As Catholics, we are called to evangelize for Jesus. People have been giving testimony about Jesus Christ being the Son of God for over two thousand years. Even before Jesus was crucified for our sins and rose from the dead, people were evangelizing for Him in the Gospel.
1. Andrew, the Brother of Simon Peter, Evangelized for Jesus in the Gospel.
The two disciples…followed Jesus. Andrew first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). John 1:37; 41-42
Andrew Accepts Jesus in His Heart.
Before Andrew began evangelizing for Jesus, he had to first spend time with Jesus. He experienced the divine life of Jesus at a personal level that changed him forever.
Jesus: “What are you looking for?“
Andrew: “Rabbi (teacher), where are you staying?“
Jesus: “Come, and you will see.“
Andrew Evangelizes Peter About Jesus.
The Gospel goes on to say that Andrew and an unnamed disciple (probably St. John) spent the whole day with Jesus at His abode. What a blessing that must have been!
Upon leaving, the first person Andrew evangelized was his brother.
Simon Peter, who eventually became St. Peter, the rock, the first pope, and a faithful leader of the Catholic Church, was evangelized by his brother, Andrew.
2. Philip, the Brother of Nathaniel, Evangelized for Jesus in the Gospel.
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” John 1:43-46
Jesus Calls Philip to be His Disciple.
Jesus takes the initiative to call Philip to be His disciple. In the scenario with Andrew, it was John the Baptist who gave testimony to Andrew and an unnamed disciple to follow Jesus, and they did. God calls each of us to Him in His own Way.
Philip Evangelizes Nathaniel About Jesus.
Philip knew that Jesus was the son of Joseph from Nazareth. He also knew in his heart that Jesus was the Son of God. Just as we learn about who Jesus is in the Gospel, Jesus revealed who He was to Philip while Philip followed Him along the Way.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. John 14:6
Philip tells the good news to his brother, Nathaniel. Although Nathaniel initially resists Philip’s invitation to meet Jesus, Philip persists and wins him over.
Nathaniel: Can anything good come from Nazareth?
Philip: Come and see.
3. The Samaritan Woman at the Well Evangelized for Jesus in the Gospel.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:7; 9-10
Jesus Calls the Samaritan Woman to Conversion.
Jesus converses with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well during midday. It is a moving passage in the Gospel, and it is the longest conversation someone has with Jesus in the Gospel. Jesus reveals that He knows everything about the Samaritan woman.
Jesus: “Go call your husband and come back.“
Samaritan Woman: “I do not have a husband.“
Jesus: “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband’. For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband…”
The Samaritan Woman Evangelizes Her Town and Neighbors About Jesus.
The Samaritan woman, who went to the well by herself to draw water during the midday heat to avoid the company of the other women there that morning, seeks to evangelize those same people in her town after she experienced a personal encounter with the merciful Jesus at the well. She even left her water jar in her zeal to evangelize.
The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?” They went out of the town and came to Him. John 4:28-30
What Does it Mean to Evangelize?
When you evangelize for Jesus you are proclaiming to others that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. You are giving testimony to people that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He is worth living for, and that He loves us more than we can ever possibly imagine.
“If you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because He himself is the Way.
If you are looking for a goal, hold fast to Christ, because He himself is the truth, where we desire to be.
If you are looking for a resting place, hold fast to Christ, because He himself is the life.” + St. Thomas Aquinas
