Jesus is known as the Word. I like that. John wrote, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Jesus was the word of God in the flesh. He also spoke the words of God. I wonder how simply he communicated.
I know a man who is brilliant. He thinks in paragraphs. He communicates with meticulous care. Scholarly precision defines him. But I have to study everything he writes. Hard. I can't just read it and get it. I have to gnaw on it until the verbs get separated from the adverbs and the adjectives are correctly describing the appropriate nouns. Sometimes it's tough chewing.
I know another man who once started a sermon in which his five-minute introduction consisted entirely of one-syllable words. That's really simple language. And really hard to do. (That last sentence only had five words and still one had two syllables.) You can't even say syllables without passing the three-syllable threshold!
Jesus communicated the amazing truths of God's heart in simple ways. Jesus' style of speech was so simple and so engaging that the common people wanted to hear him. Luke says, "All the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him" (Luke 21:38). They got out of bed early just to listen to Jesus.
I want to make the gospel as simple as Jesus did. Jesus came into this world so the common person would understand the love of God. Not everybody always liked what he said. But they loved to listen to him.
May our communication of the gospel be that good.
I couldn't agree more. Great post!
Posted by: Jami the Very Worst Missionary | May 11, 2010 at 06:46 AM