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61. The Moor.
At the same time, Philip also baptised a Moor, the treasurer of Queen
Kandazes of Moorland. For Christ wants to be a Saviour to all men. The
Moor met the Saviour halfway, but he did not know it. He had come to
Jerusalem to pray in the temple. He was already on his way home again,
but God never let him out of his sight, so to speak. He sent Philip to
him. The Moor travelled slowly in his chariot and read a hard saying in
the book of the prophet Isaiah about someone who had patiently allowed
himself to be martyred and killed like a lamb. His life had been taken
from the earth. But no one could say how long it would last.
Philip asked the Moor if he understood what he was reading. Some people
would rather be ignorant than appear ignorant. They are ashamed to ask
what they don't know. Learning what you don't yet know is not shameful
and often leads to great salvation. The honest and humble Moor was not
ashamed. He said: ‘How can I understand what I read if no one teaches me?’
He asked Philip to sit with him and explain to him what the prophet was
talking about. Philip sat down with him and taught him the gospel, the
good news of Jesus. A faithful mind soon understands what he is told by
Jesus. The Moor had a faithful mind. When they came to some water along
the way, he said, ‘What is to prevent me from being baptised?’ Philip
asked him if he believed with all his heart. The Moor replied, ‘I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ On this confession he was
baptised by Philip and became a disciple of Jesus. Nothing else is known
about him. It was also a seed that moved on.
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