After preaching the word of the Lord at the city of Samaria, the evangelist Philip received a message from an angel of the Lord. The angel said, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza" (Acts 8:26 NKJV). Philip arose and went as he was told by the angel.
There was a eunuch of Ethiopia along the road who was returning from worshiping God in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit instructed Philip to overtake the chariot. Philip heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth" (Acts 8:32-33; c.f. Isa. 57:8-9).
Philip asked the eunuch, "Do you understand what you are reading" (Acts 8:30)? The eunuch humbly replied: "How can I, unless someone guides me" (Acts 8:31)? He then invited Philip to sit with him in the chariot to guide him. The eunuch said: "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man" (Acts 8:34)? Beginning at this Scripture, Philip "preached Jesus to him" (Acts 8:35).
What did Philip preach? He taught the same gospel that was taught to the Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 2:22-40) and to the people of the city of Samaria (Acts 8:5-25). As he preached in the city of Samaria, he preached to the Eunuch "the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12).
From the context, we learn that Philip taught that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Acts 8:37; c.f. Matt. 16:16; John 6:69). Beginning at Isaiah, he taught about Jesus, the "Man of sorrows" (Isa. 53:1-3). He preached the fundamental facts of the gospel as foretold by Isaiah: the death (Isa. 53:4-8), the burial (Isa. 53:9), and the resurrection (Isa. 53:10-12). From the passage, we learn that Philip also taught baptism. He taught that man obeys the gospel through obedience to a "form" of the gospel (Rom. 6:1-4, 17). The penitent Jews at Jerusalem were "baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). The believing Samaritans were also "baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 8:16).
When Philip and the eunuch came to some water, the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized" (Acts 8:36)? Philip gave the condition: "If you believe with all your heart, you may" (Acts 8:37). The eunuch gave the confession: "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37). Note that baptism is immersion in water. Luke recorded that "both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him" (Acts 8:38) and that "they came up out of the water" (Acts 8:39).
After Philip baptized the eunuch, "the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more" (Acts 8:39). Philip continued to preach the gospel to others, even as he preached it to the people of Samaria and to the eunuch of Ethiopia. Luke recorded the "joy" (Acts 8:8) and the "rejoicing" (Acts 8:39) of those who obeyed the gospel. The forgiveness of sins and the hope of heaven are certainly reasons to rejoice. Will you become a Christian today?