Why Foreign Missions?
8. Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom Throughout
the World (Mt. 24.14)
In Matthew 24.14 (cf. Mk. 13.10) Jesus says, ‘And this good news of
the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the
nations; and then the end will come.’
This passage has been interpreted in several ways.
Some have
understood these words to mean that only once the Gospel is proclaimed
throughout the world will Jesus return.
In the early twentieth century the following saying was coined: ‘Evangelize
to a finish to bring back the King.’
This notion reappeared at the end of the twentieth century with the AD
2000 movement. Ralph Winter sought to
identify unevangelised people groups so that the task of Mt. 24.14 could be
completed.
Richard France offered a different interpretation
of Mt. 24.14.[1] First, ‘all nations’ does not mean every
people group but simply those outside Jerusalem. Second, evangelism is simply stated to be
preliminary to the end of the age, not the single outstanding requirement for
the end to come. Third, by the ‘end’
Jesus did not mean the end of this age or world or the second coming of
Christ. Rather, the ‘end’ in Mt. 24.14
means the destruction of the temple, which is the initial subject Jesus and his
disciples are discussing at the beginning of Mt. 24. Fourth, the Greek word for ‘world’ in this
verse is not the typical word ‘kosmos’
but the word ‘oikoumenē.’ This word means the inhabited world,
specifically the inhabited, civilized world of the Mediterranean (cf. Acts
11.28; 19.27). Fifth, this task was
accomplished by the time Matthew wrote in the second half of the first century
and prior to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. Col. 1.5b-6a; Rom. 16.26 and 15.18-24
envision the Gospel already bearing fruit in the whole world.
–
Colossians 1:5b-6a You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that
has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so
it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it….
–
Romans 16:26 but is now disclosed, and
through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to
the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—
–
Romans 15:18-24 For I will not venture to
speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience
from the Gentiles, by word and deed, 19
by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that
from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good
news of Christ. 20 Thus I make it my
ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so
that I do not build on someone else's foundation, 21 but as it is written, "Those who have
never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall
understand." 22 This is the reason
that I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, with no further place for me in
these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you 24 when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see
you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company
for a little while.
Thus, on France’s view, the worldwide church is
established as God’s new Temple before the old Temple is destroyed in AD
70. This France also argues for Mt. 12.6
and 41f, where Jesus says that some ‘thing’ (neuter) greater than the Temple is
here.[2] What does this neuter imply? France believes that it implies Jesus’ role,
the new principle (or worship) that Jesus brings, and the Church—all three.
Related to this understanding of Mt. 24.14, France argues that the Temple’s
destruction and the Son of Man’s authority and vindication are related ideas in
Mt. 24.3-34. Mt. 24.3-34 is not about Jesus’ second coming but the
Son of Man’s coming to receive power from God.[3] Matthew
24.30 says, ‘Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and
then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see 'the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory.’ This verse is similar in meaning to Mt. 16.28
and 26.64:
–
Matthew 16:28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his
kingdom."
–
Matthew 26:64 Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But
I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of
Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
France, then, sees the tribulation of the Church
and the destruction of the Temple as occurring at the same time as Jesus’
receiving authority and power as the Son of Man. The early Church understood Jesus’ exaltation
to the right hand of God to be His assuming heavenly authority. The generation that sees the suffering,
persecution, and destruction foretold in Mt. 24.3-34 will see the coming of the
Son of Man’s reign and judgement. This
was already said in Matthew 24:13 (‘But
the one who endures to the end will be saved’). The whole message up to 24.34
is a message to ‘this generation’ going through the tribulation: they should
stay the course for the Son of Man is coming.
He is the one with authority from heaven to render judgement.
My assessment of France’s argument will focus only
on its relevance for missions. His
limitation of ‘nations’ to those outside Jerusalem seems too narrow. The far-flung regions of the world are in
view, as has been argued on the grounds that Mt. 28.16-20 (v. 19 compares to
Mt. 24.14) alludes to Is. 66.18-23.
Second, I would agree that Jesus sees the moment of his leaving
Jerusalem and the present time of his own crucifixion to be the beginning of
the tribulation of the end times. This
tribulation time is equated with the time of mission. Both Mt. 10 and Mt. 24 focus on the
tribulation that the disciples will experience in their kingdom mission. The emphasis in Mt. 24.14, then, seems to be
on the task of world evangelism as the task
to accomplish before the end comes.
This point can be qualified somewhat, though, with reference to Mt.
28.19-20: the task is not merely proclamation but also disciple-making through
baptism and teaching Jesus’ commandments.
Third, just as the tribulation was thought in apocalyptic Judaism to come
at the end of this age and to precede the beginning of the age to come, so too
the tribulation and the Church’s mission are what must now take place before
the end comes. In this, I do not think
France is correct in identifying the ‘end’ with the destruction of the
Temple. It really does refer to the end
of this age, at which time Jesus will return.
Fourth, we gain nothing by identifying oukoumenē with the inhabited
world. This cannot be limited to the
Roman Empire—all those in the Roman Empire knew that there were civilizations
beyond their borders, many people from which lived as slaves in the Roman world
and were among the early Christians.
France is correct to cast doubt on taking Mt.
24.14 as a plan for the Church to complete in order to bring Christ back. He is correct to doubt that evangelism is the
only task to accomplish before the end.
He is correct to intertwine the present tribulation of the Church with
its missionary task, just as Jesus’ mission was accomplished on the cross (that is, by his
tribulation).
Yet, while I would agree that much of Mt. 24
relates to the historical events of the past, that is, to the time leading up
to the Temple’s destruction, I do not think that what we find there can fully
be so associated with the past. The
ultimate end of this age is telescoped onto the events of the first century,
but they are not equated with them. This
fact makes it difficult to sort out what verse belongs to the past for us and
what verse belongs to the future—or whether the same verse belongs to
both. This is only problematic if we are
trying to determine when things will
take place. Yet Jesus’ message in Mt.
24-25 is largely about not knowing when.
Indeed, because we do not know when these things will take place, we
should be ready at any time. Being
ready, according to the three parables of Mt. 25, has to do with keeping awake
and burning our lights in the darkness (Mt. 25.1-13), busily accomplishing what
the Lord has left to our care (Mt. 25.14-30), and receiving the mission of the
disciples among the nations (Mt. 25.31-46).
This last point will be the focus of the next study. What we see from Mt. 24.14, though, is that
the reason for the present time before the end of this age is the mission of
the Church, a mission of proclaiming the good news of the kingdom throughout
the world as a testimony to all nations.
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