Overview
She was just a nice little old lady. She came to our door in Jerusalem, out of breath, and clutching a large notebook and a beat-up tape recorder. She said she wanted to talk to me about Jesus, and “would you mind if I tape our conversation? I’d like to write an article for a Canadians magazine.”
“No problem”, I said, and I even let her use my tape-recorder when hers malfunctioned. We talked about the Lord for two hours.
Month later, a large article appeared in Israel’s leading women’s magazine – alerting Israel to a dangerous new missionary, Jin Cantelon. It was a direct transcript, with a few strategically placed editorial comments included in quotations to make it appear they, too, were my words. The little old lady was in the employ of a large international anti-Christian organization dedicated to getting Christian preachers out of Israel. This was to be the first of several occasions throughout the ensuing years when I would face eager seekers-after-the-Gospel with mixed motives.
In chapter 24 and 25, we see Paul presenting his message to three high-ranking Romans: the governor Felix, his successor Porcius Festus, and King Agrippa. These conversations took place, not over the course of a few hours, but two years.
It was Felix who spent the most time talking with Paul. He showed such interest that Paul may have assumed there was a genuine motive behind his questions. But there wasn’t. Luke tells us that his interest was money; Felix hoped to receive a bribe.
There’s a simple lesson here. We shouldn’t be overly impressed with a person’s eagerness to hear the Gospel. We need to be discerning, lest we “cast our pearls before swine”. That quote, by the way, comes from Jesus Himself (Matt.7:6).
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