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245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 32 32 The Heart of God The 153 Fish To most of us the number of “a hundred and fifty-three,” which was the number of fish caught in the net along the shores of Galilee after the resurrection (John 21:4-14), seems incredibly trifling. We might be inclined to wonder why the writer had any interest in giving the number. When, however, we realize that in ancient times the number 153 was given as the total number of all the tribes and nations of the earth, it is no wonder that the early church interpreted this passage as the assurance of success in fulfilling the Great Commission to bear the Good News to all men everywhere. 13 —Eugene Nida, linguist and Bible translator The Gospel of John repeatedly emphasizes how central mission is in the heart of God. Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus is referred to as being “sent” (see sidebar “Sending”). Indeed, a strong rationale for the Church’s mission involvement can be based on the sending of the Son by the Father. In the Gospels, apostle or “sent one” always refers to one of Jesus’ followers. However, Hebrews 3:1 calls Jesus an “apostle” or “sent one.” The writer of Hebrews uses that language because the Father sent the Son to all the world (John 3:16). The Son responded to His own sending by saying to His followers: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (20:21). Scripture makes clear that this divine sending/ going has a soteriological purpose, the salvation of the world (3:17; 6:38, 57; 17:3, 21). Jesus tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit who has already been active in their ministry will soon empower them in fresh ways for mission (14:26; 16:7). In Jesus’ high-priestly prayer for His followers the night before His crucifixion, He said the disciples would be commissioned for a missionary task, that is, they were being sent into the world (17:18). Sending Almost every page of the Gospel of John speaks of mission as sending, with regard to Jesus and with regard to us as well. Jesus did not come on His own, but His Father sent Him (John 8:42). He did not speak His own words but the words of the Father who sent Him (3:34; 7:16; 12:49). He did not do His own works but the works of the Father who sent Him (5:36; 9:4). These works were His miracles. He did not come to do His own will but the will of His Father who sent Him (5:30; 6:38). Like Jesus, we must receive a supernatural message, a supernatural ministry and a supernatural motivation to enable us to fulfill our mission. 14 —Paul R. Orjala, missionary to Haiti
245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 33 Acts Acts shows how the Early Church realized it had a global mission. In Acts 1:8 Luke uses Jesus’ own words to outline how his compact account of church history will unfold: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Following that geographical progression, Acts 1—7 describes the proclamation of the gospel in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—9 recount the spreading of the Good News into Judea and Samaria. The remainder of Acts describes church planting and discipling in the Gentile world around the northern rim of the Mediterranean Sea. The diverse crowd to which Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost included people from across the Roman Empire. Acts 2:8-11 lists 15 different language groups who heard the gospel that day from Peter and others of the 120 who had been in the Upper Room. Peter interpreted the events of that particular Pentecost morning as fulfilling Old Testament prophecies involving all peoples. The miracle of languages occurring prior to Peter’s sermon further indicated God’s desire that the gospel be understandable to peoples of all nations. In 2:39, Peter says that everyone, and not just Hebrew-speaking Jews, who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. James’ Speech to the Jerusalem Council James spoke up: “Brothers, . . . listen to me. Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’— things known from long ago.” —Acts 15:13-18, quoting from Amos 9:11-12 The Heart of God 33 Acts 10 tells how the circle of believers widens beyond Jewish culture when Peter visits the house of a Roman centurion in the coastal city of Caesarea and the Holy Spirit comes upon Gentiles there. A bigger breach into the Gentile world opened in chapter 11 when the gospel was preached to some Greeks in Antioch. Not long afterward, the Holy Spirit directed the church in Antioch to
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