阅读经文 

今天读到的与腓力相遇的人来自埃塞俄比亚，在“古实河外”。(古实是埃及的别称)

许多地方的人都知晓并敬拜以色列的神，（参徒 2:5-11）这个埃塞俄比亚人曾前往耶路撒冷，到那里的圣殿敬拜神。

在回家的路上，这个人正在读《以赛亚书》，他感到很困惑。《以赛亚书》写到一个人“像羊羔被牵到宰杀之地”，并且“受欺压和审判”。（参赛 53:7-8）

现在，腓利在圣灵的引领下遇到这个埃塞俄比亚人，他能够解释以赛亚所预言的耶稣，那个代替所有罪人死，然后又复活的无罪的人。此刻，伴随着圣灵的工作，腓利不失时机向一个准备好信福音的人分享了关于耶稣的好消息。

当埃塞俄比亚人看到前方有水时，他说：“我受洗有什么妨碍呢？”他说得没错——神的灵使他通过腓力听到了福音，他就信了救主耶稣基督。于是他们下水，“腓力就给他施洗”。（参徒 8:36、38）

从此，这个埃塞俄比亚人“欢欢喜喜地走路”了，他或许就属于东非最早一批与他人分享耶稣救恩福音的人。（参徒 8:39）

The man who met Philip in our reading today was from Ethiopia, which was "beyond the rivers of Cush." (Cush was another name for Egypt.)

People from many lands knew about and worshiped the God of Israel (Acts 2:5-11), and the Ethiopian man had traveled to Jerusalem to worship God at the temple there.

On his way home, the man was reading from the book of Isaiah, and he was puzzled. Isaiah had written about a man who "was led like a sheep to the slaughter" and was "deprived of justice" (see Isaiah 53:7-8).

Now, Philip had been led by the Spirit to meet the Ethiopian man, and he was able to explain that Isaiah was prophesying about Jesus, the innocent one who died on behalf of all sinners and was raised to new life. Here, as the Spirit worked, Philip was able to share the good news of Jesus with a man who was ready to receive the gospel in faith.

Then, when the Ethiopian man saw some water up ahead, he said, "What can stand in the way of my being baptized?" And he was right—the Spirit of God had arranged for him to hear the good news through Philip, and the man had come to faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ. So they went into the water, "and Philip baptized him."

From there, the Ethiopian man "went on his way rejoicing," and he was likely one of the first people to share Jesus with others in East Africa.