The Eunuch’s Identity

Photo of a Roman Coin depicting a carpentum, RE1 / Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. 1: Augustus to Vitellius (76, p.130).

What is your primary identity? How do you identify yourself first and foremost? What is the most important descriptor you use?

We all have an identity. Our identity is made up of dynamic and complex facets, descriptors, and attributes. Our identity is intricate and profound. Issues of identity are not simple, and should not be over-simplified or disregarded.

In Acts chapter eight, verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight, Luke, the author of Acts, tells us details of the Ethiopian eunuch’s identity.

Luke writes that Philip rose and went, as an angel of the Lord commanded, “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.” (Acts 8:27-28, ESV).

The Ethiopian eunuch’s identity from the book of Acts could be described as follows:

We know the man Philip met on the coastal road to Ethiopia was Ethiopian, he was most likely from Ethiopia, and he was most likely dark skinned.

The man was a eunuch, meaning he was castrated, meaning he could be trusted around a harem, and he was unable to have children of his own.

The man was a court official of Candace—the queen of Ethiopia; meaning he was high up in rank. We also know he was trusted with all of the queen’s riches; meaning he was good with numbers and business and was well read.

The man was a God fearer who came to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. He was following the one true God of Israel and he was seeking to worship God and to read and understand the prophet Isaiah.

The man was very wealthy. We know this because he had possession of a chariot and he owned a complete scroll of Isaiah, which was worth an enormous sum of money. Ownership of scrolls was normally reserved for synagogues. Scrolls were purchased by the community, and they were not normally purchased and owned by private parties.

The eunuch was also well educated. We know this, as mentioned before, because he managed the queen’s treasures, and he possessed the complete Isaiah scroll, which he could read very well.

Philip shared Jesus with the Ethiopian eunuch. When the eunuch heard the good news of Jesus, he chose to be baptized, and to identify himself as a follower of Jesus—a person of “the way”. The eunuch changed his primary identification from his physical condition and status to being a child of God and an heir of God’s present and coming kingdom.

It is likely that Philip did not stop with the suffering servant chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah fifty- three, but he continued reading to the place where God spoke through Isaiah to the eunuch, in Isaiah fifty-six. This is highly likely, given that chapter breaks and verse numbers were not original to the text, and given these two texts are just a short distance from one another, and are very relevant for this eunuch.

In Isaiah fifty-six, God speaks through the Prophet Isaiah, saying, “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people’; and let not the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” (Isaiah 56:3-5, ESV).

This passage would explain why the Ethiopian eunuch was excited to be baptized and to receive Jesus as the messiah—the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah, and to accept being a follower of Jesus as his new identity.

In Isaiah fifty-six, the Ethiopian eunuch would have seen his identity shift and become clear and priceless in the face of the Jesus’ fulfillment of the Isaiah passage.

Now the Ethiopian eunuch would see his identity as follows:

The man would see himself as being joined to the Lord. He would see himself as one of God’s fruitful and blessed covenant people.

The man would see himself as a child of God, who was devout and sabbath keeping, and pleasing to God—as part of God’s covenant promise, and as one of God’s covenant people.

The man would see his rightful place within the walls of the household of God. He would see a monument and a name—a heritage better than sons and daughters—better than a earthly family—an everlasting kingdom family of God.

The man would see that he had an eternal legacy and an everlasting name that will never be cut off, as his earthly flesh and lineage was. (See Isaiah 56:3-5, ESV).

Our identity is greater than our physical state. Our true identity transcends worldly values and attributes of grandeur and importance. We are not defined by our successes, nor by our failures. We are not defined by our portfolios, nor by our deficits. We are not defined by our resume, nor by our sedentary waiting. We are not defined by our productivity, nor by our patient being. We are not defined by our family of origin, or our pedigree, nor are we defined by our uncertainty, adoption, poverty, or aimless wandering.

Our true identity is in Jesus Christ. We are God’s beloved children. We belong to God.

May we embrace our true and satisfying identity in Jesus and dedicate our life to living out our true identity in Jesus—for his kingdom and purposes—as his beloved children.

In Christ alone, Robbie

A Collect For Mission: “O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men, women, and children everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 2019).

Photo of a Roman Coin depicting a carpentum, RE1 / Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. 1: Augustus to Vitellius (76, p.130).