We are taking a closer look at evangelistic apologetics in this new series. It follows the popular series Evangelistic Apologetics – The Church Under Attack, which published as a 33-part series on FaithandSelfDefense.com from January 2014 to March 2020. That series is now available for free as a set of five eBooks.
We have completed two eBooks for our new series, Evangelistic Apologetics – A Closer Look. You can download them for free here – Part One & Part Two. The purpose of this series is to address the challenge our Lord has given us to preach the Gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). We are looking deeply into the basics of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how to share it effectively with family, friends and others God leads into our lives. We are looking at the importance of personal evangelism and how to use apologetics as we tell others of the wonderful grace of our mighty God.
The Greatest Gospel Preacher
Jesus Christ is the great preacher of the Gospel who has ever lived. We can learn much about how He preached in the four Gospel accounts: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. As we’ve seen in previous parts of this series, Jesus preached with great purpose, organization, and power. Jesus never wasted a moment of time – never wasted a Word – never wasted a movement. He was and is the Perfect God/Man. Though we are human beings and subject to so many fallacies, we can still learn from the Master about how to best use our time, talents, and energy to accomplish His will for our lives.
Jesus never compromised His Gospel. He never allowed it to be polluted, corrupted, or watered down. He never became too tired or frustrated so as to let His Gospel become less than perfect and pure. We should aim for that same thing in our lives. Let us never allow anything in life to corrupt what God has entrusted to us – His pure Gospel.
In the last part of this series we saw that Jesus preached publicly and with great conviction. We now want to see how Jesus preached with gravity, authority, and humility.
Jesus preached with Gravity
The idea of ‘gravity’ from one of the Greek words for preach (κηρύσσω) is seen in many of the places where Jesus preached His message of repentance and God’s Kingdom. The word means ‘to preach, proclaim openly as a herald, tell a message publicly and with conviction, often urging acceptance of the message, with warnings of consequences for not doing so.’
Synonyms for ‘gravity’ include –
- determination
- resolve
- intensity
- solemness
- concentration
- seriousness
- earnestness
- decisiveness
- deliberation
- purposefulness
- attentiveness
All of those describe Christ’s preaching attitude and style. We see and hear it from His first words on earth to His last –
Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. Mark 1:14-15
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8
One of the first messages Jesus preached was at the synagogue in Nazareth where He grew up. These were His neighbors and friends, but there is no mention of Him glad-handing people, making small talk, and trying to get everyone to like Him. Instead, Jesus stood up to read from the prophet Isaiah. The message was full of gravity, intensity and seriousness –
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ Luke 4:17-21
What followed was a verbal exchange between the people in the synagogue and Jesus that led the people to become so angry that they ‘thrust Him out of the city’ and tried to ‘throw Him down over the cliff.’ Jesus walked away unharmed, but He made His point. He was determined to proclaim the ‘pure’ Gospel that God had sent Him to preach. Jesus had integrity.
Jesus Preached with Authority
His authority was often challenged, but Jesus was always in charge of both His message and the outcome.
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:28-29
Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him. Mark 1:27
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. Luke 9:1
For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. John 5:26-27
For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. John 12:49
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:18-20
Notice that Jesus preached with absolute authority – authority given to Him by God the Father. When did Jesus receive that authority? From Eternity. Jesus is not a human man who God chose as He did Abraham or Moses. Jesus is the Eternal Son of God! Jesus came from Heaven to bring Good News (Gospel) to people living on earth.
And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:35-40
Jesus always spoke with authority. He spoke authoritatively to the rulers of Israel. He spoke authoritatively to the crowds. He spoke authoritatively to His disciples. He spoke authoritatively to demons. He spoke authoritatively to the devil.
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:28-29
Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him. Mark 1:27
And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours … And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. Luke 4:6-7, 12-13
After His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, Jesus told His disciples –
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus spoke with great ‘authority’ throughout His earthly ministry. He came from Heaven with that authority and He ascended back to Heaven with great authority –
… and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. Ephesians 1:19-21
Jesus Preached With Humility
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7
Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, could have entered into the world He created in any way He wanted. He could have come riding in a great chariot driven by dozens of white horses surrounded by thousands of angels. How did Jesus come from Heaven to earth? As a ‘baby.’ The Son of God/Son of Man took upon Himself human flesh. He humbled Himself, being found in appearance as a man, and was obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Jesus lived and preached ‘humility’ –
Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29
Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ Matthew 21:5
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:14
To be ‘humble’ (ταπεινόω) is to be made ‘low’ or demonstrate ‘lowliness.’ To be ‘meek’ (πραΰς) is to be ‘mild, gentle.’ Synonyms for ‘humility’ include –
- meekness
- lowliness
- submissiveness
How does Christ’s ‘humility’ blend with His ‘gravity’ and ‘authority?’ Though Jesus was co-equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, Christ came to do the ‘will’ of His Father. He was meek and lowly – submitting to His Father –
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:38
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. John 17:1-5
The ‘Why’ Question
It’s important that we remember ‘why’ Jesus preached publicly and with great conviction, gravity, authority, and humility. The Son of God came from Heaven to accomplish several things that He and the Father and Spirit determined in Eternity.
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8)
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth because “so loved the world” (John 3:16)
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10)
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth “to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15)
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth “to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45)
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth “To do Your will, O God.’” (Hebrews 10:7)
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth as “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:32) - Jesus came from Heaven to earth to “bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37)
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth to be “our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” (Ephesians 2:14-16)
- Jesus came from Heaven to earth to preach “peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:17-18)
Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God. Jesus shares all of the attributes of God, including love, compassion, kindness, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Jesus Christ will also ‘judge’ the nations and every human who has ever lived or will live. Jesus took the ‘judgment’ of God’s wrath for humans on Himself when He died on the Cross. The ‘judge’ Himself paid the penalty for sin. This is the time for sinners to look to Jesus, repent of their sin, and turn to Him for eternal life.
Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Acts 17:29-31
eBook
You can download a free eBook of Chapters One – Five of this study here. Please share with family and friends as God leads.
You can download a free eBook of Chapters Six – Twelve of this study here. Please share with family and friends as God leads.
Next Time
Jesus called His disciples to ‘follow’ Him. Did they? Did they preach the ‘pure’ Gospel? Did they preach publicly, with great conviction, gravity, authority, and humility? We’ll see in the next part of our special series, Evangelistic Apologetics – A Closer Look.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Faith and Self Defense © 2026
Faith & Self Defense 