We know from Scripture that Matthew presents John the Baptist as a prophetic voice preparing the way for Jesus, echoing the ministry of Elijah and fulfilling the words of the prophets. John’s Gospel offers another angle on that testimony, showing John the Baptist pointing beyond himself and toward Jesus, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). To avoid confusion, when I refer to John in this sermon, I mean the Gospel writer; when I refer to John the Baptist, I mean the one who testifies about Jesus. We should notice that John the Baptist’s testimony is deeply personal. He speaks from an intimate relationship with God, and by giving these details, he opens himself before the people, before God, and before Jesus. In this moment, Jesus affirms John the Baptist’s ministry. However, in seminary, it was a reoccurring lesson not to give personal testimony from the pulpit. That is one lesson I consistently questioned throughout my seminary training. Elton Trueblood writes in The Company of the Committed, “The method of evangelism is inevitably the method of testimony.” This morning, I want us to explore that idea together.

If testimony = evangelism, then what is the correlation? How does our lesson give us instruction? It does in a few ways.

1.     Testimony should reveal something personal. For everyone, it will look different. I could give my testimony, but I know one even better. Today I want to share about a man I met long before I knew I would become a minister: Pastor Carl. Pastor Carl had a memorable catchphrase. When he entered a room, he never simply said hello; he said, “It’s a good day to see Jesus, isn’t it?” Then he would stand there, smile, and wait for an answer. Some people stood there nervously; others at once said, “Yes, sir, it is.” Pastor Carl was a Pentecostal preacher at a thriving church in Rock Hill. He was also a convicted felon and a recovering alcoholic whose early life included abuse, pain, and one unwise decision after another. He met Jesus while in prison. One day, while I worked on his guitar, he shared his story with me. I could tell that Pastor Carl had a personal relationship with Jesus, and he wanted everyone he met to have that relationship too.

2.     Testimony should point to God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. It should not be about you and only you. In your life, testimony should be about your relationship with God as something active and alive. You should be a walking billboard for Jesus. My grandmother used to tell all her grandkids, “You might be the only Bible someone reads today.”

3.     The tricky part is this: you may never see the fruit of your evangelism. This point sent me back to a book I read during my first year of seminary and have revisited several times because of its depth. In Abraham Joshua Heschel’s The Prophets, he writes, “The prophet is not only a prophet. He is also poet, preacher, patriot, statesman, social critic, moralist.” Heschel reminds us that the prophet was human, complicated, and shaped by a personal story. God used each prophet’s story, talents, and voice to carry out God’s purpose. The prophet’s testimony became God’s testimony because God worked through the prophet.

Sometimes they lived to see the fruit of their evangelism, as Jonah did. Yet much of what the prophets said carried layers of meaning, and they did not always live to see the results. I have seen Pastor Carl in a gas station witnessing to people, praying with them, and talking about Jesus to people he might never see again. For him, it was not about instant conversion; it was about planting a seed today so that, by God’s grace, a mighty oak might grow later. In our lesson, John the Baptist gives testimony about Jesus. Andrew, one of John’s followers, hears that testimony and begins to follow Jesus. After spending one day with Jesus, Andrew finds his brother Simon Peter and tells him, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). Jesus then calls Simon “Cephas,” which John explains means Peter (John 1:42). We also know from Scripture that Jesus later says Peter will be the rock on which he will build his church (Matthew 16:18).

Let us follow this thread and see the connection between testimony and evangelism. We know from Scripture that Matthew connects John the Baptist’s prophetic authority with Elijah and presents Jesus’ birth and ministry as the fulfillment of God’s promises through the prophets. Matthew repeatedly uses fulfillment language to show that God had already been laying the foundation for the work of Jesus. In John’s Gospel, we see the line of witness flow from John the Baptist to Andrew to Peter. Christian history then remembers Peter as one of the central apostolic witnesses of the early church and connects his ministry with Rome. That long chain of testimony helps explain why we are still gathered as the church today.

Suppose Andrew had not been willing to find Peter and testify that he had met Jesus and that he believed John the Baptist’s testimony that Jesus is the son of God. Imagine, who knows how the story would have evolved. Nevertheless, we can thank Andrew, who, after this story, is relegated to being known simply as Peter’s brother. If we modern Christians do not start evangelizing our story to others, will the story die out? God has created a platform of prophetic witness that belongs on our tongues, and we should be compelled to share it. Not because of a political agenda, to gain numbers in the pews, or for fear of losing a particular way of life, but because we want that joy we feel when we sense the Holy Spirit, that excitement that wells up from our feet, and moves to our brow, it needs to be shared. We yearn to share with others so they may experience the peace that comes from a personal relationship with God. If we do that, if you all do that, God will take care of everything else. I often had people ask me after Pastor Carl would finish his business and leave the store, “Who is that guy? He seems to love Jesus.” I even know some who went and heard him preach and later joined his church. Evangelism is infectious.

Your story is significant. Your relationship with God is magnificent. You may never see the fruit when you share it, but rest assured that God can use your story just as God used Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, John the Baptist, Andrew, Peter, and Pastor Carl. You might be the poet, preacher, patriot, statesman, social critic, or moralist God uses to introduce Jesus to someone new. So do not hesitate when the Holy Spirit nudges you to introduce yourself to someone, pick up the phone to call a neighbor, or sit and pray for someone you noticed in the grocery store. Be the prophet. Testify. Evangelize. Witness. Do not be afraid to be the image of God’s light you were created to be. Jesus did not simply appear and start something disconnected from what came before. Scripture shows us that God had already laid the foundation through the prophets, through John the Baptist, and through the witness of those who pointed others toward Christ. John’s Gospel shows that this thread flows from one person to another. It is thrilling to see God’s plan in motion. It is incredible to know that God can use people like Andrew, Pastor Carl, you, and me. Sisters and brothers, that is what the Good News of Jesus is about. That is what the prophets were proclaiming. That is how we see Jesus in the world: we walk with him when we testify like Andrew.

I will leave you to contemplate this in your heart by the Spirits wisdom today.