A Muslim quotes Jesus in Matthew 15:24 ("I was sent only to the Lost Sheep of Israel") and then writes, "I am from Nigeria, Jesus was not sent to me."
This is a common Muslim error which comes from a lack of knowledge about the Bible. But the error is easily corrected.
Prior to His ascension to heaven in Matthew 28, the Lord commanded His followers to preach the Gospel to and make disciples of all nations. Do you know who was the first Gentile to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior and begin the fulfillment of that mandate?
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.)
27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem
28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”
30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this:
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb is silent before its shearer,
so He does not open His mouth.
33 In His humiliation justice was denied Him.
Who will describe His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.
34 The eunuch replied to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or another person?”
35 So Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning from that Scripture.
36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized?”
[37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]
38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 8
In fact, the man was not Ethiopian, but more likely Sudanese, a court official of Queen Candace of Sudan. Dr. Craig Keener explains:
"While we might confuse “Ethiopia” here with modern Ethiopia, that is probably not in view. That kingdom, Axum, was a powerful east African empire and converted to Christianity in the early 300s, in the same generation the Roman empire converted. The empire here, however, is most likely a particular Nubian kingdom of somewhat darker complexion, south of Egypt in what is now the Sudan."
As we have seen, unlike many monarchies, the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is an all-inclusive one. John the Beloved confirms this for us in a vision of heaven (italics mine):
8 When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song:
You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because You were slaughtered,
and You redeemed people
for God by Your blood
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
10 You made them a kingdom
and priests to our God,
and they will reign on the earth.
Revelation 5
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2015/07/was-messiah-coming-only-for-lost-sheep.html
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (Lost Sheep Series)
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2015/07/jesus-and-samaritan-woman-lost-sheep.html
Jesus and the Centurion (Lost Sheep Series)
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2015/07/jesus-and-centurion-lost-sheep-series.html
The Chosen People Chosen to Bless All People (Lost Sheep Series)
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-chosen-people-chosen-to-bless-all.html
This is a common Muslim error which comes from a lack of knowledge about the Bible. But the error is easily corrected.
Prior to His ascension to heaven in Matthew 28, the Lord commanded His followers to preach the Gospel to and make disciples of all nations. Do you know who was the first Gentile to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior and begin the fulfillment of that mandate?
Painting: "The Baptism of the Eunuch," c. 1626, by Rembrandt
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.)
27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem
28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”
30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this:
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb is silent before its shearer,
so He does not open His mouth.
33 In His humiliation justice was denied Him.
Who will describe His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.
34 The eunuch replied to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or another person?”
35 So Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning from that Scripture.
36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized?”
[37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]
38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 8
In fact, the man was not Ethiopian, but more likely Sudanese, a court official of Queen Candace of Sudan. Dr. Craig Keener explains:
"While we might confuse “Ethiopia” here with modern Ethiopia, that is probably not in view. That kingdom, Axum, was a powerful east African empire and converted to Christianity in the early 300s, in the same generation the Roman empire converted. The empire here, however, is most likely a particular Nubian kingdom of somewhat darker complexion, south of Egypt in what is now the Sudan."
As we have seen, unlike many monarchies, the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is an all-inclusive one. John the Beloved confirms this for us in a vision of heaven (italics mine):
8 When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song:
You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because You were slaughtered,
and You redeemed people
for God by Your blood
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
10 You made them a kingdom
and priests to our God,
and they will reign on the earth.
Revelation 5
Jesus is LORD!
See also:
"Philip preaches to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-27," by Dr. Craig Keener
Did Messiah Come Only for the Lost Sheep of Israel? (Lost Sheep Series)
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2015/07/was-messiah-coming-only-for-lost-sheep.html
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (Lost Sheep Series)
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2015/07/jesus-and-samaritan-woman-lost-sheep.html
Jesus and the Centurion (Lost Sheep Series)
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2015/07/jesus-and-centurion-lost-sheep-series.html
The Chosen People Chosen to Bless All People (Lost Sheep Series)
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-chosen-people-chosen-to-bless-all.html
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