That phrase has come to be used frequently as a cynical response when someone boasts
about what they plan to accomplish. But
when a person actually knows that their words will be the last they will ever
speak to someone on this earth, they can carry enormous weight. Could there be any greater example of this than
the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples before ascending to Heaven?
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave final instructions to his followers in a passage known by many as the Great Commission. Its mandate was simple: go make disciples of all nations. When we think of nations today, we normally think of political states or countries, like Russia, Spain, Brazil, etc. But the word that Jesus used in this passage was ethnos, the Greek word from which we get the word ethnic. Thus, the “nations” that He was talking about are groups of people with a common culture, unique language and geography.
When we understand this, we begin to realize what a daunting task this is. Today, there are only a few hundred countries worldwide, but thousands of people groups. In China alone it has been estimated that there are as many as 800 such groups, each with language differences sufficient to isolate them from the rest of the world and from hearing the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus. Added to this challenge is the fact that many of these languages are oral only, that is, they have never been reduced to written form.
In my blog post entitled “Tour of the Ages” I related how I was shown at the end of my Parallel Journey remnants of past civilizations in the form of countless human souls strewn like debris in the streets and embedded in the walls of ancient ruins. Realizing how many times more people are living today, I was deeply moved by the enormity and urgency of reaching these masses of people who are still waiting to hear the Good News for the first time. In a way, these were “last words” to me just before I was rescued. I remember well those scenes, and in my first prayer time with family members after I woke up I was asked if there was anything I wanted prayer about. I said, “The nations.”
But how will the Good News ever reach those groups isolated behind language and cultural barriers? Thankfully, there are a number of organizations whose sole purpose is to send missionaries into these groups to live among them, learn their language and culture and eventually be able to translate the Bible into their mother tongue. Notable among these independent organizations are: Wycliffe Bible Translators, New Tribes Mission and Mission to Unreached Peoples. These types of organizations are supported financially almost entirely by private donations of individuals and local churches.
In recent years, God has mightily used a film that dramatizes the entire book of Luke from the Bible. The script is exclusively Scripture. The film, known simply as the Jesus film, has been shown to more than a billion people and has now been translated into more than 1100 languages.
Sadly, as urgent as the need is to reach these unreached people groups with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ only a small fraction of the missions budgets of most Western churches goes toward this effort. It has been estimated that more than 90% of the collective missions effort and financial support goes to help those groups that have already heard the Good News and have at least some Scriptures in their own language.
My hope and prayer is that anyone who has not thought about these things will consider what God may be calling them to do to support His mandate to reach ALL nations for Christ, whether in their giving, in their praying or in their going.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave final instructions to his followers in a passage known by many as the Great Commission. Its mandate was simple: go make disciples of all nations. When we think of nations today, we normally think of political states or countries, like Russia, Spain, Brazil, etc. But the word that Jesus used in this passage was ethnos, the Greek word from which we get the word ethnic. Thus, the “nations” that He was talking about are groups of people with a common culture, unique language and geography.
When we understand this, we begin to realize what a daunting task this is. Today, there are only a few hundred countries worldwide, but thousands of people groups. In China alone it has been estimated that there are as many as 800 such groups, each with language differences sufficient to isolate them from the rest of the world and from hearing the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus. Added to this challenge is the fact that many of these languages are oral only, that is, they have never been reduced to written form.
In my blog post entitled “Tour of the Ages” I related how I was shown at the end of my Parallel Journey remnants of past civilizations in the form of countless human souls strewn like debris in the streets and embedded in the walls of ancient ruins. Realizing how many times more people are living today, I was deeply moved by the enormity and urgency of reaching these masses of people who are still waiting to hear the Good News for the first time. In a way, these were “last words” to me just before I was rescued. I remember well those scenes, and in my first prayer time with family members after I woke up I was asked if there was anything I wanted prayer about. I said, “The nations.”
But how will the Good News ever reach those groups isolated behind language and cultural barriers? Thankfully, there are a number of organizations whose sole purpose is to send missionaries into these groups to live among them, learn their language and culture and eventually be able to translate the Bible into their mother tongue. Notable among these independent organizations are: Wycliffe Bible Translators, New Tribes Mission and Mission to Unreached Peoples. These types of organizations are supported financially almost entirely by private donations of individuals and local churches.
In recent years, God has mightily used a film that dramatizes the entire book of Luke from the Bible. The script is exclusively Scripture. The film, known simply as the Jesus film, has been shown to more than a billion people and has now been translated into more than 1100 languages.
Sadly, as urgent as the need is to reach these unreached people groups with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ only a small fraction of the missions budgets of most Western churches goes toward this effort. It has been estimated that more than 90% of the collective missions effort and financial support goes to help those groups that have already heard the Good News and have at least some Scriptures in their own language.
My hope and prayer is that anyone who has not thought about these things will consider what God may be calling them to do to support His mandate to reach ALL nations for Christ, whether in their giving, in their praying or in their going.
And they sang a new
song, saying: “You are worthy to take
the scroll and to open the seals, because you were slain, and with your blood
you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and
nation.” -- Revelation 5:9
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