July 10, 2019
“Tell My People about Jesus”
In Luke 10, we read of a Samaritan who, when he saw a man lying by the side of the road, stopped to help because he had pity on him. Others had passed by without helping.
All of us have heard about people who were in desperate need of help, but no one stopped to help. Police call this the “bystander effect.”
In Deuteronomy 22, we read, “You shall not see your contryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman.” If a lost ox or sheep is important, how much more is a lost person?
In 1 Peter 2:9, Christians are called a royal priesthood so that we “may proclaim the excellences of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
When the Samaritan woman in John 4 learned that Jesus was the Messiah, she told others “who then believed.”
In Mark 5, the demoniac who was freed from unclean spirits went away and “began to proclaim what Jesus had done for him.”
When these people realized the blessings they had received, they were eager to share the Source of those blessings with others.
Does evangelism suffer from the bystander effect? Do we see those “by the road” as lost? Do we see them but think someone else will help? Or do we stop and help? The great commission given by Jesus has not expired and there is no Plan B. If we are motivated by gratitude (John 3:16) and pity for the lost (Luke 10:23), we will not be bystanders.
On the WEI website, you can help! An old man in Africa pushed through the crowd to beg the missionary to come to his village. After looking at his schedule the missionary said he just couldn’t go. The old man replied, “If you don’t tell my people about Jesus, I’m going to tell your God on you.” What will people tell God about us?
