Acts 8:39 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip,— The Alexandrian manuscript, and several other ancient copies, read, The Holy Spirit fell upon the eunuch; but the angel of the Lord caught away Philip, &c. See Acts 8:26. This, I doubt not, was the case; and hence we learn, that as soon as they were come up from the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon the eunuch immediately from heaven, and without the imposition of Philip's hands. Probably the effusion was attended with a visible glory, like cloven tongues, or pointed flames of fire; for that external symbol seems always to have accompanied the pouring down of the Holy Spirit in his miraculous gifts. Though the eunuch thereby received some spiritual gifts, or miraculous powers, or both, yet this effusion of the Spirit was not in order to prepare the way for his reception into the Christian church, which was the case with Cornelius and his company, who were the first-fruits of the Gentiles; for then it ought to have been conferred on him before baptism; whereas the eunuch was a proselyte of righteousness, and therefore Philip made no scruple of baptizing him as soon as ever he professed the Christian faith, as knowing the rule in that case, Exodus 12:49 namely, one law shall be unto him that is home-born, that is, a Jew by birth as well as religion, and to the stranger who sojourns among you; for so it plainly appears from the foregoing verse to be the circumcised proselyte, or proselyte of righteousness, and not of the gate. But as Philip was only an evangelist,—no apostleat hand,—the eunuch going directly into a distant country, and God, unwilling that he should go without the extraordinary attestation which was so commonly afforded to the Christians of that primitive age, and yet resolved not to break in upon the common method, which was to communicate the Holy Spirit by the hands of no other men than the apostles only:—for these reasons God seems to have poured the Holy Spirit upon him by an immediate effusion; and hereby this illustrious convert had the Spirit conferred in the most honourable manner, and in the way in which the highest and best gifts used to be bestowed. Presently after this signal evidence had been granted to the eunuch, an angel of the Lord caught away Philip; perhaps by a rapture through the air, in the sight of the eunuch and his attendants. See 1 Kings 18:12. 2 Kings 2:16. Ezekiel 3:14. And, after he was removed beyond their utmost ken, the eunuch saw him no more; nor did he search after, or follow the evangelist: he was satisfied that it was the will of God that they should be so separated, and therefore he pursued his journey to Ethiopia, greatly rejoicing at what had happened. For he was not only convinced of the truth of Christianity himself, but he had such gifts and powers as enabled him to instruct and convince others also; and accordingly he is said to have planted the gospel in Ethiopia, where there was a flourishing church, as most of the ancient histories of the country assure us: and as the apostles Bartholomew, Matthew, and Matthias preached the gospel there, it is not only an additional proof that he had paved the way for them; but as so many apostles were sent into those parts, it is a strong presumption in favour of the success of his ministry. See Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. 2: chap. 1: