Spreading the Good News - Part 3
By Lydia N.
Cross at sunset by marydan15 from Getty Images Created in Canva
In part 1, we talked about what it means to be Christian and why it’s important to share the Good News with others. In part 2, we discussed how understanding what God teaches is the first step in telling others about Him! In this part, we’ll be talking about how to be familiar with what others think.
Now that you know what you believe, it’s important to understand the perspectives of other people. In part 2, we looked at how Jesus started. Now, let’s look at how Matthew and Mark wrote their Gospels. How did they preach the Good News?
First, they built a relationship with Jesus! That matches what we learned in step 1 - understand what God says in His Scriptures. Next, these Gospel writers examined their intended audience to see what they believed and speak to them accordingly.
Matthew was specifically concerned with proving to Jews that Jesus really was the Kingly Messiah that was prophesied about in the Old Testament. He also directly quotes or alludes to the Old Testament many, many times throughout his writing, showing how Jesus fulfilled certain prophecies. Mark, on the other hand, does not do this. He doesn’t assume that his audience understands Old Testament Scriptures, because he was writing to Romans who probably wouldn’t have ever read Jewish texts. He explains and describes Jewish customs when necessary.
What would have happened if Mark had assumed that his Gentle readers understood Old Testament prophecies? His readers would probably have been really confused and dismissed his message! What would have happened if Matthew neglected to talk about important prophecies and the kingly characteristics of Jesus? The Jews that read his Gospel would probably not be convinced, assuming that Jesus didn’t fulfill any prophecies.
Student Spotlight
Let’s look back at Sarah’s and Samara’s stories.
Both of them started asking questions to understand their audience better, and even get them to think about their current position!
Samara asked, "Do you know if when you die you are going to heaven?"
Sarah asked questions like:
“What are your thoughts on Christianity?”
“Are you a Muslim?”
“Who was Jesus?”
Why are these questions so important? Well, by asking questions, Samara found out that her friend at the park had no secure hope of going to Heaven - she said it was simply up to Allah, and she didn’t know whether she was going to Heaven or not. Sarah found out the opposite - that her friend believed that pretty much all religions were the same. He believed that Hindus, Muslims, and Christians were all good people, so there couldn’t be much difference between each religion.
This is why understanding the person you’re talking to is so important! People are coming from different places, and they all have different ideas and presuppositions. Here are some things you can do to understand your friend who may not be Christian yet:
Ask LOTS of questions such as:
What do they believe about Christianity, Jesus, God, morality, truth (subjective or objective?), and religion in general?
Do they believe in another religion or are they an atheist - someone who doesn’t believe in God?
Would they be willing to follow Jesus if Christianity turned out to be true?
Ask other questions you’re curious about! Attempt not only to hear, but understand their point of view, even if you don’t agree!
Be interested in their story. Lots of people who used to be Christians aren’t anymore because no one took the time to explain that there were answers to their hard questions! Make sure you listen and try to answer their questions with the knowledge you have! We’ll talk more about this in part 4 of this series!
If you don’t know how to answer their questions, invite them to your church or talk with your parents and pastor. There’s NO question SO BIG that God can’t answer it! It’s better to respond with, “I’m not sure, that’s a great question. Let’s find out together!” than give them an uninformed answer.
In part four, we’ll be talking about communicating God’s Words to others with the help of the Holy Spirit. You can find the other parts of this article here to read more!
Columns: ✝️Spiritual Life
Lydia N. lives in Kansas City with her mom, stepdad, and dog, Pippin. This is her third year at NSA, her second on Student Council, and her second as the Editor-in-Chief for The NorthStar Navigator. She hopes to pursue a career in digital marketing and graphic design in the future, as well as pursue her acting and singing dreams.