“Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.” – Acts 11:19-20
Praise God for the “some of them” who talked to “outsiders” about Jesus! Most of us are in the Kingdom today because of their efforts two thousand years ago. When the church scattered from Jerusalem in fear over persecution, most folks kept telling people who looked and sounded like them about Jesus. However, a handful decided to tell outsiders. They told people who spoke Greek and worshiped false gods. They told people living in a depraved and sinful culture very different from their own (but very much like ours). Their words changed the world!!!
At Antioch, Christianity stopped being a movement inside Judaism into becoming what Jesus had long before commanded His followers to make it – a global movement to bring people from every ethnic group, nationality, and language into reconciled relationship with God the Father through faith in Jesus the Son. This finally began to happen because some followers of Jesus started telling those who were “different” about Him.
We must do the same in our post-modern, post-Christian, post-Covid world. We must be willing to tell people of different faiths and different cultures about Lord Jesus, even though our culture tells us we shouldn’t. Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. NOBODY comes to the Father except through Him. All around you are people seeking the spiritual, desperate for the eternal, and wanting to know God. They just don’t know how unless you tell them!
If we love our neighbors, we must tell them about Jesus, especially if they look, sound, and act very different from us. Whether they’re from another country, another faith, or another way of living life, they need to hear about Jesus. More and more people in our communities have never heard about a God Who loves them so much He sent His Son to die for them on a cross. Most haven’t realized that the eternal meaning and purpose they’re starving for isn’t going to be found in themselves or the exciting opportunities of modern culture but in a person. Lord Jesus. Stop worrying about what you imagine people might know or think about Jesus. Tell them about the Jesus Who died for them and the life of transformed obedience to Him that awaits everyone who accepts God’s gracious invitation to eternal life in Christ!