Today's Reading:
Matthew 9:27-35
"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sicknesses and diseases among the people" (v.35)
Mission can be defined as a specific task with which a person or group is charged to carry out. Also, it can be said to be a purposeful movement, whereby one or a group is sent from one place to another, for a purpose. Purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. The Mission for which Jesus came into the world is clearly stated in Verse 35 of our Today’s reading and summarized as-".......teach the people, preach the gospel of the kingdom, heal every sickness and disease among the people". It is noteworthy in the Gospel of Matthew that, as soon as Jesus had prepared for his mission, through fasting and prayer in the wilderness, he emerged and immediately went about his purpose, moving from cities to villages(Matt. 4:1-11,17), preaching, healing the sick and the diseased. Furthermore, He went ahead and taught the people- the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5,6,7).
Thereafter, Jesus went full scale into ,healing, casting out demonic spirits, raising the dead, making the blind to see and the dumb to speak, etc. (Matt. 8). Particularly in Chapter 9, Jesus did many miracles, which caught the attention of the people, such that they continued to marvel and glorify God (V8), and also, his fame went abroad to all the land(v26,31). When the devil was cast out and the dumb was able to speak, the multitudes marveled, saying" it was never so seen in Israel". In subsequent Chapters of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus continued to carry out his mission, up till when He went up to Jerusalem, and thereafter his crucifixion and resurrection. After He came out from the grave and appeared to his disciples, He handed over the "mission" He had pursued till then, to the disciples. It is called the "Great Commission", which in Matt 28:19 says" Go ye therefore, into all nations, teaching and baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". He promised to be with them always, even to the end of the world.
This "Great commission" is more explicit in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 16:15-18, where believers are encouraged to do all that Jesus did on earth (vs 15,17,18). The Challenge to the believers today is the " Great Commission ", which depicts Jesus mission, and which He handed over directly to his disciples then, and by extension, to us today. Sadly, before this handing over, Jesus had observed during his time on earth, that the harvest truly was plenteous, but the labourers were few (Matt. 9:37). He asked his disciples to pray to the Lord of harvest (God the Father), that He might send forth labourers into his harvest. No doubt, there are far more harvesters in the world today, but definitely not enough, especially with the population explosion of the world, at eight billion! If we are to learn from Jesus, we should imbibe what motivated him then, which was " compassion on the people" (v36). We have been saved to save others, through propagation of the Gospel. Furthermore, to teach, heal, cast out evil spirits, raise the dead, etc. After all, He promised that He had given us power to do them, and that we can do all the things He did and even greater things than He did( John 14:12).
Evidently, today’s believers are definitely not taking the Great Commission seriously. This is particularly sad because time is fast running out, as we are at the end time, with all prophecies being fulfilled. The trumpet will soon be blown!!! It is recommended that each believer should take up the challenge, loaded with compassion and living in the consciousness of the urgency of the work and time. May the Lord of harvest help us, so that nobody’s blood would be on our hands or heads, in Jesus name. Amen.
CHRISTIE KUPOLUYI
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we can't ever thank you enough for the mission you accomplished for us while on earth.
Father help us to desire to step rightly into the shoes Jesus left for us when He went back to You.
Father pump the urgency of the work and time into us and endow us with power, compassion, all it takes to perform.
Lord, please wake up the Church in Nigeria and all over the world, to carry out the Great Commission as expected, with urgency.
Father flood our nation with compassionate believers who will get up to share the Gospel everywhere.
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