Acts 8:36-39 And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water… 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 God's 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.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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? |
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