Acts 8:26-40 | Helping People SeeSample

The man Philip meets on the road to Gaza is described as an Ethiopian eunuch, a government official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which Luke is kind enough to tell us means “queen of the Ethiopians”).

Ethiopia was south of Egypt. Not to be strictly associated with present-day Ethiopia, it refers to an area along the “upper” Nile (which confusingly is the headwaters of the Nile at its southern tip), an ancient kingdom known as Cush, occupying parts of present-day Sudan, Ethiopia, and Southern Egypt. (Incidentally, Moses had a Cushite wife, which you can read about in Num 12:1.)

We don’t know much about him except that he was a eunuch and influential government official (men who served in royal courts – especially among female royalty – were typically castrated.) But what we can deduce is this. He was not a Jew. But he came to take a deep interest in the Jewish way and Jewish god, Yahweh, as evidenced by the fact that he was returning from Jerusalem, where he worshiped, and was reading and trying to understand a passage of Jewish scripture from Isaiah. Acts calls people like this “God-fearers,” people who come to worship Yahweh and follow aspects of his way in the Torah without being natural-born Israelites or fully converting to Judaism. Considering the journey from ancient Ethiopia to Jerusalem was over 200 miles, this man seems devoted. Or at least searching to see the truth of God in this world, and finding it in Yahweh and his way.

This Ethiopian was hungry to see.

Those of us who are Christians can easily take for granted what we’ve come to see. If you’re a Christian, it’s important to remember that the only reason we see so clearly is because what God has revealed someone has taken the time to show to you. While each of us can catch glimpses of God woven into life and the fabric of the universe, we’re ultimately dependent on God to show us who he truly is and what he’s really up to. Faith in God depends on revelation, that is, God helping us see. This Ethiopian was catching glimpses but hadn’t yet come to see the fullness of God. The good news is the Spirit was preparing his heart to see the gospel message of Jesus. God wants all people to see.