All Things to All Men

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Four Gospels, four completely different takes and perspectives on the life Jesus led over 2000 years ago.  The gospel called for multiple approaches by multiple writers, each presenting the message of Christ to a different audience. Not to be overly simplistic, but Matthew was written for the Jews, Mark for CNN Headline news folk.  Luke was the careful historian writing for the non-Jewish skeptics; John wrote for the aesthetic and philosophical. The point is simple, but profound.  The message is unchanging, but the method of communicating that gospel must change according to the language, culture, and background of the audience.

There are four in our family; well, seven if you count Rocky, Mittens, and Coba. But here's the thing, each of us have a different take on the same event.  If we all went to the same party, I would be hanging with the wine and foodies, the kids with their peers at the pool and Playstation. Janet would be making a mental note of everything and everyone.

With Jesus as our example how did he meet and greet?

When he encountered the woman at the well, he began his conversation with the topic of water. When he encountered the fisherman Peter, his starting point was fishing. When the tax collector invited Jesus to his house, the issue of money opened the dialogue. Jesus clearly developed his presentation of God’s saving message in light of the context and background of his listeners. The apostle Paul shared Christ’s commitment to this approach, writing that he became “all things to all men so that by all possible means some may be saved” (1 Cor. 9:22) Coincidence?  I think not.  I think God wants us to contextualize our message for the sake of spiritual impact.

Andy Stanley once said that when we talk to people eventually the Holy Spirit working on the outside with them and the inside with us, that the path and topic may eventually cross to talk about the spiritual stuff.