"So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this: 'He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.' So the eunuch answered Philip and said, 'I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him." {Acts 8:30-35} When Philip "preached Jesus" to the eunuch, what did he include in that short sermon?

Fulfillment of prophecy. "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." {Matthew 5:17} The eunuch was reading Isaiah 53. In that chapter, Isaiah prophesied about the suffering servant and His death on a cross. Did Jesus give a defense when He stood before Pilate? "And went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, 'Where are You from?' But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, 'Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?'"{John 19:9,10} What about other parts of Isaiah's prophecy? Jesus was buried with the rich {John 19:38-42}. He was "numbered with the transgressors," because He hung between two thieves {Matthew 27:38}. Preaching Jesus means preaching His death.

Baptism. "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him." {Acts 8:36-38}

Unfortunately, those who oppose the necessity of baptism in the plan of salvation fail to consider the sermon Philip preached to the eunuch. Isaiah 53 does not mention ONE word about baptism. Yet, Philip's sermon began with a prophecy concerning the Savior's death and ended when the eunuch asked to be baptized. What provoked the eunuch to ask this particular question? Only one conclusion can be drawn-Philip's preaching of Jesus included the necessity of baptism. The eunuch didn't get this information from Isaiah 53, so it MUST have been included in Philip's sermon explaining the role of Jesus in man's salvation. How could one read the inspired account of the events at Gaza and not understand that baptism is part of preaching Jesus.

Dear readers, we must be honest when we handle God's word. All nine conversions in the book of Acts end at the water. There certainly must be a reason for that. Here it is-baptism is the means of contacting Christ's blood {Romans 6:3, 4; Colossians 2:11-13; Galatians 3:26, 27}. Therefore, I conclude that if one is not preaching baptism, he is not preaching Jesus completely!