“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

“Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2, 7-8 NIV

As Christians, we have all probably had our fair share of mixed reactions to the faith we proclaim. Some people are happy for us, encouraging (even if they don’t believe on their own) and they are content to know that we have a personal faith that we cling to every day. And then on the other hand there are people that instantly throw up walls, get their verbal assault weapons ready and settle in for a conflict the moment we mention His Name.

I have worked with, shared with and witnessed to both sides of that reaction. I have also experienced plenty of indifference to faith as well. But when it’s all said and done, I still see two basic camps when it comes to reactions to Jesus. Most of the indifferent people are only indifferent to a point, and the moment they begin to recognize that you are trying to have a conversation with them at length about Jesus, their indifference quickly switches to an attempt to shut down that topic. So, no one is permanently indifferent to Jesus. Everyone must take their stand with or for Him at some point.

Neither group mentioned here in Matthew 2 were baptized believers or followers of Jesus Christ. Neither one were seeking to surrender their lives to Him, but they both had a very different reaction to His presence in the world.

The ‘wise men’ came to Him recognizing that He was significant, that a sign had been given for His arrival and that He was worth paying attention to and worshipping. Did they understand the fullness of who they were visiting? Probably not, but their hearts were open to the idea of Him and so they gave Him a dedicated effort.

Herod, on the other hand, was instantly defensive. He was offended by the mention of His existence and He saw Him as a threat to His own power and position. He had no concern for his nation or his people or for the role of the Messiah. He just wanted Him out of the picture. He reacted from paranoia and fear. There was no room in his heart for even the thought of Him existing.

These reactions aren’t all that different from what we encounter as Christians on a day to day basis. Some people will entertain a conversation about Jesus, others get short with us and say things like, ‘I don’t do “Jesus.”‘ I have had protracted conversations with atheists, Buddhists, animists, wiccans and plenty of agnostics about Jesus and those were all people who had a willingness to carry the conversation. I ahv also had some of the most difficult conversations with people who have claimed to go to church as a child, but now want nothing to do with Jesus.

The long and short of it is this:
For those of us who claim Christ, there is no excuse for not making the effort to share Him with others because we are concerned about how people are going to react. We cannot live in fear of the commission given to us to ‘Go.’ We have been sent in the authority of Jesus Christ to spread and share the best news the world has ever heard. And we must remember that if people reject what we have to say about Jesus, that they are rejecting Him first. Jesus promised us that the world didn’t like Him, and that they wouldn’t really treat us any different. So if you get a positive reaction to your faith, run with it. Share Jesus with them, and make the most of every moment you have to share the truth of the Gospel in love with them.

If they shut you down at the first hint of ‘religious’ conversation, then know that the soil there is hard packed and rocky and that it’s not your fault that they aren’t willing to listen.

Simply do what you know you have been called to do. Do it out of love. Do it out of concern and compassion. Do it out of joy and obedience, (There is such a thing as joyful obedience, you know.)

Go and love the lost for Christ. GoLove them without being worried for yourself or the reaction you don’t even know they’ll give when you begin to share the hope you’ve found. We have all been given our ‘talent’ to invest for our Master, and I for one don’t want to simply bury it in the dirt and hope for the best.