<p>8:35 <i>And <em>Philip opened his mouth- </em></i>This surely must connect with the usage of the same phrase in :32 about the Lord Jesus, who in His time of death &quot;did not open his mouth&quot;. It was as if Philip was manifesting the Lord Jesus; the eunuch had been reading of a figure like him who died, whereas now Philip represents that figure as alive. The desire for baptism at Philip's hands into that dead and resurrected figure was therefore quite natural.</p><p><em>And beginning from this Scripture- </em>As He &lsquo;began&rsquo; in the prophets and expounded &ldquo;in all the scriptures the things <em>concerning himself</em>&rdquo; (Lk. 24:27), so those in Him &ldquo;<em>began</em> at this Scripture, and preached... <em>Jesus</em>&rdquo;.</p><p><em>Preached Jesus to him- </em>Our early brethren preached a person, even a personality cult- based around the man Christ Jesus. They preached a Christ-centred Gospel, to the extent that the preaching of the entire Gospel is sometimes summarised as &ldquo;preaching Christ&rdquo; (Acts 8:35; 5:42; 28:31). They preached a Man, a more than man, who has loved us more than we loved Him, and more than we ever can love Him. In this there is an imperative for response. It&rsquo;s not the same as demanding obedience merely for the sake of a good time to come.</p>