One of the biggest challenges that stifle evangelism is the fear of rejection. From a purely rationalistic standpoint, this sometimes makes no sense. Fear of rejection typically arises from one’s anxiety that he will be denied something he strongly desires such as a job, a relationship or acceptance into a coveted social circle. In evangelism, people fear rejection even when these factors are not at play — even when sharing to “good news” with a stranger. This is despite the fact that the object of one’s Gospel-sharing efforts has everything to gain as well as to lose.
Yet we value reciprocity. When we initiate an interaction with someone, we hope for a welcoming response and when we don’t receive one, we feel embarrassed, if not insulted. I have, on many occasions, gone through the awkward motions of initiating conversations with complete strangers and have suffered many rejections. Yes, there have been many people who have not appreciated how difficult it was for me to approach them or the fact that I did so out of concern for their eternal well-being. These setbacks have, at times, challenged my motivation level. Whenever this happens, I have to remember this — Jesus was repeatedly rejected.
Christ was rejected by an entire Samaritan village where he sought lodging as he travelled toward Jerusalem.1 He was rejected by hundreds of people for whom he had hours earlier given a miraculous feast — because they refused to give him his due worship.2 He was rejected in a Gerasenes village after delivering a man who was demon-possessed. Even though Christ had also delivered that village from the demoniac’s reign of terror, its residents were so frightened by Jesus’ power that they didn’t want him around.3 Jesus persevered despite being rejected again and again. We must do the same when we are called to evangelize.
Obviously, Christ’s strength of character is superior to ours and because of this, we believe he wasn’t risking as much as we are when we extend ourselves to strangers. Our self-esteem is undermined when we are rejected. His was not. He needs no man’s validation. Nevertheless, I believe Jesus felt more pain when he was rejected than we feel when we are — only for selfless reasons. Jesus was hurt because he loves the people he reached out to more than we love the people we reach out to. His heart broke for those who rejected him because in so doing, they were rejecting restoration, refreshment and rest for their souls. We gain insight into Jesus’ sorrow over being rejected in Luke’s Gospel, which records him as having wept over Jerusalem because its people didn’t recognize him or embrace him for who he was.4 When a Gospel evangelist is rejected, Jesus also feels the weight of that rejection. He told his disciples “the one who rejects you rejects me.”5 Unfortunately, rejection is an inevitable occurrence in the life of an evangelist.
My prayer is that those who read this will take on Christ’s attitude regarding evangelism. May we be more afraid that someone might die without hearing a clear explanation of the Gospel than we are afraid of being rejected.
1. Luke 9:51-56
2. John 6:63-66
3. Mark 5:1-20
4. Luke 19:41-44
5. Luke 10:16
Photo by Jake Stimpson.
Raymond Billy is a discipleship mentor for Youth With A Mission.
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