Jesus, the Church, and the Mission

Who is Jesus? When this question is personalized, it becomes the most important question we could ever be asked or answer. Who do you say Jesus Christ is? (Mark 8:27-29). Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10, NRSV). In 1 John 5:11-13 we are told that if we have the son in our life we can know that we have eternal life. Jesus is the only way for us to live an abundant life here on earth, or receive eternal life in fellowship with God. Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins so that we could be sinless in the eyes of God. He has invited us to see him for who he is and to see the amazing qualities and personality he has, so that we would want to be with him. He came for the purpose of destroying the Devils’ work by overcoming the world and its evil. He died and rose so sin could no longer be our master, but him. Jesus brings peace, joy, and clarity of vision. He wants us to know him and be free. Jesus shows us what salvation looks like; the power of God to heal and to make new, which is present in all his words and actions. In his death, Jesus accomplished salvation at the cross. In his resurrection, Jesus opens the door to new creation. In Jesus the kingdom of God had come.
The Gospels narrate the story of Jesus. Jesus began his ministry in Galilee and there reveals the coming kingdom of God in himself. As he draws more followers he draws the attention of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. He then goes to Jerusalem itself, where he is arrested, brought to trial, and crucified. So few Christians today understand what is known as the “kingdom,” which was at the heart of Jesus’ ministry. The Jews understood the coming of the kingdom of God with expectation that soon God was going to act in love, wrath, and great power, renewing his creation and restoring his reign over the whole world. They were looking for a kingdom in which Israel would be suddenly and forcibly delivered from the control of pagan Rome. Jesus turned the Jewish expectation upside down. He did not come to destroy their enemies, but save and love them. He also performed miracles, healing and restoring the lost, the sick, the possessed, and the dead; and not just amongst the Jews, but the Gentiles. Jesus broke the mold of expectation. He was/is God’s chosen one, appointed to lead God’s kingdom into new creation. Christians today often do exactly what the Jews did; they try to mold Jesus into their image instead of allowing him to conform their lives to that of his.
The earthly life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the climax of biblical history. Jesus' life is to be our example of how to live. His death was the ultimate sacrifice; taking upon himself the judgment of the world. He did for the sins of all so they would not have to. His resurrection began God's renewal of creation, including the physical bodies of men and women. Therefore, whoever believes in Jesus will live and share in his resurrection. Those who believe then discover their great commission, which is to carry out the task Jesus began. Bringing all peoples to him; making disciples of all nations. Before Jesus ascended into heaven he left his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you” (NRSV, John 14:15-17). “The kingdom banquet is ready to be enjoyed, but it does not begin just yet. More peoples must first be gathered to the banquet table so that they too may taste of the renewing power of the coming age. This in-between time, after Jesus’ first coming and before he comes again, is a time of mission for the exalted Christ, the Spirit, and the church” (BG, 171).
The church of Israel was called to bring all peoples back to God. I have always wondered why the Israelites were chosen to be God’s people and if there was anything in the Old Testament that could be used in missions today. In today’s world, religion and the Christian mission is a private matter and is seen as hostile and disruptive to society. That is why it is necessary for us as Christians to know and understand the basis on which the Christian mission rests. Missions began with a man named Abraham. Through him, God blessed all nations, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Gen. 12). Out of all the nations they were chosen to be God’s own treasured possession! But election is not just for privilege: it is for service, for the sake of all the nations. What then is the blessing with which all the nations were to be blessed? In a world, it is the blessing of salvation. Through the Israelites and no other, God worked to rid his creation of the evil that had distorted it since the sin of Adam. Israel was to be the example, showing God’s character and how being in a covenant with God changes a people to the rest of the world. As the Israelites obeyed God, they demonstrated what life under God’s reign looked like. They were to be an example of God’s original creational intention for human life. And the lives that the Israelites lead were to be so rich that others would be drawn to live just as they did. God chose a people to bring up in His character and ways, but they did not exactly make the cut. It was Jesus who had to come and die and be an example for all who wanted to be in proper relationship with God, and those who choose to live in obedience are to finish God’s mission.
The story of the Gospels and Acts did not end with Jesus’ ascension or Paul’s missions work in Rome; Jesus and Acts are very much alive today! The Holy Spirit so active in Acts is the same Holy Spirit that is currently at work in the church today. The church today is sometimes persecuted, ridiculed, or even ignored, and often needs encouragement. The book of Acts reminds us that despite modern challenges the church can be alive and well. It shows that revival and church growth comes not by human effort, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. The church was both grounded in Scripture and alive to the Spirit. In Acts the church is not only a gift of God and Spirit, but also a demanding practice of holiness and new life. At this time the church was in need of being rediscovered and transformed, which is also needed today. To have a church like the one of the early churches is a challenge, but it is worth the advancement of Christ’s message and we must disturb and delight the world to do it. It is obvious that the church today is separated from the early church by many centuries, so the world has changed and the circumstances and culture in which we live is different in many ways from what existed in the first century. In Acts the church was just getting started and now it has become an established institution, so it seems unrealistic that we could return to the early ways of the church, but it’s not. The people then and now are brought together by numerous components: a common need, a common fate, a common love or loyalty, a common hope. This is the living Spirit of God, what leads us forth into the new and highest levels of that life which is intended for us.
The calling of the modern day Acts church is stated in Acts 1:8. This verse foreshadows everything that happens in Acts even beyond its ending in Rome. The task then and the task today are to be witnesses of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This does not just mean sharing stories of transformation or faith, but to be Christ’s witnesses is to bring forward into our own time and place the truth of the gospel. Just as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John took the gospel and teachings of Jesus and brought it to their time and communities, so must we, the church, bear witness to what God has done and is doing through Jesus, to the healing and grace he has brought, and to his victory over death, so we can live out God’s dream for our lives. Also to fulfill this mission one does not have to go far there are people in need all around us. Peter and the other disciples did not start their mission in a far off land they started it right in their own community and among God’s own people, Jerusalem. This is my challenge and what I will take into my studies in becoming a missionary.
Christians should live in regard to witnessing to the world with “imagination and creativity” (BG, 199). Jesus did not set up a rigid plan for action but, rather, inspired his disciples to extend the reason of his own action in a creative way amid the new and different historical circumstances in which the community would have to share the gospel of the kingdom in word and action. “If we speak and act with innovation, we will carry out our task creatively and imaginatively in the new cultural and historical situations to which God leads us” (BG, 200).
While witness characterizes the meaning of this time period in God’s story, their zealousness can be misinterpreted. One might reduce mission or witness to evangelism or cross-cultural missions, this limits God and the mission. Bartholomew and Goheen say, “that when we grasp that the salvation of the kingdom restores the creation, and all of it, we see that witness to God’s kingdom is as wide as creation” (201). Witness will then mean personifying God’s renewing power in politics and citizenship, economics and business, education and scholarship, family and neighborhood, media and art, and leisure and play. We cannot just carry evangelism in these areas of our lives, again that is not enough. We must live out these things; we live as citizens, consumers, students, friends, etc. A broad mission should be central to our meaning.
One may think it’s rare (especially a non-Christian) to hear of Christians who truly care about the environment. However, the biblical story make it clear that “God deeply love the nonhuman creation and has made humankind it’s guardians and stewards” (BG, 204). When Jesus can to renew creation that did not just include humans it included everything, animals and plants alike.
Who is Jesus? Is he this image you try to fit into you mold to look how you want him to? Or are you allowing him to conform your life to look like his? We know who Jesus is through the study of scripture, obedience, understanding what his kingdom is, knowing his passion for missions, and seeing the beauty in all creation. Christ died and rose to renew all things, which is the greatest truth I have come to believe.