What is the big mission command?

The gospel is the good news of salvation through God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the message that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and then appeared to his disciples. The gospel is the good news that we can enter the kingdom of God through the saving work of Jesus Christ (1. Corinthians 15,1-5; Acts of the Apostles 5,31; Luke 24,46-48; John 3,16; Matthew 28,19-20; Mark 1,14-15; Acts of the Apostles 8,12; 28,30-31).

The words of Jesus to his followers after his resurrection

The phrase "the great commission" usually refers to Jesus' words in Matthew 28,18-20: “And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all the peoples: baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to keep all that I have commanded you. And see, I am with you every day until the end of the world. "

All power is given to me in heaven and on earth

Jesus is “Lord over all” (Acts 10,36) and he is first in everything (Colossians 1,18 f.). If churches and believers get involved in mission or evangelism or whatever the common term, and do it without Jesus, it will be fruitless.

The missions of other religions do not recognize his supremacy and therefore they do not do God's work. Any branch of Christianity that does not put Christ first in its practices and teachings is not the work of God. Before His ascension to Heavenly Father, Jesus prophesied: "...you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses" (Acts 1,8). The work of the Holy Spirit in mission is to lead believers to bear testimony of Jesus Christ.

God sending

In Christian circles, "mission" has acquired a variety of meanings. Sometimes it referred to a building, sometimes to a ministry in a foreign country, sometimes to the planting of new congregations, etc. In church history, "mission" was a theological concept of how God sent his Son, and how the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit.
The English word "mission" has a Latin root. It comes from "missio" which means "I send". Therefore, mission refers to the work that someone or a group is sent to do.
The concept of "sending" is essential to a biblical theology of the nature of God. God is the God who sends out. 

"Who should I send? Who wants to be our messenger?" asks the voice of the Lord. God sent Moses to Pharaoh, Elijah and the other prophets to Israel, and John the Baptist to testify of the light of Christ (John 1,6-7), who was himself sent by the “living Father” for the salvation of the world (John 4,34; 6,57).

God sends his angels to do his will (1. Moses 24,7; Matthew 13,41 and many other passages), and he sends his Holy Spirit in the name of the Son (John 14,26; 15,26; Luke 24,49). The Father will "send Jesus Christ" at the time when all things are restored" (Acts 3,20-21).

Jesus also sent out his disciples (Matthew 10,5), and he explained that just as the Father sent him into the world, so he, Jesus, sends the believers into the world (John 17,18). All believers are sent out by Christ. We are on a mission for God, and as such we are His missionaries. The New Testament Church clearly understood this and carried out the work of the Father as His ambassadors. The book of Acts is the testimony of missionary work as the gospel spread throughout the known world. Believers are called “ambassadors for Christ” (2. Corinthians 5,20) sent out to represent him before all peoples.

The New Testament Church was the missionary church. One of the problems in the church today is that churchgoers "see mission as one of its many functions rather than as its defining center" (Murray, 2004:135). They often distance themselves from mission by delegating this task to "specialized bodies instead of equipping all members as missionaries" (ibid.). Instead of Isaiah's reply, "Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6,9) the often unspoken answer is: “Here I am! Send someone else.”

An Old Testament model

The work of God in the Old Testament is associated with the idea of ​​attraction. Other peoples would be so startled by the magnetic event of God's intervention that they would strive to "taste and see how kind the Lord is" (Psalm 34,8).

The model includes the call "Come" as depicted in the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. "And when the queen of Sheba heard the news of Solomon, she came...to Jerusalem...And Solomon answered her all things, and nothing was hidden from the king that he could not tell her...and said to the king: It is true what I have heard in my land of your works and of your wisdom" (1 Kings 10,1-7). The main concept in this report is to draw people to a central point so that the truth and answers can be clarified. Some churches now practice such a model. It is partially valid, but it is not a complete model.

Ordinarily, Israel is not sent outside its own borders to bear witness to God's glory. "It was not commissioned to go to the Gentiles and declare the revealed truth committed to God's people" (Peters 1972:21). When God wants Jonah to send a message of repentance to the non-Israelite residents of Nineveh, Jonah is horrified. Such an approach is unique (read the story of this mission in the Book of Jonah. It remains instructive for us today).

New Testament models

“This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” – this is how Mark, the first author of the gospel, establishes the context of the New Testament church (Mark 1,1). It's all about the gospel, the good news, and Christians are to have "fellowship in the gospel" (Philippians 1,5), meaning they live and share the good news of salvation in Christ. The term "gospel" is rooted in this - the idea of ​​spreading the good news, proclaiming salvation to the unbelievers.

Just as some have occasionally been drawn to Israel because of her short-lived fame, so, in contrast, many have been drawn to Jesus Christ because of his popular fame and charisma. "And immediately the news of him spread throughout all the land of Galilee (Mark 1,28). Jesus said, "Come to me" (Matthew 11,28), and “Follow me” (Matthew 9,9). The model of salvation of coming and following is still in force. It is Jesus who has words of life (John 6,68).

Why mission?

Mark explains that Jesus “came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (Mark 1,14). The kingdom of God is not exclusive. Jesus told his disciples that “the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air dwelt in its branches" (Luke 1 Cor3,18-19). The idea is that the tree should be big enough for all birds, not just one species.

The church is not exclusive like the congregation in Israel was. It is inclusive, and the gospel message is not just for us. We are to be his witnesses "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1,8). "God sent his son" for us to be adopted as his children through redemption (Galatians 4,4). The redeeming mercy of God through Christ is not for us alone, "but for the whole world" (1. John 2,2). We who are God's children are sent into the world as witnesses of His grace. Mission means that God says "yes" to mankind, "yes I am here and yes I want to save you."

This sending out into the world is not just a task to be accomplished. It is a relationship with Jesus, who sends us to share with others "the goodness of God which leads to repentance" (Romans 2,4). It is Christ's compassionate agape love within us that motivates us to share the gospel of love with others. "The love of Christ compels us" (2. Corinthians 5,14). Mission starts at home. Everything we do is linked to the act of God, who "sent the Spirit into our hearts" (Galatians 4,6). We are sent by God to our spouses, families, parents, friends, neighbors, work colleagues and those we meet on the street, to everyone everywhere.

The early church saw its purpose in participation in the Great Commission. Paul viewed those who are without "the word of the cross" as people who will perish unless the gospel is preached to them (1. Corinthians 1,18). Regardless of whether people respond to the gospel or not, believers are to be the "savour of Christ" wherever they go (2. Corinthians 2,15). Paul is so concerned about people hearing the gospel that he sees spreading it as a responsibility. He says: “For in preaching the gospel I ought not to boast; because I have to do it. And woe to me if I don't preach the gospel!" (1. Corinthians 9,16). He indicates that he is "indebted to Greeks and non-Greeks, to the wise and to the unwise....to preach the gospel" (Romans 1,14-15).

Paul desires to do the work of Christ from an attitude of hope-filled gratitude, “because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5,5). For him it is a privilege of grace to be an apostle, that is, one who is "sent out," as we are all, to do the work of Christ. “Christianity is missionary in nature or it denies its raison d'etre”, ie its whole purpose (Bosch 1991, 2000:9).

opportunities

Like many societies today, the world at the time of Acts was hostile to the gospel. “But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1. Corinthians 1,23).

The Christian message was not welcome. The faithful, like Paul, were "hard pressed on every side, but not afraid...they were afraid, but they did not despair...they were persecuted, but not forsaken" (2. Corinthians 4,8-9). Sometimes entire groups of believers have turned their backs on the gospel (2. Timothy 1,15).

It was not easy being sent into the world. Usually, Christians and churches exist somewhere "between danger and opportunity" (Bosch 1991, 2000:1).
By recognizing and seizing opportunities, the Church began to grow in numbers and spiritual maturity. She was not afraid to be provocative.

The Holy Spirit led believers in gospel opportunities. Starting with Peter's preaching in Acts 2, the Spirit seized opportunities for Christ. These are compared to doors for faith (Acts 1 Cor4,27; 1. Corinthians 16,9; Colossians 4,3).

Men and women began to share the gospel with boldness. People like Philip in Acts 8 and Paul, Silas, Timothy, Aquila and Priscilla in Acts 18 when they planted the church in Corinth. Whatever the believers did, they did it as "collaborators in the gospel" (Philippians 4,3).

Just as Jesus was sent to become one of us so that people might be saved, so believers were sent for the sake of the gospel to "become all things to all," to share the good news with the whole world (1. Corinthians 9,22).

The book of Acts ends with Paul fulfilling the great commission of Matthew 28: "He preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness" (Acts 28,31). It is an example of the church of the future - a church on a mission.

ending

The great mission command is to continue the proclamation of the gospel of Christ. We are all sent into the world by Him, just as Christ was sent by the Father. This indicates a church full of active believers who are doing the business of the Father.

by James Henderson