Theme of Missions in the NT
Theme of Missions in the NT
God has always been a God concerned with missions. In the Old Testament His desire was for Israel to share Him with the entire world. Israel was not interested in this mission. They grew to hate the pagan world. God himself came to earth in the form of man to be a mission-model for us. Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He then required all who followed him as a disciple to do the same. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 4:19 to “come, follow me and I will send you out to fish for people.”
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He taught his disciples that they were to be the Salt of the earth and the light of the world. In other words, they were to be different than the world, yet in the world. Over 30 times in the gospels Jesus told his disciples to “follow” Him. He required a great deal from His disciples. They had to put Him first and foremost. He told a rich young ruler wanted to become a follower to sell everything he had and come follow him. Jesus required that his disciples were to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him (Matthew 10:38 and 16:24). Many thought the cost was too great and the gate too narrow. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13 that we are to “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
The mission of the New Testament was that the “gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). The end of age cannot take place until the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached throughout the entire world.
Jesus gave us his Great Commission before His Ascension. This is what our mission is to be as disciples of Jesus Christ: “Then 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
God has always been a God concerned with missions. In the Old Testament His desire was for Israel to share Him with the entire world. Israel was not interested in this mission. They grew to hate the pagan world. God himself came to earth in the form of man to be a mission-model for us. Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He then required all who followed him as a disciple to do the same. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 4:19 to “come, follow me and I will send you out to fish for people.”
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He taught his disciples that they were to be the Salt of the earth and the light of the world. In other words, they were to be different than the world, yet in the world. Over 30 times in the gospels Jesus told his disciples to “follow” Him. He required a great deal from His disciples. They had to put Him first and foremost. He told a rich young ruler wanted to become a follower to sell everything he had and come follow him. Jesus required that his disciples were to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him (Matthew 10:38 and 16:24). Many thought the cost was too great and the gate too narrow. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13 that we are to “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
The mission of the New Testament was that the “gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). The end of age cannot take place until the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached throughout the entire world.
Jesus gave us his Great Commission before His Ascension. This is what our mission is to be as disciples of Jesus Christ: “Then 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
Cited: Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1993. 111-154. Print. Guthrie, Stan. Missions in the Third Millennium. eBook.