Philip & the Ethiopian

An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. "Rise and go south, to the road that runs from Jerusalem down to Gaza." It was a desert road. Philip went.

On the road, a chariot was traveling. In it sat an important man from Ethiopia, a servant of the queen who kept her treasure. He had been to Jerusalem to worship, and he was reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." Philip ran. He heard the man reading aloud. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. The man said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" He invited Philip to sit with him.

The passage was about a lamb led to the slaughter, silent before its shearers. "Of whom does the prophet say this?" the man asked. Starting from that very scripture, Philip told him the good news about Jesus.

They came to some water by the road. The man said, "Look, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized?" He commanded the chariot to stop. They both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

When they came up, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away. The Ethiopian did not see him again. But he went on his way rejoicing. The good news had gone with him, all the way back to Africa.