“The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.” (John 1:35-37)
This is evangelism.
Evangelism isn’t tent revivals. It isn’t bumper stickers with a cross that reads “Tougher than nails” (though we can all appreciate that pun). It isn’t awkwardly asking the person in the seat next to you on a place (when they are prohibited by FAA regulations from getting up a fleeing) “Is Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior?” or “Have you heard the Good News?” Evangelism isn’t dating and marrying a non-church goer so that she or he has to go to church in order to preserve the marriage. It isn’t guilt tripping. It isn’t scolding. It isn’t seducing. It’s this.
John the Baptist is a great evangelist by the simple fact that when he sees Jesus, he points it out. “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” It’s almost as if John is as surprised by his two disciples. “Look! Whoda thunk it?!” But still, he sees Jesus moving in his midst and he names it for what it is. That’s all it takes. With this, the two disciples leave John and start to follow Jesus, which is – after all – the goal of evangelism.
What this story reveals is that evangelism is about learning to see Jesus move and then being bold enough to state the honest fact of the matter. This Sunday we will baptize four children of the church. That’s Jesus moving. That’s Jesus moving in their lives and in the lives of their parents who bring them forward for baptism. Lately, we had a rash of illnesses and surgeries impacting the lives of many of our members. Every time a hot plate of food arrives, a card is sent, or a visit is made on these folks, this is Jesus moving.
It’s easy, of course, to chalk these things up to people just doing the “right thing,” but that isn’t seeing the actions for all they are. It’s Jesus moving because He entered the baptismal waters first (so any who follow, logically, follow after Him). It’s Jesus moving because long before a Deacon made the doorbell go ‘ding dong’ at someone’s house, Jesus was already there, healing and tending to the sick one. The Deacon who shows up is also, logically, following Jesus.
We should practice saying to each other that the Lord is moving. Recently, prior to the funeral luncheon for Joy Groat, I pulled Diane Crosthwaite aside and told her how amazed I was that she and her merry band of ladies had been able to pull this all together in the midst of all the busyness of the holidays. Diane looked at me and, without batting an eye, said, “It’s the Holy Spirit.” Right! Diane saw Jesus moving, saw the Spirit unfolding the means to serve another, and she followed. She also named it for precisely what it was.
I suspect if we get better at naming the movements of God in our midst that doing evangelism will be a lot easier. And it will take practice and repetition. After all, our passage has John exclaiming “The Lamb of God” on two separate occasions. After the first time, nothing happened. After the second time, Jesus had two new followers. This is good evidence that we must keep speaking of the movement of God in our midst. Amen.
