The Task of Evangelism
Have you ever shared the good news of Jesus with someone in your life?
When Jesus was teaching and training the twelve disciples, he often used imagery and metaphors that were part of their culture to communicate important truths to them. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus relates the work that He is doing to a farmer’s work in the field.
Jesus says that the people who do not know Jesus are like a field of grain that is ready to be harvested. But, there are not enough workers to go and harvest among the fields. Jesus says to pray that God would send more workers to gather the harvest.
Essentially, there are people that are ready and willing to hear and respond to the gospel message, the hope that Jesus brings for every person. But when Jesus says "the workers are few" (Matthew 9:38), what He really means is: there are not enough people sharing the good news with others.
As Christians, we are entrusted with the free gift of eternal life, and we’re tasked with sharing that message with others. However, many Christians keep their faith to themselves.
We are to be bold in sharing the message of the cross with other people so that they can experience new life in Jesus, too.
Take a few minutes today to consider what small step you can take to begin sharing Jesus with other people. Ask your neighbors, coworkers, or friends what their spiritual background is so that you can begin having spiritual conversations. Pray for God to give you courage, and then step out and begin sharing with others.
His Pain, Our Gain
Isaiah 53 is a stunning chapter in the Bible—in what is now commonly referred to as the “Old Testament.”
Approximately 700 years before Jesus walked the earth, Isaiah prophesied about a suffering servant who would also, somehow and in some way, be exalted. A coming Savior, a future Redeemer, the long-awaited Messiah—whose death would ultimately bring life.
A portion of Isaiah 53 says this:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NIV
So, who was this man who would be pierced, crushed, and wounded because of someone else’s sins? Whose undeserved punishment would be the catalyst for healing? Whose life would be given as an offering—so that others might live?
Jesus Christ not only fits the description of the suffering servant who paid the ultimate price to buy His people back, redeem them, and set them free—He ...
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge...