36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”
Here is a man who understood the basics of the Gospel. He was sitting reading Isaiah and asking questions in his mind. Philip comes up and answers his questions and shares the Good News about Jesus from the passage he was reading. Philip also expands his understanding and shows from other passages that Jesus is the Messiah, the Promised One. The eunuch was “ripe for the harvest” and wants to be obedient. Part of what Philip shared was the role of baptism, a public sign of an inward change. We don’t know how many travelers were on that road that day, but I bet it was not a lonely stretch of road. They were still close to Jerusalem and the normal traffic between towns on this busy road would have been passing by. But the eunuch doesn’t care who sees him. He just wants to follow the Lord in obedience and this included baptism. So as they travel they see water. The eunuch spots the water and almost insists that he be baptized. Philip and he both get into the water and the job is done. The eunuch had an urgency about his obedience. When was the last time you had an urgency about your obedience? I am talking about an “I have to obey” feeling, an inner compulsion to do the right thing. Too often we dismiss these types of urgencies. We think obedience can wait until some future time. I want to encourage you to obey as soon as you feel the prompting. Don’t put it off, even if you have to get down in some water beside a public road. Nothing is more important than obedience when you feel the Spirit prompting. That urgency is to be heeded. Heed His voice today.
The Arnold Journey 