Lesson 3636

 (Lesson 3636)(12-18-21) Acts 8:26-40

    “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he 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, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 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? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.”

    To me, today’s quote creates more questions than it answers. The text of acts 8:26-40 contradicts almost the entirety of what the apostles taught as the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    The quote also appears to contradict the very reason why the office of deacon was established in the first place. 

    Remember, deacons were selected to stay near home and see to the needs of the church in the absence of Peter and the other apostles as they travelled to preach. 

    Philip was, at the time, a newly selected deacon of the church of Jerusalem. Why would he have been chosen to leave Jerusalem and neglect the very job he was chosen to accomplish? 

    Consider this also, the eunuch, a neutered slave to Candace the queen of Ethiopia, would have had to travel approximately 2500 miles, apparently alone, in a chariot from Ethiopia to Israel to “study” yet he was “studying” sitting alone in a desert. 

    I am open to any suggestions that might help to clarify or verify the seeming discrepancies  this quote. 

    Seeing that the Roman Catholic church controlled virtually ALL access to the written word for many centuries, could it be that the Roman Catholic church added these few verses to the original text in an attempt to codify their penchant for pomp and ritual? 

    Help me with this?~