Jump Start # 1591

Acts 8:30 “Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’”

  Our verse today comes from the powerful story of the conversion of the Ethiopian treasurer. This story is rich with lessons that are helpful and useful for us. The Ethiopian was a eunuch. He was handicapped. He was unable to father children. We are not told if this was a birth defect, or something that was done to protect the queen, who he was around. He was traveling home. He had been to Jerusalem to worship. This was a long journey. He had his own copy of Isaiah. This was rare and unique in those times. It must have cost a large amount for him to have this private copy. I expect Philip didn’t have a copy of this. As he is traveling, he is reading Isaiah. He may have been holding a copy of Isaiah in his own hands for the very first time.

There are several important thoughts from our verse.

First, Philip ran. He wasn’t running for exercise sake. He wasn’t running to get away. He was running to the Ethiopian. Philip had been preaching in Samaria with great success. Many were listening and bowing their hearts in obedience to the Lord. God called Philip away to preach to this one man. One man is as important as the multitudes.

The running Philip illustrates excitement about what he was going to do. He was going to preach Jesus to a man who didn’t know the Lord. The Ethiopian had an honest and good heart and the word of God was going to be planted deep within this person. We don’t see Philip complaining about the long trip he had to make. We don’t see Philip asking God to send someone else. Philip went. Philip ran. We need running preachers today. Not those that run for exercise but those that run to do the Lord’s work. We need running preachers who are not lazy or reluctant to do what God wants them to do. The running Philip reminds us that our work is important and that we need to be able to go when opportunities arise. Don’t waste time preacher. Don’t be slow. Run to teach God’s word.

Second, Philip asked the Ethiopian if he understood what he was reading. Great beginning question. The same question can be used today. Find a friend reading the Bible on their phone and ask them, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Reading without understanding is about as useful as not reading at all. Why read if you don’t understand it? Reading must come with grasping what is said. Understanding who is speaking and the occasion and background that this took place is important. Do you understand?

Third, immediately after our verse, the Ethiopian honestly replied that he did not know. It was confusing to him. He easily could have said “sure, I understand,” just to dodge the preacher. But he was honest. He knew that he didn’t know. He wanted to know. That honest heart is the key to learning God’s will. We must know what God says and we must also know ourselves. Some live in denial land. Things are always great, even when they are not. Some do not know that they are lost. Honesty will cause a person to reach out for help. Had the Ethiopian not been honest, he may have never known about Jesus.

Fourth, implied very heavily in this section is the thought that Philip understood. It’s hard to explain something when you do not understand it yourself. Who is this passage talking about? Philip knew. He knew the prophet was writing about Jesus. It was Messianic. It was a wonderful passage that pointed to the cross. Beginning here, but not stopping here, Philip preached Jesus. He didn’t give a one word answer to the Ethiopian’s question. Who is this talking about? He could have simply said, “Jesus.” But the preacher did more. Beginning there, he preached Jesus.

As the story goes on, they passed some water. The Ethiopian called out, “Here’s water. What prevents me from being baptized?” Where did that comment come from? Why talk about water? Why baptism? Because preaching Jesus includes understanding why Jesus came and what Jesus did upon the cross. That immediately leads to our forgiveness and salvation. The Lord had said, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved.” Preaching Jesus must include forgiveness, salvation and baptism. Those that preach Jesus but leave out the baptism part, haven’t told the whole story.

The running preacher included baptism in his telling of Jesus. This prompted the Ethiopian to ask, why can’t I be baptized? And he was.

Running preachers who tell the whole story are the kind that pleases the Lord. That’s the kind we need today. There are many folks who need the Scriptures explained to them.  Can you do that? Do you know?

Roger