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Do you know what you are reading?

Centuries ago, there was a man walking in Jerusalem. He received a command to go “Down” to Syria and meet with a man that he saw along the roadside. That man was Philip, but the person in need was a Gentile, or one who was not a Jew — he was an official of the Ethiopian government.

As Philip headed toward Syria, he saw a eunuch reading the Hebrew text.

Philip asked, “Do you know what you are reading?”

“How can I know if no man help me?” was the answer.

The eunuch was just returning from worship in the Jerusalem Temple and the Spirit was working on his heart. Of course, this meeting was prearranged by God so heathen nations would also hear the Word of the Lord.

As soon as the eunuch asked for interpretation, Philip did exactly what Jesus asked of all Christians: “Take the Gospel to all parts of the world.” Philip only had to go a few miles to preach his first message.

You will find that scripture in Matthew 28, the last two sentences. Philip put his faith in action and so began the preaching of the Gospel to everyone. From this time onward, the Jews would begin to fall farther from the grace of God and we Gentiles would begin the “passing-on of the message.”

It had been years since Jesus was crucified: the Jewish community did not understand that the murder of the Messiah was the last straw with God. God had worked with the Jews for 2000 years.

Since his death on the cross, another two thousand years has gone by. Neither the Jews nor the Gentiles have been successful in getting the world to repent. Jesus is the only Messiah; sent to die for our sins.

I believe that and my prayer is for others to hear and believe it. The choice of denying Christ was not a decision by a king. God did not restore Israel’s right to have a king when they returned from 70 years of captivity in Babylon. (530 B.C.)

Christ’s death was a collective decision made by the rulers of that nation.

How could people be so wrong especially when they knew the Messiah was coming? Because the Ethiopian eunuch read the Gospel to the Jews, he brought that Good News to the rest of the world. Shouldn’t we know the Good News and re-tell it?

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