The Christian’s Mission

By Jeff Curtis

When we consider Jesus’ final instructions to His apostles in Mark 16:14-16 (Matt. 28:18-20), we are struck by both the completeness and the incompleteness of the Lord’s ministry. Jesus came into the world to fulfill the purpose that His Father had given Him. On the Thursday night before His death, His fulfillment of that purpose was so near completion that He could say to His Father in prayer, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). He had been perfectly obedient to His Father. At the same time, we see a glaring incompleteness that demands attention. Jesus began His ministry by preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt.4:17). This message was His continual proclamation for roughly 3 ½ years. When He approached the end of His ministry, He was still forecasting the coming of the kingdom (Mark 9:1). He told His apostles, as He led them to Mount Olivet, where He would ascend to the Father, that in a few days the Holy Spirit would come upon them and they would receive power (Acts 1:4-5). When Jesus blessed His apostles and ascended through the clouds, ending for all time His own earthly ministry, the kingdom still had not arrived. It was due to arrive soon, but it had not yet come.

What was Jesus’ ministry meant to accomplish? He didn’t come to end something, but to begin something. His ministry set in place the greatest of all missions. The greatest event of all times was Jesus’ ministry. The Old Testament looked forward to it. It is the heart of the Bible, expressed in what we call the “Great Commission.”

When Jesus gave His final message to His disciples before His ascension, He told them that He had all authority and identified Himself as the designated head of the Christian Era that was beginning. He then commanded them to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). He went on to indicate that, as the masses accepted the gospel message, the disciples were to baptize believers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matt.28:19). Those being commissioned were then to teach the ones who had been baptized everything that Jesus had taught them (Matt. 28:20). In His final word of encouragement, Jesus told them that, as they carried out His commission, He would be with them and all the others who would come after them until “the end of the age” (Matt. 29:20).

Jesus had come to start a mission that He would hand over to His disciples and apostles, and then they would live it out as their mission. Upon His return to the Father, Jesus would enter into His work as our mediator at the Father’s right hand, interceding for His people as their High Priest. His plan all along was to leave in the hands of His apostles and disciples – at the appropriate time – this mission that His ministry had begun. He gave his gospel, which He had created by His death and confirmed by His resurrection, to all who followed Him. These followers were to wear His name and become his church. Surely, in this announcement of His mission, we are seeing the supreme goal that Jesus calls upon His church to fulfill daily.

Does God Care About Physical Appearance?

by Jeff Curtis

When Samuel, under God’s guidance, was ready to anoint a king from the sons of Jesse to succeed Saul, he thought he had found the right man for the job in Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab. “But the Lord said the Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart” (1Sam. 16:7). This passage seems to say, “God doesn’t care what you look like.” That thought brings comfort to many of us.

It then comes as something of a surprise to read Leviticus 21 and discover that God rejected some priests because they had defects or blemishes. Does that fact violate God’s nondiscriminatory policy regarding appearances? The answer to that question is “no” for the reasons given earlier. The priests under the Old Testament system were a special case. They represented God and His holiness; to do so appropriately, they had to be “without defect.”

What about in the New Testament? Does the law of Christ that we live under have anything to say about what God thinks agrees with the truth in the passage in 1Samuel. The biggest discrimination problem in the New Testament times was not based on the abilities or appearances, but on nationality; Jews didn’t associate with Gentiles. That issue was emphatically settled by the inspired writers. Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).

When God saves a person, He doesn’t consider his standing in the world. After that person has been saved, he or she is a child of God and a disciple of Jesus. God doesn’t care about a person’s genealogy or appearance. All are one in Christ Jesus.

Is there any situation in which a Christian’s appearance might matter? Yes. Since God wants each of us His people to be a good influence (Matt. 5:13-16), Christians need to consider how they look to others on a daily basis. It is true that “the Lord looks at the heart,” but other people look at one’s physical appearance and draw conclusions about Him based on what they see.

Knowing this, should we care what others see or think when they look at us? If we are concerned about being a good influence on others and saving the souls of others, then we should. Of course, circumstances vary from time to time, place to place, and culture to culture; so, no Christian can dictate how another should look in every circumstance. Still, each Christian must be conscience of the way appearance can enhance or detract from his or her Christian influence.

In some respects, we cannot do much about how we look; but all of us should “do the best with what we have” so that we can have the best influence possible on others in the world in which we live.