This man was a eunuch from Ethiopia, in Africa. The original word “eunuch” clearly implies the incapacity and mutilation involved in castration. This eunuch had risen to become the chief officer of Candace, the queen of Ethiopia. The Jews did not permit men to be made eunuchs, but it was common in the Gentile world to place them in charge of harems, and also to place them in the most important posts in a monarch’s court. Tradition gives this man’s name as Indich, and says that he was the first preacher of the gospel in Africa, and that, from his preaching, grew the Ethiopian Christianity that remains to this day in that country.

There are several things about the eunuch that are very important, and full of lessons for you tonight. I will mention three characteristics about this man which led to him becoming an important figure in early Christianity.

I. First, he was very serious about the things of God.

Look at verse 27.

“And he [Philip] arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship” (Acts 8:27; p. 1159).

This verse shows how seriously the man looked for knowledge about God and salvation. He went to great trouble to convert to Judaism, in the hope that this would help him find God. That would mean that he went through circumcision, by Jewish law. It would also mean that he “kept kosher,” eating only the food prescribed by the Jews, prepared in the way they demanded – no easy task! It was also his search for God that led him to make a long, arduous journey, through the Sinai desert, to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, so he could worship in the Jewish Temple.

All of this shows that the man had a strong desire to know God more fully. He was no “joker” about religion. It meant everything to him. Not only did he go through all the trials I have mentioned, but he also did two other rather difficult things. (1) He learned Hebrew, so he could participate in the Temple worship; (2) This also shows that he had given up the false religion which prevailed in Ethiopia at that time. This probably cost him a great deal as well. His parents, friends, and people in the court where he worked, would have scorned him and given him trouble for doing such a thing, that seemed bizarre and strange to them – converting from his ancestral religion to the religion of a foreign people, the Jews. But these obstacles, and hindrances, and troubles were not enough to stop this zealous man in his search for God and salvation.

May I ask you if you have anything approaching that kind of zeal for knowing God? I am very much afraid that, if you do not, you are not much of a candidate for true Christianity. “Jokers” who fool around about becoming Christians never find salvation. I dare say that you will not find salvation in Christ unless you have some of the zeal and fortitude this man displayed. Jesus said,

“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24; p. 1095).

The eunuch strove with all his might to enter the strait gate. He worked at it. He even had to learn Hebrew so he could participate in the Temple worship. He strove with all his heart and mind to find God. No wonder he was converted to Christ a short time later, and went on to become a gospel preacher.

There are several people here tonight who should follow his zealous example. If you do not seek the Lord Jesus with all your heart, you will not find Him. Jesus said,

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13; p. 80).

If I were you, and I were unconverted, I would follow the eunuch’s example and prepare yourself to hear the gospel preaching every service. I would stop watching all television and stop playing video games if I were unconverted. I think you should spend your evenings reading the Bible and praying for your soul, instead of wasting your time on television and video games. You should re-read Baxter, do all your Old and New Testament readings, and spend a good deal of time alone in prayer, preparing your soul prior to attending the meetings.

You can’t just walk into the meeting unprepared and unconcerned, and expect much of anything to happen regarding your conversion. Prepare yourself now, as the eunuch prepared himself by zealously praying and reading the Bible.

II. Second, he was a serious Bible student.

He had learned the Hebrew tongue so he could worship in the Temple. He must have spent hours poring over the scrolls of the prophetic writings, studying the Scriptures, meditating on them, and praying for enlightenment from them.

And this was good preparation for him. The Bible gives this prayer of David,

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18; p. 658).

The eunuch must have prayed like that as he read the Bible. He may well have prayed those very words from Psalm 119:18.

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18).

The word “law” here is a synonym for the Bible.

If you don’t pray for God to help you and spend much time reading the Scriptures while you pray, I don’t believe you will be converted. I don’t think you can spend your waking hours with your mind fixed on the world and expect to be spiritually ready for salvation in Christ when you get come to church.

You are going to have to follow the eunuch’s example and spend your free time reading the sermons handed to you, catching up on your Bible reading, and praying for the salvation of your soul. If you don’t do that, you will be unprepared, and it will be just another service. You will leave as lost as when you came.

Now, I am reasoning with you. Do you ever plan to be converted? If you do, then now is the time to shut yourself up at home every night and read sermons, books by Baxter the Bible readings, and pray hard for God to awaken you and give you a desire for Christ. You must begin doing that every night if you have any desire at all to be converted. Don’t watch any TV and don’t play video games at all. You should minimize the time you spend on electronics. It will pull your mind and heart away from being prepared. This, of course, does not apply to those who are already converted, although I hope they will spend extra time in prayer for conversions.

III. Third, he did what the preacher told him to do.

Philip ran alongside the eunuch’s chariot as he read from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked him, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” (Acts 8:30). The eunuch answered in Acts 8:31. Let’s read that verse aloud.

“And he [the eunuch] said, How can I, except some man should guide me?” (Acts 8:31).

That was a very wise statement.

The great Puritan preacher Richard Baxter said,

If you think you can read the Bible and be saved without going to church to hear the preacher, isn’t this horrible pride in you – to think you are able to understand the Word of God as well without a preacher as with one? When Philip asked him whether he understood what he read, the wise eunuch said to him, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” (Acts 8:30-31), and yet you think you can read the Bible and be saved without a preacher! If you don’t think you need to hear the preacher, you must think you are smarter than God, who sent the preacher to guide you (Richard Baxter, in A Puritan Speaks to Our Dying Nation, edited by R. L. Hymers, Jr., Hearthstone, 2002, p. 94).

Some of you, who are from new-evangelical backgrounds, have an opinion that is the opposite of the great preacher, Richard Baxter, and your opinion is different from that of the eunuch, who said,

“How can I, except some man should guide me?” (Acts 8:31).

Instead of proclaiming yourself saved on your own, you should seek out the Dr. Cagan or myself and let us lead you into a clear understanding and experience of conversion. That is the Biblical way, and I hope you will be wise enough to follow the eunuch’s example.