““When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is
offered to you. Heal the sick who
are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom
of God has come near to
you.’” – Luke
10:8-9
In 1850, a
gardener named John Gray moved to Edinburgh, Scotland .
John was unable to find work as a gardener, so he took a job as a night
watchman. To keep him company through the long winter nights, John found a
watchdog: a little Skye Terrier named “Bobby.” Together
John and Bobby became a familiar sight trudging through the old cobbled streets
of Edinburgh .
Through thick and thin, winter and summer, they were faithful friends … until
John died of tuberculosis two years later.
John was
buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, and in the days afterward, Bobby touched the
hearts of the local residents when he refused to leave his master’s grave.
Every morning Bobby could be found at John’s graveside, even in the worst
weather conditions. Before long, Bobby’s fame spread throughout Edinburgh .
Crowds would gather at the entrance of the Kirkyard waiting for the one o’clock
gun that signaled Bobby’s appearance as he left the grave for his midday meal.
Bobby would follow a local cabinet maker to the same coffee house where his
master used to eat, and each day at the coffee house, Bobby was given a meal.
The kind
residents of Edinburgh
took good care of Bobby, but still he remained loyal to his master. For
fourteen years the dead man’s faithful dog kept constant watch over his grave
until his own death in 1872. Bobby has a headstone at Greyfriars Kirkyard that
reads: “Greyfriars
Bobby. Died 14th January 1872. Aged 16 years. Let his loyalty and devotion be a
lesson to us all.”
In Luke 10,
we’re given a close-up look at the loyalty and devotion of 72 of Jesus’
followers. The Lord hand-picked these men to go ahead of him into the towns of Judea to prepare
the way for his coming. And in verses 5-9, he gave those faithful
messengers—and you and me today—a four-step model for leading people to a
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Step 1: Pray and speak kindness and peace into people’s lives.
In verse 5,
Jesus tells the 72: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this home.’”
The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom,” and over the centuries it became the
common greeting among Jews. As Chuck Swindoll explains, “The meaning [of
shalom] goes deeper than just the absence of war, battles, or arguments. It
carries the idea of wholeness and prosperity in every aspect of life…. The term
shalom described the quality of life promised in the kingdom
of God .”
So, how does that translate into our culture today? Well, for you and me, Step
#1 of effective witnessing means that we pray for the person we are hoping to
share Christ with and that we speak kind and edifying words into their lives.
Step 2: Build meaningful
relationships with others. Jesus told his messengers, “Stay in that house, eating and drinking
whatever they give you … Do not move around from house to house” (verse 7). Sitting
down to a meal together was a sign of friendship and acceptance in Jesus’ day.
So, is it a good idea to spend time getting to know someone before we tell him about
his need for Jesus? Yes, it is. If you’re like most followers of Christ, the
longer you’re a Christian, the fewer meaningful relationships you have with
nonChristians. So, it takes some effort to shoot a text to a co-worker, and
say, “Hey, would you like to grab lunch today?” It takes a little effort to
reach out to your next-door neighbor and say, “Hey, would you and your family
like to come over to my house for dinner on Sunday night?”
It takes
some effort, but Christians who follow Jesus’ command to build relationships
with nonChristians will be blessed with more opportunities to lead people to a
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Step 3: Meet
felt needs. When
Jesus told his 72 messengers in verse 9 to heal the sick, I’m convinced that he
was saying, “Before you address the person’s greatest spiritual need, first
address the person’s felt need.” A drowning woman isn’t ready to hear how Jesus
saves until someone throws her a life preserver. A starving man isn’t ready to
hear the message of salvation until his belly is full. In the same way, if you
and I are able to meet a physical need for someone we hope to lead to Christ,
we should meet that need. As a wise man once said, “People don’t care how much
you know until they know how much you care.”
Step 4: Tell them about Jesus. Finally, Jesus said, “After you heal
the sick who are there, tell them: ‘The kingdom of God
is near you’” (verse 9). In other words, “Jesus is coming. And since Jesus is
coming, salvation is coming. So, you’d better decide today who you’re going to
follow and serve. Are you going to follow Jesus, or are you going to follow
someone or something else? I hope and pray that you choose to follow and serve
Jesus.”
Sharing our
faith and doing good ministry can bring us great joy. But nothing compares to
the joy of knowing Christ personally as Lord and Savior. He is our greatest
joy. So, why do we share him with others? We do so, in part, so that they too can
experience life’s greatest joy.
Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church of Victorville and the author of "Holy Huldah! Lessons You'll Never Forget From Bible Characters You Never Heard Of." Visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com, and join us for our Worship Celebration Sundays at 10 a.m.
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