A Tale of Two Lost People
A Tale of Two Lost People
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
In Orson Welles’s masterpiece, Citizen Kane, one of the characters makes an interesting observation. When asked by a reporter to recount his time with the main character, Charles Foster Kane, the reporter asked Jed LeLand to give as much information as he could remember. By this time Jed was an old man. LeLand responded: “I can remember everything, young man. That’s my curse. It’s the greatest curse that’s ever been inflicted on the human race: memory.” It is a fascinating perspective that I think we can all relate to in some way or the other. As I was preparing for my message this week in John 4, I was reminded again of something I heard years ago that to this day still plagues me.
Decades ago, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the world, embarked on a study. The aim was simple enough. They wanted to find out what percentage of their Evangelical denomination actually engaged in evangelism. I do not remember the specifics of the survey (I was given this information while I was still in seminary), but I absolutely remember the results. Apparently, in this particular study, it was determined that only 5% of respondents stated that they had ever shared their faith with an unbeliever…and that counts a large number of folks who claimed they had only done so once. I have never forgotten that information. It has plagued my memory since the first day I heard it. That is part of that curse Jed LeLand talked about.
Why are Evangelicals so hesitant to do what their name implies? Let’s say the study was flawed (and it very well could have been). It certainly wasn’t THAT flawed. Even at its worst, can we assume the results were that far off? Let’s say it was off by 25% (fairly unlikely). Even 30% is an abysmal indictment on a group of people who would obviously believe that sharing our faith is something that God’s Word command (Matthew 28). To be clear, I am not picking on the SBC. To be sure, any other Evangelical denomination would more than likely result in similar data. The problem is, as Believers, we know that one of our great tasks is to tell a dying world about Jesus. The question then becomes obvious. Why don’t we do it? Or at least do it more often? There is no simple answer.
We can talk about the “sales-pitch” approach that has dominated evangelicalism for so many years. We can talk about confidence…personality…knowledge, or any other of the plethora of reasons that has led us to this place. One of the absolutely best treatments I have ever read regarding this phenomenon comes from Rebecca Manley Pippert. In her amazing book, Out of the Saltshaker, she does yeoman’s work tackling this subject. Do yourself a favor and read her book. Problem is, we make sharing the Gospel more difficult than it needs to be. It should be as natural to a Believer as breathing. However, the models we have been given to do so have, as well meaning as they were intended, actually acted as a deterrent for many people. As I mentioned above, there has been a sales-pitch type of approach that emphasizes “pushing for a decision” to the detriment of recognizing that these people we encounter are lost and hurting and probably need much more than a “want to go to heaven…then say this prayer” approach.
Evangelism takes time and effort. Generally speaking, the more you are interested in and get to know the person, the more likely your words about Jesus are going to matter. That doesn’t mean a brief encounter with a total stranger about the Gospel cannot end with the salvation of that person. God can, does, and has worked that way. But my experience has been that those moments are the exception, not the rule. However, we do have the ultimate example of what evangelism looks like from the Master Evangelist Himself. Because as I was reflecting on John 4 and the “Woman at the well” I could not help but think of John 3 and Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus. There is absolutely no coincidence that these two events are back-to-back in John’s Gospel…and they provide an amazing blueprint for sharing the Gospel.
On the surface, Nicodemus and the Woman could not have been more different. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a very important person (John 3:1). Obviously, he was intelligent, cultured, respected, and he knew God’s Word. In fact, Jesus referred to him as “the teacher of Israel” (John 3:10). The Woman was on the other end of that spectrum. She was a woman in a patriarchal society. Likely unlearned and could have even been illiterate. She was, in the eyes of the Jews, part of a mongrel race (John 4:9). Unlike the honorable Nicodemus, she was a woman steeped in sin and more than likely a pariah in her own village due to the unusual hour (John 4:6) she chose to go and draw water (noon as opposed to the morning where she would have been seen by others doing the same). We are supposed to notice the drastic differences between these two people. Yet they shared one very important characteristic. They were both lost. They both needed salvation. They both needed Christ. John spent 22 verses describing Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus. He spent a whopping 45 verses doing the same with the Woman. And what do we see?
Jesus did not engage with them the exact same way, because they were different people. Now, He knew supernaturally who they were and what they needed…we will have to do the legwork ourselves. But the principle is the same. To the theologian, Nicodemus, what were Jesus’ first words? He told Nicodemus that he must be born again (John 3:3). Nicodemus immediately latches on to that and begins having a theological debate about what that meant (John 3:4-15). To the Woman…what were Jesus’ first words? Jesus asked for a drink of water (John 4:7). He then used the analogy of life-giving water to explain her need for eternal life (John 4:10-15). He did not go into the deep, theological nuances that would have appealed to Nicodemus but would have been lost on her. He met her where she was. He met Nicodemus where he was. He knew that the Woman was plagued with her sin (John 4:29). He knew Nicodemus lacked true knowledge of Who God really is (John 3:11-15). He took time with them. And they both came to faith in Him.
The Gospel is a simple message (1 Corinthians 15:3-7). So simple even a child can grasp its basics. There is no one size fits all approach to evangelism. We are not selling Jesus or making a pitch. We are not responsible for them confessing or rejecting Christ. We are encountering people every day who need to hear this message. We already know friends, relatives, neighbors who need to hear this message. They are lost. We have information that could help that. So, let’s just talk to them about Jesus.
-Dr. Danny Purvis
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
In Orson Welles’s masterpiece, Citizen Kane, one of the characters makes an interesting observation. When asked by a reporter to recount his time with the main character, Charles Foster Kane, the reporter asked Jed LeLand to give as much information as he could remember. By this time Jed was an old man. LeLand responded: “I can remember everything, young man. That’s my curse. It’s the greatest curse that’s ever been inflicted on the human race: memory.” It is a fascinating perspective that I think we can all relate to in some way or the other. As I was preparing for my message this week in John 4, I was reminded again of something I heard years ago that to this day still plagues me.
Decades ago, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the world, embarked on a study. The aim was simple enough. They wanted to find out what percentage of their Evangelical denomination actually engaged in evangelism. I do not remember the specifics of the survey (I was given this information while I was still in seminary), but I absolutely remember the results. Apparently, in this particular study, it was determined that only 5% of respondents stated that they had ever shared their faith with an unbeliever…and that counts a large number of folks who claimed they had only done so once. I have never forgotten that information. It has plagued my memory since the first day I heard it. That is part of that curse Jed LeLand talked about.
Why are Evangelicals so hesitant to do what their name implies? Let’s say the study was flawed (and it very well could have been). It certainly wasn’t THAT flawed. Even at its worst, can we assume the results were that far off? Let’s say it was off by 25% (fairly unlikely). Even 30% is an abysmal indictment on a group of people who would obviously believe that sharing our faith is something that God’s Word command (Matthew 28). To be clear, I am not picking on the SBC. To be sure, any other Evangelical denomination would more than likely result in similar data. The problem is, as Believers, we know that one of our great tasks is to tell a dying world about Jesus. The question then becomes obvious. Why don’t we do it? Or at least do it more often? There is no simple answer.
We can talk about the “sales-pitch” approach that has dominated evangelicalism for so many years. We can talk about confidence…personality…knowledge, or any other of the plethora of reasons that has led us to this place. One of the absolutely best treatments I have ever read regarding this phenomenon comes from Rebecca Manley Pippert. In her amazing book, Out of the Saltshaker, she does yeoman’s work tackling this subject. Do yourself a favor and read her book. Problem is, we make sharing the Gospel more difficult than it needs to be. It should be as natural to a Believer as breathing. However, the models we have been given to do so have, as well meaning as they were intended, actually acted as a deterrent for many people. As I mentioned above, there has been a sales-pitch type of approach that emphasizes “pushing for a decision” to the detriment of recognizing that these people we encounter are lost and hurting and probably need much more than a “want to go to heaven…then say this prayer” approach.
Evangelism takes time and effort. Generally speaking, the more you are interested in and get to know the person, the more likely your words about Jesus are going to matter. That doesn’t mean a brief encounter with a total stranger about the Gospel cannot end with the salvation of that person. God can, does, and has worked that way. But my experience has been that those moments are the exception, not the rule. However, we do have the ultimate example of what evangelism looks like from the Master Evangelist Himself. Because as I was reflecting on John 4 and the “Woman at the well” I could not help but think of John 3 and Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus. There is absolutely no coincidence that these two events are back-to-back in John’s Gospel…and they provide an amazing blueprint for sharing the Gospel.
On the surface, Nicodemus and the Woman could not have been more different. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a very important person (John 3:1). Obviously, he was intelligent, cultured, respected, and he knew God’s Word. In fact, Jesus referred to him as “the teacher of Israel” (John 3:10). The Woman was on the other end of that spectrum. She was a woman in a patriarchal society. Likely unlearned and could have even been illiterate. She was, in the eyes of the Jews, part of a mongrel race (John 4:9). Unlike the honorable Nicodemus, she was a woman steeped in sin and more than likely a pariah in her own village due to the unusual hour (John 4:6) she chose to go and draw water (noon as opposed to the morning where she would have been seen by others doing the same). We are supposed to notice the drastic differences between these two people. Yet they shared one very important characteristic. They were both lost. They both needed salvation. They both needed Christ. John spent 22 verses describing Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus. He spent a whopping 45 verses doing the same with the Woman. And what do we see?
Jesus did not engage with them the exact same way, because they were different people. Now, He knew supernaturally who they were and what they needed…we will have to do the legwork ourselves. But the principle is the same. To the theologian, Nicodemus, what were Jesus’ first words? He told Nicodemus that he must be born again (John 3:3). Nicodemus immediately latches on to that and begins having a theological debate about what that meant (John 3:4-15). To the Woman…what were Jesus’ first words? Jesus asked for a drink of water (John 4:7). He then used the analogy of life-giving water to explain her need for eternal life (John 4:10-15). He did not go into the deep, theological nuances that would have appealed to Nicodemus but would have been lost on her. He met her where she was. He met Nicodemus where he was. He knew that the Woman was plagued with her sin (John 4:29). He knew Nicodemus lacked true knowledge of Who God really is (John 3:11-15). He took time with them. And they both came to faith in Him.
The Gospel is a simple message (1 Corinthians 15:3-7). So simple even a child can grasp its basics. There is no one size fits all approach to evangelism. We are not selling Jesus or making a pitch. We are not responsible for them confessing or rejecting Christ. We are encountering people every day who need to hear this message. We already know friends, relatives, neighbors who need to hear this message. They are lost. We have information that could help that. So, let’s just talk to them about Jesus.
-Dr. Danny Purvis
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