A Name Like No Other

“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”  Mark 16:15

Jesus told His disciples and also all of His followers in Matthew 28:19-20 to teach all nations to observe all that He had commanded.  In Acts 1:8, He told His disciples that they would receive the Holy Spirit who would empower them to be witnesses of Him locally and across the globe.  In Luke 24:47, Jesus proclaimed that repentance resulting in forgiveness should be preached in His name to all nations beginning where they were in Jerusalem and then spreading across the land.  In Matthew 4:19, He told His disciples as He called them from their fishing boats that He would make them “fishers of men”.  And in Mark 16:15-16, Jesus made the most convincing call upon all believers to spread the gospel.  Those who would believe would be saved while those who would not believe would be damned, that is, found guilty and given an eternal sentence in hell without parole.  Do you suppose that Jesus is trying to tell us something very important?  Say it once–OK.  Say it twice–OK, OK. Say it five times or more, don’t just listen and say OK, do it! (James 1:22)

While stopped at a red light at a very busy intersection, watching all the drivers crossing and all the ones waiting for the light to turn green, have you ever wondered how many of those people are oblivious to their need for Christ and His forgiveness?  I would estimate a great deal of them judging by how the world is going.  You could do this at any place where many folks are gathered, like a ball game, theatre, concert, or even a worship service.  It doesn’t have to be a big crowd either.  It could be your next-door neighbor, co-worker, classmate, or cashier at Walmart or another store.  Speaking of fishing for men and women, sometimes we feel like one fishing with a cane pole from a little tiny boat in a great big ocean of unbelievers.  In our lifetimes, we have likely known more unbelievers than believers or perhaps more cultural Christians than true Christians.  We are supposed to be trying to catch those wayward fish, but the task seems almost futile.  However, our task is to try and reel them in with the knowledge of the gospel and pray that the Holy Spirit will convict of sin and clean them up.

Jesus said that He had given the power of the Holy Spirit to His disciples which means that, as His followers, we also have this same power to spread the gospel.  We need to appropriate that power and get about the work of witnessing to others.  We will meet opposition, but so did the disciples.  Opposition indicates that there is power in the gospel of Christ.  If there wasn’t anything to the gospel, then unbelievers wouldn’t get so upset, offended, or angered at the mention of His name.  When you say the name of Jesus Christ, and someone reacts negatively, you know you have struck a nerve.

We can say God’s name to people, and it doesn’t have the same impact as saying the name of Jesus because to many folks, God is just a concept, analogy, or ethereal entity about which they know nearly nothing, a “Spirit in the sky” that grants wishes like a genie in a bottle, or the “Man upstairs”.  However, when the name of Jesus is spoken by a true believer and not by an unbeliever who uses His name as an expletive, there is a convicting power that goes out at the mention of His name, and I believe that unbelievers feel that convicting spirit.  That’s why they do not want to hear His name spoken.  When an unbeliever uses Jesus’ name inappropriately to express surprise, shock, or disapproval of something someone did or said, it also has an effect upon believers as they become offended for Jesus’ sake, but also dismayed at the person’s lack of respect for the most honorable name of Jesus whose name is also “the Word of God” (Revelation 19:13).

We can’t change folks.  Only the Lord can do that, but they must humble themselves like a little child, repent, and believe on Christ (Matthew 18:3).  That’s the hard part–admitting that one is a sinner, bankrupt without the Lord.  The greatest need in our sin-cursed world is for people to be born again into the kingdom of God.  I will admit that it is not always easy to share the gospel with others, but it should be.  We have the greatest news in the world that we can tell others about, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only hope for men and women.  If they accept it, we are not to take any credit because we were only doing our reasonable service (Romans 12:1), but if they reject it, neither are we to blame.  Each person is accountable for what they do with Christ.