Proclaiming the Gospel Today
John 18:13-27
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
13 and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people. 15 Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, 16 but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. 17 Then the slave-girl who kept the door *said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself. 19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. 21 “Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.” 22 When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” 24 So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. 25 aNow Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “cYou are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” 27 Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.
After earning my Master of Divinity degree, I told my lovely bride that I wanted to earn my doctorate degree. So, I applied to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for their leadership program, which would result in a Doctor of Ministry degree. I was ready for the opportunity to learn. Six months prior to the cohort meeting, I received information about the books and writings I needed to complete before the residency in Charlotte, NC. I immediately purchased the books and read them. I completed all the written papers and sent them in.
The seminary set the residency for the middle of January 2004. My biggest concern was that it usually snowed heavily in Pennsylvania during that time of the year. I was convinced that the LORD wanted me to go as there was no heavy snowfall in Pennsylvania during the middle of January 2004. I was away for two weeks from the family and the church. However, I knew everything would be fine. I drove nine hours to Charlotte, NC, and checked into the hotel. The next day, Monday, I arrived on the campus. They completed the building in December and the prior week was the consecration of the building to Jesus. The Charlotte campus is a beautiful place to learn about the LORD.
I met the gentlemen in the cohort. A fine group of men. I found out that the three-year program was a rolling program. This meant that one could join the program at any year because the three-year program was a rolling program. I was the only new person in the cohort. The other nine men were together for two residencies. I always have had difficulty entering a formed group, also group dynamics were against me. These men knew each other for two years. They understood their inside jokes and stories. I was definitely an outsider.
One gentleman was a United Methodist district superintendent from the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Late in the first week, I asked him to join me for lunch. The two of us sat down in a restaurant and I asked him about why I was having difficulty becoming accepted by the group. Since I was a UM pastor, I placed a high value in his opinion. His answer to my inquiry took me by surprise and I think it will take you by surprise also. He told me I should not be wearing a “Jesus Saves” belt buckle. It was a buckle with a cross on it and the words “Jesus Saves.”
His response was very confusing to me. Why would Christian pastors not accept me because I wore a “Jesus Saves” belt buckle? That made absolutely no sense to me. The District Superintendent told me I should lose the buckle, thus never using it again. He said it was offensive. Offensive? How can proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ through a belt buckle be offensive, especially to Christian pastors? The DS told me that the buckle meant I would be pushy about Jesus. What, I thought? Was the DS telling me that evangelism was bad?
He said that there are levels to evangelism. Soft-spoken evangelism was doing good works for Jesus while not making it obvious that Jesus was involved. Then there was the hard spoken evangelism when you let people know what you are doing is in the name of Jesus Christ. Why would the church want soft-spoken evangelism? That question the DS could not answer. It shocked me to learn that the church did not want hard core evangelism. Now, I can agree that one can come across too strong in their evangelism. But simply wearing a belt buckle turned off a group of Christian pastors. That’s insane.
When I returned home, I visited the local food bank called New Hope Ministries. The church I was pastoring was a founding member of this ministry. The Lutheran and Presbyterian church had joined the Methodist church to create this group in the 1950s. There was a history between the church and the ministry. I sat down with the director and asked her about their methods. Did they tell people that the food and help were a blessing from Jesus Christ through the three churches of the town? The answer was NO. I asked, “why not?”
The answer I received was that some people would not come to the food bank if it had a religious tone. Bare in mind I did not want to see New Hope push any of the three churches. I just wanted them to tell recipients that the excess blessings given to Christians in the town were being shared with those less fortunate. That would not happen. So, a Christian organization which was created by the three churches of the town refused to tell people about Jesus Christ.
I brought this conversation to the Outreach and Mission committee of the church. They were not surprised about what I learned. They knew that was the way it has always been. The committee was alright with it. I expressed my concern about New Hope refusing to tell people about Jesus Christ. Naturally, the committee voted to continue to support New Hope.
Is one problem with church today that the people are afraid to talk about the blessing from a discipleship to Jesus Christ? The pastors in the Charlotte cohort, the preachers of the Gospel, thought it was wrong for me to proclaim Jesus through a belt buckle. I would guess they did a little evangelism. Jesus told his disciples to take the Gospel out into the world. They could not do it until the Holy Spirit energized them at Pentecost. It seems like evangelism has decreased today.
A simple fact is that if Christians are not willing to talk about Jesus Christ and the blessings of discipleship, then who will? Why are churches doing things in their community and in the world but not evangelizing at the same time? I am not saying that we should not help people who do not come to know Jesus. I felt that we should tell those we help that their help is coming through the blessings of Jesus Christ. I do not believe I will ever accept the attitude of Christian organizations that will not talk about Jesus Christ. I do not and will not support organizations that claim to be a Christian organization who will not evangelize Jesus Christ.
Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. He did not have the strength to proclaim the Gospel. Perhaps at that moment it was best not to. After the Pentecost, he had the Holy Spirit lifting him up. Every disciple baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit has the Holy Spirit lifting them up. Use the strength of the Holy Spirit to tell people about the blessings from being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
