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? -- Acts 8:36 (KJV)
The man asking has reason to expect a hard answer. He is an Ethiopian, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, and the law had a sentence about men like him: such a one "shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD" (Deuteronomy 23:1).
Reading on the Road
He is riding home and reading Esaias in his chariot when Philip runs up and asks whether he understands it. "How can I, except some man should guide me?" He asks Philip to come up and sit with him. The passage describes one led as a sheep to the slaughter, silent before his shearer, his life taken from the earth. The eunuch wants to know whom the prophet means. Philip opens his mouth, begins at the same scripture, and preaches unto him Jesus.
A Name That Shall Not Be Cut Off
That same prophet had written a word to eunuchs. "Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree." To those who take hold of His covenant the LORD promises "in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters," an everlasting name "that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 56:3–5). God had already spoken to the thing this man could not alter.
Luke does not say whether the two of them read that far. He tells us what happened at the water.
What Philip Answered
Philip names one condition: "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." He says nothing about the man's body, his country, or his office. The eunuch answers, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." He orders the chariot to stand still, the two of them go down into the water, and Philip baptizes him. Then he goes on his way rejoicing.
Some people keep their distance from God because of something in their history or their body that cannot be undone. They assume the answer is no, so they never ask. You may know someone like that. The person may be you.
What have you counted as a hindrance that Philip never mentioned?
