Bible Studies
Jesus, The Great MissionaryJohn Reid
In my former article we saw that in God's great purposes he had a missionary purpose. God is the God
of Mission. He sent his word, his law, his prophets,
his angels and then above all he sent his son. The author of the letter to
the Hebrews actually called Jesus a missionary. In chaper 3:1 he was described
as an apostle which can be translated as missionary.
Jesus maintained the priority of Israel as he commenced his mission:
a. To the woman in John 4:22 he said 'salvation is of the Jews'.
b. To his disciples (in Matthew 10:5,6) he gave instructions to bypass the gentiles and the samaritans and 'go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel'.
c. He stated the magnetism in mission of allegiance of strangers to the Jewish patriarchs (Matthew 8:11).
Look it up: Hebrews 3:1 - John 4:22 - Matthew 10:5,6 - Matthew 8:11
Jesus nevertheless balanced the claims of the Jew with needs of the whole world:
a. In John 10:16 he is the shepherd to other sheep than the Jewish fold.
b. The world rather than Israel is the sphere of his mission (Matthew 13:38).
c. Using the symbol of light for revelation of the truth he stated that he was the light of the world (John 8:12).
Therefore it was no surprise to read in the gospels that often the samaritans are the heroes and it is a Roman centurion who received positive affirmation about the reality of his faith (Luke 7:1-10).
Look it up: John 10:16 - Matthew 13:38 - John 8:12 - Luke 7:1-10
It was the gentile response to the initial mission of Jesus that made him aware that unique work as servant and son was soon to begin. The cross was the next step.
See: John 12:20,23,32
Jesus was a superb team leader in the discharge of his mission.
a. He sent out 12 disciples. Matt 10:1,5
b. He sent out 70 disciples Luke 10:1 He prayed
for them, he taught them and he allowed them to see him in action. They
saw the way he used the Old Testament scriptures. Then he delegated. It was
real delegation and they were for a time on their own. There were some things
that only Jesus could do. The rest he delegated.
Look it up: Matthew 10:1,5 - Luke 10:1
After the cross and the consequent resurrection the mission of Jesus took its permanent form. Luke 24.36-49
a. There is no doubt that the mission is universal: verse 47.
b. The movement to Jerusalem is completely reversed: verse 47.
c. The message to be proclaimed was repentance and forgiveness. The death and the resurrection and the message were to be understood in the light of the Old Testament scriptures: verse 44.
d. There was one more event to occur if the mission of Jesus was to be effective. The gift of the Spirit was to be given. All they had to do was to wait.
So the missionary work of Jesus would now get truly underway. At its heart would be two great realities. The word of Jesus and the spirit of Jesus are the instruments by which Jesus continues to come to us.
See Part 1 of this Series: Mission in the Old Testament; and Part 3: Paul, the Cross-Cultural Missionary.
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