Sometimes God asks people to share the good news about Jesus with a difficult audience. The listeners might resist God's truth and reject both the message and the messenger. This was especially true for the Old Testament prophets, who often shared messages that people did not want to hear (see Jeremiah 26:7–9; 38:1–6; Amos 7:10–13).
The prophet Malachi preached to a difficult audience. His congregation included people who were:
disappointed (Malachi 1:2)
uncaring (2:13–16)
dishonest (3:5)
disinterested (3:14–15)
doubting, skeptical, and the truly wicked (see 4:1)
What should a preacher say to such a group?
Malachi used conversation to engage his audience in a series of debates. The prophet gave a strong correction that cleverly answered the objections people might raise before they could speak. His message was powerful and made people pay attention: “those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them” (Malachi 3:16).
Like the prophets, both Jesus and his followers shared messages with audiences who resisted them (see, for example, Luke 4:16–30; John 10:22–40; Acts 5:26–40; 22:30–23:10). Yet, this resistance did not stop them from fulfilling their God-given duty to share the good news about Jesus (see Acts 5:41–42). Those who preach the Lord's message can hope for a positive response like Malachi did. But, that is not always guaranteed.
Passages for Further Study
Genesis 19:6–11; Exodus 17:1–13; Judges 9:1–21; 1 Kings 22:8–28; Jeremiah 28:1–17; Malachi 3:14–18; John 10:24–39; Acts 22:30–23:10