Evangelism Traced to Biblical Roots

Christian missionary efforts have been inspired over the centuries by the New Testament descriptions of Jesus sending out disciples and early apostles seeking more believers. But contemporary Christians, especially evangelicals, often summarize their calling as “the great commission,” the mandate of Jesus to evangelize the world. The following biblical passages are most often cited in that connection:

Matthew 28:19-20--”Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

Matthew 24:14--In the midst of apocalyptic predictions of tribulations, Jesus says, “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.”

Mark 13:10--In the midst of Mark’s apocalyptic 13th Chapter, Jesus says, “And the Gospel must be preached first to all nations.”

Mark 16:15-18--And he said to them: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Also cited: Luke 24:47, in which the resurrected Christ says that Scriptures require “that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” John 20:21-22, in which the resurrected Christ says to his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”

Second Coming? Evangelical Christians often cite Matthew 24:14 in combination with other biblical passages as an indication that the Second Coming should be expected once the Gospel is preached throughout the world. Some evangelicals, however, hesitate to speculate about “last days” scenarios and say that a Christian should be faithful to Jesus’ directions and leave the rest of history up to God.

Problems arising from biblical scholarship: Evangelicals tend to prefer Matthew 28:19-20 over Mark 16:15 as the primary source for the “great commission” for two reasons. One is that Mark 16:15 is followed by claims that the believer will be able to handle serpents and drink poison without harm--practices only attempted by snake-handler churches in Appalachia. The other problem is that all passages after Mark 16:8 may be spurious; they are absent from the oldest and best manuscripts of Mark.

The “historical” Jesus? Liberal scholarship notes that except for Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10, the words spoken by Jesus come during Resurrection appearances. Liberal scholars who seek the likeliest sayings of the “historical” Jesus rule out those passages while conservative scholars tend to say that their presence in the Gospels insures their authenticity and, additionally, are similar to words attributed to Jesus before his death.