“Jesus and Stories!” (Grace Note #60)

“Jesus and Stories!” (Grace Note #60)
Written by Gary L. Clendenon, November 1, 2018


I recently read the 4th chapter of the Gospel of Mark in my weekly Bible study from The Message Bible and was astonished at what I found. I would like to share that astonishment with you!

First, I will share some of the exact words from the chapter, then I will share my perspective on those words.

Mark 4:2: “He taught by using stories, many stories.”

Mark 4:9: [Jesus says,]“Are you listening to this [story]? Really listening?”

Mark 4:10: [His close followers] “...asked him about the stories.” … “He told them, ‘You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight.”

Mark 4:13: [Jesus says,] “Do you see how this story [of the scattered seed] works? All my stories work this way.”

Mark 4:33: “With so many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.”

You probably guessed it, but here’s what amazed and astonished me: Jesus, GOD in the Flesh, was the Master Teacher, and according to this chapter in the Bible, Jesus is revealing His “#1 Method of Evangelism” to outsiders—or what the Church calls unbelievers: STORIES!

Jesus’ #1 Method of Evangelism is NOT teaching, or preaching, or Bible studies, or evangelistic meetings, but STORIES!

Jesus says this is the tool He uses to plant seeds in people’s hearts and minds that, when watered, will “nudge them toward receptive insight”—that “Aha” light-bulb above the head moment when they get an insight, and then want more. Then, when they are ready, that is the time for the teaching and preaching and Bible studies and meetings—what the verse calls “sorting out” and “untying”. What we would call in the modern vernacular “unpacking”.

FIRST, the seed is the stories. Oh my goodness! For so many years we the Church have been doing Evangelism wrong—backwards!! Not only that but look how it says Jesus “fit the stories to their experience and maturity.” He was catering His stories to their level of understanding—meeting them “right where they where at”!! This is genius! How have we missed this? Where is the Theological Teaching on this topic? Where are the books on this teaching?

I am stunned to realize this—embarrassed for myself and my Church! Again, how have we missed this? Why isn’t Story-telling the #1 focus of our Evangelism?? I feel angry about this. The Devil has so distracted us with a “cart-before-the-horse” mentality that we have totally missed this important Truth!

Now, let me take this a step further by asking you what the modern equivalent of a story is? The answer that came to my mind is: Storybooks, Songs, Plays, Podcasts, TV Shows, and Movies! Now, if what I discovered is true—that Jesus #1 Method of Evangelism is stories, then it is no wonder that we Christians are not more successful at Evangelism than we are! We are NOT using Jesus’ method!! Storybooks, Songs, Plays, Podcasts, TV Shows, and Movies ought to be the Church’s PRIMARY FOCUS when it comes to sharing the “Good News” with others!

Take a look at what is so popular right now: “Streaming Stories on the Internet!” Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Audible, iTunes, and all the regular TV channels are ALL HUGE right now with streaming. Literally billions of dollars are being invested into these services! Why? Because people LOVE stories and will gladly pay to see them or hear them or read them!

Therefore, given Jesus’ method as shown to us in Mark 4 (and, of course, the rest of the Gospels), it would seem to me that we Christians ought to be the best at this method—the leaders in the field, so to speak! But, sadly, we are not. What can be done about this? Well, as they say in 12-step, awareness is the first step. So, I am sharing this with you to bring awareness. You can share what I wrote with others to bring them awareness. We can all make an intentional effort, given this awareness, to add more STORIES into our lives as we share our lives and faith with others.

What Would Jesus Do? I’m pretty sure He would tell a story.