We don’t know his name. We don’t know his name, but we know a
few things about him. He was an
Ethiopian eunuch, a treasury official in the court of the Candace – the queen
of Ethiopia , and he had gone
to Jerusalem in
order to worship. We don’t know his name but five times within this short
little narrative[i] Luke
refers to him as “the eunuch.” We don’t know his name but for now I’ll
call him Ebed. [ii]
It seems strange that Ebed would have gone to Jerusalem to
worship. He probably wouldn’t have been
allowed. It’s not likely that he
wouldn’t have been welcomed. Nearly
everything about him would have excluded him from that very exclusive and
exclusionary worshipping community.
He was, quite obviously, foreign. He was a gentile. He was
one of the “uncircumcised.”[iii]
And as such, he could enter only the very outermost courtyard of the temple
(provided that he behaved himself in a respectful manner); but he would not
have been allowed to proceed any further. A low wall marked with a placard
warning that transgressors would be punished by death blocked the way.
No foreigner is to go beyond the balustrade and the plaza
of the temple zone! Whoever is caught doing so will himself to blame for his
death which will follow!
Animals marked for sacrifice were sold in these outer
courts, but gentile worshippers like Ebed would not have been allowed to lead
these sacrificial animals to the altar.
And not only was he an uncircumcised gentile, but he was a Eunuch (as Luke reminds again and again). He’d been emasculated, probably just before puberty. Eunuchs often served as officials within royal courts, especially trusted to serve within the women’s quarters because of their lack of libido. Because their physical condition (usually inflicted upon them without their consent) lowered their social status, they could be easily killed and replaced without consequence. A trusted eunuch might attain a lofted position within the royal courts, but only so long as he remained useful and obedient.
But eunuchs were specifically
(and repeatedly) barred from temple worship. “If a man’s testicles are
crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the
LORD.” [iv]
The first century Jewish
historian, Flavius Josephus, had some pretty harsh words concerning the
treatment of Eunuchs:
“Let those
that have made themselves eunuchs be had in detestation; and
do you avoid any conversation with them who have deprived themselves of their
manhood… let such be driven away, as if they had killed their children, since
they beforehand have lost what should procure them; for evident it is, that
while their soul is become effeminate, they have withal transfused that
effeminacy to their body also.” [v]
Ebed had travelled some 1,200
miles (a journey that would have taken him about two months, even travelling in
relative comfort and speed on a chariot, as he was) in order to worship the God
of the Universe, but I have to wonder what his experience would have been once
he arrived. Because he was both “uncut” (not circumcised) and “cut”
(emasculated) he would have been cut off from the worshipping community.
Would he have been stared at?
Would people have pointed at him? Would they have whispered about his dark
skin, his strange accent? Would they
have bristled at his effeminate voice or pulled away in repugnance from his
touch and his soft, un-calloused skin?
Or might Ebed have been
welcomed (at least by some)? The torah of the Jews had pretty clear laws
concerning the disbarment of eunuchs
from worship, yet within the tradition of the prophets came these words from
God:
“Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will never let me be part of his people.’ And don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’
For this is what the LORD says: I will bless those eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy and who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me.
I will give them—within the walls of my house— a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!” [vi]
“Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will never let me be part of his people.’ And don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’
For this is what the LORD says: I will bless those eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy and who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me.
I will give them—within the walls of my house— a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!” [vi]
The Hebrew bible included much
that would have led the Jews to welcome and to embrace gentiles and eunuchs in
their worship, but it doesn’t seem likely that he would have been welcomed.[vii]
Ebed was now on his way home
again, travelling by chariot back along the road that would take him through
the desert regions between Israel
and the African continent. As he rode in
the chariot along that deserted desert road, near the ruins of the city of Gaza (once a proud
Philistine city, now a nearly empty desolation), Ebed was reading from the
Hebrew bible – specifically from the prophet Isaiah. I wonder if he was drawn to that particular
prophet because of his conciliatory words for the gentile and the eunuch.
He was reading from a Greek
translation of the Hebrew bible:
“He was oppressed and
treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the
slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his
mouth.
Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream.” [viii]
Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream.” [viii]
These words come from passages
about the “Suffering Servant” of Yahweh, but Ebed was having trouble
understanding what he was reading. Who
was this oppressed servant? Why had he
been treated so harshly? How could it be
that no one cared that he died without the blessing and sign of God’s favor - descendants? (Surely this was a point of concern for the
eunuch Ebed….)
Ebed’s reverie was interrupted
with a question: “Do you even understand what you’re reading there?” The voice was breathless and panting. Ebed looked up from the scroll and saw a man
running alongside the chariot. This man was Philip the Evangelist[ix]
who had been lead by an angelic spirit of the Lord to this wild and desolate place.
Ebed answered his question with
a question: “How can I understand it unless someone guides me?” And with that
he invited Philip to join him in the chariot and the two of them poured over
the words of the prophet. Philip
explained the words and interpreted them and “brought good Jesus news”[x] to
the Ethiopian eunuch.
And as they went along that
desert road they came to some water. It was probably not a lush garden oasis,
but a muddy and already evaporating water-hole.
Ebed ordered the chariot driver to halt the horses and then turned to
Philip and said, “Look, water! What is
to prevent me from being baptized?”
Well – just about everything.
By the commonly accepted standards of the religious worshipping community, Ebed
- who was both “cut off” and not “cut” where it mattered - should have been cut
off from the worship of God. He should
have been detested and avoided by the faithful.
Philip had contaminated himself by merely stepping into the chariot with
this foreign eunuch. But none of this mattered to Philip on that dusty road.
The two of them went down from the chariot to the water and Ebed was baptized
by Philip.
For in Christ Jesus you are
all sons of God, through faith.
For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor [Ethiopian], there is neither [Eunuch nor virile father].
For you are all one in Christ Jesus.[xi]
For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor [Ethiopian], there is neither [Eunuch nor virile father].
For you are all one in Christ Jesus.[xi]
The “good Jesus news” brought
to the Ethiopian eunuch in that desert place was that the Kingdom of God Kingdom of God Kingdom of God
This is the “good Jesus news”
that we all need to hear, and we all need to share.
[i] Acts 8:
26 – 40
[ii] Based
on the Ethiopian eunuch who rescued the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 38: 7 – 13)
[iii] It
is possible that this Ethiopian Eunuch was Jewish but not certain.
[iv] Deuteronomy
23:1
[v] Flavius
Josephus, The Works of Flavius Josephus, trans. William Whiston, 1905.
[vi] Isaiah
56:3-5
[vii] And
this is not a slur against Jews in general.
The condemnation is equally applied to many Christian congregations as
well.
[viii] Isaiah
53:7-8 (NLT) The NIV also translates verse 8 with reference to progeny.
[ix] Not to
be confused with Philip the Apostle of the Gospels. The Evangelist Philip was one of seven
chosen to be the first deacons of the Church (Acts 6).
[xi] A
slight paraphrase of Galatians 3: 26 – 28 for this occaision.
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