The Best News Ever

A doctor quickly grabbed my firstborn son right after delivery and ran out of the room. Some time later, a man in green scrubs stood across the room and said something like, “Your son is not breathing well. We’re transferring him to another hospital. We’ll know more later.”

Worst news. Ever.

Later that day I learned that my son’s intestines had pushed into his lung cavity through a hole in his diaphragm, causing his lung to collapse. He could not breathe well enough on his own. After his surgery ten days later, the medical team walked into the waiting room like a brigade, heralding, “Your son will live!”

Best news. Ever.

What is a “best news ever” moment in your life?

For the Jews in Jesus’s day, the message of salvation in his name seemed like either the worst news ever or the best news ever. The apostle Paul described this tension when he quoted the prophet Isaiah in Romans 9:33: “Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble and a rock that will make them fall, yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Jesus was the worst news to some of the religious Jews because they saw him as a cult leader, guiding Jews away from following the Law. But Jesus was also the best news to other religious Jews—including (eventually) Paul, a “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phil 3:5). He lived according to the Law as a Pharisee in the strictest sense and even persecuted believers in Jesus. But then God got hold of Paul’s heart through a vision (Acts 9), and he acknowledged Jesus as the promised savior to come; the one who fulfills the Law of Moses. Paul then spent the rest of his life proclaiming the good news, planting churches, and raising up leaders in the local church.

Just like in first-century Israel, people today who hear the gospel might think it’s the worst news ever—or the best news ever. Our call as believers is to herald the good news, regardless of how people will respond (Mark 16:15). We share the message of life with every person—with the neighbor or coworker. With the guy standing in line at the grocery store or with the student waiting at the bus stop.

The question is: Will we share it? Will we allow ourselves to be stumbled upon like Jesus sometimes was? (Because some will reject us.) Will we risk appearing as a fool so others find salvation, whether it’s convenient or not (1 Cor 1:18; 2 Tim 4:2)?

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news (Rom 10:15)!

Reflect:

• Pause now, asking God to bring to mind those who do not believe in the good news of Jesus. Then pray for them.
• Next, ask the Holy Spirit to propel you to boldly share the good news of Jesus with anyone he will lead you to.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for those who shared the good news of Jesus with me. Please empower and embolden me to share the good news at every opportunity. Amen.

This is the first in a series of devotional reflections on evangelism. For more on evangelism and sharing the gospel, see A Vision for Evangelism, The Blaze of the Holy Spirit, and Reclaiming Our Identity and Purpose: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.