Acts 8:28-38 腓利與埃提阿伯

「27不料，有一個埃提阿伯人，是個有大權的太監，在埃提阿伯女王干大基的手下總管銀庫，他上耶路撒冷禮拜去了。28現在回來，在車上坐著，念先知以賽亞的書。29聖靈對腓利說：你去！貼近那車走。30腓利就跑到太監那裡，聽見他念先知以賽亞的書，便問他說：你所念的，你明白嗎？31他說：沒有人指教我，怎能明白呢？於是請腓利上車，與他同坐。32他所念的那段經，說：他像羊被牽到宰殺之地，又像羊羔在剪毛的人手下無聲；他也是這樣不開口。33他卑微的時候，人不按公義審判他；誰能述說他的世代，因為他的生命從地上奪去。34太監對腓利說：請問，先知說這話是指著誰？是指著自己呢？是指著別人呢？35腓利就開口從這經上起，對他傳講耶穌。36二人正往前走，到了有水的地方，太監說：看哪，這裡有水，我受洗有什麼妨礙呢？（有古卷在此有：37腓利說：你若是一心相信，就可以。他回答說：我信耶穌基督是神的兒子。）38於是吩咐車站住，腓利和太監二人同下水裡去，腓利就給他施洗」（使徒行轉8:28-38）。 

"And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go over and join this chariot.' So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' 'And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

'Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.'

And the eunuch said to Philip, 'About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?' And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him."

在上一節看到，主叫腓利去曠野，他就去，沒想到曠野的路竟然有人，而且是埃提阿伯人，一個從很遠的大概是碦土穆（見圖）這個地方來的人，並且這個人不是普通人，他是掌有大權的太監。從他特意到耶路撒冷作禮拜以及在路途中讀以賽亞書便可以得知他是一個敬虔的人。

這位太監正在閱讀以賽亞書53章的彌賽亞經文，並且這位掌有大權的太監非常謙虛，他請腓利上車並請教他經文所指的意思。腓利告訴他那段經文所指的是耶穌，也就是說早在公元前800年，先知以賽亞就已經寫了關於耶穌基督的經文了，（見以賽亞書52:13-15; 53）。腓利對埃提阿伯太監傳講耶穌的事，他就立即信了，並且馬上要受洗。

腓利被主呼召到曠野傳福音，只傳給一個人，但這個人卻可以將福音從亞洲帶進非洲，而且是遙遠的東非，這真是一件非常奇妙的事情。從這個事件我們看到，一切都有主的帶領，一切都有主美好的旨意，只是許多時候我們並不明白。

願主賜我們像腓利那樣順服的心，主說去就去。

願主賜我們像埃提阿伯太監那樣謙卑單純的心，願意聽，並且立即就信。

2011大肚山研經室筆記[註]