26. A heavenly messenger brought this short message from the Lord to Philip during his time preaching in Samaria:
Messenger of the Lord: Leave Samaria. Go south to the Jerusalem-Gaza road. The message was especially unusual because this road runs through the middle of uninhabited desert.
27. But Philip got up, left the excitement of Samaria, and did as he was told to do.
27...Along this road, Philip saw a chariot in the distance. In the chariot was a dignitary from Ethiopia, an African man who had been castrated. He had gone north to Jerusalem to worship at the Jewish temple,
29. Philip received another prompting from the Holy Spirit:
Holy Spirit: Go over to the chariot and climb on board.
30. So he started running until he was even with the chariot. Philip heard the Ethiopian reading aloud and recognized the words from the prophet Isaiah.
Philip: Do you understand the meaning of what you’re reading?
35. That began a conversation in which Philip used the passage to explain the good news of Jesus.
36. Eventually the chariot passed a body of water beside the road.
The Ethiopian: Since there is water here, is there anything that might prevent me from being ceremonially washed through baptism and identified as a disciple of Jesus?
Philip:37. If you believe in your heart that Jesus the Anointed is God’s Son, then nothing can stop you. The Ethiopian said that he believed.
38. He commanded the charioteer to stop the horses. Then Philip and the Ethiopian official walked together into the water. There Philip baptized him, initiating him as a fellow disciple.
(The Voice)