Baptized in the desert!

 

Chapter eight of the Book of Acts records an encounter between Philip and an unnamed eunuch from Ethiopia on a desert road.

Now Philip, not the apostle, was a Holy Spirit-anointed evangelist who God used mightily. He was one of seven deacons ordained by the apostles to minister to a growing following of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem.

With the brutal killing of Stephen, Philip’s fellow deacon, and the subsequent relentless persecution of the Church in Jerusalem by Saul, the pre-conversion Paul, Christians “were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria”.

Philip fled to Samaria, where he performed incredible acts of demon exorcism and miraculous healings all the while preaching the good news of Jesus Christ with great power.

“Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.” 

The unnamed eunuch, wasn’t just any Ethiopian, he was an important official in charge of Candace the Queen of the Ethiopians treasure. He had been in Jerusalem worshiping and was on his way toward Gaza when the encounter occurred.

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 

Philip, without knowing the purpose for this sudden change in direction, did not question the wisdom of the Lord’s leading, instead he immediately headed for the desert.

Sometimes things are going really well when suddenly the Lord leads us into a desert place.

We mustn’t let our self-praise and the praise of others deafen our ears to God’s call. We must not let what we see as success blind our eyes from seeing God’s vision.

These will certainly hamper our necessary wilderness journey. Yes, “necessary”. Going to the desert is par for the course. Even Jesus, after His baptism by John, was led into the desert wilderness by the Holy Spirit before His ministry began.

Despite Philip’s successful ministry in Samaria, what was most important to him was obedience to the Lord, to do whatever the Lord wanted him to do and to go wherever the Lord wanted him to go.

Queen Candace’s eunuch, riding in his chariot reading the prophet Isaiah written in Greek, was unaware of what was about to happen.

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 

Then with one single question, lives were about to be indelibly altered since it is believed that this meeting led to Christianity being introduced into Ethiopia.

So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 

Beloved, do you understand when you read Scripture or is it all Greek to you?

The Ethiopian, heading toward physical wilderness, ended up in spiritual wilderness bewildered by what he was reading. But God, who takes good care of all the needs of His children, sent a Greek-speaking Holy Spirit-anointed evangelist to an Ethiopian man going through a wilderness experience.

In the wilderness, God sends angels, even those in human form, to minister to us. He did so for His Son Jesus (Mark 1:12-13 AMPC below), He did so for an unnamed Ethiopian eunuch and He does so for us.

Immediately the [Holy] Spirit [from within] drove Him out into the wilderness (desert), And He stayed in the wilderness (desert) forty days, being tempted [all the while] by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him [continually].

God provides in unimaginable ways.

That Ethiopian official had a need for spiritual enlightenment, and the Lord provided a solution in what looks like a near impossible situation. You see, this man had already left Jerusalem, heading south to Gaza, about 34 miles away, which means that Philip coming from Samaria, about 65 miles north of Jerusalem, would have had to have travelled a long distance to catch up to the chariot.  

Beloved, here's a side note: if Philip was on foot, he never would have encountered the eunuch. Philip must've been on-board the Holy Spirit express en route to do God’s work.

Philip not only explained the reading from Isaiah but went on to boldly, intentionally and passionately proclaim the good news about Jesus, after which Acts 8:37-39 (ESV) tells us,

And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 

Baptized in the desert!

And what happened next is the evidence of Philip’s divine transportation.

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 

Beloved, you may be trekking through a desert place with no sign of relief but know that though it does not seem so right now, the Lord has a purpose for you being there and you will experience His Holy Spirit at work in your life.

So, continue to believe and to trust and to obey. Soon you will come to water, and when you do, rejoice.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Baptized in the desert!” ©2026, January 2, 2025