Missions in the Gospels
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
The fourth chapter of John contains one of the most marvelous stories of the Word of God. It is beyond doubt a revelation of the heart of God toward the lost, as set forth in the story of conversion and ministry of the woman of Samaria.
Remember that while the disciples had gone to the city to get meat, the Lord had met this woman, and had brought to her the knowledge of Himself as the Saviour of men. While she was returning to the city, and telling the people what had happened to her, and that she had discovered the Christ, the disciples appeared with bread, and prayed Him, saying, "Master, eat." The Lord in return said, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of."
Then it was that the Lord gave the remarkable message of the Scripture assigned, concerning the harvest. Read John 4:35; John 4:36
It was after this that the woman returned, and we read, "And many more believed because of His own word."
1. The story of a great "must." In John 4:3 we are told that the Lord Jesus, having left Judea, departed again into Galilee, contrary to every usual procedure. We read: "And He must needs go through Samaria."
We can never understand His words concerning the harvest, until we understand this "must" of going through Samaria.
There is only one reason for that "must": that reason is the woman of Samaria, and the people of Sychar.
Is it not this same great "must" that stirs the hearts of willing men, and willing women, as the call of the great mission fields falls upon them? They "must" needs go to the ends of the earth, because souls are groping in darkness.
2. The best meat of all. When the disciples offered Christ meat, He was so consumed with the work of winning this woman, and the people of her city, that He said: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34).
Shall we not, with Him, put our earthly food, and everything else, as beneath the great task of carrying the Gospel to "every creature"? Let us never take time for anything else, in any consuming sense, until we have first finished this work.
3. The vision of whitened harvest fields. In John 4:35 Christ said, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." Does not the heart of God toward a world ripened to harvest, touch our own souls?
4. A commanded prayer. We slip away from John 4:1-54, a moment, to Matthew 9:37-38, where Christ once more is speaking of the harvest. He says in Matthew: "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest."
5. Harvesting wages. We are back in our study reading John 4:36 : "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal."
The Lord does not promise us wages at this time, though He does promise to supply our needs. The real wages of gathering in the harvest will be the souls we have saved. Certainly every toil will be fully repaid when we see them coming from the east, and the west, and from the north and the south, in the glorious eternity, and know that they are come as the fruitage of our labors.
I. THE SENDING OUT OF THE TWELVE (Matthew 10:6-10)
1. The calling of the twelve. It was after a night of prayer that the Lord chose His twelve Apostles, or "sent ones." Do you not think that it is always a matter of real consideration on His part, when God calls anyone to go out on a mission for Him? He truly must pick out men and women panoplied for the work; He who looks on the heart is able to do this.
2. He gave commandments to those whom He sent. He told them what they were to preach, as well as what they should do. He said, "Go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."
The Lord also told His Twelve that they were to provide no scrip for their journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves. For, said the Lord, "the workman is worthy of his meat." He was telling them that, as they went out, He would provide them with coats, and shoes, and staves.
Is not this still true? Wherever we go there is One who will provide for us.
3. A designated mission. Matthew 10:6 says, "But go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel." God is not saying this to us now in any exclusive sense. The middle wall of partition was broken down when Christ died. It was to the Jew first, but it was not to the Jew always, and only.
II. THE SENDING OUT OF THE SEVENTY (Luke 10:1-9)
The same Lord who sent forth the Twelve, sent forth the Seventy.
1. The first message to the Seventy. Unto them the Lord said: "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest." (Luke 10:2).
This is the same Scripture that we find in the ninth chapter of Matthew, and very similar to the one in the fourth chapter of John. The repetition of these words reminds us of the intensity of the heart of our Lord in behalf of those that were lost.
2. The Seventy were sent forth two by two. They were sent into every city, and every place, traveling two by two. The wisdom of the Lord is very plain: comradeship in service adds power, in the matter of prayer, of wisdom, and of contact.
So far as prayer is concerned, is it not written "Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them?" In the third chapter of Acts, Peter and John went up together, to the House of prayer.
In the matter of service, is it not written "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established?"
3. The Seventy were sent as lambs among wolves. Every missionary finds that he is going into the midst of wolves. Satan has far greater power in the lands of darkness than elsewhere. Obstacles will be many, difficulties will be not a few; persecutions will abound, and yet, Luke 10:3 says, "Go your ways: behold, I send you forth."
We need missionaries with more than a testimony; we need missionaries with the power to work miracles; with an undaunted and unwavering faith. These miraculous manifestations of a Living God, will prepare the people to know that the Kingdom of God is indeed come nigh unto them.
III. THE SOWER (Matthew 13:3-8)
The 13th chapter of Matthew is a great missionary philippic.
1. In the parable of the sower, the field is the world. It is not this time, "to Jews only," but to "every creature." With God's help even the local pastor, who gives his testimony from a local pulpit to a local crowd, should remember that through tears, and gifts, and heartaches, he must be reaching the last lost man of earth. Those who are at home by the stuff must not forget those who are on the far-flung battlefields of the heathen world.
2. In the parable of the sower there are four kinds of seed. The first one is he that was sown by the wayside. Then cometh the wicked one and eateth up that which is sown.
The second one is he that is sown in the stony places, and has no root in himself, but endureth but for a while, "for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the Word, by and by he is offended."
The third is he who is sown among thorns, "and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word, and he becometh unfruitful."
The fourth is he that is sown into good ground, and bears fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundred, and some sixty, and some thirtyfold.
We wonder if our Lord is setting before us the fact that only a ratio of one out of four of those who are called to preach the Word of the Kingdom will be found serving and faithful to the end of their task?
It seems a dark picture to think that many whom the Lord has sent will be unfaithful to their task, and untrue to their call.
We think of Gideon. Read Judges 7:1-7
May you who are called to the harvest-fields (and surely we are all called), not to be numbered among the seeds sown by the wayside, or in the stony places, or among the thorns.
IV. THE FEEDING OF A MULTITUDE (Matthew 14:15-21)
We do not know how you feel about it, but in all the Gospel miracles, and every miracle is a message, there is not one that seems to us to carry a more remarkable missionary message than this.
1. There was a hungry multitude. This multitude was much on the heart of the Master. He saw their hunger and their need, and He said to the disciples, "Give ye them to eat." The Lord's heart toward the multitudes of earth, today, is that of a like compassion. He has not changed at all. As He looks at the people who surge to and fro over the earth, His command is still for us to go.
2. There was a trembling discipleship. The disciples quietly, but urgently, said, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals." The Lord said, "They need not depart; give ye them to eat." They said, "We have here but five loaves, and two fishes."
Is not this exactly what is going on today? Shall we leave the lost to their woes? Shall we suffer them to try to feed themselves with the Bread of Life? Nay, the Lord has said, "Go * * to every creature," and again, "Give ye them to eat." Are we still crying, "We have here but five loaves, and two fishes?"
Where are we to obtain the necessary funds to finance the work?
The Lord is still saying to the saints of today, "They need not depart; give ye them to eat." He has sufficient in His treasury to finance the evangelization of the world. He has sufficient in His power house to energize His sent ones to carry an effective and faithful message. So let us bestir ourselves.
3. There was, finally, a multitude filled and satisfied. When the disciples told the Lord the scantity of the few provisions they had, He simply said, "Bring them hither to Me." Are we willing, then, to bring to God our little all?
Did not the Lord take five loaves and two fishes, and, looking up to Heaven, did He not bless them, and break and give to the disciples and the disciples to the multitude? If we are willing to go out, faithful to His command, will He not take, and bless, and break again? The result, on that memorable day, was that "They did all eat, and were filled": there were even twelve baskets of fragments left. What a wonderful missionary vision is this, and it is His.
V. THE MISSIONARY COMMISSION, AS FOUND IN MATTHEW (Matthew 28:18-20)
If we want to see the climactic visions of the heart of God in missions, in the Gospels, we need to go to the final message of each Gospel. Here is the message in Matthew.
1. It is a promise of all power, given by the Risen Lord. When Jesus Christ stood before His disciples, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. The Lord, however, drew nigh unto them, and said, "All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth."
No missionary is ready to truly serve God until he truly believes on an all-powerful Christ. If he is going forth in the power of the knowledge gained in a college or a seminary, it will fail him. If he is going in the power of his own oratory or skill, it will fail him.
The missionary must go forth, fully taught in the school of faith, in which he knows that he has the backing of the power of the great, Almighty Jehovah.
2. It is a command to all nations. The Lord said, "All power * * Go ye therefore." We are going because we are panoplied with all power, but where are we going? We are going to all nations; not one is to be left out. Some nations are far more difficult to reach than others. Some nations are dwelling in climates most dangerous to the missionary, but no nation must be left without the message.
3. It was a commission carrying a specified service.
1. They were to teach.
2. They were to baptize.
3. They were to teach their converts to observe all things.
Every missionary must obey his orders. The Apostle Paul went into Thessalonica, and reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Jesus Christ must have suffered and died; must have been raised, and must come again. We must go and teach these things to the nations.
At Pentecost, and ever after, the disciples, as they accepted Christ, were baptized into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This pictorial ordinance must not be omitted on the part of missionaries. Until this day, on every foreign field, the baptism of converts is the moment when their real testimony to Christ, and their real sufferings for Christ, begin.
The missionary must also teach the converts of the faith to observe all things which Christ has commanded. When these things are done as God commands, then He gives the promise, and the promise is certain and sure: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
The Lord did not mean that He would sympathize with the missionary. He meant He would be at his side, sharing his burdens, encouraging, strengthening and giving victory to those who went forth in His Name.
VI. THE MISSIONARY COMMISSION AS FOUND IN MARK (Mark 16:14-18)
1. A staggering command. Mark 16:14 tells us that our Lord appeared to the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, "because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen." It was to such a group as this that He gave the command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature."
Think of it. He told eleven people to go into all the world! To be sure He knew that the eleven would be increased in number, but that did not lessen their responsibility. Every one of us should feel that the command is ours.
If you will follow the story of the Early Church, you will find that the eleven at Pentecost had passed from unbelief to faith; and from weakness to power.
2. The scope of the command. It was, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." In Matthew we found that no nation was to be left out. Now God says that no creature must be omitted. The commission is not accomplished until the last man on earth has heard the message.
3. The results of the command. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." There is no promise here that all will be saved.
We may preach the Gospel to "every creature," but it does not follow that "every creature" will be saved. Our responsibility is to see that all have the opportunity of accepting the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The signs that will follow obedience to the command. Those who believed would cast out devils, would speak in new tongues, would take up serpents, and so on. Every one of these things was fulfilled by the believers in the Early Church.
We still believe that our God is an omnipotent God. If He could preserve Daniel in the lions' den; if He could save the three Hebrew children in the furnace; can He not save us from serpents and any deadly thing? If they laid their hands upon the sick, and they recovered, may we not do the same?
Mark 16:19 says, "After the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God."
VII. THE MISSIONARY COMMISSION AS FOUND IN LUKE (Luke 24:45-49)
1. The commission was given to disciples whose eyes were open. Luke 24:45 says, "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." Before the ascension of Christ, the Lord spent forty days with the disciples, speaking unto them, and teaching them concerning the Kingdom of God.
The unbelief of the eleven, of which Christ spoke in Mark, had now passed away. They knew the Scriptures, and they knew how "it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."
2. The commission was given to the disciples as to what they should preach. They were commanded, in Luke 24:47, "That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." It was of these things that they were to be witnesses.
Did not Peter so preach at Pentecost? He did. When the multitude began to cry out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter told them, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins," It was of these things that the disciples were to be witnesses, and the commission is to us as much as to them.
3. The final great promise. "Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on High."
Once again the promise of power is given, and the source of power is emphasized. They were to receive power from on High. How marvelous it was that Christ, as they beheld, ascended up, in their very sight. He went up, leaving behind Him these last words of commission. Beloved, we thank God for the missionary vision in the four Gospels.
AN ILLUSTRATION
The O. M. S. is one of the finest illustrations of missionary achievement of which we know.
The Oriental Missionary Society needs the white missionary, but not in the same sense or measure that other missionary societies do. We are "set" for the training of a native ministry, and what white missionaries we need must be "preacher makers," that is, they must know how to teach others. In the ordinary understanding of the word we do not need them. We mean by this that we believe that the native can do the work among his own people just as well or better than his white brother.
Let us consider this for a moment. There was a time in the history of missionary work when white missionaries were the only kind there were because it was with the white race that the idea of modern missions was planned and put into operation, but that day passed as converts were made and sent out to preach Jesus; and today, at the end of the age when what we do must be done quickly and more economically, we insist that the training of a native ministry is the one and only way to reach our generation of lost souls.
Americans are best fitted to reach the American people. We enjoy, in a patronizing way, the ministry of a Hindu or Chinese preacher and he is an attraction and more or less of a curiosity for a time, but we would never think of calling him to minister to an American congregation as pastor. It would be unthinkable, but why? Race prejudice, of course. We do not like the word, but at the root of the matter that is the real explanation of our bias. We believe that the Japanese are the best folk to reach their own people, the Koreans to reach the Koreans and the Chinese the Chinese, therefore we are training the natives and emphasizing that ministry "up to the hilt." We need white missionaries with that vision and who have the ability to help work it out. Of course we understand that there are variations in this idea and these are taken into consideration, for not all nations are alike and some need more help than others, but in principle this states our fundamental purpose.