The Greatest Missionary Ever

The missionary candidate surveyed the view from the highrise office window of the mission headquarters. Far below, the multitudes wandered like sheep without a shepherd.

Stepping up behind the candidate, the executive director of the mission rested a hand on his shoulder and reflected, "To be sure, you will be leaving a lot behind so that you can bring them the Good News. You will forsake the comforts of home and set aside the honor and prestige you have enjoyed here. And many of them will wish you had never come. It won't be easy."

"I know," replied the candidate, "but when I think of those who will be saved through my efforts, I'm overjoyed. All the sacrifice will be worth it."

"I'm glad you feel that way," said the director, moving to his desk. "However, there is one more detail about your assignment which we need to discuss. It is rather unusual, but I trust you will be willing. Please have a seat."

The candidate took a chair and waited for the director to continue.

"Allow me to remind you, son, that a missionary must strive to identify with people and with their culture to such an extent that he becomes one of them. That is the goal, even though up to now it has been impossible to attain perfectly."

"Yes, sir," agreed the candidate, "but tell me about the unusual part."

"Here it is. There is one way to close the gap completely between us and them, a way to become thoroughly joined to the people and their culture." His voice swelled with the conviction of a decision-maker with a bold new strategy. "What we need is a volunteer to enter your mission field in a unique manner--as an infant! He will have to forsake all his adult capabilities and be born among them, weak and helpless. But in this way, he will learn the language and the culture from the very first step. Of course, this will mean years of waiting before you can preach the Word and sacrifice yourself, but when the time finally comes, you will be one of them. Yes, I know it is unusual, but it will work! Well, what do you say, my son? I have a body prepared for you."

"Here I am! I have come to do your will." (Heb. 10:5-7)

The two beamed at each other. Then, turning to his intercom, the director ordered, "Angelica, get me Gabriel on the line. I have some messages for him to deliver."

Although the decision to send the Son of God to earth did not actually occur in this fashion, this hypothetical conversation underlines a key fact. Our Savior Jesus Christ was a missionary.

If God were not a missionary God, there would have been no incarnation. Heb. 3:1 advises us, "Fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess." What does the word apostle mean? One who is sent. What does missionary mean? One who is sent. So even the Scriptures give Jesus the title of missionary. Christ surely deserves the title: The Greatest Missionary Ever.

No other missionary ever left more behind than Jesus did. No one ever had to cross a wider cultural gap. None of us ever had to suffer as he did. Without this missionary we would all still stand condemned before God. None of us would have been saved, if this cross-cultural worker had not crossed the chasm between the worlds in order to die on the cross in our place. Thus He earned the right to charge us with the task of going to all the nations to make them His disciples.

Why was Jesus willing to endure all the culture shock and all the opposition? Heb. 12:2 tells us that Jesus took all the risks, including the shame of the cross, "for the joy set before him. " What joy? The apostle Paul defines a missionary's joy: "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy" (1 Thess. 2:19-20). Paul is saying that his joy is people who have come to be saved through the preaching of God's word. The joy set before Jesus was the same--people, the people for whom He gave His lifeblood: you, me, and people from every tribe, tongue, ethnic group, and nation.

An Invitation to Joy

Christ, the greatest missionary ever, rejoices in us. With our salvation assured, we gladly join in singing mission hymns, such as

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive its King;
Let ev'ry heart prepare him room
And heav'n and nature sing.

How many Christmas seasons have you sung this hymn with gusto, rejoicing in the good news that Christ the Savior is born? But "Joy to the World" is not only a Christmas carol. Its global perspective qualifies it to be a mission hymn every bit as much as "From Greenland's Icy Mountains." The joy of salvation by grace through faith, not works, is intended for all the inhabitants of this planet we call home. If our Savior God were only a local tribal deity with limited geographic influence, North Americans would have to sing

Joy to my town, the Lord is come!
Let my corner of the world receive its King;
Let ev'ry one from my culture prepare him room
And the United States and Canada sing.

This was never God's plan, however. "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Ps. 24:1). "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14). Our God loves the world. Christ is a world Savior. The Holy Spirit was sent to make us witnesses to the ends of the earth. Since the triune God is a world God, we ought to be world Christians.

This book is an invitation to live as a world Christian. And what is that? A world Christian is a believer who, laying aside all provincialism, recognizes the global nature of God's Law and Gospel. The world Christian prays, "Lord, You sent Christ to be the atoning sacrifice for my sins, and not only for mine but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2). Therefore use me to see that Your saving word gets out to everyone on this earth."

Some readers might jump to the conclusion that I am out to recruit missionaries, but that is not the case. A missionary is a Christian who crosses barriers of language and culture in order to share the love of Christ. A world Christian may or may not be a cross-cultural missionary. In fact, the vast majority of world Christians are not professional missionaries. Most of them remain at home while eagerly supporting cross-cultural missionaries through their prayers, gifts, friendship, and concern.

God does not call all His children to be professional missionaries, but He does expect them all to be world Christians. Perhaps you have heard it said that Christians cannot choose whether or not to be witnesses for Christ, because they already are so automatically. The issue is: Will their words and actions give a positive witness or a negative one? Being a world Christian is similar. All Christians are automatically world Christians. The question is: Will we be faithful ones or not? Some believers have not fully accepted their role as world Christians, because of ignorance, fear, or unwillingness. Maybe the task of reaching the world for Christ seems just too gigantic to them. Perhaps they do not know how or where to start. For some, apathy has more appeal than sympathy for the lost. The following chapters aim to rectify many of these problems.

The purpose of the present chapter is to assure you that being a world Christian is the highest joy anyone can experience this side of Christ's return. This is not an overstatement. Consider what the Bible teaches about joy.

Jesus the Joyous

David exults, "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy" (Ps. 30:11). The King James Version uses the word "mourning" instead of "wailing." Both terms describe the agonizing sorrow of death. Our world is a world in mourning, because people constantly are dying.

In materialistic North America, unbelievers try to hide from the inevitability of death as long as they can. Their blind faith in possessions is proclaimed on bumper stickers: "Life is a beach!" "The one who dies with the most toys wins!" But man does not live by bread alone. Nor do we live by cars, condominiums, and credit cards alone. Other people, who sense the emptiness of materialism but have not yet filled it with Christ, label their bumpers with this dreary conclusion: "Life is a bitch and then you die." As fatalistic as this philosophy is, it approaches the Biblical statement that death is "the shroud that enfolds all people, the sheet that covers all nations'' (Is. 25:7).

However, the global plan of our Almighty Creator is to remove that shroud and turn earth's mourning into dancing. In His grace, He sent Jesus the joyous, whose arrival brought joy to the world. The angel announced to the shepherds, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11). The wise men from the East experienced the same jubilation. "When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him" (Matt. 2:10-11).

In Nazareth, near the beginning of His ministry, Jesus read a prophecy regarding Himself. It stated that He was come to bestow "the oil of gladness instead of mourning" (Is. 61:3). Day after day, for three years, He proved the truth of those words by bringing joy to multitudes.

Then Jesus the joyous came to Gethsemane, where He declared, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Matt. 26:38). With just cause His soul was overwhelmed, "for the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23), and He was about to pay that wage for all humanity on the cross of Golgotha. This agony He endured in order to "destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Heb. 2:14-15).

When He rose from the dead, joy reigned! The women "hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples" (Matt. 28:8). That night, when He appeared to them behind closed doors, "they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement" (Luke 24:41), but finally the truth sank in and the joy persisted. And why not? Christ's victory over sin and death fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy of everlasting joy:

On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever.... In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation" (Is. 25:7-9).

All praise to Jesus the joyous, our risen Savior! Mourning has been turned into dancing for all who repent and trust in Him. He has removed our sackcloth and clothed us with joy.

Called to Multiply the Joy

Yet that is not the end of the story. Jesus left His disciples with the marvelous duty of sharing and multiplying His joy:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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 am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matt. 28:18-20).

This Great Commission is a command to spread the joy from person to person and from nation to nation so that every child and adult on earth has the opportunity to hear the life-giving word of God.

The book of Acts reports that as the early Christians obeyed Christ's command, the joy of salvation was multiplied.

• The three thousand converted on Pentecost "broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2:46).
• When Philip the Evangelist preached in Samaria for the first time, "there was great joy in that city" (Acts 8:8).
• Shortly afterward, Philip shared the good news about Jesus with an Ethiopian official. The Holy Spirit called the African by the gospel, and following his baptism, he "went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:39).
• On Paul's first missionary journey, the truth of Christ was proclaimed in Antioch of Pisidia, and the new "disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 13:52).
• On his second journey, Paul and Silas declared to the suicidal jailer at Philippi, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household" (Acts 16:31). The result? The jailer "was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family" (Acts 16:34).

Down through the centuries and around the globe, the infectious joy of salvation has spread from heart to heart, and it is still being shared today.

• A North American Lutheran of Lithuanian heritage devoted over three decades of his life and $60,000 to translate and publish the Bible in contemporary Lithuanian. His efforts were fueled by joy.
• In Marxist Ethiopia the Christian church is growing phenomenally in the midst of severe governmental pressure. Mekane Yesus Lutheran Church of Ethiopia has expanded from 100,000 adult members to 500,000 in only a few years. With joy, many in that land of drought are drawing water from the wells of salvation (Is. 12:3).
• Pastor Salimo Hachibamba is the principal of the Lutheran Bible Institute and Seminary in Zambia, Africa. He has a special place in his heart for this school, for it is his alma mater. In 1965 he arrived at the school as a young man, with no financial resources, clamoring for an opportunity to receive further education. Religion had not played a major role in his decision to attend there; but as Salimo studied, the Word of God worked faith in him, and he was surprised by Christ's joy.
• Hundreds of civilians fleeing the battle zones in El Salvador find refuge in a haven operated by Resurrection Lutheran Church. There they see Christian love at work and learn about their Savior, El Salvador. Peace with God, which many of them now enjoy, will aid them in rebuilding their society when peace returns to their land.
• South Koreans exercise their joy at 4:00 a.m. when they rise in throngs to praise their God and plead for His Spirit to open the hearts of unbelievers both in their land and beyond. With such dedication, it is no wonder that South Korea has one of the fastest growing Christian populations in the world.
• A husband and wife in rural Minnesota make a point of inviting foreign exchange students to their home. The hosts always have a gift for the students: an explanation of the Christian faith accompanied by a Bible in their native language. Recently, an exchange teacher taught in their area for a semester. Sung was an English instructor from the People's Republic of China. Upon receiving a Chinese Bible from this couple, Sung literally jumped for joy, for he had long desired to investigate this book.

Yes, to know Jesus Christ is to know the joy of salvation. To share Christ with others, whether near or far, is to multiply that joy. And when we are involved in multiplying it to others, our own joy overflows. This is the incomparable joy of being a world Christian. Even though Martin Luther never heard the term world Christian, he aptly defines its meaning:

When a Christian begins to know Christ as His Lord and Savior, . . . then his heart is permeated with God, so that he is driven to help others receive the same, because there is no greater joy for him than this treasure that he now knows Jesus.

So he heads out in every direction, teaches and urges all others, boasts about the Gospel, and witnesses of it to everyone, pleads and sighs that they might receive such grace.

He . . . contests for and strives with all his might, as one who lives for one purpose, that is, that he might spread more widely among people God's honor and praise (Translation by Ottomar E. Bickel).

Brother Martin contends that the joy of knowing Christ is an emotion that sets us in motion to share Him with others.

Unfortunately, many Christians experience this joy only on occasion. A sermon or book on witnessing motivates us temporarily to be more caring and outspoken Christians. A mission festival at our church inspires us for a time to pray for the salvation of people who are different from us. Our mission joy shines more intensely for a season, but then the flame dies down and only the pilot light is left burning.

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world" (Matt. 5:14). May the following pages stoke the fire of your mission joy, so that it may shine constantly even to the darkest and most distant corners of the earth.

Do Something Now

Telling is not teaching. Listening is not learning. It is in doing that we grasp hold of truth. Therefore, each chapter of this book will end with a series of suggestions for action learning. Some of them take only a moment. Some are more time consuming. From the smorgasbord of activities choose the ones that appeal to you. For further information about the resources mentioned, consult the list at the end of this book.

1. Search Scripture. Read Isaiah 12 thoughtfully. In verses 1-3, circle the words which speak of God's grace or the joy of being saved. In verses 4-6, circle the words which speak of proclaiming that joy. Share your findings with someone else.

2. Read. On Our Way Rejoicing by Ingrid Trobisch relates the adventures of a large Lutheran family who dedicated their lives to proclaiming Jesus Christ around the world. Though they faced many trials, their joy was always multiplied. Consider how such joy might illuminate your life and that of your family.

3. Listen. Try singing a familiar song with a little twist to it. First sing "Jesus loves me." Then sing it "Jesus loves them." What difference does the change make?

4. Look. Order for personal viewing or for use in your congregation the film Salifu's Harvest, produced by The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS). In this film you will witness the joy of over one hundred people in Ghana, West Africa, as they are baptized into the Christian faith.

5. Converse. In conversations with other Christians discuss mission awareness events such as mission festivals, fairs, and conferences. Ask them about the emotions they feel when they are reminded of the need to reach out to those who are lost in sin and unbelief. How long do the emotions last? What makes them go away? What makes them last?

6. Pray. When you thank God for saving you, include the concept of joy in your praises. When you pray for the conveying of His good news to the whole world, include the concept of joy in your petitions.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.