Who is My Mission?
This passage tells us how the Church was empowered to do that by the work of the Holy Spirit. We often call the Holy Spirit the Comforter. That word goes back to the translation by John Wyclif, made in the fourteenth century; but in Wyclif’s day it had a different meaning. It comes from the Latin fortis, which means brave; the Comforter is the one who fills people with courage and with strength. In the book of Acts, indeed all through the New Testament, it is very difficult to draw a line between the work of the Spirit and the work of the risen Christ; and we do not need to do so, for the coming of the Spirit is the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus: ‘And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20).
The power of the Spirit was going to make them Christ’s witnesses. That witness was to operate in an ever-extending series of concentric circles—first in Jerusalem, then throughout Judaea; then Samaria, the semi-Jewish state, would be a kind of bridge leading out into the world beyond Israel; and finally this witness was to go out to the ends of the earth.
Let us note certain things about this Christian witness. First, a witness is someone who says: ‘I know this is true.’ In a court of law, hearsay is not accepted as evidence; witnesses must give an account of their own personal experiences. A witness does not say ‘I think so’, but ‘I know.’
Second, the real witness is not of words but of deeds. When the journalist Sir Henry Morton Stanley had discovered David Livingstone in central Africa and had spent some time with him, he said: ‘If I had been with him any longer, I would have been compelled to be a Christian—and he never spoke to me about it at all.’ The witness of Livingstone’s life was irresistible.
Third, in Greek, the word for witness and the word for martyr is the same (martus). A witness had to be ready to become a martyr. To be a witness means to be loyal whatever the cost.
Mission is the reason the Church exists and the Church joins Jesus on His mission. And, this mission is from everywhere to everywhere.
Christians are to be both engaged in missions—the international pursuit to preach the gospel to all corners of the earth—and be missional each and every day. Being missional conveys the idea of living on a purposeful, biblical mission.
The Great Commission Points Us to Missions in the Nations
Many Christians embrace one particular commission of Jesus without considering the context of Jesus’ original audience or His other commissions. It’s helpful to understand the Great Commission (Matt 28:16–20) in light of the context in which the commission was given.
For example, many of us are familiar with what has traditionally been termed the Pauline approach to missions: go out and plant churches. It’s derived from the life of Paul, building upon Jesus’ command to be witnesses in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). But it is also closely related to Matthew 28 and Jesus’ command to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” In a sense, Paul personified the Great Commission in his ministry. Jesus’ original hearers understood that, in giving the Great Commission, Jesus was making a paradigm shift in regard to missions.
The Old Testament depicts a clear God-given vision—that the nations would come to Jerusalem to worship with the one, true God. It was a very centripetal mission—from the edges (the nations) to the center (the temple in Jerusalem; e.g., Isa 2:1–5). Jesus is explaining that now His people need to go out and that He will go with them (compare John 14:15–31).
Jesus’ earliest followers understood that the Great Commission meant more than simply telling their neighbor about Christ because they went far beyond next door. The Great Commission includes your neighbor, but the context was much more than your neighbor.
Acts 1:8 is literally lived out in the book of Acts. It points out that something has changed—the mission is no longer centripetal but centrifugal. So, rather than bringing the nations up to Jerusalem, the people went out from Jerusalem. They went out from Jerusalem to Judaea, Samaria, and the ends of their earth.
The Great Commission is the backbone of the missions movement and expresses God’s expressed desire to be praised by everyone, all over the world. But God still desires us to reach our neighbor.
Empowered by God through the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses.
Enabled by God to Proclaim His Word to all people everywhere.
Mission is the reason the Church exists and the Church joins Jesus on His mission. And, this mission is from everywhere to everywhere.
Christians are to be both engaged in missions—the international pursuit to preach the gospel to all corners of the earth—and be missional each and every day. Being missional conveys the idea of living on a purposeful, biblical mission.
The Great Commission Points Us to Missions in the Nations
Many Christians embrace one particular commission of Jesus without considering the context of Jesus’ original audience or His other commissions. It’s helpful to understand the Great Commission (Matt 28:16–20) in light of the context in which the commission was given.
For example, many of us are familiar with what has traditionally been termed the Pauline approach to missions: go out and plant churches. It’s derived from the life of Paul, building upon Jesus’ command to be witnesses in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). But it is also closely related to Matthew 28 and Jesus’ command to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” In a sense, Paul personified the Great Commission in his ministry. Jesus’ original hearers understood that, in giving the Great Commission, Jesus was making a paradigm shift in regard to missions.
The Old Testament depicts a clear God-given vision—that the nations would come to Jerusalem to worship with the one, true God. It was a very centripetal mission—from the edges (the nations) to the center (the temple in Jerusalem; e.g., Isa 2:1–5). Jesus is explaining that now His people need to go out and that He will go with them (compare John 14:15–31).
Jesus’ earliest followers understood that the Great Commission meant more than simply telling their neighbor about Christ because they went far beyond next door. The Great Commission includes your neighbor, but the context was much more than your neighbor.
Acts 1:8 is literally lived out in the book of Acts. It points out that something has changed—the mission is no longer centripetal but centrifugal. So, rather than bringing the nations up to Jerusalem, the people went out from Jerusalem. They went out from Jerusalem to Judaea, Samaria, and the ends of their earth.
The Great Commission is the backbone of the missions movement and expresses God’s expressed desire to be praised by everyone, all over the world. But God still desires us to reach our neighbor.
Mission of Jesus Christ
In Jesus, the mission of God was fully enacted. Jesus served as the agent of God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (Luke 24:40–49). Jesus took upon Himself Israel’s missionary vocation (Matt 5:17–20). He clearly asserted that His will was to do the will of His Father; the Father’s mission determined Jesus’ mission (John 4:27–38). Jesus embodied the mission of God, making it radically visible to humanity. In Jesus’ obedience, even to death, the mission of God reached its climax (2 Cor 5:19). By accomplishing God’s purpose for humanity and conquering sin, Jesus made salvation freely available to everyone. When His earthly ministry was over, He left His followers with the mandate to continue the mission He inaugurated and established (Matt 28:16–20)—by sharing the good news of what He had done, making disciples of all nations.
Mission of the Church
Sent to the world to preach Christ (Acts 1:7–8)—by and with the authority of the Triune God (Matt 28:16–20)—the Church’s mission is to bear witness to God’s reign through the proclamation of the gospel in various forms: through loving communion within the Church (1 Cor 12–14), humble service within and outside the community of faith, prayer and worship of God, signs and wonders that point toward the restoration of all things, and through forming disciples of Jesus (2 Cor 5:11–21; Eph 4:1–5:21).
Christians commit to participating in God’s purposes, for the redemption of humanity and, in many ways, creation itself (Gal 6). All authority for missional engagement comes from God, and congruence with the Bible’s account of mission is the rubric for discerning faithful missional expression (John 15).
Mission as God’s Calling to Us
In our own time—standing as we do between Pentecost (Acts 2) and the return of Christ—our central task as God’s people is to live united in the love of other people and God, through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s mission is about salvation; it is about reconciliation with God, one another, and all creation—through Christ. Mission is about God’s will being fully realized. God graciously invites us to actively participate in this realization.