Acts 8:40Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

From this it is also clear that he was one of the seven deacons. Later he is found there in Caesarea.

The Spirit did not catch him away without purpose. Otherwise the eunuch would have asked him to accompany him, and Philip would have grieved him by not agreeing and by refusing, since the time for this had not yet come.

Do you see how the angels assist the preaching, yet without preaching themselves, but by summoning the apostles?

“But Philip,” it says, “was found at Azotus.” Philip also received great benefit from this.

What he had heard about the prophets, about Habakkuk, Ezekiel, and the rest, he saw fulfilled in himself. He found that he had instantly traversed a great distance.

“And he was found at Azotus.” He stops there, where he was to preach.

He directed his way to Caesarea, his homeland. For, grieving over Stephen, and perhaps fearing lest he suffer something similar, he was returning home.

The writer of Acts speaks of Caesarea in Palestine, where, as is said below in Acts 21:8-9, Philip had a house. Its ruins are still shown today, as is the room of his four daughters, virgins and prophetesses.

The Lord was pleased to bear witness both to the baptized man, that he had truly received the salvation of God, and to the one who baptized him, that the work he had performed accorded with God's will.

For this reason two wondrous events followed the baptism. First, the Holy Spirit descended upon the baptized man, which was probably expressed in extraordinary manifestations of life regenerated by grace, evident both to the eunuch and to Philip.

Second, the angel of the Lord caught Philip away, so that he instantly became invisible to the eunuch and quickly appeared in Azotus.

Assured of his salvation, the eunuch continued on his way, filled with joy. Philip, continuing his journey from Azotus toward Caesarea, the place of his permanent residence (Acts 21:8 and following), preached the Gospel everywhere.

According to tradition, the baptized official became a preacher of Christ in his own country. Philip appeared in Azotus, and from there began his preaching in various coastal cities as far as Caesarea.

In this latter city he apparently remained as a permanent resident, and later had four daughters who possessed the gift of prophecy.

Thus by this time, which coincided approximately with the death of Emperor Tiberius, around A.D. 37, the Church had begun to spread successfully among Jews of every kind.

It spread among Jews in the strict sense, among the despised Samaritans, among Jews of the dispersion, among Hellenists, and among proselytes from the most distant lands.

“At Azotus”: Azotus, like Gaza, was one of the five chief Philistine cities. It lay north of Gaza, west of Jerusalem, about forty-five to fifty versts from it, near the Mediterranean Sea. Today it is a village called Esdud.

“Passing through, he preached the Gospel,” and so forth. From Azotus Philip's journey continued in the ordinary manner, in contrast to his extraordinary journey from the Gaza road to Azotus.

From there he went north, toward Caesarea, preaching the Gospel in all the cities on his way. These included Accaron, Jamnia, Joppa, Apollonia, and others.

“Until he came to Caesarea”: there, it seems, he had his permanent residence (Acts 21:8 and following).

Philip's being caught up by the hand of the angel and transported to the city of Azotus was one of the rare miracles of that time. Yet such examples had occurred before (compare Dan 14:36).

According to Saint John Chrysostom, “This was well done, so that it might be manifest that what happened was the work of God, and that the eunuch might not think Philip was an ordinary man.

“And Philip received great benefit from this. What he had heard about the prophets, about Habakkuk, Ezekiel, and others, he saw fulfilled in himself, finding that he had traversed a great distance.”

Concerning the eunuch, blessed Theophylact observes: “It was good that Philip was taken from the eunuch, because the eunuch would have asked him to go with him.