There were three stages in the establishment of the New Covenant community of believers that took place in the days immediately following the resurrection. Each of the three stages was linked with key elements in the teachings and promises of Jesus to his disciples.
The three stages were:
- Commissioning
- Envisioning
- Empowering
1. Commissioning
Jesus’ commission to the Twelve recorded by Matthew (Matt 28:18-20) was not intended only to apply to them - or even solely to the first generation of believers. It was clearly intended to be a commission for all believers, for all time. It is for this reason that this passage is known as ‘The Great Commission’. Jesus said,
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.
The Great Commission established the mission of the Church, which was to carry a message to all the nations of the world. Luke elaborates the message, recording that Jesus referred to his own suffering and resurrection from the dead as foretold in Scripture, linking this with repentance and the forgiveness of sins, which he said would “be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).
Thus, the disciples were to carry a factual message concerning the events that had occurred in Jerusalem, plus the call to repentance and the promise of forgiveness of sins, which would enable believers to enter a new relationship with God. This new relationship enabled the believer to know God personally and could be entered only by faith and confirmed by baptism. This would be a fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer 31:31) relating to the New Covenant.
The disciples were to carry a factual message concerning the events that had occurred in Jerusalem, plus the call to repentance and the promise of forgiveness of sins, which would enable believers to enter a new relationship with God.
2. Envisioning
Just as the Great Commission established the mission of the Church, the envisioning established the strategy to accomplish the mission.
The strategy was given by Jesus to the disciples immediately prior to the Ascension. He said, “…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The disciples were to begin where they were – they were not to go back home to Galilee but to begin their witness in Jerusalem, where the crucifixion and resurrection had occurred.
It was clearly an important part of the strategy to establish the factual basis of the good news at the very place of its most important events. It was important that the message of the resurrection should first be declared to those who had been witnesses to the crucifixion, or at least had been present in the city at the time and knew about the event.
From Jerusalem, the message could then be taken to the surrounding region of Judea, where no doubt news of the crucifixion of Jesus, widely regarded as a prophet, would have travelled. Jesus was also well-known in Samaria, where he had preached in many Samaritan towns and villages. From there the gospel could be taken to all nations.
There is perhaps a deeper significance to this, in that the gospel was to be preached first to those who had been part of the Old Covenant, before it was taken further afield. Those living in the old kingdom of Judea (the southern Kingdom of Judah) were the descendants of that part of the family of Jacob that had remained true to God and were part of God’s working out his purpose through Jacob.
Samaria was the land of the northern kingdom of Israel (until 722 BC), whose people were taken away into exile because of apostasy (turning to other gods) and replaced with others who, over the years, had mixed with the remnant left behind. Nevertheless, it too was also part of the land that was inhabited by the tribes of Jacob, who had been brought into that special covenant relationship with God.
After the gospel had been taken first to the Jews in these first three phases, then it would be opened up to the whole world, as prophesied by Isaiah: “I will make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa 49:6). This was also foreseen and confirmed by the coming of Jesus who, in the words of Simeon, was “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2:32).
The strategy was to begin in Jerusalem, where there were no barriers of race, language or culture for the gospel to cross. Even the move to Judea involved crossing no barriers, although the people would probably not have been present at the crucifixion. But preaching the gospel in Samaria meant crossing cultural divides, even though they shared the Aramaic language. Once the gospel was carried farther afield there were many barriers to cross – national, racial, political, cultural and linguistic.
The growth and spread of the early Church followed the strategy given to them step by step, as Luke records throughout the Acts of the Apostles. The strategy which Jesus gave for communicating the gospel to the nations was not intended only to apply to the initial stage, but also established a principle of mission that is relevant for all time: we are required to share the gospel first with our own people, starting with those in our own family, and then with those in our fellowship and local community, and then those in our surrounding areas with whom we have much in common, before we move on to reach our ‘ends of the earth’. This should be seen as a progression and we should not become stuck at any one stage.
After the gospel had been taken first to the Jews in these first three phases, then it would be opened up to the whole world, as prophesied by Isaiah.
3. Empowering
Jesus had already promised the disciples that he would not leave them alone (John 14:16) and in the Great Commission he repeated this, with the assurance that he would be with them “to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:20).
In order for this to be fulfilled he had to provide for his continuing presence, which he had already foreseen as the fulfilment of the promise of the Father. Jesus referred to this at the same time as he gave the strategy for the Great Commission: “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).
The significance of the command to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit lay in the fact that Jesus knew the opposition the disciples would encounter once they began to witness to his resurrection and declare the forgiveness of sins in his name. He was guarding them against going in their own strength. He knew it would be disastrous for them to attempt even to share the good news of the resurrection from the dead merely in their own enthusiasm to communicate such a momentous message.
He emphasised the significance of the Holy Spirit coming upon them with the statement “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8). Power to declare the message effectively was just as essential as knowing the message itself.
In sending the Holy Spirit, Jesus completed the work the Father had given him to do through his earthly ministry. The Great Commission established the mission of the Church; the envisioning gave the strategy for its fulfilment and the Holy Spirit supplied the power for carrying the message to the ends of the earth.
For Study and Discussion
Perhaps you can now meditate on the importance of these three aspects of mission strategy and how effectively they have been applied over the years. And there are a couple of questions for you to ponder too:
- Proverbs 29:18 tells us that “Without vision the people perish”. But vision without strategy leads to frustration. What are the boundaries of human intellect and revelation?
- Sometimes ministries which begin with a commissioning from God and a true vision and grow through spiritual power, move into worldly power and end in disaster. What lessons can be learned from this?
We will continue this theme next week, exploring further the strategy used by the early ekklesia.
This article is part of a series drawing lessons from the early Church for believers today. Click here to read previous instalments.
