Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 8:34

"And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other?" — Acts 8:34 (ASV)

Of himself, or of some other man?—Later interpreters, some of them ascribing the whole of the second half of Isaiah’s prophecies (Isaiah 40-66) to a great unknown writer living towards the close of the Babylonian Exile, have given very different answers to the question which the eunuch asked. They have seen in the righteous sufferer of Isaiah 53 either the delineation of the character of Jeremiah as the greatest sufferer of all the prophets, or of the righteous few who were sharers in his sufferings.

This is not the place to discuss either the authenticity of this part of the writings that bear Isaiah’s name or the primary historical application of this passage.

It is enough to remember that here, as with nearly every other Messianic prophecy cited in the New Testament, there may well have been “springing and germinant accomplishments.” And it must be remembered that a primary reference to persons or facts in nearly contemporary history does not exclude a more complete fulfillment in Him who gathered up in Himself all that belonged to the ideal sufferer, as well as to the ideal King, of whom the prophets had spoken. We may believe this fulfillment has special reference to the atoning power of His sufferings (Isaiah 53:4–6) and to His silent patience under them (Isaiah 53:7; compare to 1 Peter 2:22–25).