Excuses That Impede Evangelism

John 4:27-42

Main Idea: Jesus refutes our excuses for not sharing the gospel with nonbelievers and challenges us to share the gospel right now.

1. Three Excuses for Evangelistic Failure (4:27-35)
   1. They won’t be interested (4:27-30).
   2. I’m too busy (4:31-34).
   3. I’ll do it later (4:35).
2. An Encouragement to Evangelize (4:36-42)

An old gospel song called “Excuses” has a chorus that goes like this:

Excuses, excuses, we hear them every day,

And the devil will supply them, if from church we stay away.

When people come to know the Lord the devil always loses,

So to keep those folks away from church, he offers them excuses. (The Kingsmen Quartet, “Excuses”).

It’s a strange song, but it does capture our amazing ability to make excuses. From the moment we’re old enough to speak, we learn to make excuses. No one has to teach us. I’ve always been amazed that after dinner when it’s time to clean up the dishes, our kids have to use the bathroom. They magically emerge the moment the last dish is put away. We are all master excuse makers. Here are three excuses Christians often make for not sharing the gospel with non-Christians.

Three Excuses for Evangelistic Failure

John 4:27-35

They Won’t Be Interested (vv. 27-30)

The disciples have just returned from their shopping trip in town, and they’re shocked to see Jesus talking with this woman. They wonder why Jesus would waste time talking with, of all people, this Samaritan woman. They could understand why Jesus would talk to Nicodemus (ch. 3). After all, he was a religious man. He was worth spending time with. But this woman? Look at the question they wanted to ask Jesus, but didn’t: “Why are you talking with her?” (v. 27).

Don’t judge who will respond to the gospel. Share it with everyone. The gospel doesn’t discriminate. Neither should we. But it’s easy for us to judge ahead of time how we think someone will respond to the good news about Jesus Christ.

I love the contrast between the disciples’ reaction to this conversation and the woman’s reaction. She didn’t stop to think about who would listen to her or who she thought might respond to the gospel. She ran back into town so quickly that she left her water jar at the well. The urgency of the gospel—it’s a message of life and death—demands we freely share it with all people. It doesn’t allow us to make the excuse that people won’t listen.

I’m Too Busy (vv. 31-34)

The disciples had bought some food in the town, and they attempt to give some to Jesus to eat. His response is cryptic (v. 32). The disciples are confused and try to understand what Jesus means. Jesus clarifies his comment: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (v. 34). Jesus is so absorbed with the matter at hand he doesn’t want to stop and eat. He doesn’t want to get distracted by anything else. It demonstrates the urgency of the gospel. It’s not something we get to when we feel like it. It’s not something that takes a backseat to breakfast.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported a story a few years ago about a man who died at a hospital in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Apparently he choked on his medication and fell and hit his head on the floor. A nurse helped him start breathing and sat him in a chair in the waiting room. He sat in that chair for the next twenty-two hours before having a heart attack and dying. During those twenty-two hours he was virtually ignored by the staff; in fact, after the choking incident, no one checked his vital signs for over an hour. They were too busy playing cards in the break room next door (Biesecker, “Tape Shows”). The men and women responsible for keeping him alive were distracted by something as worthless as a game of cards. What distracts us from our mission? What distracts us from sharing the message of eternal life with those all around us who are spiritually dying?

John Calvin, commenting on this passage, wrote, “By his example, [Jesus] shows us that the kingdom of God should have priority over all bodily comforts” (John, 107). Jesus’s food was to accomplish the work God gave him to do. That work was “to advance God’s kingdom, to restore lost souls to life, to spread the light of the gospel, and to bring salvation to the world” (ibid., 108).

Too many churches have gotten distracted from the mission God has given them. The older and bigger a church is, the easier it is to get distracted. There’s an old story about a harbor town located in a treacherous area where boats frequently capsized on the rocks in bad weather. The town was known for its faithful rescue team. Whenever the bell sounded, a group of men rowed quickly to the scene of the disaster, risking their lives to remove sailors from sinking vessels or to pluck them from heaving waves. After a few years the town collected money to build a rescue station near the shore to store all of their equipment, thus making their rescue work easier. Also, special training was offered to others who wanted to become rescuers. The operation became efficient, saving hundreds of lives from the raging waters. But as time went by, comforts and conveniences were added to the building—cupboards full of food, a dining room, a lounge with stuffed chairs and recliners, and sleeping quarters. The lovely building became a club where townspeople loved to eat, meet, play games, and socialize. The bell still sounded when a wreck occurred, but only a handful of people responded. Later, no one even bothered to answer the rescue call, for they didn’t want to leave the comfortable club (Davey, When Heaven, 28).

I’ll Do It Later (v. 35)

Jesus asks the disciples a pointed question: “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’?” (v. 35). He’s saying, “Do you guys think you need to wait before reaping the fruit of the gospel? Are you hoping it will come later? You’re wrong; look at the Samaritans coming right now. What are you waiting for? The time is now!” Jesus is driving the urgency of the gospel home to the hearts of his disciples. We don’t wait for a different time or a better time; the harvest is now. Go, do the work of sharing the gospel right now. Charles Spurgeon, preaching on this passage, challenged his congregation:

Some of you good people, who do nothing except go to public meetings, the Bible readings, and prophetic conferences, and other forms of spiritual [indulgence], would be a good deal better Christians if you would look after the poor and needy around you. If you would just tuck up your sleeves for work, and go and tell the gospel to dying men, you would find your spiritual health mightily restored, for very much of the sickness of Christians comes through their having nothing to do. All feeding and no working gives men spiritual indigestion. Be idle, careless, with nothing to live for, nothing to care for, no sinner to pray for, no backslider to lead back to the cross, no trembler to encourage, no little child to tell of a Savior, no grey-headed man to enlighten in the things of God, no object, in fact, to live for; and who wonders if you begin to groan, and to murmur, and to look within, until you are ready to die of despair? (Cited in Hughes, John, 132)

We’ve seen three excuses—they won’t be interested, I’m too busy, and I’ll do it later. Now notice three ways to engage right here, right now.

An Encouragement to Evangelize

John 4:36-42

There’s an old saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” The road to hell for others is often paved with our good intentions. It’s time to stop making excuses. No more intentions. We need action. Jesus told us the harvest time is now. Not tomorrow. Not in a week. Now! Get started now sharing the gospel with those God has uniquely placed in your circle of influence. Think about your coworkers, your neighbors, and your family. Start with them. It’s time to turn your intentions into actions.

If you decide to do something out of guilt, it won’t last. Guilt, like a sparkler on the Fourth of July, burns out quickly. This passage ends with encouragement to get busy (vv. 36-42). Do you see what has happened? Men and women have turned from their sin and turned to Jesus for salvation. Men and women have tossed aside their jars filled with their own good works and effort and have come to drink from the fountain of living water.

When the gospel is clearly explained and faithfully shared, men and women will come to Christ. That’s the beauty of the gospel. It’s God’s good news, and God does a great work in the hearts of rebels, causing them to turn from their self-worship and turn to him in true worship. What did they discover when they came to Christ and believed in him? Look at their confession: they realized Jesus is indeed the “Savior of the world” (v. 42). They found hope instead of uncertainty, salvation instead of slavery, peace instead of misery, and grace instead of judgment.

Maybe it would be more accurate to say hope found them, salvation found them, peace found them, and grace found them. Our motivation for sharing the message of Christianity is that it’s not dependent on our power, our wisdom, or our strength. It rests solely on the power of God. We don’t win souls. God rescues sinners and graciously gives us front-row seats! God wants people (v. 23). He is seeking people, drawing them. There are people from every tribe, tongue, and nation—there are people in your city—that God is drawing to himself.

Our role is twofold. First, we share the message of Christ. God draws people through his gospel proclaimed. Second, we share in the joy of the sinner who comes to Christ (v. 36). People will come to Christ when we share the gospel, and we will get the privilege of rejoicing in their new birth with them. God will draw sinners to himself, and they will find joy in him. This reality should motivate us to labor with all our might to make Jesus Christ and his gospel known and loved throughout the world. Augustine wrote this beautiful reflection about Jesus Christ:

You are ever active, yet always at rest. You gather all things to yourself, though you suffer no need. . . . You welcome those who come to you, though you never lost them. You release us from our debts, but you lose nothing thereby. You are my God, my Life, my holy Delight, but is this enough to say of you? Can any man say enough when he speaks of you? Yet woe betide those who are silent about you! (Confessions [IX 1], 181)

May we, by the grace of God, never be silent.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Do you feel an urgency to share the gospel with people in your life? How might a sense of urgency change your interaction with your neighbors, coworkers, or classmates?
2. What are some excuses you use for not sharing the gospel? How are these excuses an evidence of unbelief?
3. How does belief give you a sense of urgency in mission?
4. How might study or preparation become a replacement for mission?
5. What comforts in your life have caused you to step back from the dangers of the mission field?
6. Is there someone in your life you need to share the gospel with right now? What is stopping you? What will you say to that person?
7. Take time to pray specifically for the opportunity and courage to share the gospel with some specific people in your life.
8. Is there anyone in your life who has the gift of evangelism? How might you learn from that individual?
9. How does the sovereignty of God to rescue sinners give us freedom to share the gospel without fear of rejection?
10. What is our role in salvation, and what is God’s role? Why is this good news?