EVANGELIZING – learning from Jesus and John

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In many Christian circles today we hear: "Evangelism, that's our duty!" Certainly. But can we simply go out and proclaim the gospel to the world? God had only one Son. He made him the preacher of the gospel. Let us listen together to the preaching of the first evangelists. Learn from Jesus and John!

The Annunciation of John and Jesus – the character of their preaching

Matthew 3:2 allows us to hear the sound of John's sermon. He begins with the words: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!" Later, when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance!" (Luke 3:7-8).

Jesus preached with the same earnestness. It is striking that Jesus begins his sermon with the same words as John the Baptist. We read Jesus' first words of preaching in Matthew 4:17: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!"

Throughout the Gospels, we repeatedly see that Jesus, like John, did not shy away from sharp rebuke in his preaching. The truths of God were proclaimed frankly and unambiguously, first by John and later by Jesus. Jesus and John preached the Gospel with dignified seriousness!

We have only as much authority before people as we possess authenticity before God.

Did Jesus and John preach of their own volition?

Both Jesus and John received the task of preaching directly from God. Matthew 3:3 shows us that even in the time of the prophet Isaiah, God foretold about John: “This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke and said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness.’”

Isaiah also spoke prophecies about the ministry of Jesus: “So that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, and Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light; those who sat in the place and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned’” (Matthew 4:14-16).

We observe that Jesus and John had a clear commission to preach. Even the message of their preaching was prophetically foretold.

A similar image is found in Ezekiel: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. You shall hear the word from my mouth and warn them about me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak to him, so that he may be on his guard from his wicked ways and live, that wicked man shall die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood” (Ezekiel 3:17-18).

God called Ezekiel to speak to the wicked and warn them. But what should the content of this proclamation be? He says in verse 17, “You shall hear the word from my mouth.” And then continues in verse 18: “When you hear me say to the wicked people, ‘You shall surely die’—then, first, you shall say this to the wicked.” Jesus repeats this thought: “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, for I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:30). This ministry, this preaching, this proclamation according to God’s will is a blessed and fruitful proclamation.

What methods did Jesus and John use?

John went into the desert to preach. He preached a sermon about God's approaching judgment on those who do not bear true fruit of repentance. In Matthew 3:10 we read: "The ax is already laid to the root of the trees, so that every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." John simply fulfilled the word that had been prophetically spoken about him.

With Jesus, we can observe that He didn't need to prepare a sermon to proclaim the Gospel. He lived the Gospel! He grew and increased in wisdom and grace with God and man. He prayed much. That was His preparation.

The result: healing of the sick, forgiveness of sins, averting stoning, powerful teachings, exorcism of evil spirits, prophetic speeches, and much more. In other words, God confirmed the proclamation in a supernatural way.

Jesus' preaching makes it clear how necessary divine empowerment is for proclamation. A divine message requires divine empowerment!

The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised, fulfills this task. If Jesus says, "I can do nothing on my own," how much more can we? Do we already know the Holy Spirit as the Spirit who bears witness? Jesus says in John 15:26, "But when the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me."

Without the powerful work of God, the preaching of Jesus would be inconceivable. The proclamation of the gospel without a commission and the work of the Spirit of God is not a biblical method.

It is striking that Jesus does not use just one method. He preaches on the riverbank, in the synagogue, at the table of tax collectors and sinners, or while traveling and resting at the well.

Later we read that the disciples continued this ministry in the same spirit: “They went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it” (Mark 16:20). Today we often invite people to our churches or gatherings. However, the first Christians, just like Jesus, went out. Someone once said in connection with evangelism, “No one comes unless no one goes.”

The Gospel polarizes

A local evangelist once said: “If, after an evangelistic campaign, you can’t answer at least one of these questions with a ‘yes,’ then it wasn’t a proper evangelistic campaign.” He elaborated: “The questions are these: Did anyone convert? Or, did anyone complain?”

Leonard Ravenhill said: "If Jesus had delivered the same message as today's preachers, he would never have been crucified."

In the Bible, people reacted in two ways when they encountered the message. Either they were repentant and convicted by their conscience, or they were resistant and hostile to the message. This is the attitude expected by any clear proclamation.

When persecution arose during their initial preaching, the church responded with a prayer found in Acts 4:29. They did not ask for God's protection or for the persecution to stop, but rather, "Grant your servants boldness to speak your word." Opposition was never a reason to stop. On the contrary, their zeal grew stronger as the persecution intensified.

Preach the gospel with worthy seriousness!

What is more important, life or the proclamation?

“But I consider my life not worth mentioning, if only I may finish the course and complete the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24/ LU17).

John Allen Chau was murdered by Northern Sentinelese on November 17, 2018, at the age of 26. He had tried to share the Gospel with this tribe. A few days before his death, he wrote in his diary: “You may think I’m crazy, but I think it’s worth sharing Jesus with these people.” For Paul, it was also clear that life itself is not worth talking about. The life of a Christian is about proclaiming the Gospel.

What dangers or problems arise during the proclamation? Choose the correct terms.

Jesus and John spoke primarily to the Jews. Concepts like sin, repentance, and conversion were familiar to them. The people already possessed a faith, albeit a traditional one. Modern people can hardly relate to old concepts like sin and repentance. Here, in our preaching today, we need clarity and wisdom from God. As one preacher said in this context: "I will not use the word 'sin' if I don't have time to explain it properly."

We find that even the terminology presents us with challenges. Added to this is the following fact: While 50 years ago every German had a general idea of who Jesus was and a basic understanding of the biblical events, young people today know nothing about Jesus. We practically have to start from scratch when preaching the Gospel.

Softening of the message

Another danger in our time is preaching a weak, insincere gospel. The Western world views an individual's faith as a private matter. Interfering in this sphere is hurtful. Everyone is free to believe what they believe. Sin is rarely discussed. The positive aspects of the gospel are emphasized, and the old, sinful self is no longer condemned. Thus, the gospel is in danger of degenerating into empty propaganda and becoming beyond saving.

Human beings are no longer described as lost and sinful. They are already good and simply need to accept Jesus into their lives to be perfect. However, this was never the preaching of Jesus and John.

Omission of facts

Today, one rarely hears words about the approaching judgment during sermons. Hell is not spoken of. One shouldn't frighten people. Is that right?

Jesus and John spoke clearly about heaven, hell, and the approaching judgment of God. Charles H. Mackintosh writes: “It is the great task of the evangelist to ascend the dark mountains of sin and error to sound the trumpet of the gospel and call the sheep together.” Charles H. Spurgeon said: “We take away the power of the gospel when we take away its threat of punishment.” The evangelist Ole Hallesby once said at the end of his radio sermon: “It may well be that tonight you go to bed as usual and fall asleep—and wake up in hell” (see also Luke 16:23).

In the second letter to the Corinthians we read: “For we are not like the many who distort the word of God, but as sincere people, as people from God, we speak before God in Christ” (2 Cor 2:17).

Questionable missionary methods

Nowhere in the Bible do we find that the church's role is to entertain people. Should we be making the gospel more "appealing" to experience more conversions? Vance Havner once said, "We are here to preach that sin is black, hell is hot, judgment is inevitable, eternity is long, and salvation is by grace." He goes on to say, "Our mission is not to make the message palatable, but accessible. We should not be concerned with making people like it, but with making them receive it."

Resistance was never a reason to stop. On the contrary, the greater the persecution became, the greater the zeal.

Zeal without knowledge is harmful (cf. Proverbs 19:2)

The Bible warns us that even with zeal for a good cause, mistakes can happen. Zeal does not protect against errors. Especially in a sacred task like proclaiming the gospel, methods should be subjected to rigorous scrutiny by the Word of God. Not all missionary methods should be so easily justified by Jesus' statement in Mark 9:40: "Whoever is not against us is for us." Note that Jesus makes this statement about people who have cast out evil spirits in His name.

Paul would later warn against people who claim to be apostles of Christ: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).

The goal of the proclamation

To reach people with the message of the Gospel, various approaches and methods are needed. One thing, however, remains the same: every person must experience forgiveness of sins through repentance. Reconciled with God, they must turn from their evil ways and be led into the discipleship of Christ. These disciples are members of His body and make disciples of others.

God's power in the proclamation today

Oswald Chambers said, "If I preach what is right but do not live it, I am spreading a falsehood about God." Evangelizing is not always just "preaching in the hall." Rather, true evangelism is a lifestyle, a daily witness, a simple act of leading people to the Lord.

C.H. Mackintosh said: “This is a form of evangelism that we can look for today: simply seeking out our neighbors and bringing them to Jesus. I fear that this is hardly present in our society. When we hear the word ‘evangelism,’ we think of large, organized gatherings and sermons. But it is the simple act of loving one another that leads most people to Christ.”

Anyone who wishes to cry out on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God," must therefore also possess the equipage of Christ. Let us recall once more what the motivation and power of Jesus' preaching was. He prayed, fasted, obeyed His Father, and lived the Gospel.

Someone once aptly said: "We only have as much authority before people as we have authenticity before God."

Shocking facts!

Nowhere is there a higher percentage of atheists (52%) than in East Germany (University of Chicago study, 2012). 81% of all Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists have never met a Christian. The group of "nominal Christians" is growing steadily.

In Germany, more and more people are leaving the established church. Every day, approximately 150,000 people die and pass into some eternity. Lord, help us to faithfully and powerfully fulfill this sacred mission of proclaiming the Gospel.

Michael Akulenko

Municipality of Speyer/Schwegenheim

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations follow the translation by Martin Luther (rev. 1984).