An Army of Evangelists ...

If I want just two seconds of your attention these days, I need to creative about it.  In our society that seems tethered to cell phone screens (having little to do with actual conversations), media is king, and content is currency.  Attention spans are short, so if I can tweet about it, and perhaps attach a picture, or brief video; I have a shot.  But if my video is not about bunnies in teacups; or my kitty riding my dog like a horse – in exchange for which she provides extended professional masseuse sessions on his aging spine – I may still not hold that initial attention grab for very long.  So if you are an evangelist, attempting to still spread the word in a civilized country like ours – figuring out how to grab attention is a real conundrum.  Most of the evangelists I ever knew used fear.  Giant posters or road signs with horrific artist renderings of the end of the world.  Fire is a big staple on those images.  It is all around the edges, as if to say, don’t forget the hell fire.  That is the alternative if you do not listen to me.  And it worked, sort of.  People paid attention back in my day (but only for a while).  Fear wears off.  Daily life and routine win out.  And before you know it, life is back to whatever it used to be before encountering the evangelist.

Consequently, I have only ever encountered evangelists every so often.  They are not common, at least not as common as regular preachers, far more rare than deacons, and nearly a unicorn if measured against the regular member roles.  Maybe it takes special training to be an evangelist.  Maybe it takes special college degrees, not just divinity studies, but real extended practical training courses.  But then, who would give those courses?  Does Billy Graham have a summer study in this stuff?  Or maybe his son?  And given the attention span degeneration that has occurred over the last 2 decades, how effective is evangelism in the civilized world today?  Has it gone the way of the dinosaur?  I don’t think it was supposed to.  Seems to me there are still plenty of people right here in America, who barely know who Jesus is, let alone why He is important.  Maybe all those images of fire, have finally burned themselves out.  If so, good, if you ask me.  There has got to be a better reason to pay attention to Jesus, than to use Him as a fire escape in an afterlife with no tangible rewards in the here and now.  There is.  Just most of us have forgotten them, because we have been too busy, avoiding fire later, instead of embracing love now.

But then, our version of an evangelist, is quite a bit different from the first version.  I wonder if a remake is in order.  Luke provides quite the instruction manual in his gospel letter to his friend Theophilus about what they believe, and more importantly, why they believe it.  For this object lesson Luke picks up in chapter ten beginning in verse 1 it says … “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”  Wow, so let’s begin at the beginning.  It is Jesus who picks out seventy more disciples or apostles, or in this case evangelists to go throughout the countryside and spread the word.  He pairs them up 2-by-2.  I wonder, was it one male and one female, like in the garden of Eden?  Most modern Christians just immediately assume the entire number of seventy were all men of roughly the same age, but there is nothing that specifies that.  In addition, no relative ages were ever identified.  And given Jesus’ fondness for the innocence of children, I wonder if any of them made up that number.  They may have been more effective than their aging counterparts in any case.  But once we blow away our preconceptions about “what kind of person” can be an evangelist, we boil the qualifications back down to “who” was willing.

What scripture also omits, is the idea that these 70 were all vetted through evangelism school.  There was no degree required.  No Rabbi approval list prior to engagement.  Nope.  Seems more like, if you knew who Jesus was, believed in Him, and you were willing to accept the call, you could qualify.  Jesus then gives some advice to the 35 pairs of evangelists he has just called continuing in verse 2 saying … “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. [verse 3] Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”  Next, then just like it is now, even in our own country, the harvest is ready.  Many Christians in America are familiar with the “idea” of Jesus Christ, but so few really know why that is important and what it could mean to them personally.  And beyond the Christian community, the average American citizen is in such desperate need of a better life, a fuller life, a life where love exists without limits.  That is what Jesus brings.  That is only the beginning of why it matters for those who truly know Jesus.   And because those who don’t know Him ache to hear that message.

What kind of attitude the evangelist is to carry in his/her work also matters.  Jesus says we are to be lambs (baby sheep) among wolves (adult killing machines).  This is not a lamb to puppy comparison.  It is a lamb to ravenous wolf comparison.  And there is intent in that comparison.  We are not supposed to be going out there armed-to-the-teeth with weapons of self-defense, ready to kill any wolf who even looks cross eyed at us, or gets too close to the flock.  No, if we live, is a question of how God thinks our lives best serve His cause, and the redemption of those we are looking to save by pointing them to Jesus.  Jesus could have armed us up, and sent us out as lions among wolves, but He purposely did not.  He wants us to think of ourselves as sheep, not even adult sheep in this case, but as baby sheep, as lambs.  The average Roman soldier in the days of Jesus was an adult killing machine.  So was the average militant Sanhedrin member intent on maintaining his power and authority.  You don’t change their minds by killing them.  You begin to penetrate those walls of hatred by shining only love on them.  Indeed, the Roman empire was not conquered by enemies, it was transformed from within by love that is more powerful than martyrdom.  That is not a popular message for modern Christians, but it is still one we need to adopt.

Jesus continues his admonitions in verse 4 saying … “Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. [verse 5] And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. [verse 6] And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. [verse 7] And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.”  Church, even back then, was not to be stagnant.  It was to be ever moving forward.  Evangelists were not to be content going to the Temple and waiting for the penitent to come to them.  No, instead they were to be going to every single place a person lived, and bringing the gospel to them, right where they were.  And how were we to prepare for this motion, for this movement.  Well to start, forget about the finances.  Right up-front Jesus says, take no money.  Nada.  Nothing.  No accumulated missions’ funds designed for such a purpose.  No preplanning.  Just go.  And while you’re at it, don’t bother with extra shoes, or extra clothing.  Take what you have on, and go.

No time to salute, or make niceties along the way, that have nothing to do with your destination or purpose.  Let even your small talk, be small talk about new life in Jesus Christ.  And so how will you be cared for, i.e., where will you sleep, eat, etc.?  In a stranger’s house, who is willing to provide these things to you for the sake of charity.  And if this house is open to the message of Jesus, it will be blessed with peace, from your stay there.  If it is not open, then your peace will depart with you when you leave it.  While you are there as a guest, you were to eat and drink such things as the homeowners were willing to share with you.  So much for preplanning menus, food allergies, taste preferences, etc.  Just eat, drink, and be grateful.  Jesus reasons that the work of evangelism you do, is worth having someone else provide for your needs, so that you are able to focus on that work of pointing souls to Jesus.  Mind you, this was not a get rich quick scheme.  Nowhere in this was any mention of gold or silver or donations of any kind past that of food and lodging.  Evangelists should least of all be worried about wealth.  At least the wealth of this world measured in money.  But instead the wealth of the next world measured in souls pointed to Jesus who we will one day spend eternity with as Jesus saves them and us.  To this end, the evangelist need not move from house to house once they find a home that is willing to share.  Instead stay put there, and do your work from that place, until you are ready to leave that region.

Jesus continues in verse 8 saying … “And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: [verse 9] And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”  Again Jesus makes the point about being grateful to your host and your God for the food that is set before you.  But then your duties are to heal the sick, and to preach unto them that the Kingdom of God has come near to you.  So let’s hold the presses right there.  An evangelist, be it a man, woman, child, or person of elderly experience, is to heal the sick of the region they are ministering to.  No preconditions for “sick” listed either.  All diseases.  All conditions.  Anything that involves health, should be remedied.  And for anyone in need, not just the rich, not just the poor.  Since none of these 70 were presumably doctors, and even doctors have limits as Luke could attest, the healing would be miracles and that power could alone come from Jesus and in His name.  A better life begins with the removal of health problems that distract our attention.  None of the evangelists I ever met, were also healers.  In fact, healers today are more rare than unicorns or dinosaurs – and for no explicable reason given what I read here.  But I would bet that if someone cured your cancer in the name of Jesus Christ, you might be extremely interested in Jesus – cause that is life and death to you – quite literally.

You will notice the lack of hellfire threats in this message entirely.  But there is to be cognizance of your decisions to accept or reject Jesus.  That decision is not a casual one.  It is the most important one any human will ever face.  There will inevitably be those who prefer their riches, or their unbridled lusts, to what looks to them a very boring Jesus Christ.  Yet those who prefer sin, are not to be killed (remember the baby sheep thing).  They are still targets for saving.  But to illustrated to them how important this decision remains, Jesus had further advice.  He continues in verse 10 saying … “But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, [verse 11] Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. [verse 12] But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.”  Shaking the dust off was meant to impress those who refused Jesus that there was still time, and it was still needed, to change their minds.  It was not instant death.  Nor was it instant judgment.  But it was important and meant to impact them.

Then Jesus thinks about His own ministry and how despite His successes there still remain those who refuse His love.  Imagine that.  Those who refused His love right there in person.  But then, don’t we do the same thing every time we choose to sin instead of choose to love?  Jesus continues in verse 13 saying … “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. [verse 14] But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. [verse 15] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. [verse 16] He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.”  And there it is.  These cities Jesus mentions had great works performed in them.  Capernaum was Peter’s home, and Jesus spent no small amount of time stopping in there periodically.  Yet despite how much time Jesus spent in Capernaum, too many still refused to accept Him there.

Then comes the domino theory no-one today likes.  When people reject the evangelist, they reject Jesus who sent them.  When they reject Jesus, they reject the Father God who sent Him.  Yikes.  Might make you more willing to host an evangelist next time they come to town huh?  But deeper than our charitable instincts, this also has a profound impact even on religions where we share a great deal in common.  The Jewish faith was the precursor to our own.  But when it rejects Jesus, it rejects the only way back to the Father God.  In effect it cuts itself off from Abraham’s God through its own choice of non-belief in God’s only Son.  This is not beyond redemption, but it requires a new way of thinking and believing to get back on redemption’s road.  One does not have to abandon the traditions of the Jewish faith, to add Jesus and evolve them going forward.  But to omit Jesus, is to extinguish hope.  And for Islam, which relies upon it’s own sacred text, and traces its roots back to Abraham’s God.  Again, delegating the title prophet to Jesus, is simply not enough.  It is generous, but not generous enough.  And these are faith’s where we share so much.  Imagine the total blackout that occurs in pagan traditions and cultures where Jesus is completely unimportant.  Those roads can only lead to utter darkness masquerading as something else.  There are not many pathways to God, there is only one, and it travels through Jesus.  Your journey may well be unique.  But your Savior is not, there is only one of Him.

So what happened with this original army of evangelists Jesus sent out?  Luke continues in verse 17 saying … “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. [verse 18] And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. [verse 19] Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. [verse 20] Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”  It went awesome!  The evangelists reported that even demon possession was undone in the name of Jesus Christ.  When was the last time you met a modern evangelist who in addition to being a healer was also an exorcist?  Jesus reminds them that Satan will always plot to kill the gospel whenever he can.  One of the most common ways to get rid of somebody in those days was to poison them.  Slip some snake or scorpion venom in a drink, or sprinkle it over food, and you get a dead guy with nobody to blame.  Kings had food tasters for this very reason.  But Jesus says, evangelists don’t need to worry about it.  While they do their important work, none of this poison will be allowed to affect them.  This was not an invitation to live carelessly, but it was an invitation to live without fear.

But says Jesus, casting out demons is not the happy news.  Having your names written in the book of life in heaven is the outstanding news.  That is more important than miracles.  It is hard for me to imagine an evangelist who in addition to healing, casts out demons, and is immune to poison.  That seems like a lot to ask.  But no less than 70 new evangelists lived exactly that way.  And how many more, when the new church exploded after the resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Maybe that is what we need.  A look backwards, way backwards to the first army that went out like baby lambs in the Lord’s name.  What I find noticeably missing in this entire object lesson Luke recalls is the mention of threats, and hellfire as part of the message that needs to be delivered.  Prophecy was not brought up once.  Conjecture about the end of the world was not brought up once.  The end of the world is NOT supposed to be the focus of any first-tier evangelist.  Instead, the gospel or the good news of Jesus Christ is supposed to be the only message we focus on.  Jesus is not a threat.  He is a promise fulfilled.  Jesus is more than a means of our salvation, He is a means of finding a better life, a real life, a healthy life, a demon free life.

No matter what age we live in, that message is STILL relevant.  Love never gets old.  Being healthy never gets old.  Finding a way to become someone better than you are today, never gets old.  And since Jesus does the work to make sure all of this happens, connecting people with Jesus becomes so dramatically important.  Nominal ideas about “Jesus” are not the same as a trusting relationship with Jesus that yields benefits to you in the here and now.  Let’s ditch the flame pictures; and put up pictures of superman with a caption that states – this could be you.  Let’s start focusing the mind’s eye on just how good, good can be.  We spend too much time mired down in mediocrity.  It is time to reimagine church as a movement, evangelists at the forefront of that movement, and the wake of it filled with happy, healthy, people who would not trade Jesus for anything.