Role of Pastoral Ministry in Global Evangelisation (Matthew 24:14).
Text:
“And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.”(AMP)
According to Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life estimates: the Cristian population is 31.11% in the world by 2020. It is believed and projected that by 2050, world Christian population will be 30.7% and the Islam will be 29.7%. The decline of the Christianity is obvious through this study despite big claims by churches and missionaries.
Let me try to explain the word ‘preached’ it’s used as proclaimed, announced, witnessed, spread out, shared through out the world, nations, ethnic groups as a witness or testimony. It’s no wonder this passage has been a motivation for missionaries and mission agencies for centuries. This is a great promise, but understood as a command.
Is Matthew 24:14 Jesus is offering his disciples a task to be accomplished or a promise to be trusted? Please note that the words such as Kerygma, Parousia, Ecclesia, Eschatology, and Maranatha are related to second coming of Jesus Christ.
It is referred to as the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of God, the Gospel of glory, the Gospel of peace, and my/our gospel. This gospel must not simply be preached or shared throughout the globe but must be believed in every nation. (C.J. Moore).
Kerygma means preaching the gospel of Christ in the manner of the early church. Early Christian catechesis was concerned primarily with exhorting those preparing for baptism to follow the way of “life” as opposed to that of “death”. Then kerygma became a word for the propaganda of the doctrines of salvation.
The idea understood by the church is that World evangelization will be completed by the time Christ comes back. However, we cannot know exact time specifically (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32). But some mission leaders had a target of AD2000, some as 2020 project, now is said as 2050. But the reality is that Christ would like to see the world is filled with his word, filled with his love and the name of Jesus is exalted.
Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess then the end would come. That is the meaning of the the end will come after the preaching of the Gospel. Global preparation is part of the preparation for the coming of the Lord through the preaching of the gospel.
The end is correlated to the preaching of the Gospel. We are called to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 24:14, Mark 13:10). Gospel is the property of all nations and all peoples. He has given authority to preach to all nations (Matthew 28:19). There is a crowd in heaven compressed of all languages, tribes, and nations (Revelation 5:9).
In what sense, then, would the good news of God's kingdom be heard "all over the world" before temple being destroyed, event occurred?" the good news of God's kingdom was indeed being proclaimed "all over the world" before the temple was destroyed." (Colossians 1:16, Romans 16:26, Romans 10:18, 15:18-24). Jesus did not state the Gospel would "go far outside Judea!" A normal reading of the text is clear. Jesus meant the whole world would be reached and then the end would come, the end of the age, not the end of the Temple. But, What happens to someone who dies without ever hearing the gospel? This question has been debated by missiologists, theologians, ministers, and pastors for centuries. (C.J. Moore).
The Greek word (Ethnos) is not a geopolitical nation. It is a body of persons united by kinship, culture, and common traditions people groups. The eschatological motivation frequently leads to pragmatic practices that hurt rather than help the Church’s mission. The proclamation of the gospel of Christ with a proper understanding of God’s sovereignty over the salvation of all and the Parousia will help the mission fruitful (C.J. Moore).
Go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Paul declared that the gospel preached to every creature under heaven (Colossians 1:6,23). The preaching is not only a witness, it actually places more emphasis on the entire process of conversion, feeding, growing, and overcoming than merely witnessing. Disciples are created through steady feeding, a believing response in those who hear combined with overcoming. (John W. Ritenbaugh).
The Kingdom will be preached. God will see it done. He will preach it through whatever means, by whatever agency, and in whatever time, He has already ordained. The question for us, then, is whether we will be in alignment with Him and usable by Him so that we can be directed by Him as He completes His work. (David C. Grabbe).
The end of the age will be full of wars, famines, hatred, lawlessness, and even martyrdom. Yet there are two stunning promises. First, despite the opposition, those who remain faithful will be saved (v. 13). Second, before the end, the gospel will be heralded throughout the world (v. 14).
According to Ellicott: the word ‘all the world’ (literally, the inhabited earth, as in Luke 2:1; Acts 11:28) neither more nor less than the Roman empire.
World evangelism is struggling with a few problems of the followers of Christ: We talk too much, We have tiring script to the hearers of the gospel, We are bullies, We are not earned the right place in the society and People don’t see any differences between a Christian and a non-Christian.
Let me leave with you three notions out of Matthew 24:14, the verse talks about Lasting vision of God, the lost vision of the church and missions, however God would use the least to proclaim his gospel till the end.
1. Lasting vision of God- His name is higher
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done (Psalm 105:1).
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted” (Isaiah 12:4).
“My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty (Malachi 1:11).
Throughout the Old Testament, God sets Himself above all other gods. He creates a nation with the intent that its people will make His name known among the nations and share the great works He has done. The Old Testament closes with Malachi reiterating God’s desire for fame among the nations. The picture of God’s goodness being known everywhere the sun touches is poignant and important. We, too, bear a responsibility to share God’s goodness to every tribe, tongue and nation-everywhere the sun touches. These great works culminate in the reconciliation of the Cross and in His defeat of death in the Resurrection. This is the message we need to proclaim to this world.
2. Lost vision of the church
One thing is clear in these days that the church at large has lost the vision of God, ‘preaching the gospel’. The church struggles with court cases, corruptions, mismanagement of the properties, personalities clashes, personnel management and survival of the man made organisational systems. Every organisation is crying for financial help.
But, prophet Isaiah says, {Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”}(Isaiah 6:8)
God never coerces us to serve Him, but He continually offers us a choice. This sobering vision helped propel prophet Isaiah to volunteer to share the Lord’s message. We, too, are motivated in direct proportion to our experience with God. If we struggle to find the inspiration to share the good news, perhaps it’s time to pray for a deeper revelation of God’s glory and holiness.
“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16).
Our lamps have been lit with the intention that we would give light to others as well. It’s important to note that, in this instance, our good deeds are the light He is talking about. Gospel can not be preached away from us. We give credence to the gospel. It’s not just the evil that we do that works against the gospel, but also our unwillingness to do good.
“I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). All of us who follow Christ are part of His goal of redeeming the whole world to Himself. We are the light of the world. There is no plan B. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38).
The gospel desperately needs harvesters to share the message with those whose hearts are ripe to receive the good news. The Lord has given us the responsibility to make evangelism a priority in the church. This is more than rushing around telling people about Jesus. It’s also about praying that the Spirit will move in others to feel the importance of joining the work of evangelism.
3. The least shall do his work
Paul declared himself as the least of all in 1 Corinthians 15:9, and in Ephesians 3:8-13. He acknowledged the kinds of ministries in the church “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). These all for edification of the saints.
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace (Acts 20:24). Paul’s single-minded focus to fulfill his responsibility of sharing the gospel as widely as possible should energize us all. further he said that I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile (Romans 1:16).
Our willingness to share the gospel puts us at the mercy of those who may scoff at our devotion. It only takes a couple of times of being laughed at, ridiculed, or treated roughly for sharing the gospel before you’re tempted to downplay your faith.
Don’t be afraid or ashamed. The gospel is the power of God!
‘I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building’ (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).
We share God’s message, but God causes it to take root and grow into faith. And even if we don’t always get to see the fruit, we can take solace that we are playing an important role in the harvest.
He told his young disciple Timothy to concentrate on the ministry and evangelism. ‘But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry’ (2 Timothy 4:5). Paul finishes his second letter to Timothy with this commission. With all the work that Timothy is called to set an example as a young pastor, Paul wants to ensure that he doesn’t neglect the work of evangelism.
Conclusion:
We need to think How the spirit of evangelism works in today’s context? Where the Vision comes from? Whether from top to bottom or bottom to the top. God gives Specific vision for specific people at a specific time.
Work of the spirit of evangelism is diminishing. Global evangelism reduced to local survival? Everyone must examine and ask himself ‘Where I stand ?’ in the larger context of global evangelism. No congregation can be strengthened without evangelism. How to motivate for evangelism, teach the lasting vision of God based on Mathew 24:14, nurture the motivation for soul winning.
Methods of evangelism differs from place to place and person to person. So come out of Satisfaction and Survival to fulfil the primary call of every single believer. Make your own questionnaire to scale your commitment, concerns, expectations and participation in global evangelism. Glocal (global+local evangelism). Easier to change the individual rather than the institution. There shall be a band of least according to the word of God like during the time of Elijah around 7 thousand who have not knelt before the Baal. God would bring them to you.
God bless, amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
