Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 8:38

"And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him." — Acts 8:38 (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.