Acts 8:33

in His humiliation His judgment was taken away; and who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.

Philip had followed the command of the angel; he had gone to the place to which he was directed, and was ready for further directions. These were given him by the prompting of the Spirit telling him to stay near the chariot as it moved along, within earshot or easy hailing distance. And as Philip ran toward the chariot, he could hear the words which the eunuch was reading to himself, and recognize the passage from which they were taken. The question with which he introduced himself was not an impertinent form of address, as has been stated, but one calculated to draw out the religious position and conviction of the man: Dost thou really understand what thou readest? It is a question which all Bible readers ought to keep in mind; for there is far too much superficial reading of mere words instead of the earnest attempt to get the connection and meaning of every passage. The answer was: How do you suppose I should be able to if no one shows me the way? This does not imply that the Bible cannot be understood without hierarchical interpretation, but simply shows that a beginner in the study of the Word, one that has not yet carefully compared prophecy and fulfillment, will do well to have the aid of some help in comparing parallel passages and in pointing out the connection. The few really dark passages in the Bible are due to our lack of adequate knowledge of the original tongues and similar reasons; but none of these passages concerns any assurance of the salvation of souls or any other fundamental doctrine. The eunuch now earnestly invited Philip to have a seat at his side in the chariot. The passage which was just then troubling the reader was the beautiful section from Isaiah 53:7. There it is said of the Messiah that He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, that, as a lamb before the shearer is voiceless, so He opened not His mouth. It was written of the great Lamb of God, in His ministry of taking away the sins of the world. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away: in His oppression, when the wrath of the Father had struck Him as the Substitute for all mankind, the full judgment was carried out upon Him, and thus we need no longer fear judgment and condemnation, their force was exhausted in the Christ. His generation who shall declare?: He has been exalted into heaven, and now, even according to His humanity, has no end of His days, has eternal glory in His possession; for His life is taken away from the earth: it was taken from Him suddenly, by the murderous death on the cross; but the result was eternal salvation, final glorification in the interest of His believers. This was the Gospel of the Old Testament, a beautiful and clear account of the Messiah's sacrifice, but hidden before the eyes of the eunuch, because he did not know the fulfillment.