World Mission

[AI translation] A week ago today, on Easter Sunday, the preaching among us was about the preface of the same Word. There we read that the risen Christ would tell His disciples to go to Galilee and there they would see Him. This passage tells us how that encounter took place. The disciples are together again on the mountain where the Master had ordered them. They had come together in a solemn atmosphere for a prearranged meeting, and suddenly Jesus mysteriously appears among them. The eleven disciples involuntarily kneel before him, for there is now no doubt that he who stands before them is the Son of God, the earthly representative of Almighty God, in his triumphant reality even in death. It is in this solemn, reverent, prayerful silence that the great words we know so well, because we repeat them at every baptism, are uttered: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Mt 28,18-20) This is the so-called great missionary command of Jesus, which contains the whole program of Christianity, which is nothing less than the Christianization of the whole world!"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Words of unheard-of weight! It is almost breathtaking the thought expressed in this majestic statement. To think that it was spoken by the One who, only a few days ago, was hanging helplessly on the cross, seemingly helplessly at the mercy of sinful men. And now, not in spite of this, but precisely because of it, precisely for the sake of the cross and through the cross, he has come to possess a fullness of power from which not the smallest part of the visible and invisible world can escape. He has all power in heaven. In his power are those mysterious heavenly, spiritual beings whom the Bible calls angels. He has them at His free disposal, using them for blessed ministries, for example, to avert a threat to human life, or to rescue an apostle Peter from prison, or to stand by a dying man to accompany a soul as it returns home... To him is given all power in heaven. And on earth too! So also in the sphere of life where He Himself suffered and died. Where the retreating power of sin, of the curse, of death, still terrifies, where small human destinies and great world-historical events are shaped. Yes: to Him was given all power on earth!
With this power given to Him, He gathers from all the peoples of the world His chosen people, His Church. By this power He governs and protects His struggling army, His church, from heaven on earth, and by this power He extends the kingdom of God ever more widely. The purpose of the church, the church is not in itself, it is not an institution for its own sake, it is not there simply to be, but the church, the church is the instrument in the Lord's hand by which He is extending, enlarging, working the kingdom of God on this earth. That is why, when He declares His absolute kingship over heaven and earth, He immediately follows it up by saying, "Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." The church that has become aware of Christ's sovereignty, his kingship over the world: that church immediately receives the commission to spread the gospel of Christ. Christianize the nations, spread the great gospel of salvation to all people!
What was done there on Calvary was done not only for us who heard this divine good news in faith, but for everyone. So all people need to hear that there is salvation, there is forgiveness of sins, there is life reconciled to God, there is redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! This good news of God is the Church's greatest spiritual treasure, her greatest spiritual possession, which she must never keep for herself, which she has received to pass on. For everyone! The Church's purpose, then, is not to float like a drop of oil, to swim in the sea of the life of the nations, to isolate herself from the world, to be an inward-looking, self-constructing activity, but to turn to those outside herself with the divine message which has been made known to her, to conquer the world for Christ. From the Church, from the community of believers, there must flow forth forces which ennoble, elevate, purify, sanctify the morality of family, social and economic life, the whole tone of human life! The responsibility of the Church, our responsibility to the world, that is to say, to people outside the Church, outside the congregation, is immense, since the mandate says: "Make disciples of all nations, ... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
So we have a missionary responsibility to the world! World! Big word! But where does this "world" begin? Oh, very close: it could be with your spouse, your child, your parents, your best friend, your daily work. All around you, where they don't yet know or accept that Christ is Lord in heaven and on earth: in human hearts and politics, in work and rest, in joy and sorrow, in life and death! Wherever the spirit, the spirituality, the redeeming grace of Christ has not yet permeated life, there is the "world". And for this world you are responsible! That is where the command is for you: 'Make disciples of all nations, ... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.'
Now, how do we stand with this missionary responsibility? A few weeks ago I read an interesting letter, from which I would like to quote a few lines as a lesson: "It is not a problem, but a serious problem for me, whether Christians really believe what the Bible and the Church teach them, and if they do, why do they not tell others? I have two good friends. Both are so-called believing Reformed. And me? I may be a seeker, but I am mostly a doubter, one who doubts even the existence of God. I don't go to church at all. My aforementioned friends know this about me, and yet they say nothing, even though they believe that those who do not love God are going to damnation. When I was sick the other day, these same two friends did everything they could to help me get well. But they did not care about my spiritual life. In fact, when I myself started to talk to them about faith issues and told them that I could not believe, they barely responded and quickly tried to divert the conversation to other things. If the truths of the Christian faith are truly essential, then we cannot calmly let someone we consider a good friend move on to damnation without at least reaching out our hand to them. So I ask you once again: is faith really something that one can hold on to, but which is not worth passing on to others?"
Here is a voice from the world that surrounds us. The accusation in this letter touches on one of the sickest parts of our Christian life. In fact, perhaps it is more than a sickness! For the faith that does not conquer is a dead faith. Faith has two sides: internal and external. The inner side of our faith is directed towards God. It is an inner communion of life with God. But the external side of the same faith is directed towards the other person. This external side of our faith is what Scripture calls witnessing. We who believe are witnesses. Witnesses to the great struggle between Jesus Christ and the powers of darkness, at Calvary and in our own lives. A witness testifies to what he has seen and heard. And if he has seen and heard nothing, he remains silent. If a Christian man is silent when he ought to testify, he has obviously seen and heard nothing: he has not witnessed the passion and resurrection of Christ. He has nothing to testify to.
According to our biblical leitmotif, the day before yesterday we read in the Gospel of Mark this sentence, "Jesus did not want anyone to see him, but he could not hide himself." (Mk 7:24) Surely there was something in His appearance, in His behaviour, that set Him apart from other people, that immediately revealed who He was! Surely there was a special kindness in His face, a special power of attraction, a radiance of great love in His heart. There was no halo around His head, as depicted in holy images, but surely He was surrounded by some ray of grace that sad and hungry human hearts were quick to recognise. Christ cannot be hidden! It is impossible that if he is present somewhere, sooner or later people should not recognise him, should not take notice of him. A fresh flower may be hidden from sight, but its fragrance will soon reveal its hiding place. Christian life and love also have a fragrance that will give itself away immediately if it is indeed somewhere nearby. When He truly enters a heart, a human life, His Holy Spirit is revealed in that person's words and actions. When He enters a home, an office, He cannot be hidden: His cleansing, blessing, sanctifying fragrance spreads throughout the house. If a man can hide his faith in Christ from men, he is afraid he is hiding something that is not there! For true faith breathes heavenly fragrance and radiates light around you. It leads weary, disappointed, sad souls to Christ: it makes missionary, it makes disciples of others.
One might say that perhaps the missionary cause is not so bad among us after all, for we were so crowded here a week ago today that many people could not even fit into the church. Well: let not appearances deceive you, that large congregation at Easter was not the result of our faith, but of the traditional magic of the feast and many other motives. It is a testimony to this that only half of that crowd is here today. How many of those you invited were here? Who were drawn here by the witness of your faith? And if they were then, why are they not drawn here now? The truth is, we are unfaithful to the treasure entrusted to us, the gospel of Christ! It suffers in us, it does not pass through us, out into the world! If someone in a company talks about his corns hurting or his stomach acid: we can immediately recommend him some sure remedy that has helped us in similar cases. But if his heart aches, if his conscience aches, if he is in the deadly grip of some sin: we are silent and divert the word, as if we had never heard of a remedy or a Physician who helps in such a trouble!
Yes: such are we, and yet there is Christianity, yet the Gospel of Christ is spreading. Somebody once said that one of the most powerful arguments for the Bible's divine inspiration is that it has survived every sermon for 2,000 years. Well, one of the most powerful arguments for the divine origin and divine cause of Christianity is that it has outlived Christianity! That it is left to men like us to spread it, and that it exists and spreads in spite of us! How could it be otherwise that it still survives and wins men to Christ?
In spite of the fact that we are such, yet the missionary command is addressed to us: 'Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you...'! Is this not shameful? That Jesus should commission us in the very thing we have failed to do? But it is only in this shame that we can take on this commission. Whoever is truly ashamed now, let him begin by talking about the Gospel of Christ to someone with whom he has never spoken about it! Ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, ask for wisdom and strength!
To the great Great Commission Jesus also adds a great promise: "I am with you..." He to whom all power is given: He can make it possible to radiate His power to attract souls into the world through your words.
Amen
Date: 17 April 1955.