What does Acts 8:29 mean?
An angel has told the deacon and evangelist Philip to go to the road that leads from Jerusalem down to Gaza. While there, he finds an Ethiopian official of the queen's court riding in a chariot, returning home from worshiping in Jerusalem (Acts 8:26–28). The Holy Spirit tells Philip to get closer, and Philip finds the man is reading Isaiah 53:7–8, the passage that describes an innocent man being led like a lamb to the slaughter (Acts 8:32–33).The Holy Spirit is essential for the spread of the gospel and the health of the church. Jesus promised the disciples that the Holy Spirit would have an active role in the spread of the gospel. He said, "And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus by guiding His followers to the truth (John 16:12–14). Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit couldn't come to them until Jesus left (John 16:7). A little more than a week after Jesus' ascension, the Holy Spirit came to indwell His followers (Acts 1:3, 9; 2:1–4).
The Holy Spirit will continue to directly lead the Jesus-followers to where they need to be. He will tell Peter to evangelize the Gentiles of Cornelius' house (Acts 10:19–20), tell the believers in Antioch to send Paul and Barnabas to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 13:2), and let Paul know he will be arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 20:22–23; 21:11). He also empowers the Jesus-followers to preach Jesus' message of forgiveness (Acts 4:8, 31; 6:10) and direct the church in evangelistic and theological matters (Acts 9:10–12; 15:28; 16:6–7; 19:21).
Acts 8:26–40 completes the story of Philip's early ministry. Driven out of Jerusalem by persecution, he first travels north into Samaria and spreads the gospel to a people Jews had believed accursed (Acts 8:5–13). Now, an angel tells him to go south where he meets an official of the Ethiopian court who is reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip's ministry shows that God doesn't care if someone is born into His chosen people, or are ethnically and theologically confused, or are even a foreign eunuch. He loves equally and desires that everyone will repent and come to Him.
Jesus told the apostles they would spread the gospel (Acts 1:8) and persecution makes that happen. Upon the death of the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60), a young Pharisee named Saul builds on the momentum to arrest and, if possible, execute Jesus followers (Acts 8:1–3; 26:10). The apostles mostly stay in Jerusalem, but the church members flee, spreading the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Important encounters in this passage include a magician named Simon and the conversion of an Ethiopian court official.
