CHAPTER 7 Defining Evangelizing - Evangelism Unlimited

Thomas P. Johnston 429
12—VERBS DISAVOWED IN EVANGELIZING
Addendum 3: Methods of Evangelizing Apparently DISAVOWED:
a. Introductory: in the prophecy regarding Jesus:
Isa 42:2, “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street”
1) kra,zw, meaning to cry out (considered below under “Verbs used both for and not for
evangelizing”)
2) avni,hmi, meaning (from Scott): 1. to send up; 2. send back; 3. i. let go; ii. let loose; iii. set
free; iv. allow; v. baring [her breast]; vi. let go free, leave untilled; vii. slacken,relax, let
down, unstring; viii. Slacken,abate:
a) In the context of Isa 42:2, it appears that the meaning follows 3.ii., to “let loose,” which
approximates the Hebrew concept of “raise up”
b) The allusion here is that the Messiah, or Jesus, would not raise up [his voice], in parallel
with “cry out”
c) Jesus did, however, preach on the street, in the plain, from the shore, and from a
mountain
d) Therefore, the meaning must not be the level of the voice, but the strongly emotive
connotation of “cry out”; implying that Jesus did not yell at people.
e) Chrysosthom (Hom. xxiv) took this to imply that Jesus did not rebuke people, “But Jesus
said nothing like this to him, nor did He rebuke him,” as in the case of Nicodemus; but
perhaps this is going too far, especially from other contexts where Jesus did rebuke
(Matt 11:20; Mark 8:33; cf. 2 Tim 4:2).
3) avkou,w, meaning in the passive voice, “cause to be heard” (also considered below under
“Results of evangelizing”)
a) More problematic than the two verbs above, which can easily be explained that Jesus did
not scream or yell as He preached; but what does it mean that He did not make His voice
heard in the streets?
b) Matthew Henry took this that the arrival of Jesus would not be pompous and boisterous,
announced with loud trumpets, as is done among men at the arrival of a king, but rather
quiet, gentle, and unassuming519 c) Henry’s explanation seems to coincide with the fulfillment of the prophecy, giving an
explanation from synonymous parallelism with the first three verbs
d) Therefore this verb cannot mean that:
(1) Jesus did not do “street evangelism,” which is proven false by the record in the
Gospels
(2) Jesus was merely a silent witness, or a witness by His lifestyle
b. diale,gomai: “And neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find
me carrying on a discussion (dialego,menon) with anyone or causing a riot,” Acts 24:12
1) Interestingly, this same verb in the singular participle form is found to describe the
evangelism ministry of Paul in Ephesus, Acts 19:8-9, of his speech in Troas, Acts 20:9, and
of his personal evangelism with Felix, Acts 24:25
2) In this context, therefore, it must mean either:
a) that it refers to the fact that Paul did not badger people with the Gospel in Jerusalem,
thus in this context the word carries with it a negative connotation which is not implied
in the other contexts; or
b) that Paul was not involved in aggressive personal evangelism while he was in Jerusalem,
which corresponds with the silence on Paul’s evangelism while in Jerusalem in Acts
21:26-27
519 “It shall not be proclaimed, Lo, here, is Christ or Lo, he is there; as when great princes ride in progress or
make a public entry. He shall have no trumpet sounded before him, nor any noisy retinue to follow him. The opposition
he meets with he shall not strive against, but patiently endure the contradiction of sinners against himself. His kingdom
is spiritual, and therefore its weapons are not carnal, nor is its appearance pompous; it comes not with observation”
(Matthew Henry, Isaiah 42; Bibleworks 9.0).