THE OUTRAGEOUS STORY OF THE DIGNITARY AND THE EVANGELIST
The man was from Africa. He was a dignitary, a diplomat, an official in his nation’s government. He was in charge of the treasury. He was a sophisticated, wealthy and educated gentleman. Besides speaking his native Cushitic and Aramaic, as a government official tasked with matters of finance and trade in the Roman world, he also was fluent in Greek and Latin...
…and he was familiar with at least one other language. We know this because he was reading a Hebrew manuscript when his story was told in Acts 8. It was a particular manuscript written by Isaiah over 700 years previously.
We don’t know the man’s name but we do know that Philip the Evangelist met him as he was musing over this Hebrew manuscript. Philip explained the scripture to him, revealing how Christ fulfilled of this prophecy. The man responded to Philip’s invitation to follow Jesus with a question that some might find a bit puzzling. He replied, “What hinders me from being baptized?”
What hinders me?
What kind of answer is that? Why did he reply with this question? It seems a little peculiar, don’t you think? It’s almost like he was expecting something or someone to hinder him from entering the water for baptism. It’s like he was anticipating some hindrance to be mentioned - some objection, some impediment why he may not be baptized.
Indeed, there was one.
Let me explain.
This great man of wealth and reputation, fresh from the courts of Candace, Queen of Ethiopians, having taken leave of overseeing his nation’s treasury, made a dangerous and laborious journey to Jerusalem. Traveling with his caravan of domestics, he made the 2,000-mile trek over two months to arrive in Israel. Braving the dangers of elements and thieves, to say nothing of the challenges of desert travel, finding their way first by following the great Nile River north and then negotiating the trade routes through the Sinai Peninsula, they approached the Holy City from the south.
How excited they must have been to finally reach Jerusalem. It rose above the Judean landscape like a dazzling gem set upon a hill. The gates of the city drew them onward until they saw the object of their journey. Standing before them was the magnificent temple that King Herod had built some 50 years before. Its gleaming white walls and sheer size must have excited the imaginations of the entire procession as the dignitary commanded his servants to find a place where they might enter the temple.
For, you see, the great Treasurer of Ethiopia had not come to Israel on official business. He was on no diplomatic mission. No. He came as a worshipper. He was there to find God. Today, he was not a dignitary but a pilgrim. He was not a celebrity but a seeker. He was not serving Candace his queen but was looking to find Yahweh his God. He traveled these thousands of miles to have his thirsty soul refreshed in the great temple in Jerusalem.
Now, back to Acts 8.
His pilgrimage is over. His entourage is heading home. And it seems that his only reward for this ambitious expedition was a single book of the Bible. That was it. The only treasure to show for his long and elaborate journey was the Book of Isaiah. Why so little? Why travel such a great distance only to return with a single scroll? Couldn’t someone else have made this journey for him? There were many Jews living in North Africa at this time that had various copies of scripture in both the Hebrew and Greek language. Couldn’t he have purchased many books of the Bible from them? Why take a journey that was over 4,000 miles in round trip, taking four months to complete, costing him an outrageous amount of money to accomplish, only to have as his reward a single book? Why did he incur such an enormous expense of time and money to make this extreme pilgrimage?
The answer is hidden in that little phrase he spoke to Philip, “What hinders me from being baptized?”
Maybe he came for more.
Maybe gaining a copy of Isaiah’s prophecy was not his main mission.
Perhaps something else was the obsession of his journey.
Certainly it was!
You see, this exotic aristocrat, who spoke in friendly terms with the noblest of men from around the world, who had entertained kings and queens as a matter of routine, who wined and dined the most power and wealthy people in the world, knew something about being rejected. It was fresh on his mind. After everything he went through to reach the gates of the temple, when he tried to enter, he was turned away.
He was hindered.
No amount of wealth and fame, no amount of courtesy and formality, no amount of sincerity and honesty could gain him entrance into the temple. Why? Because he was physically defective. He was blemished. He was imperfect. He was a eunuch. And the law stated that no eunuch could enter the temple to worship God.
He must have heard the painful and tragic news from a sentry standing at the gate of the temple. No matter how great his undertaking, no matter how far he had come, no matter how great of a price he paid, no matter how sincere his motives, he had an undeniable physical condition.
He was marred.
He was flawed.
He was hindered.
The great man’s servants might have entered the courts of the temple. His chauffeur, porter, guards, packmen, assistants, translators, scribes, guides, etc. could all have entered…but not him! No mater how sincere this God-fearing eunuch was, no amount of sincerity could gain him passage into the temple of God.
And so with no recourse, he made his way through the streets of the Holy City looking for some small relic to take home. He wanted some token of his sacred journey that might shed some light on the ponderings of his soul. Somewhere he found an object of interest – something to read on the long journey home. From some religious leader or shopkeeper, he purchased the scroll of Isaiah, hand copied by some faithful and lonely scribe. Happy with his purchase, he turned his caravan homeward, disappointed by what seemed like a fruitless journey. The only benefit was the scroll he held in his hand.
But Someone else was watching!
While the Eunuch might have been hindered from entering the temple of God, he was not hindered from drawing the attention of God. Although he was barred from the temple, he was about to meet the living God.
As the caravan crept southward, leaving the Holy City behind while traversing the wind-swept road that led to Gaza, God sent an angel to a man named Philip. He is called the Evangelist. The angel urged him to go into this desert place with no instruction as to why. Philip obeyed.
When the Evangelist saw the dignitary’s entourage headed south, the Holy Spirit revealed the purpose of his mission. Catching up to the caravan, Philip politely joined himself to it. After a few minutes of walking discreetly beside the treasurer’s chariot, he could hear him reading aloud from his sacred scroll. Philip politely asked if he understood what he was reading. The wise court official admitted that he did not and invited Philip to join him in his royal chariot and explain to him what Isaiah was saying.
After hearing the message of Jesus given by Philip, with his recent rejection still painfully fresh in his mind, still feeling the sting of refutation from the temple guards and being very well aware of his being hindered from worshipping God in the temple might hinder him from accepting Christ, expecting a similar response I believe, the eunuch must of asked with fading hope, “What hinders me from being baptized?”
It’s like he is expecting some hindrance to be mentioned by Philip. This question almost begs for another obstruction to be given. It’s as if the eunuch was saying, “My flaws hindered me from entering the temple. What hinders me now from entering the water? He virtually anticipates another rejection.
But Philip affirmingly responded (with a large smile I imagine), “If you believe with all your heart, you may!”
This must have set his discouraged heart to soaring! Laying aside all memory of his past hindrances, the eunuch from Ethiopia climbed down from his chariot and both men entered the water. This great aristocrat, perhaps to the surprise of his entire entourage, was dipped into a desert oasis somewhere between Jerusalem and Gaza. Having confessed his faith in Jesus Christ, hindered no longer, the Eunuch discovered something that many people still need to know today – that God looks accepts all of us even though men do not!
What hinders you?