by Daniel Speer
In my last essay, I argued that the glory of Christ is at the heart of the missio Dei, and, thus, our work in missions. Unfortunately, many have forgotten the true nature of their callings and have embraced sociologically based growth models and watered-down doctrine to achieve numerical results while ignoring the importance of developing true Christian discipleship. In this essay, we will look to see how Scripture links the glory of Christ with the salvation of the nations.
Isaiah and the Glory of God’s Servant
In Isaiah 49, God gives us a forward-looking prophecy about the Messiah. Verses 3 and 5 give context to the central theme of the glory of Jesus Christ: He is the Servant in whom God the Father will display His splendor (v. 3) and the one Who is to be “honored”(v. 5, ESV) or Who “shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD” (v. 5, KJV).
Then we move on to see that the glory of the Servant is central to the great mission of God in the world that is for all the nations: “He says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth’” (Isa. 49:6). We can draw two main points from the sixth verse. First, the Servant is glorious; it is “too light a thing” for the weight of the Servant’s glory that He would just restore the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Jesus’ glory is magnificent, and it is the key concern for God the Father. Second, God’s mission in the world has always been that the glory of the Servant Jesus would be for all nations, not just the Israelites. Perhaps a concise mission statement for the church that encompasses a broader understanding of God’s great mission in the world would be that “Jesus is glorious, and His glory is for the nations.”
Jesus Is Glorious
When considering this point that Jesus is glorious, we must begin with eternity past. Scripture reveals to us that Jesus is eternally existent as part of the triune Godhead, active in creating everything that is. More, the centrality of Christ for all things holds reality in existence (Jn. 1:1–3; Col. 1:15–17). Christ’s glory also shines through the Old Testament, where we see Jesus depicted in shadows, types, and images (e.g., Adam, Moses, and David). Even the blood applied on the door posts at Passover teaches us something about the coming Messiah. Jesus is readily found in the Psalms and Prophets with great emphasis being placed on His glory (Ps. 24:7–10; Dan. 7:13–14). Jesus Himself taught this truth to the disciples on the Emmaus road: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk. 24:27, ESV).
The New Testament reveals new facets of Jesus’s glory. Even humility can partake in the glory of Christ as He emptied Himself to become man (Phil. 2:5–11). His wise teaching reveals the paltry weakness of human thought in comparison to divine thought. His miracles demonstrate that everything, all of nature—sickness, demons, even death itself—must obey Him. His active obedience in obeying every aspect of the law and living a perfect life, tempted in every way as we are yet without sin (Heb. 4:15), and His passive obedience in following the Father’s will for Him to die on the cross, though He prayed the cup of God’s wrath would pass from Him, illuminates His excellence anew. His forgiveness, even in the face of those mocking Him in His final moments, show a nature of supreme and beautiful love. The unsurpassable glory of His resurrection from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrates His final victory over sin and death for all who would trust in Him for salvation.
In the longest-recorded prayer we have of Jesus in the New Testament, the “high priestly prayer” in John 17, Jesus begins by praying, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you. . . . And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (vv. 1b, 5). Jesus’ glorification in the world, God’s great mission, also glorifies the Father Who sent His beloved Son.
The New Testament narrative continues as we see Jesus commission His disciples to go into all the nations to engage in missions as part of the Mission of God. Shortly thereafter, He ascends to heaven to the Father’s right hand where He reigns and rules with all authority, which continues unto this very today. He has been building His church and has invited us in to be “co-laborers” with Him in the process (1 Cor. 3:9). The Biblical narrative demonstrates readily the expansion of the gospel to all nations and all people, culminating with the return of the glorious King Jesus to usher in the final judgement, to raise to eternal bodily life the saints, and to be the center of the remade new heavens and new earth forever. The book of Revelation even tells us that the glory of the Lamb will be the only light that we will need forever in His coming kingdom: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23).
Jesus’ Glory Is For the Nations
The second point that we see in Isaiah 49:6 is that the glory of Jesus is for the nations. The full weight of His glory demands in turn a weightier mission than just to “raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel.” Importantly, we can note here that the expansion of the gospel to the nations has always been central to God’s mission in the world. It was not a new shift when Jesus commissioned the disciples.
This passage has an important parallel in Acts 13:42–49, where we see the gospel moving from the Jewish people to the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas are on Paul’s first missionary journey in the city of Pisidian Antioch. Paul, by custom, went into the synagogue first and preached the gospel of the resurrected Christ. Upon leaving, the Gentiles urged them to return the next Sabbath and also preach to them. The next Sabbath, they went back to preach to the Gentiles, but the Jewish leaders, filled with envy, “began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him” (v. 45). Paul and Barnabas, speaking boldly, replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’” (vv. 46–47).
Paul directly quotes from Isaiah 49:6; it is God’s mission in the world—nay, God’s command—that the Word of God would be spoken to the Gentiles for their salvation. I love the response of the Gentiles in this passage. It moves me to tears when I preach it. “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region” (Acts 13:48–49).
In Acts, we see the movement and work of the early church involved in missions to reach the nations, appealing to Isaiah 49 for authority that is rooted in the grand scale Mission of God throughout the ages. The Great Commission serves as an emphatic exclamation point on an epic redemptive plan that has existed “from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8, KJV).
Conclusion: A Mission Unleashed
For men and women to find the inspiration to give up their lives wholly, to leave security, comfort, and family behind for the sake of making disciples among the remaining unreached people groups in the world, to spend years learning difficult languages with seemingly little results, or to persevere through trials and tribulations from within and without, we need the Holy Spirit to reveal, through Scripture, the fullness of God’s mission and the glory of His Son, Jesus Christ. We need to let it permeate all areas of our lives and reframe our purposes on this earth. Anything short of finding ourselves swept into such a grand eternal drama will never inspire the same devotion that led the disciples to give their very lives for the sake of Jesus’ glory.[1]
Thanks be to God that we do not have to make up a mission all on our own. It has been given to us; we have been invited into His mission! Let us, in this generation, herald the glory and the coming of the King of all Kings unto the darkest ends of the earth and disciple a generation to follow who yearns with every fiber of their being to do the same.
[1] The teaching and preaching of many have helped to form and refine my thoughts on this subject: Alan Hirsch and Mark Nelson mentioned in my previous essay; Timothy Tennant’s Invitation to World Missions (2010); Samuel H. Larsen’s lectures on the History of Missions (from Reformed Theological Seminary); John Piper’s preaching on the supremacy of Christ; David Platt’s discipleship and teaching in Secret Church (2013); Timothy Keller’s Preaching (2016; especially the section on Christ in the Old Testament); and David Outlaw’s teaching and preaching with the emphasis on telling the “big picture” story with Jesus at the center of it all.
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