Thought for Today
Genesis 46:31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.
Exodus 6:11 "Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land."
Luke 8:39 "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Depending on the translation, the phrase ‘go tell’ appears 35-60 different times in the Bible. From Joseph to Moses to Jesus instructions are given to go and to tell. If we expand the search to include synonyms for ‘tell,’ the numbers only increase. I’m sensing a theme in scripture, a basic instruction ‘to share the good news.’ We can read all those commands; we can debate whether Pharaoh heard God’s words from Moses as ‘good news;’ but, at the end of it all, we are creatures created to talk, to share, to declare.
Our instructions as Christians are even a bit more complex. Several times in the New Testament Jesus says, "Tell no one . . . “ So, what’s it to be, ‘tell’ or ‘tell no one?’ I believe Jesus is clear about our basic commission, “Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." We are to share the good news.
When Jesus gave those instructions about not telling, the command for silence was a timing issue. Even today, in our sharing of the good news, timing is an important consideration. Irrespective of our ability to teach, to make disciples, to baptize, inopportune times and places lessen the impact of the good news. Even Paul, the prototype missionary, found varying success at different times and places.
Many of us have felt hesitant to tell, to share because we feel we don’t have the ‘right words.’ We feel our oratory skills are not sufficient to convey the height, width and depth of the gospel. Our words seem hollow, dull, even dead to our ears. Even the disciples doubted their evangelical sufficiency. Jesus told them, “Mark 13:11 . . . do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”
If it seems inappropriate for a minister to blithely quote Jesus’ words like that, to casually suggest to others not to worry and calmly offer assurance that the Holy Spirit will provide the words . . . read your Bible. Moses felt inadequate to speak to Pharaoh. Most of the prophets felt inadequate to the task. Especially read the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, particularly the story of Pentecost.
There are other opportunities for all of us to ‘tell’ the good news. If you have read my Thoughts before or listened to one of my sermons, you should be aware that I often find deep philosophical and theological truths in the songs we sing. As I think about our telling of the good news, teaching and baptizing, of making “disciples of all nations,” 2 songs from my youth are playing in my mind. As a youth, a tween and a young teenager, I often attended church gatherings and attended church camp. During almost every such occasion, we sang Go Tell It on the Mountain and They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.
In Romans, Paul puts it another way, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” An integral part of our daily worship of our Creator God is to live lives that witness to the world around us our Christianity. Even if we never utter a word of evangelism, our lives should so reflect the good news that people come to us and ask how we do it. Living a life where they know we are Christians by our love is equally telling it on the mountain and everywhere else. Living a life of love for all is as eloquent as the greatest sermon ever preached.
Stay safe, let ‘em all know, trust God,
Pastor Ray