Hey church family!
What are some verses in the Bible that you would deem as most important?
As we begin a new week, let me suggest we include Matthew 24:14 in our choosing!
Tucked inside a teaching about the end of the age, Jesus says this to his disciples:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
It might be easy to quickly bypass this verse, but consider it for a moment. Jesus is clearly saying that the end will come after all nations have heard the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom. Simply stated, once the gospel goes to all the world, Jesus will come back.
Prominent New Testament scholar, Craig Keener, writes that “in this instance [Jesus] explicitly declares that universal proclamation does mark the end.” [1]
Yes, God is in complete control of when Jesus will come back to judge the living and the dead; and yes, none of us know the day or the hour. But(!), God still has placed some of the control in our hands.
Jesus’ words never fail. Therefore, what he says in Matthew 24:14 is true.
After all the nations—all peoples—hear the good news that Jesus is the resurrected King whose conquered sin, death, and Satan, the end will come.
And whose role is it to bring the gospel to all nations? The church.
As Jesus makes clear in Matthew 28:18-20, it is the Great Commission for every disciple of Jesus to proclaim the gospel to every nation.
Let me finish with quoting from George Eldon Ladd, a 20th century professor whose written on Matthew 24:14. May it convict and encourage all of us! He wrote this in 1959.
Do you love the Lord’s appearing? Then you will bend every effort to take the gospel into all the world.
It troubles me in the light of the clear teaching of God’s Word and in the light of our Lord’s explicit definition of our task in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) that we take it so lightly.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” This is the Good News of the Kingdom. Christ has wrested (taken away) authority from Satan. The Kingdom of God has attacked the kingdom of Satan; This evil Age has been assaulted by The Age to Come in the person of Christ. All authority is now His.
He will not display this authority in its final glorious victory until He comes again, but the authority is now His. Satan is defeated and his power restrained; death is conquered; sin is broken. All authority has been given to Him.
Because of that authority he says, “Go therefore.” His is the Kingdom; He reigns in heaven, and He is now manifesting His reign on earth in and through His church. He now works with us to accomplish our mission until “the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). He will then return and establish His Kingdom in glory.
To us it is given not only to wait for but also to hasten the coming of the day of God (2 Pet. 3:12). This is the mission of the gospel of the Kingdom, and this is our mission. [2]
To be a disciple of Jesus is to be on mission!—a mission that is bigger and better than anything!—a mission that actually impacts the return of Jesus!
Isaac
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[1] Keener, Craig S. A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub, 1999.
[2] Winter, Ralph D., Steven C. Hawthorne, Darrell R. Dorr, D. Bruce Graham, and Bruce A. Koch, eds. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader. 4th ed. Pasadena, Calif: William Carey Library, 2009.