We see Paul’s first missionary activity in the Galatian province as the apostle begins in a synagogue and explains to a Jewish audience how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. He speaks to the audience in terms they’ll understand and that is a lesson that all Christians can learn about evangelism. There is is one gospel but there is more than one way to share it.
Tag: mission
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The broken person and the Mission of God. Studying John 4:27-29
An unlikely missionary
At the beginning of John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well. The Samaritans were a minority ethnic group who were half-Jewish. In the first century, there was a lot of animosity between the Samaritans and the Jewish people. Samaritans had some theological differences and given their ethnic differences, these fueled the division between the two groups.
The Samaritan woman meets Jesus at a well and they start to talk.
The woman has had five husbands and was living with a man who was not her husband. So she’s already part of a group who’s looked down upon, and she’s also had her sins exposed. Jesus tells her of the living water that he provides. He tells her of true worship of God.
As the preceding section winds down, John records Jesus speaking to the woman.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
An incredible conversation.
Verse 27 suddenly changes the direction.
Just then.
Just then his disciples came back.
Earlier in the story, we learned that the disciples had left Jesus to go and find food. It’s the reason why Jesus had been alone when he met the Samaritan woman.
They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”
The disciples want to question Jesus for talking to this woman. Out of respect for Jesus, they keep their mouths shut but they’re wondering “why are you talking with her?”
The disciples are not perfect. We see this time and again in the gospels.
We see examples of their pride, at times we see them lack faith, and we see here that they are not above prejudice. And they see Jesus talking with this woman. They don’t question it, but they’re thinking about it.
Probably giving her strange looks.
It was the culture at the time. There was a lot of prejudice against women.
There are rabbinic sayings which go back to the first century and talk of interactions between men and women. Some of these sayings are extremely misogynistic towards women.
There’s a rabinnic teaching against a man even talking to a woman in public, even his own wife.
There were rabinnic teachings which discouraged teaching women to read.
I’m not saying that those views were universal to every Jewish person in the first century. But they were within the social consciousness. Every generation has its own areas of sin, and misogyny was a common area of sin in the first century and sadly at many other times.
But the Samaritan woman, like everyone else, needs Jesus. She needs to know his love, needs to know his grace.
So the disciples didn’t publicly question Jesus, but not because they didn’t want to.
The text says that they marveled that Jesus was talking to a woman. Let alone a Samaritan woman.
John 4:28:
So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people,
John notes that the woman leaves her jar. It’s interesting that this detail is mentioned.
Throughout our study of John’s gospel, we’ve seen this theme of newness, new creation, Jesus as replacing the Old Covenant with the New Covenant.
I believe that the detail of her leaving the water jar is mentioned because it’s symbolic of the fact that this woman is leaving behind the cares and concerns of her own nourishment to serve the purposes of Christ in the world.
She had come to the well for water, but she’s leaving it having learned about the living water which Jesus provides.
So we have this Samaritan woman, who’s had five husbands and who’s living with a man who’s not her husband, someone looked down upon in society, she goes into the town and starts telling people about Jesus.
Verse 29:
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
Jesus has revealed himself to be a prophetic figure who has a knowledge of her life that’s supernatural. He’s claimed to be the Christ, and so she rhetorically asks the people “can this be the Christ?”
It’s very powerful to consider that this woman from this marginalized Samaritan group is the first recorded person in this gospel to tell people about Jesus in northern Israel.
This story should be encouraging to all of us from the standpoint that God also uses broken and sinful people to serve him, to share his gospel and to tell the world about Jesus.
No one is ever too broken to know the love of Christ.
And no one is ever too sinful, as this woman was. No one is ever too lowly to share Jesus and be used by God to serve God.
Serving the mission of God is not just for the spiritual varsity team, but God has ways for all of his people to serve him.
And God desires for all of his people to serve him. To be light, to share the gospel, to serve others. To serve God’s mission of the world of being disciples who make disciples.
God uses broken people to do his work, and he can use you. No matter where you’re from, no matter what you’ve done. If you’ve wasted time, if you’ve spent years not serving God, it’s not too late.
God can use you. Not because of who we are, but because of who God is. And to his glory, he uses broken people to serve his purposes.
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The Church – being part of something bigger than yourself
An astounding 16 million soldiers, sailors and Marines served America in the Second World War.
And while most of our focus on World War II is on the military and combat, within the United States, there was an effort to support the war unlike anything our nation had seen or has seen since.
With millions going overseas, Americans at home took up new jobs.
Coming out of the Great Depression, unemployment dried up, reaching an all time low in 1944.
The war effort affected virtually every facet of American life. Companies shifted their manufacturing efforts to supporting the war and supplying the military. Maytag went from making washing machines to making parts for airplanes. Firestone Tires made artillery shells and aluminum containers for food transport.
Products like sugar, butter, bacon, and cheese were rationed. As were penicillin and other medicines, along with rubber and certain types of metals. Materials for clothing such as silk and nylon were needed for uniforms. Everything went to supporting a cause that was so much bigger than any one person.
And everyone’s contributions mattered.
To help pay for the war, the government sold war bonds. Over 85 million Americans purchased war bonds to help fund the effort. To put that in perspective, that was more than half of the entire United States population at the time.
An incredible effort.
The church has a mission
As Christians, we too are called to be part of a cause that is far bigger than any of us, but where everyone has a role, where everyone has a job to do, where everyone has a way to serve.
The mission of God on earth.
And that mission is to spread the gospel. To make disciples. To build up the church. To love one another.
It’s not a passive request in scripture, nor is it a good suggestion, but something which God commands from all of his people.
If you’re a person who has placed faith in Jesus, this applies to you.
As the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
You belong to Jesus when you place your faith in him.
And part of the purpose of the Christian life is one that is lived in service of God for the mission of God in the world.
You were made to have an impact
Do you ever feel like you were made for something great?
Do you ever feel like you were meant to have an impact?
You are made for more, you are made to do great things, you are born to have an impact in the world.
An impact for Jesus.
We can try to build our own kingdoms, we can try to collect our own toys, we can try to control and manipulate the circumstances in our lives to make us feel secure.
We can do those things.
But we were made to serve the mission of Christ in the world.
And that includes sharing the gospel, making disciples, making Jesus known, growing together as His Church, and serving God.
As a church, every person in the church is called to use the ways God has gifted and equipped them for the purpose of serving God and building up the church.
That’s why we’re here.
Writing to the Church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul said:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Maybe you’ve never really thought about that.
But all Christians are given Spiritual gifts.
Doesn’t matter how well you know the Bible.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Christian. There’s no probationary period before you can God.
It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or how outgoing you are, or how many people you know.
It doesn’t matter how talented you think you are.
If you’re a Christian, God has given you gifts to serve him and build up his church.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have nothing to offer.
I think that’s the reason why some people don’t serve.
It’s nonsense.
Because everyone here has much to offer. Much to contribute.
It can be easy to see a really talented pastor, a really gifted musician, someone who’s really outgoing, and to feel insecure about what you have to offer.
But the unsung heroes are the backbone of congregations, people faithfully and humbly serving. Books get written about generals, but the real work is done by soldiers.
Originally posted May 13, 2019
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The ministry of John the Baptist. Studying John 1:23-28
This post is a continuation of a study of John the Baptist in the Gospel of John. John the Baptist is found in all four gospels and is a figure who was prophesied in the Old Testament and who would come as a forerunner to Jesus. He discusses that divinely given ministry in John 1:23-28. But before we study that passage, it’s helpful to look at the context of the preceding section.
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
-John 1:19-22
While John isn’t answering in the affirmative to any of his questions, that does not mean he’s insignificant.
Verse 23: He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said
That text from Isaiah 40 is applied to John in all four of the gospels. Isaiah 40 is a passage talking of a future time of deliverance for the people of God. It’s an incredibly hopeful passage. It talks of God’s faithfulness to his people in spite of their sin. It talks of God’s restoration.
The heart of what this is getting at for John is that his purpose is to call people to repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah. They ask John about his baptism.
25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
Baptism was instituted in the New Testament for followers of Jesus. But baptism was not a foreign idea prior to that time.
In the first century, when non-Jews would convert to Judaism, they would sometimes do something similar to baptism which was meant to be a cleansing ritual to symbolically wash away impurity and sin.
A difference with John was that he administered baptism. The leaders question his authority. Hhe responds by turning the question right back to his purpose in the world. John 1:26-27:
26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
John says that it points to someone who’s shoes he’s not worthy to untie. In other words, he’s unworthy of even doing the most menial and humiliating task. John would need a promotion in order to be worthy of untying Jesus’ sandals.
John has authority to baptize because it’s been given to him by God but that baptism is meant to point to something greater.
A once in history ministry
John the Baptist had a ministry to do for a time in history. He was not perfect. He was just a man. He lived a shorter life than Jesus. Much of his life was spent in seclusion. But he was faithful. Yes, we don’t have the ministry that John the Baptist had. He had a once in history ministry. He was the forerunner to Jesus.
But just because someone has a different ministry or a different way to serve, that doesn’t mean that the ways you can serve the Lord are insignificant. No one would know who John the Baptist was without Jesus. Jesus is the thing that gives relevance and meaning to his life.
But for anyone who’s a follower of Jesus, that’s the case. It’s Jesus who gives meaning.
John’s ministry was to point people to Jesus. But that’s the ministry in which every follower of Jesus still shares in. Pointing people to Jesus in word and deed. Following where the Lord leads. Walking in faith. Standing up for the truth of God.
Those things are a call which all Christians share.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus talks of John the Baptist and says:
I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28).
No one before John was greater than he. Yet Jesus says that for those who come after, the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater. The reason isn’t because we have anything great in ourselves. It’s because we have a fuller picture of who Jesus is and a fuller picture of God’s revelation to the world.
John did have a once in history ministry to fulfill but he didn’t live long enough to see the fruition of Jesus’ ministry. He never heard about the resurrection or saw the risen Christ.
What are you doing to serve the Lord today? It can be tempting to think that we don’t have what it takes to serve God. It’s not about your own abilities and your own power. John the Baptist was an effective minister without a lot of resources.
You don’t have to have a lot of money to serve God faithfully. John the Baptist certainly did not have that. He came from the wilderness. Other gospels tell us that John wore a garment made of camel’s hair. You don’t have to have all of the degrees and credentials. John the Baptist didn’t have that….he came. from. the wilderness.
You might think you’re too old. John the Baptist had a ministry that was shorter than Jesus’s. His public ministry was incredibly short lived. You don’t have to have decades of ministry to have a ministry that matters.
You just have to follow the Lord, to love the Lord, to serve the Lord.
What are you doing to serve the Lord? What are you living for?
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The Church: being part of something bigger than yourself
An astounding 16 million soldiers, sailors and Marines served America in the Second World War.And while most of our focus on World War II is on the military and combat, within the United States, there was an effort to support the war unlike anything our nation had seen or has seen since.With millions going overseas, Americans at home took up new jobs.Coming out of the Great Depression, unemployment dried up, reaching an all time low in 1944.
