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. Kor 15,1-5; Apg 5,31; Lukas 24,46-48; Johannes 3,16; Mt 28,19-20; Mk 1,14-15; Apg 8,12; 28,30-31).

The words of Jesus to his followers after his resurrection

The expression "the Great Commission" usually refers to Jesus' words in Matthäus 28,18-20“And Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

All power is given to me in heaven and on earth

Jesus is “Lord over all” (Apg 10,36)...and he is first in everything (Kol 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 mission of other religions does not recognize His supremacy, and therefore they do not do God's work. Any branch of Christianity that does not place Christ first in its practices and teachings is not the work of God. Before His ascension to the Father in heaven, Jesus made the prophecy: “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Apg 1,8)The work of the Holy Spirit in mission is to lead believers to bear witness to 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. 

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

God sends his angels to do his will (1Mo 24,7; Mt 13,41 and many other places), and he sends his Holy Spirit in the name of the Son (Joh 14,26; 15,26; Lk 24,49The Father will “send Jesus Christ” at the time when everything is restored. (Apg 3,20-21).

Jesus also sent out his disciples (Mt 10,5)And he explained that, just as the Father sent him into the world, so he, Jesus, sends believers into the world. (Joh 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 Father's work as his ambassadors. The Book of Acts is the testimony of missionary work as the gospel spread throughout the then-known world. Believers are "ambassadors for Christ." (2Kor 5,20). sent out to represent him before all peoples.

The New Testament church was the church on a mission. One of the problems in the church today is that churchgoers “view mission as one of its many functions rather than its defining center” (Murray, 2004:135). They often distance themselves from mission by “transferring this task to specialized bodies instead of equipping all members as missionaries” (ibid.). Instead of Isaiah’s response, “Here I am, send me,” (Jes 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 linked to the concept of attraction. Other nations would be so aroused by the magnetic event of God's intervention that they would strive to "taste and see that the Lord is good." (Ps 34,8).

The model incorporates the call to "Come," as depicted in the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. "And when the Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon, she came...to Jerusalem...And Solomon answered her everything, and there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not tell her...and he said to the king, 'It is true what I heard in my own land about your deeds and your wisdom.'" (1 Kön 10,1-7)The essential concept in this report is to draw people to a central point so that the truth and answers can be explained. Some churches practice such a model today. It has some validity, 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” – thus Mark, the first author of the Gospel, establishes the context of the New Testament church. (Mk 1,1)It's all about the Gospel, the good news, and Christians are supposed to have "fellowship in the Gospel". (Phil 1,5)This means 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 unbelievers.

Just as some were occasionally drawn to Israel because of its fleeting fame, so too were many drawn to Jesus Christ because of his popular fame and charisma. “And news of him spread immediately throughout all Galilee.” (Mk 1,28)Jesus said, “Come to me.” (Mt 11,28), and “Follow me!” (Mt 9,9)The model of salvation through coming and following is still valid. It is Jesus who has the words of life. (Joh 6,68).

Why mission?

Mark explains that Jesus “came to Galilee and preached the gospel of the kingdom of God” (Mk 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 planted in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” (Lk 13,18-19)The idea is that the tree is big enough for all birds, not just one specific species.

The church is not exclusive, as the assembly in Israel was. It is inclusive, and the message of the gospel is not just for us. We are to be its witnesses “to the ends of the earth.” (Apg 1,8)“God sent his Son” for us so that we could be adopted as his children through redemption. (Gal 4,4)The redeeming mercy of God through Christ is not only for us alone, “but for the whole world.” (1Joh 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 humanity, "Yes, I am here and yes, I want to save you."

This sending out into the world is not merely a task to be completed. It is a relationship with Jesus, who sends us to share with others "the goodness of God that leads to repentance." (Röm 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." (2Kor 5,14)Mission begins at home. Everything we do is connected to the work of God, who “sent the Spirit into our hearts.” (Gal 4,6)We are sent by God to our spouses, our families, our parents, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and those we meet on the street—to everyone everywhere.

The early church saw its purpose in participating in the Great Commission. Paul considered those who were without "the word of the cross" to be people who would be lost if the gospel were not preached to them. (1Kor 1,18)Regardless of whether people respond to the gospel or not, believers should be the "fragrance of Christ" wherever they go. (2Kor 2,15)Paul is so concerned that people hear the gospel that he considers its spread a responsibility. He says, “For I have no right to boast about preaching the gospel, because I am obliged to do it. And woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1Kor 9,16)He indicates that he is “indebted to Greeks and non-Greeks, to the wise and the unwise…to preach the gospel.” (Röm 1,14-15).

Paul expressed the desire to do the work of Christ from a place of hopeful gratitude, “because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” (Röm 5,5)For him, being an apostle is a privilege of grace, that is, someone who is “sent out,” as we all are, to do the work of Christ. “Christianity is missionary by its very nature, or it denies its raison d’être,” that is, its entire purpose in life (Bosch 1991, 2000:9).

opportunities

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

The Christian message was not welcome. The faithful, like Paul, were “distressed on all sides, but not afraid…they were perplexed, but not discouraged…they were persecuted, but not forsaken.” (2Kor 4,8-9)Sometimes entire groups of believers have turned their backs on the Gospel. (2Tim 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 into opportunities for the gospel, beginning with Peter's preaching in Apostelgeschichte 2 The Spirit seized opportunities for Christ. These are compared to doors for faith. (Apg 14,27; 1Kor 16,9; Kol 4,3).

Men and women began to spread the gospel with boldness. People like Philip in Apostelgeschichte 8 and Paul, Silas, Timothy, Aquila and Priscilla in Apostelgeschichte 18, when they founded the church in Corinth. Whatever the believers did, they did it as "workers in the gospel." (Phil 4,3).

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

The Acts of the Apostles ends with Paul giving the Great Commission of... Matthäus 28 fulfilled: “He preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” (Apg 28,31)It represents an example of the church of the future – a church on a mission.

Summary:

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