Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 8:36

"And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, [here is] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" — Acts 8:36 (ASV)

The eunuch responded to Philip by asking for baptism. As a Jewish proselyte or near-proselyte, he probably knew that water baptism was the expected external symbol for a Gentile’s repentance and conversion to the religion of Israel. Therefore, it would have been quite natural for him to view baptism as the appropriate expression for his commitment to Jesus, whom he had come to accept as the fulfillment of Israel’s hope and promised Messiah. Or perhaps Philip closed his exposition with an appeal similar to Peter’s at Pentecost (cf. 2:38) and his own in Samaria (cf. 8:12). However the subject of baptism arose, Philip baptized the eunuch. That is the climax Luke has been building up to.