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A former crazy woman.
Possibly… probably(?).... a prostitute
Would this be an obvious person to pick as an evangelist?
“Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples “I have seen the Lord” and she went and told them that he had said these things to her” (John 20:18)
I wonder if you think of yourself as an “obvious evangelist”?
Peter and The Beloved Disciple were obvious evangelists. They were two of the twelve who were closest to Jesus. When Mary Magdalene encounters the empty tomb, her first response is to run and tell someone. She finds Peter and the beloved disciple and tells them and they look… and as verse 10 tells us “they returned to their homes”
Ex-crazy woman, ex working-girl scores ten out of ten for sharing the faith.
Respectable Peter, the rock on whom Jesus says he will build his church, and John, the disciple whom Jesus loves, score a big fat zero. Yes later on Peter will go on to be this great preacher on the day of Pentecost, blah de blah, but the first evangelist, the apostle to the apostles, is the one whom no one would have expected.
Do you think of yourself as an “obvious evangelist” - because in the bible it can be the least obvious people who turn out to be the best evangelists.
The woman at the well - someone with a scandalous past who has been ostracized by her village, rushes to tell them about the life changing encounter she has had with Jesus and wins the first non-Jewish converts.
Mary, a pregnant unmarried teenager, rushes to tell Elizabeth, her “elder and better” the good news of what God has done in her life.
The Ethiopian Eunuch, a man whose foreignness and lack of certain body parts means he can never enter the Temple, becomes the first person to take the Gospel to Africa and founds a church that is still going today.
If you think you are not an obvious evangelist, what is God saying to you?
Edward Kimball was probably a bit like you. He was an ordinary Christian who taught Sunday school in his church and made a living down at the shoe store. One day Edward determined that he was going to look for an opportunity to explain the gospel to a salesman named Dwight, who had just joined the staff.
Edward was nervous. He hemmed and hawed and paced back and forth. Dwight was in the back room putting shoes away. Finally Edward mustered up his courage and launched into the story of Jesus birth, death, and resurrection. That day Dwight gave his life to Christ.
Dwight is better known as D.L. Moody, who went on to become one of the greatest evangelists of the late 19th century. The story doesn’t stop there. One day Moody was preaching, and a pastor named FB Meyer was listening. He was deeply stirred and went on to establish a nationwide preaching ministry. Later, while Meyer was preaching, a young man in the audience named Wilbur Chapman accepted Christ.
Chapman later felt the call to evangelism. As he was proclaiming the gospel in various places, he decided he needed some help. He knew a young former baseball player named Billy Sunday, who was looking for a job, and Chapman hired him. Billy asked in he could preach every now and then. Billy Sunday ultimately emerged as the greatest preacher of the early 1900’s.
One day Billy Sunday was preaching in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a great move of God was taking place. Many people believed. These new believer then invited a relatively unknown preacher, Mordecai Ham, to set up his tent in Charlotte and keep preaching. It was at this time that a tall, lanky farm boy walked down the aisle and gave his life to Jesus. (1)
That farm boy had only turned up to hear Mordecai Ham because a friend of his, no one special, a farm hand called Albert McMakin, invited him to come. Albert invited several friends, and at first while others said yes, this particular farm boy said no. Until Albert said he could drive the truck going there. (2)
And so Billy Graham heard Mordecai Ham’s sermon and ended up walking down the aisle to give his life to Jesus.
Now there are famous people in this story - DL Moody, FB Meyer, Billy Sunday, Mordecai Ham.
You can find articles on Wikipedia about them. They led thousands of people to Jesus. Billy Graham led millions of people to Jesus.
But this story isn’t just about people like them, it’s about people like you. The Mary Magdalene’s of this world. The ordinary people of this world.
Edward Kimble wasn’t anyone special. Albert McMakin wasn’t anyone special. Yet I know that there are some people sitting in this congregation today who are only Christians because of a chain of events which they began.
They each shared the Gospel in their own way. Edward nervously explained the Gospel to a colleague at work and there and then led him to Jesus. You don’t need to have it all together to explain to a friend what your faith means to you and to invite them to respond.
Albert simply said (as per John 1:39) “Come and See”. For all we know if anyone asked Albert to explain what Christianity was about he would have got tongue tied. But he could do what you and I could do. He could say “come and see”
And Mary Magdalene - “she told them “he had said these things to her”” - She simply repeated what she had heard - like you going into the office and when asked what you were up to at the weekend saying “Well when I was at church I heard this really interesting sermon in which…”
There are so many ways to share the good news. In this passage alone, Jesus responds to Mary’s weeping. He responds to her need. There will be people at work whom we look at and say “why are you weeping?”. On Tuesday at the school drop off one of the mum’s looked upset. I asked her why and she said her tumour had grown again, so I prayed with her. I am sure many of you will have had friends who are in trouble and you’ve prayed with them. One of the reasons (not the only reason, but one of the reasons) why once a month we get into small groups to pray is so when you are at that school gate and someone tells you their cancer has come back that won’t be the first time that you have prayed out loud. You’ll have had practice. And when you do, they’ll know that the risen Jesus cares for them too, and that you do.
Or what if you are really nervous of all of this? Well there is one thing you can do. You can throw a party. You may be the only practicing Christian your friend knows. In which case you are entirely responsible for whether or not they become a Christian, It’s your fault if they don’t. But don’t worry - there is a get out of jail free card. If you introduce your non-Christian friend to your church friends, then suddenly you won’t be the only Christian they know. Statistically, if someone has one good friend who is a Christian, the chance of them becoming a Christian is very low. But if they have six good friends who are Christians the chance of them becoming a Christian is very high. So throw regular parties and invite church friends and non Christian friends.
Like Edward Kimble, Albert McMakin or Mary Magdalene, find the way that works for you.
And remember Mary Magdalene didn’t wait until she understood everything - as soon as she discovers the Empty Tomb (before she has even met the risen Jesus) she goes and shares the news. Anna told us in a sermon a few weeks back about a Hindu lady who came to one of Holy Week services last year. She liked what she saw, so she came back with friends. And she came back at Christmas, bringing multiple friends to different services. Now I am sure you know more about the Christian Story than this woman. But that didn’t bother her. She encountered something so she brought people to St Barnabas.
St Francis Xavier, writing in the 16th Century says “There is one reason and one reason only why people round here are not becoming Christian - because there is no one to make them Christian”
Pope Francis says of the people we love amongst “All of them have a right to receive the Gospel. Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone. Instead of seeming to impose new obligations,[Christians] should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but “by attraction”.
“All of them have a right to receive the Gospel. Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone.” (3)
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(1) Sermon on this site by Clifton MacKinley
(2) From the Alpha Course by Nicky Gumbel
(3) Pope Francis, in “Evangelum Gaudii”
