A biblical exposition of Mission

Doing Mission like Jesus

John 20:21

Intro

Have you ever been confronted around 6 o’clock with a sales person at your door? You want to take your dinner, or just want to rest from work, yet, they want to convince you that you have to listen to them because they can offer you something that will outweigh the importance of your dinnertime, family time, or any other commitment you may have. They give you all the benefits if you join their company, cause, or product, and have the papers ready for you just to sign them off.

These people are on a mission, a mission for you to join them. They tell you a good story, as to how better your life will be if you do what they say. Some of this people may truly mean what they say, while the vast majority, are just doing their jobs, and what a good job they do!!!

We have been sent by Jesus to accomplish a mission as well, and one that has no gimmicks or very small writing that may make us trap in a contract we later on wish we had never entered into. The mission that Jesus gives to us is the same mission that he got from the Father, to proclaim the good news to a needy world. Today we will see how God has always been a God that is interested in mission, and how He has commissioned us, as those before us, with the tools to carry on with such a mission.

Israel, a kingdom of priests and missionaries

The first missionary of good news that we find in the Bible is Moses, who is sent to preach to the people of Israel who were under bondage, freedom, Exodus 3:7-8. This, as we will later see, was very similar to what Jesus proclaimed he was doing during his mission. But Israel, after being delivered from their slavery, was not supposed to stay with their knowledge of God for themselves. They were rather commissioned to be a kingdom of priests, Exodus 19:5-6. Let’s look closely, we see the Levites are not the only ones who are entrusted with serving others, but the whole nation. The Levites who were set apart to learn the Law, were in turn to teach the people of Israel about the Law, who were in turn to teach the other nations about the Lord.

Their status as God’s messenger on earth was confirmed later on as we see in Isaiah 49:6. But later on, the same Isaiah says that they have failed miserably at their commission, Isaiah 52:5.

But God does not give up, and as God, has a greater plan to accomplish his mission on earth.

Jesus, God’s unique missionary

Israel failed; they did not reach the other nations with the knowledge of the Lord. Jesus was to take the mission that Israel could not accomplish. It is interesting to see that Jesus starts his mission with a similar proclamation as to what was told to Moses, Luke 4:18-19. Jesus was tempted in the desert, just as Israel was, yet, did not fall into sin as they did. He goes up to a mountain, and gives the Law by which his kingdom will be carried out, Matt. 5-7, as Moses went up to Sinai to give the Law that Israel was going to proclaim to the nations. Jesus was faithful to all of what the Father commanded, while not only Israel, but also Moses failed to do this, Numbers 20. Jesus submitted totally to the Father’s will, as seen in John 6:38-39; 8:29. Jesus also limited himself to speak only the Father’s words, Jn. 3:34; 8:28; 12:49; 14:24; 17:8.

Just as it was said that the people of Israel was going to be a missionary nation, Jesus also makes his new Israel a missionary people. John 20:21 can be seen as the commissioning of God’s people to do the mission in the world. Yet, this time we can accomplished the task set before us, because we don’t rely only on our knowledge of the message, but also, in the example and accomplishment of Jesus’ mission. Jesus does not only commands us to do mission, he has done it for us!!!!

The Church’s as Jesus’ missionary

Just as Israel was proclaimed as a kingdom of priests to carry out God’s mission on earth, so is the church, I Peter 2:9. We have been entrusted with Jesus’ message of freedom from the oppression of sin, from the bondage of disease, and from the fear of death. We have been given a commission and the tool to go along with it, the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to see that after Jesus commissions his disciples, he also gives them the Holy Spirit in order to carry out the mission. We do not only have God’s Law in our minds, but also in our hearts, Jeremiah 31:33. At Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to empower the Church to carry the message to the ends of the earth, Acts 2. We have a message, and the power to proclaim it today!!!

Conclusion

As a church, are we carrying the mission of Jesus today??? Are we being priests to the people around us, or do we keep the good news of freedom and salvation to ourselves???

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to carry on with the mission that Jesus gave to us, so that we may bring all to the knowledge of Jesus, and in turn, to salvation.