Jesus
gave the “Great Commission” to the disciples fifty days after His resurrection,
before ascending back to heaven (Matthew 28: 18-20), and this imperative
has become the driving force behind Christian missionaries in a multitude
countries around the world. Having planted the seed of the Word in many places,
the gospel fruit seems to spring from among the most impoverished, illiterate,
and poorest people on the planet- so why is this the case? It is one thing to
convert an individual who is malnourished, shabbily clothed, sickly, feeble, and
diseased; or where there aren’t schools, safe drinking water, no hospital or
doctor, working toilet, and whose parents can’t read and write or living in a
dilapidated house that is a makeshift construction of whatever is available.
I
wonder what would be the results if missionaries would take the “Good News” to
some of the most secular and high standard of living countries like Denmark,
Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Canada, The Netherlands, or New Zealand?
Of course, this is not to say that there are not Christian missions or Churches
in these countries but the concentration appears to be overwhelmingly among
those living in the most dire and urgent circumstances of poverty, and
experiencing all the ills of what this condition brings with it. With these
thoughts in mind, I want to find something in the New Testament that would give
me a picture of how the first missionary efforts were conducted, especially who
were the targets of receiving the message of salvation. Let’s look at the
following:
Acts
8: 26-27
Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying,
“Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to
Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose
and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch (royal official) of great
authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all
her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship.
NOTE: This was not some poor illiterate villager.
Acts 10: 1-2
There was a certain man
in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian
Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with his entire household, who gave
alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
NOTE: This man was a military commander in the Roman Legion.
Acts 13: 1a, 2, 6-7
Now in the church that was at Antioch there were
certain prophets and teachers: As they ministered to the Lord and
fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them.”
Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer,
a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an
intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear
the word of God.
NOTE: This is technically where the Christian missionary work
[outside of Judea, Samaria, and Syria] begins as it launches into Asia Minor
and Europe. Also, this named person is a high ranking official of the entire
province and educated as well.
Acts 16: 12a, 14
and from there to Philippi, which is the
foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a [Roman] colony. Now
a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city
of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things
spoken by Paul.
NOTE: Philippi was an important metropolitan city and
Roman colony, not some remote village somewhere. Lydia was a successful
businesswoman and most likely was educated or quite literate at the very least.
Acts
17: 1-2, 4
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and
Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as
his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them
from the Scriptures. And some of them were
persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the
leading women, joined Paul and Silas.
NOTE: These were intelligent and educated people in all
likelihood, too. Paul “reasoned” with them which is another way of saying that
he used philosophical argumentation or ‘inductive reasoning’ or some type of
logic. Interestingly, a few of the leaders, or socially prominent Greek women,
whether business owners or officials of some sort, were part of those who were
persuaded.
Acts 17: 10-12
Then the brethren
immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they
went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched
the Scriptures (Old Testament) daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed
and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
Acts 17: 18, 21, 34
Then certain Epicurean and
Stoic philosophers encountered him (the Apostle Paul). And some said, “What does this babbler
want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because
he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. For all the Athenians and
the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to
tell or to hear some new thing. However, some men joined him and
believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris,
and others with them.
NOTE: I think Athens was a very important cultural
learning center and metropolitan city that valued intellectual debate and
reasoning. Dionysius was a judge in the Areopagite Court.
Acts
18: 1, 8
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the
Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
NOTE: Corinth was not a small village, either.
Acts
19: 1, 8-9
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and
arrived at Ephesus. There
he found some disciples. Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly
there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate;
they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He
took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of
Tyrannus.
Acts
19: 17-20
When this became known
to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who
believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their
scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of
the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the
word of the Lord spread
widely and grew in power.
NOTE: A Greek “drachma” was about a day’s wages so
these adepts of the magic arts must not only have been literate enough to read
the scrolls, but they must also have had the financial means to practice their
craft.
CONCLUSION:
Author Wayne K.
Meeks wrote a book titled:
“The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle
Paul” in which he makes several valid points, as cited by blogpost below:
Paul
was a city person and planted small cells of
Christianity in households "strategically located" in cities around
the northeast of the Mediterranean. Meeks argues that city life created a stable
and secure atmosphere for urban people - local government, law, consistency in
application of law, roads built and maintained, stable taxes, education, etc.
(12) Road maintenance and military presence also make travel much easier/safer,
which plays into Paul's story. (17) Sea travel is also faster and cheaper than
travel by land. (18)
City life allowed for more, if perhaps still
limited, social mobility. Physical and social advantages weighed in favor of
city living. Cities "were where power was." (14-15) Paul's role as an
artisan tent-maker made travel easier for him, natural relationships for him
with artisans in places he visited. (17) Movement of artisans and tradespeople
facilitates movement of religions/cults: Foreign settlers find neighbors, set
up shrine to gods, and increase in numbers, demand government recognition. (18)
Cults spread not just through intentional 'evangelism', but through chatter and
'gossip.' (19) Families and households of individuals are important starting
points for Paul, with connections of work and trade. (28)
Ephesus is the center of Paul's and his
circle's activity. (41) Takes root in 4 provinces in Empire: Galatia (although
what region this is exactly can't be determined), Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia.
(42) Trade centers. (44) Philippi (Asia) has a more Latin character than other
of these because of "double colonization" and constant passage of
military through area. (45) Also different because was primarily a center of
agriculture, not commerce. (46) We know less about Thessalonica because of
modern city built on top of remains without less disaster/destruction through
history. Was a free city, with own coins, government, no Roman garrison, etc.
(46-47) Achaia: Corinth. Italian. (47) Wealthy. Commerce. Entrepreneurs. Many freedmen,
who, in unique setting, could actually be local aristocracy, (48)
Paul's world, his target, is the
Greek-speaking Jew of the Roman world. (50)
NOTE: References supplied by bethquick.blogspot.com
I
think this information reveals that the earliest missionary endeavors centered
on reaching Jews living among the Greeks of the “Dispersion” living in the
cities and larger metropolitan areas of Asia Minor; not remote villages. The
purpose of this article is not to demean or criticize the tremendous success
and personal sacrifice s made in the Name of Jesus by Christian missionaries,
but why not follow Paul’s example? Why not take the gospel to the Philosophers,
Scientists, government officials, police, and military? There is a big
difference between persuading a poor laborer who works for a dollar a day and
someone else who can afford to stop by a local Starbucks for a “Frappuccino.”
How about a quick look at some of the Apostle Paul’s coworkers and/or probable
converts- Erastus was the Director of Public Works (Romans 16: 23-24); Caesar’s
household (Philippians 4: 22); Luke the Doctor (Colossians 4: 14a); Zemas the
Lawyer (Titus 3: 13); Philemon who had a servant/slave named Onesimus (Philemon
1: 1). I know the gospel is to be proclaimed to the poor (Luke 4: 18a; 7: 22b)
but I am sure that Jesus didn’t mean “mainly” or almost exclusively to the poor.
Robert
Randle
776
Commerce St Apt 701
Tacoma,
WA 98402
April
15, 2017
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
