An angel tells Philip to go south toward the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip obeys without initially being told why.

On the road he encounters an Ethiopian eunuch, a high official responsible for the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. The man has been to Jerusalem to worship and is returning home in his chariot.

He is reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit tells Philip to approach the chariot.

Philip hears the passage and asks whether the traveler understands what he is reading. The official answers that he needs someone to guide him and invites Philip to sit with him.

The text being read describes a figure led like a sheep to slaughter. The official asks whether the prophet is speaking about himself or someone else.

Beginning with that Scripture, Philip tells him the good news about Jesus.

As they travel, they come to water. The official asks what prevents him from being baptized. The chariot stops, and both men go down into the water. Philip baptizes him.

When they come out of the water, Philip is suddenly taken away, and the official continues his journey rejoicing.

The story begins with a seemingly isolated road and ends with the message moving toward another region of the world. Acts portrays the expansion not as accidental but as part of the widening witness Jesus announced at the beginning of the book.