Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18–20
So reads what is commonly called “The Great Commission,” as presented in Matthew’s Gospel record. The basis of the Lord’s “marching orders” is his authority. “All authority... has been given me,” declares our Savior.
Christians believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ is God's good news for the whole world, for all peoples, and we are determined by his grace to obey Christ's commission to proclaim it to all mankind and to make disciples of every nation.
How are we doing in completing the task He has set before us?
The following statistics represent some of the challenges facing the church in the unfinished task of world evangelism:
As of 2013, there are approximately 7 billion people on Earth.
Approximately 750 million (or about 11 percent) of those are willing to claim Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.
In the Middle East... for every million unreached Muslims there are less than 3 missionaries available to share the Gospel.
In Afghanistan there are 17 million people, 48,000 mosques…but not a single Christian church.
In Turkey there are 44 million people, but less then 200 Christians
In India... 500 million people have yet to hear the Gospel
About 2.6 billion people (or 38 percent of the world's population) have heard the Gospel but have not accepted Christ yet.
At present, just over 50 percent of the world's population (or 3.5 billion people) have not heard the gospel and most of them do not have a realistic opportunity to hear the Gospel.
Here's another way to look at the challenge of world evangelism: Of the 11,646 distinct people groups on the planet, 6,734 people groups (roughly 60 percent) contain between zero and two percent Christians. Many of these 6,734 people groups have no churches, no Bibles, no Christian literature, and no mission workers who are seeking to share the Gospel with them. These 6,734 peoples groups are effectively unreached by the Gospel. Unreached means that, at this time, there is no availability of the Gospel within a reasonable distance, within the framework of their own language and culture.
The New Testament has been translated into the languages of 80% of the world’s population. However the remaining approximately 20% will require over 5,500 new translations.
The countries with the most unreached people groups in descending order; India, China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh.
98% of all unreached people groups are located in the “10/40 Window”.
THE GREAT COMMISSION IS STILL UNFULFILLED! How can we talk of the Second Coming, when so many people have never heard about the First? Regardless of your denominational persuasion... “pre-trib”, “post-trib”, “mid-trib” or some other “trib”, we must all acknowledge that there is something desperately wrong with this type of doctrinal thinking... being elated by the prospect of Christ’s return while billions of people are lost. Where is the heart of Jesus in that thinking? “…that none would perish, but that all would come to repentance.”
Food for thought: Jesus died more then 2,000 years ago.... iff it was God’s ultimate goal to rapture us all out of this “world that is passing away”, then why are we still here? What are we still waiting for?
Heb. 10:12, 13 says... “but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet.”
Since committed Christians are his hands and feet, then He must be waiting for us to do the work we have been commissioned to do! This is why Jesus told his disciples emphatically... “GO” into all the world and preach the Gospel.” No more waiting and debating…just Go and PREACH the Good News of Christ.
We can trust in the abiding presence of Christ as we work to complete His command. Jesus declared that if his people carry out the commission as directed, he would “be with [them] always, even to the end of the world.”
Is there a more comforting New Testament passage [Matthew 28:18-20] emphasizing the providential support of our Savior? We’re not alone and the mission must be completed.
