Chris Costello
George Matson
CMN4410—Fundamentals of Human Communication
12/4/00

How Has the Spoken Word Influenced the Spread of Christianity?

The message of Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection has spawned the growth of one of the most influential movements in the history of the world. The miraculous life and actions of the son of God, who in appearance, was just like us, motivated many to give up everything they had—even their own lives in order to share his controversial message of salvation with others. To this day, his words live in the lives of people who have decided to follow him.

One might ask, how did this message spread and endure in an age without television, telephone or the internet? The first century Christians, like men throughout time, prospered and flourished in the world by engaging in one of the most simple forms of human communication—speaking (White, “Storytelling”). The spoken words of Christ and those who imitated him fell on open ears. Those who rejected Christ’s “gospel” of salvation, remained unchanged. Those who accepted this message strove to become like him as they followed his example and final admonition—“go and make disciples of all nations” (The Holy Bible NIV Matt. 28:19). His mission was accomplished not only with the use of scripture, but by the spoken word and a combination of two qualities that accompanied the speaker’s oral presentation—conviction and persuasion. The following pages, with the use of biographical accounts found in the Bible, will bring to light how these qualities enabled the speech of ordinary people to convince others to follow Christ and change the world.

Deep Conviction

Simon Peter was one of the original twelve apostles and a close friend of Jesus Christ. He was an eyewitness to his life, death and resurrection and was personally commissioned by Jesus to “feed [his] sheep” and build his church (John 21:16). As he worked with Jesus, he became firmly convinced of the message of Christ and the significance of his mission. Peter had given up his trade as a fisherman to become a “fisher of men” as he spread the gospel to the world around him (Matt. 4:19). His new found personal conviction, or “strong belief”, now motivated him to speak with great boldness and make a lasting impact on his hearers.

Soon after the resurrection of Christ, Jews from every nation came to Jerusalem to celebrate “The Feast of Pentecost”. Jesus’s disciples were there as well and, together, they miraculously began to speak in other tongues. This phenomena drew a large crowd as “each one heard them speaking in his own language” (Acts 2:6). Then Peter stood up and spoke to his “fellow Jews and all who [lived] in Jerusalem” about what was happening and used this opportunity to explain to them why they needed to become Christians (Acts 2:14). The audience was so moved by his words that three thousand of them responded and were baptized that very day (Acts 2:41). Peter had great news that he wanted to share with them and simply said what was on his heart. An audience can quickly sense insincerity in a speaker, but the fact that Peter cared about these people was evident in his speaking. If this same message was spoken without any passion or empathy, if he merely handed out leaflets, Peter would never have affected so many people. His love and concern for them made his words attractive while his deep conviction and charismatic delivery swayed them to belief. Some of these new Christians stayed in Jerusalem, but many returned to their own homes. They began telling the exciting news of the resurrection to their own countrymen and carried out Jesus’s charge to “go and make disciples of all nations”. (Matt. 28:19)

Later, Peter and John the Apostle spoke to another large crowd about the resurrection of Christ. We can imagine that they spoke with much enthusiasm given that they were with him after he rose from the dead. This “greatly disturbed” the local religious leaders and they had them arrested and put in prison. Yet, “many who heard the message believed, and the number of [Christians] grew to about five thousand” (Acts 4:4). The next day, Peter and John were brought before the high priest, and synagogue rulers. The Jews did not want Christianity to spread any further and commanded them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. Their reply was, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19). Because they saw the things Jesus did and they knew him personally, they had very strong convictions about the message Jesus wanted them to spread. Again, it was this strong belief about what they were talking about that enabled them to speak so confidently and effectively. Even in the face of stiff opposition, they were compelled to continue speaking what they knew was true, and the movement continued to grow.

“He Argued Persuasively”

Saul of Tarsus, later known as The Apostle Paul, was a Roman citizen and a Jew of high standing at the time of the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. He was highly educated and served as a member of the Pharisees, an order of Jews that advocated strict observance of the Mosaic law. He had such strong personal convictions about his religious traditions that he saw Christianity and its message as a threat to his beliefs and social position. He was so angered by its growing influence that he, with the support of other Jewish leaders, began a violent campaign to destroy it. While traveling to Damascus, according to his own account in the Book of the Acts, a bright light appeared and he fell to the ground as he came into the presence of Christ. Jesus said “Saul, why do you persecute me?…I have appeared to you and appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me…I am sending you to open [people’s] eyes and turn them from darkness to light…” (Acts 26:14-8). Jesus was preparing this zealous man for the mission of persuading the world to believe in him. He became a disciple of Jesus and immediately began to speak “in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). The man who just a few days before was imprisoning and killing Christians, was now a disciple himself diligently spreading the gospel. This stunned his fellow Jews as they listened and watched this movement grow. Paul wholeheartedly embraced the role of missionary and traveled to the region’s largest cities to share the news with his Jewish brothers that the promised Messiah had come. Saul was thoroughly trained in Jewish laws and customs and had a keen knowledge of Old Testament prophecies. He was now convinced that Christ was the fulfillment of these prophesies and tried to convince others through his life and preaching. His method was simple; he preached persuasively in the synagogues, just as Jesus did, and “spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed” (Acts 13:1).

Paul, and his companions, interacted with people of all social standings, income levels and religious beliefs throughout the Mediterranean societies that they visited. These regions, in his day, bore the effects of the advancing and retreating armies of the past centuries that caused entire nations to be displaced. Cultures and languages were varied and Paul found that he needed to become “all things to all men” in order to reach them (I Cor. 9:22). He spoke several languages, and was both a Roman and a Jew. He knew that he must use all of these talents and abilities to their best advantage because if he was going to change people’s attitudes, it would require patience, sensitivity and hard work. Although the gospel spread rapidly to many people, an even greater number of people rejected and actively opposed it. Christ’s appeal for humility and virtuous living was in direct opposition to man’s natural tendency toward pride, selfishness, lust and greed. These concepts threatened the lifestyles of many in the ancient world, even as it does today. At that time there were no written accounts or “proof” of Jesus’s activities and Paul realized that he would need to speak powerfully, especially to the politicians and intellectuals, in order to persuade them to change their minds. Notice what he needed to do while in the city of Ephesus:

“Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate and refused to believe and publicly maligned the way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and held discussions daily in the lecture halls of Tyrannus. This went on for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:8-10).

The seeds he planted in this city grew quickly, for it is argued that within a generation, the church in Ephesus became the center of Christianity (Wilson, 184).

While preaching in Jerusalem, Paul was falsely accused by the Jews of being a lawbreaker and was arrested by Roman guards (Acts 21:27-35). He was transferred to Ceasarea in order to stand trail before Felix, the governor of Judea. After two years in prison, Paul appeared before the new governor, Porcius Festus, where he finally appealed his case to Ceasar. Paul understood that these circumstances created opportunities for him to speak the gospel to many influential people in the Roman government. King Herod Agrippa II, while visiting Festus in Ceasarea, asked to hear Paul’s case himself. The next day, Paul spoke before Agrippa and a large number city officials. After hearing Paul deliver a very convincing testimony about why he was on trial, which incidentally included mention of repentance and of Christ’s resurrection, the following dialogue ensues:

“‘King Agrippa, do you believe in the prophets? I know you do.’

Then Agrippa said to Paul. ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’

Paul replied, ‘Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all that are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.’” (Acts 26:27-9).

Indeed, it was always Paul’s hope to persuade as many people as he could to become Christians. In order to persuade, a speaker must “induce to undertake a course of action or embrace a point of view by means of argument, reasoning or entreaty”, as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. This is challenging work and Paul understood the labor involved in helping others believe what he was saying. Note the following examples:

In Thessalonica—“Paul went into the synagogue and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with [the Jews] from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead…Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks” (Acts 17:2-4).

In Athens—“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day-by-day with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17).

In Corinth—“Every sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:4).” He vigorously refuted [them] in public debate, proving from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 18:28).

Effective persuasion was a hallmark of Paul’s method of preaching. This, together with his own personal conviction, proved to be the combination needed to change the attitudes and lives of his hearers.

Conclusion

Paul’s writes in his letter to the church in Thessalonica: “...our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction” (I Thes. 1:5). Clearly, the spread of Christianity was greatly attributed to the successful persuasive speech and heartfelt personal convictions held by Peter, Paul and many others who spread the gospel.

Today as well, such qualities of interpersonal communication and emotional involvement will always be an essential element of advancing the cause of Christ and winning the minds and the hearts of people throughout the world.

Sources

©2007 Chris Costello. All rights reserved.