Jesus Commands Us to Tell Others

QUESTION: Jesus commands us to tell others - Why me?

ANSWER:

Before Jesus departed to His heavenly throne to take His position as Lord and Christ, He spent a final time with His eleven disciples. The last command that He gave them was this: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

If these are the last words that Jesus gave His disciples, we must consider that they are of the utmost importance to Him, and to ourselves. Jesus commands us to tell others about Him. You may ask, "Why me? Aren't there others more equipped to do that? I am not a preacher, I do not know what to say."

The first and foremost reason that we should tell others about Him is that this is His command. The beloved physician, Luke, recorded in Acts 1:8, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Christ commanded us to tell others about Him and promised to give us power to do it. In the same way that a person is called to be a witness in a legal proceeding, we are asked to be His witnesses. In a legal proceeding, the witness will testify to the things that they have personally seen and heard; they will give an account based on what they have observed or experienced insofar as it has relevance to the current proceedings. As Christians, we have the opportunity and responsibility to tell others what we have "seen" and "heard" and what we have experienced in our walk with the Lord.

Think what it is that we have received. To know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is the greatest thing in all of life's experiences, indeed in the entire universe. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).

Second, you are the only one who can tell your story. No one can adequately describe the wonderful things that have changed in your life since you have surrendered yourself to Christ. It is your story; no one else can tell it. If Christ has done great things for you, you have the privilege of sharing that good news with others. "'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him" (Luke 8:39).

The greatest part of telling others about the Lord is that you now have the opportunity to affect the lives of others for good; now they will have the chance to come to know Christ as their Savior. The great blessing that is in your life can be shared with someone else to bring him or her hope. If the desolate and downtrodden woman at the well could be a witness, certainly you and I can do the same. "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?'" (John 4:28-29).

Jesus commands us to tell others of His great salvation. He wants everyone to know about Him. He suffered a horrible death so that all of mankind could be reconciled to the Father. The only way for that truth to be known is for some one to tell it. We are that "someone." Why should we tell others? We should tell others because they need to know that Jesus loves them and longs to give them life. He desires to rescue each one from the pit and consequences of sin.

"The Lord . . . is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). We need never fear that we will be left alone to speak for Him without support; He will always give us what to say and power to be effective. "And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).