The juicy details are the ones we like to share.
A celebrity goes on trial, and we scour the Internet for the best of what’s gone on. Whose glove was found at the scene, who sneaked through the dark of night, or who sent which revealing email…those are the nuggets we want to tell our friends. They’re the good parts.
During the trial, of course, those details aren’t admissible unless they can be backed up by facts. Sensationalism doesn’t win a conviction. Spouting extravagant gossip can make the lawyers seem fools. Stick to the facts! That’s the way to win the case.
Sometimes we need to leave out the sensational parts of the gospel, too.
What? You can’t be serious! No way! We must tell every juicy detail of every miracle Christ did. It’s sensationalism in the very best way possible.
Or is it?
John 9:13-15 addresses the opening moments of a trial. Jesus is the accused, and the Pharisees are determined to trip him up. They bring the blind man Jesus healed on the Sabbath. The Pharisees don’t care about the healing. That’s an insignificant detail. Jesus did it on the Sabbath, the Sabbath! That’s the juicy morsel they pluck out of the story.
In Verse 15, the formerly blind man says:
“He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and do see.”
His reply was very factual, to the point, and concise. What he didn’t include were the details that make this story so memorable. Where’s the “saliva” and the “making of the clay” that endears the tale to us? Where’s the place he was sent to wash?
It seemed the man who had been healed suspected the Pharisees were trumping up charges against Jesus, and he wanted no part of it. Sensationalism, even though true, would have made matters worse. It wasn’t the time or the place to “tell all the juicy parts.”
When we leave our church service on Sunday morning, and the Spirit has really moved, do we search out our friends and “tell all the juicy parts,” even to those who won’t understand; or do we use discretion and stick to the facts? Sometimes that’s the best way. Among the faithful, we were “slain in the Spirit and felt the infusion of the Lord.” Among nonbelievers, let’s just say God touched us, and we were healed.
It’s facts and proof of evidence that will sway the world’s opinion our way, not the sensationalism of juicy details. In a courtroom, remember, our celebrities are innocent until proven guilty, and gossip that’s not backed up by facts is inadmissible during the trial.
The facts will prove the divinity of Jesus. Lay them out, check them off, and even unbelievers will come to admit the power of our almighty God. Juicy details don’t bring people to Christ. Love, prayer, and the study of God’s Word do.
Using wisdom in how we tell the story of our God and King will draw the sinner unto Christ every time.
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