Did Jesus’ Mission on Earth last only for 15 Hours?

At a global Evangelism event, a discussion facilitator asked: “What is the best form of Evangelism?”
The participants representing an array of ministries such as the literature & tracts, gospel films, TV and Media ministries, Mass evangelism etc., responded enthusiastically expressing their views. However, after some interaction, he asked, “What was God’s method of World Evangelization?”
He noted that although God had unlimited methods and resources at his disposal to bring the Salvation message to mankind, God used a unique means called the “Incarnational Method” – God becoming flesh and living among us through Christ!  
Hence His incarnation and 33 years of life on earth were necessary to ultimately offer the ‘Sacrifice’ for the sin of the World. This is why the incarnation is significant to evaluate the Mission of God today.  

Why Incarnation?

Theologically, the incarnation deals with the integration of the divinity and humanity of Christ and how Jesus the Logos becomes flesh. However, it has a wider purpose Missionally. Christ’s message is intended to continue incarnating – becoming flesh through people – in communities around the World.
The Great Commission to ‘Disciple the Nations’ is for the Gospel to become incarnate in every location and to all the people in the World.
The Apostle John who was intimately associated with the incarnate Christ’s wrote,

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son…” John 1:14

Therefore, the Gospel must become a tangible reality to the lost through Christians just as Jesus Identified with humanity as a Jew from Nazareth growing up as a Carpenter, living under the Roman political government and Jewish religious contexts. His presence was vital in geographic locations to present the reality of God to people. He told Philip, “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father“– which is the purpose of incarnation.
Similarly, the ‘whole Church’ must realize that their presence on earth is for the primary purpose of being ‘incarnated’ among the lost. Without it, the Lost world would never see or know Jesus!

Just as then, now two thousand years later Christ still uses His Body, the ‘Church’ to be visible and present in every human habitation on earth. Therefore, the Mission of Christ must be evaluated not only by how far the Gospel has spread but also how ‘near’ it is in proximity to the lost – to nearly 3 billion people.

A true measure of a church is not counting the numbers inside but by counting how many are outside who has not been reached! Often people ask me “how many people are in your church?” and I respond by saying that I have 1 million people in my church (the population of my city) – who don’t come to Church on Sunday! Incarnation requires Churches to take ownership of the destiny of the lost!

Pandemic or Pan-Evangelism?

The Incarnational Mission is intended to spread the Gospel through human contact.
The Corvid virus spread from a few people in December 2019 to over 400 million people worldwide also through human contact!

The WHO reports that “the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with each other, for example at a conversational distance. The virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe.”

Instead of Churches becoming spiritual Quarantine Centers, if members are released to a ‘conversational distance’ within the Lost, we can have an outbreak of a Pan-Evangelism!
(Please note that this is not a health advisory for church gatherings – but a spiritual example)

Quarantine VS Spike?

These 2 words became common during the past two years but they also reflect how much the Gospel could have spread if Christians in Churches were released to incarnate among the lost.
If the Gospel is infectious and powerful, the more people are exposed to it, the more it will spread!

Check whether your Church is a Quarantine Center.
The CDC defines ‘Isolation and quarantine’ as a means of prevention of exposure to people who have a contagious disease.

• Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.
• Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease.

• The ‘Spike’ of the Gospel in the early Church:
• “But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.” Acts 12:24
• “In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” Acts 19:20.
  

The Key Aspects of Incarnation:

The Apostle John further explains the Incarnation in his Epistle:

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life” 1 John 1:1-2

This summarizes the incarnation as Jesus becoming:

• Audible – “what we have heard”
• Visible – “what we have seen”
• Observable – “what we have looked at”
• Experiential– “what we have touched with our hands”,

1. Proximity & visibility of the Church to the Lost – to be heard and seen.

a. Making the Logos Audible – “What we have heard and seen with our eyes”

John 3:16 gives the reason why people go to a lost eternity: “that whoever believes in Him should not perish.” It is the responsibility of the Church to make this message clear and understandable for the Lost to believe in the Gospel.

Hearing is vital for believing, for “Faith comes by hearing.” God has also determined that
“through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” 1 Cor 1:21.

b. How Distant is the Message?

Both salt and light need to be close and integrated. The Incarnation method makes it possible for the Lost to be within the hearing distance of the Gospel. Therefore, it is particularly important to evaluate how much of the Body of Christ is present in every location in the World. Not only be present but also must be heard to the lost. Sadly, most of the gospel is preached inside the Church and not outside!

Let us be Near so that all can Hear!

Pause and Pray.

• Pray that Christians will realize their presence among the lost is important to the Mission of Christ.
• That the that Christians will be near enough to the lost so that they can hear.
• Think of people you need to associate with for the purpose of sharing the gospel.
• Pray for areas where people will never have an opportunity to hear the Gospel for laborers be ‘sent.’
• Pray for Chrisitians to ‘incarnate’ the Message of Jesus and be heard clearly by those who are lost.

c. How Visible is the Message?– “what we have seen with our eyes”

Christianity is a visible expression that could be followed or imitated by those who hear it.
Remember that it was the ‘Disciples’ who were ‘first called Christians’ by the Gentiles in Antioch!
Sadly the reverse happens today as we try making ‘disciples’ out of Christians!
The primary reason for the stagnation of Christ’s Mission may be because ‘there are too many Christians and very few Disciples.‘ Jesus intention of His followers being ‘Witnesses’ expresses the visible aspect of the incarnational Mission.  

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son

To be visible is expressing Jesus more than through images, digital screens, or even through church buildings. It is generally known that most other religious groups dismiss Christianity mainly because of the distorted visibility of Christians.

Jesus spoke of 2 aspects of making the Gospel visible:

1. Actions: Good works.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Mat 5:16)

              ‘Light and sight’ are closely related – even with the best eyesight, one cannot see in darkness. Christians’ good works help to illuminate the truth to the lost and therefore we should pray for various ministries which encourage good works.

             2. Attitudes: Of Christ.

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven…” (Mat 5:44.)

Persecution and opposition create opportunities to make the Gospel visible. The early church grew exponentially because the persecuted  Christians displayed the true attitudes of Christ to their persecutors. Note that ‘good works’ manifests the Father and ‘attitudes’ manifest the ‘Children’ of the Father in Heaven.

The Visibility of the Gospel is also hindered by distorted cultural or traditional expressions of Christianity.

Hudson Taylor in China.

When Hudson Taylor went to China as a Missionary he was well known for the connection between wearing Chinese-style clothing and other aspects of the approach to conducting foreign missionary work in China, namely, eating Chinese food with Chinese implements; living among the Chinese in Chinese housing; the high standards which he and the CIM set for acquisition of the languages of those whom they intended to reach; care to observe local customs and etiquette, and refusing protection from British consular authorities and the military power at their disposal.

Pause and Pray

• Pray that the message of Christ will be seen and heard clearly by the Lost.
• That all barriers which distorts the Gospel will be removed.
• Pray that missionaries amongst the Unreached People Groups will presend the incarnate Christ in a visible, relevant and recognizable manner.
• Pray that the ‘blindness’ due to the darkness of this world will be removed for the light of the Gospel to shine through.
  

2. The Relevance and authenticity of the Church – to be open and examined by the lost.

a. Being observable and examined. “what we have looked at”

This involves more than just seeing – the incarnate Gospel must be capable of being scrutinized and examined by seekers to discover the genuineness of its truth being lived out. The Greek word used for ‘looked at’ implies ‘looking closely’ and even ‘to visit.’
Jesus modelled this genuineness when John’s Disciples requested to see ‘where he stayed’ first, rather than ‘what he preached’!

Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?“ He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying and remained with Him that day…” John 1:39-40

Non-Christian would rather visit homes to find out about Christianity than visit a Church! They first need Christ – not Christianity. This invitation ‘come and see‘ to observe the genuineness of the Gospel is lacking because superficial and unauthentic Christianity which is not attractive to the Lost.

Pause and Pray.

• Pray for areas where people who will never have an opportunity to hear the Gospel will have the invitation from Christians to ‘Come and See.’
• That there will be intentional dialoge and relationships between Christians and those of other religeons.

• Pray that Christian homes will become the centres of Evangelism to welcome the Lost.

3. Availability of the Church to the lost – To touch and experience.

Finally, the Lost must encounter and experience Christ through the incarnate message. The Gospel is not a philosophy or a doctrine. It is a life-giving message generating the power of God to the experience of the Living Christ.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

Here again, the distance of the Church from the Lost denies this opportunity for power encounters of the Gospel. The only way to open the Church doors to sinners is to first open the door to those inside to go out to the lost – to be the salt and light. To get out of Quarantine! Training and empowering them to live the incarnated message of the Gospel in their homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and in the marketplace will create more opportunities for the Lost to touch and experience Jesus.

Who can reach the Lost most?

The kind of Evangelism used in the early Church is known as ‘Oikos Evangelism’ – meaning the use of a network of relationships of friends/relatives/associates. It was not a ‘special revelation’ but it was the natural way people shared what was going on in their lives.
If Christianity grew from 120 people to Millions in the first 300 years, how much more can it grow if the right method is used today?

Oikos Evangelism.

If every Christian is open to being ‘touched’ by sinners of society, the Gospel of incarnation will have a great impact on the Lost.

William Booth and Evangelism.

William Booth embarked as an Evangelist in 1852 and walked the streets of London to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the destitute. Booth abandoned the conventional concept of a church and a pulpit, and instead to take his message to the common people he set up a tent in a graveyard to preach to the lost.

Thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards were among his first converts to Christianity, and as his ministry grew, the gospel of Jesus Christ was spread far and wide to the poor, the vulnerable, and the destitute.

To summarize, Jesus became flesh through incarnation so that the Church, His Body should also make his Gospel become flesh through them! Therefore, the Mission of Christ is not evaluated just by statistics, programs or by methods – it is by how much the Church is incarnated among the Lost!

Pause and Pray:

• Pray Matthew 9:36 Prayer of Jesus:  Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
• Pray that ‘Sending out’ will happen in every Church and Nation.
• That ‘Sending Structures’ be set up in National Churches as Missions Departments to send to other nations.
• Pray that every Church will not measure by their ‘seating capacity‘ but by their ‘sending capacity’

Thank you for Praying for Christ’s Mission on earth.

Next: Part 4 – How Christ influenced the World through HIs Kingdom.

Sources: WHO, CDC, South China Mission, The Salvation Army USA, Oikos Evangelism-iphc.org,

Picture Sources: History of the Salvation Army, History.com, medium.com – salt & light, sideprayer.com