæ ducit Gazam … et tacita secum volvere, quomodo Eunuchus Æthiops, gentium populos præfigurans, mutaverit pellem suam, et dum vetus relegit instrumentum fontem reperit Evangelii. Atque inde ad dexteram transit. A Bethsur venit Escol’ … where no reference is made to the tradition, save what may be inferred from the mention of Bethsur. Eusebius also (περὶ τόπων) states it to be twenty miles south of Jerusalem in the direction of Hebron: and so it is set down in the Jerus. Itin. and the Peutinger Tab. (Howson’s map.) Pocock found there a fountain built over, and a village called Betur on the left. Fabri describes the fountain as the head of a considerable brook, and found near it the ruins of a Christian church. There is no improbability in the tradition except that, even supposing a way going across from Hebron straight to Gaza to be called ἔρημος, this would not be on that portion of it, but on the high road (Winer, Realw.).

τί κωλ. μ. βαπ.] There is no reason for supposing Philip to have preached to him the necessity of baptism: his own acquaintance with Jewish practices, and perhaps his knowledge of the progress of the new faith in Jerusalem, would account for the proposition.

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Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.