"Into All the World"

Jesus came with a really big idea! His contemporaries were hoping that God would send his Messiah to liberate the nation of Israel from their Roman oppressors and then rule as the earthly King of Israel. Granted, that would have been a history-making feat. But Jesus had a much bigger idea than that.

The religious people in Jesus’ day were looking for a righteous, spiritual leader who would be an instrument of cleansing in Israel, who would return a generation back to intimacy with God. To this day religious folks tend to see Jesus as a great teacher, a religious genius, a holy guru, sent to teach us how to live a full life (or even how to ascend through levels of spirituality culminating in some kind of divinity). But Jesus came with a much bigger idea.

Jesus came with his sight fixed on “the world.” Jesus had a vision for making disciples of nations. Jesus saw all humanity reconciled to God. He made that clear with his last words, his “Great Commission.” There are five versions of the commission, each one providing unique insights into the mission Jesus came to accomplish:

1.   Matthew 28:18-20, the commission to make disciples of all nations

2.   Mark 16:15-18, the commandment to go into all the world

3.   Luke 24:45-49, the prediction that the Gospel would be preached to all nations

4.   John 20:21-23, Jesus sending his disciples to carry on his mission

5.   Acts 1:5-8, a description of the church’s Spirit-empowered mission

The words of Jesus in Acts 1:8 are very interesting. It was the intention of Jesus that his followers be “witnesses” of all he was and did, and that their witness would extend to every corner of the planet:

1.  In Jerusalem, in the urban and religious center of Israel. A Gospel witness was to be provided, not just in the disciples’ home towns, but in the center and capitol of their culture. Our Jerusalem would not be LaGrange (Nazareth, Capernaum) so much as it would be Atlanta. This obviously includes our local community of LaGrange that falls somewhere within the sphere of our urban center.

2.  In Judea, in the region surrounding Jerusalem. Most of the people living in Israel lived on farms or in small villages. A strategy for reaching their society could not be limited to larger cities; everyone needed to see and hear a Gospel witness. For us, it’s not just citizens in our city but also those out in the country (even Booger Hollow, Alabama).

3.  In Samaria, those other people on the other side of the tracks. Everyone needs to feel that they are superior to someone. For those in Jerusalem and Judea (and even Galilee) it was Samaria. It was considered immoral to even share food or drink with a Samaritan. The two societies were kept completely segregated. (As a result, the Samaritans were not big fans of the Judeans either.) Observant Jews wouldn’t even walk through an area inhabited by Samaritans but insisted on walking around it. In our own area there are various cultures, some of which are under-valued or under-appreciated. Special effort needs to be made to provide a Gospel witness to every people group in our world, and especially to those who might be left out otherwise.

4.  To the ends of the earth, to every human person on the planet. Everyone is to be given a clear Gospel witness; every person is to be given an opportunity to hear and respond to the Good News about Jesus.

Acts 1:8 seems to describe a series of concentric circles, a ministry priority list. However, the language of the text describes a simultaneous witness that includes next door neighbors as well as people we may never meet. A literal translation of the verse would read (awkwardly) like this: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem – all Judea/Samaria – the end of the earth.” There is one Kingdom mission that literally touches every area of human habitation and enterprise. It would be inaccurate to conclude that when we have fulfilled the mission to Jerusalem we can then move on to Judea, maybe find some time to address the needs of Samaria, and support the missionaries who are concerned about everyone else. Because the mission of God has been passed on to us, we see the Kingdom of God coming to every corner of the earth. Our mission is both local and global.

We are concerned about the fact that there are still “unreached people groups” in the world. A “people group” is an ethnic group that shares a common culture and language. Currently missiologists have identified 16,598 people groups in the world. Of these, 7,165 are “unreached,” i.e., “there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group” (joshuaproject.net). 41.5% of the world’s population, or 2.87 billion people, have no ongoing Gospel witness in their communities. In other words, there is no Jerusalem or Judea or Samaria for these people; they are only the ends of the earth.

We are those who have accepted the missional baton passed on to the followers of Jesus. And that means we have accepted that the mission is both local and global. We have a heart and a commitment to our Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, but we also share a passion for those who will never hear the Good News unless someone takes it to them. Our challenge is to find creative and effective ways to participate in the whole mission of God.