Ten Scripture Texts on God's Mission

Monday January 11, 2010 ~ 18 Comments

On Friday morning I asked this question on Twitter, "What are the key passages or texts that speak of God's people (OT and NT) being on mission? I'll publish the top 10 on the blog." This generated a good response and you offered up passages of Scripture from both the Old and New Testaments.

Here is a screen shot of one of many pages of helpful comments:

Here is a top ten of the passages cited. Some are explicit, others less so, but the mission of God and our calling to join Him is clear. I will be using these in my forthcoming study bible article on John 20:21.

I believe that John 20:21 ties our mission into Jesus' mission. In other words, we join him in His mission. There are many verses that relate to that (and I often use Luke 4 and Luke 19:10 as good summary statements), but I was looking for verses that were more clearly connected to the call of God on His people.

Here is the list of ten verses that indicate God's people are sent on mission:

GENESIS 12:1-3 The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

EXODUS 19:5, 6
Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.

ISAIAH 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:
Who should I send?
Who will go for Us?
I said:
Here I am. Send me.

MATTHEW 24:14
This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.

MATTHEW 28:18-20
Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

MARK 16:15
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.

LUKE 24:46-48
"This is what is written: the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day, and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And look, I am sending you what My Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high."

JOHN 20:21
Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

ACTS 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

1 PETER 2:9-10
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for His possession,
so that you may proclaim the praises
of the One who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God's people;
you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

What is missing? What verses more clearly represent the fact that God's people are sent for His mission? As I mentioned, I do not include the verses that point to how/why Jesus was sent (though that is valid and we join Him in His mission).

Once my little list is done, I will include them as a footnote in the HCSB Study Bible, next to my article on John 20:21.

Posted on January 11, 2010 at 8:33 AM ~ 18 Comments

Tagged with: gospel, mission, missional

Subscribe via RSS or Follow us on Twitter

Share This Post

18 Comments

By Michael Wylie on January 11, 2010 11:43 AM

2 Corinthians 5:18 - 20
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

By Scott Cripps on January 11, 2010 12:24 PM

Great list. I would just add that perhaps what is missing is the transformational and renewal actions of God's mission. (Isaiah 58). We join Jesus in His mission and His mission has a particular end and its that end that we should be working towards now.

By chris on January 11, 2010 12:34 PM

Luke 10:27

27 He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor
as yourself'.

When we fully comprehend what "love" and "neighbor" mean, this verse alone should compel us to be "sent".

By Tom McComb on January 11, 2010 2:29 PM

I guess you have to pick and choose for a top ten, but Luke 9:1-9 and Luke 10:1-12 are important to me, since they relay Jesus' instructions to his disciples - instructions which are pertinent today as we strive to fulfill the Mission.

For whatever it's worth.

By Jim Hobby on January 11, 2010 6:14 PM

I would add Rev. 5:9 and 7:9

By Tracy B. Dickerson on January 11, 2010 10:08 PM

Great list, thanks!

I tend to think that Matthew 9:35-38 to Matthew 10:42 is key in that it explicitly:

•lays out the three expressions of ministry that constituted Jesus’ mission; preaching, teaching, and healing (Matthew 9:35);
•teaches that collaborative mission with God always begins with prayer (Matthew 9:38);
•shows that Jesus gives authority to collaborate with him (Matthew 10:1);
•sends the disciples out (Matthew 10:5);
•lays out the expressions of ministry that Jesus wants replicated by those he sends (Matthew 10:7-8);
•brings the mission full circle-directing their efforts back to himself and ultimately The Father in Matthew 10:40: "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.”

Grace and peace~

Tracy

By Jr Sheets on January 11, 2010 10:15 PM

We can't go without these:

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:36-38, cf. Luke 10:1-2)

Also, the poetry of John:

"Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together" (John 4:34-36).

By John on January 12, 2010 9:27 AM

I think Colossians 4:2-6 would be helpful:

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

By David Alexander on January 12, 2010 11:01 AM

I like the blending of two small mission statements with LARGE meanings....

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) and “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)

By Aaron Cross on January 12, 2010 12:16 PM

Romans 10:14-15
This may have been posted already???

By Glenda Smith on January 12, 2010 2:30 PM

I believe that Isaiah 58 should be the scripture that describes the church today.

Most churches are so into themselves and building multi million dollar building for their posterity, they miss the call to care for orphans and help poor churches spread the Gospel where it has never been heard. The Lord's return is based on the spreading of the Gospel in all the world.

The greatest commandment, Jesus said, is, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength, and the second is like it, love you neighbor as yourself". How many Christians do this today? How many churches teach it? There are missions in India that have numerous orphans who would otherwise have no home, would not be able to go to school, would NEVER hear about Jesus and they are strugglin financially.

The western churches were not blessed financially so they could hoard it all to themsleves. The church in Amercia gladly gave over the care of neighbor to the government welfare programs; this one reason they have more money, not that God has blessed them more.

Please go to this site to see what God wants the church to be:

www.acm-india.org

By Glenda Smith on January 12, 2010 2:35 PM

I believe that Isaiah 58 should be the scripture that describes the church today.

Please go to this site to see what God wants the church to be:

www.acm-india.org

By Ken on January 12, 2010 3:10 PM

I Chron. 16:24 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among All the peoples.

By Keith Walters on January 12, 2010 8:50 PM

John 20:21 "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.'"

By Chris Gensheer on December 18, 2010 9:32 AM

Good list. What about Genesis 1-2, where God gives his first man something to do, a task to accomplish? Guard and keep the garden, tend it so that it spreads throughout the entire world? Adam's sin was not just in his act of commission to disobey the direct command of God; it was in his sin of omission, to neglect his duty, his mission, as a creature created to rule the creation in such a way as to image God throughout all creation.

By Phil Miglioratti on December 30, 2010 2:15 PM

Did I miss it - Habakkuk 2:14?

That the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea ...

By Simon Murphy on August 3, 2011 10:56 PM

I think "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1) must be one of the biggest ones.

By Phil Miglioratti on February 3, 2012 2:57 PM

What about Jonah 4:11: Should I not be concerned about that great city?

Comment Policy

Comments are welcome on discussion posts. Comments are not moderated but do require a keyword to avoid spam. If this is your first time commenting, please review the comment policy.