Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission

By Andreas J. Köstenberger and T. Desmond Alexander

Few biblical topics are as important as mission. Mission is linked inextricably to humanity's sinfulness and need for redemption and to God's provision of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This good news of salvation must be made known. The saving mission of Jesus constitutes the foundation for Christian mission, and the Christian gospel is its message.

This second edition of New Studies in Biblical Theology volume Salvation to the Ends of the Earth emphasizes the way in which the Bible presents a continuing narrative of God's mission—ranging from the story of Israel to the story of Jesus and that of the early Christians. At the same time, it provides a robust historical and chronological backbone to the unfolding of the early Christian mission. The apostle Paul's writings and the General Epistles are incorporated with the Gospel with which they have the closest and most natural canonical and historical affinity.

Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Release date: Sep 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9780830825493

Andreas J. Köstenberger

Andreas J. Köstenberger (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of New Testament at Southeastern Baptist Seminary (North Carolina).

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APOLLOS (an imprint of Inter-Varsity Press, England)

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© Andreas J. Köstenberger and T. Desmond Alexander 2020

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To the majestic missionary God

who created us in his image,

who in his great love sent his Son

to die for us on the cross,

and who calls us to join him

in his grand mission

of proclaiming the gospel

in both word and deed.

May your kingdom be advanced,

your glory continue to spread,

and your salvation reach

the ends of the earth.

Contents

Series preface

Author’s preface

Abbreviations

1 Introduction

A biblical-theological approach

History, literature and theology

The procedure followed in this work

Part 1: THE STORY OF ISRAEL

2 The Old Testament

From creation to recreation; from garden to city

The offspring of the woman

Abraham and the blessing of the nations

The Davidic dynasty and the Lord’s anointed

The Servant of the Lord

Exodus as model of salvation

Prophetic expectations of a new exodus

Conclusion

Part 2: THE STORY OF JESUS AND THE EARLY CHRISTIANS

The ‘holy internet’

The gospel according to key figures in the early Christian mission

3 The Gospel according to Matthew, the letters of James and Hebrews

Matthew’s Gospel

James

Hebrews

Conclusion

4 The Gospel according to Mark, the letters of Peter and Jude

Mark’s Gospel

1 Peter

Jude and 2 Peter

Conclusion

5 The Gospel according to Luke, the book of Acts and Paul’s letters

Luke’s Gospel

Acts

Galatians

Philippians

1–2 Thessalonians

Athens

1–2 Corinthians

Romans

Ephesians

Colossians and Philemon

Titus

1–2 Timothy

Conclusion

6 The Gospel according to John, John’s letters and the Apocalypse

John’s Gospel

John’s letters

The Apocalypse

Conclusion

7 Conclusion

Summary of findings

Some concluding observations and implications

Mission and the final goal

Conclusion

Appendix: The second-temple period

Mission and second-temple Judaism

Mission and Greco-Roman religion and philosophy

Conclusion

Bibliography

Search names for authors

Search terms for Scripture references

Search items for subjects

Titles in this series

Notes

About the Authors

More Titles from InterVarsity Press

Series preface

New Studies in Biblical Theology is a series of monographs that address key issues in the discipline of biblical theology. Contributions to the series focus on one or more of three areas: (1) the nature and status of biblical theology, including its relations with other disciplines (e.g. historical theology, exegesis, systematic theology, historical criticism, narrative theology); (2) the articulation and exposition of the structure of thought of a particular biblical writer or corpus; and (3) the delineation of a biblical theme across all or part of the biblical corpora.

Above all, these monographs are creative attempts to help thinking Christians understand their Bibles better. The series aims simultaneously to instruct and to edify, to interact with the current literature and to point the way ahead. In God’s universe, mind and heart should not be divorced: in this series we will try not to separate what God has joined together. While the notes interact with the best of scholarly literature, the text is uncluttered with untransliterated Greek and Hebrew, and tries to avoid too much technical jargon. The volumes are written within the framework of confessional evangelicalism, but there is always an attempt at thoughtful engagement with the sweep of the relevant literature.

Hard as it is to believe, two decades have elapsed since the publication of the first edition of this biblical theology of mission. The second edition, which you are holding in your hand, aims, no less than the first, to trace the theme of mission across the Bible’s storyline. Instead of envisaging mission as a late post-resurrection afterthought, it teases out the organic wholeness of the theme from Genesis to the Apocalypse. Nevertheless, most of the book has been rewritten and updated, and some of it has been recast. For example, instead of outlining Paul’s contribution to the theme of mission on its own (certainly a worthy goal), this second edition examines Paul’s letters in tandem with the developments in the book of Acts – a more complicated but highly illuminating procedure. If this volume contributes to enriching preachers and Bible teachers around the world with a renewed vision of God as a missionary God, the authors and editor will be profoundly grateful.

D. A. Carson

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Author’s preface

The passage of time – almost twenty years – since the first edition and other factors made it necessary, even desirable, to revise and update this volume and to issue this second edition. While there are several excellent monographs on mission available, this survey of the biblical theology of mission has served as a convenient framework for those who are practitioners in the field as well as for students of mission in the Bible. I trust that this new effort, building on the initial treatment, will serve a new generation of church planters and students of mission well, to the glory of God, whose mission we have had the high privilege to join.

I am very grateful to Desi Alexander for his willingness to contribute the chapter on mission in the Old Testament. This is an entirely fresh chapter, which, I believe, fittingly sets the stage for the outburst of missionary activity following the ‘Great Commission’ of the risen Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the new messianic community at Pentecost. Desi’s biblical-theological work has produced several distinguished contributions, and I am grateful that he has chosen to contribute to the present effort by tackling this challenging yet (I believe) rewarding assignment.

In view of significant contributions by scholars such as E. J. Schnabel, C. J. H. Wright and N. T. Wright, not to mention my collaborator and others, it seemed appropriate to strengthen and emphasize in the second edition more than in the first the way in which the Bible presents a continuing narrative of the story of God’s mission – ranging from the story of Israel to the story of Jesus and that of the early Christians. At the same time, it seemed important to provide a robust historical and chronological backbone to the unfolding of the early Christian mission.

With regard to the latter, I have chosen to eliminate the separate chapters on Paul and on the general letters – an amorphous category – and instead to incorporate the contributions of these individuals and writings in conjunction with the Gospel with which they have the closest and most natural canonical and historical affinity: James and Hebrews with Matthew; 1–2 Peter and Jude with Mark; Paul’s letters with Luke; and 1–3 John and the Apocalypse with John.

¹

Within the framework of Acts, Paul’s letters are discussed in conjunction with the occasion on which Paul planted a given church, in view of the fact that these letters take their point of departure from that point and constitute part of an ongoing relationship between Paul and a particular church: Philippians at Acts 16; 1–2 Thessalonians at Acts 17; 1–2 Corinthians at Acts 18, followed by Romans (a church Paul did not plant, written in Corinth); Ephesians at Acts 19 – 20; and Colossians (as well as Philemon), another church Paul did not plant, as well as Titus and 1–2 Timothy, following Acts 28. In this way Paul’s mission is integrated with the early Christian mission narrated in the book of Acts (with Luke’s Gospel as a prequel).

I believe incorporating Paul’s writings within the Luke–Acts framework constitutes a significant improvement over the first edition, as, notwithstanding Paul’s stature as leader of the early Christian mission, he should not be viewed in isolation but as part of the larger close-knit network of the early Christian movement. Also, while the chapter on Paul in the first edition essentially used Romans as a template, the second edition includes treatments of all of Paul’s letters within the ministry context in which they were first written.

²

This capitalizes on the important insight that Paul was not an ivory-tower theologian – a theoretician – but a missionary, a practitioner of mission, who articulated his theology in a missional context.

John’s writings were gathered in a separate chapter on Johannine Christianity, containing discussions of John’s Gospel, letters and the Apocalypse. This, too, I believe, is an improvement over the first edition, where John’s Gospel was discussed in a separate chapter while John’s letters were included in a chapter on the general letters and the Apocalypse in a chapter by itself. The chapter on the second-temple period, finally, was moved from its original location following the chapter on the Old Testament to an appendix so as not to interrupt the flow of the presentation of the biblical storyline and theology of mission.

Doubtless, reviewers will suggest further improvements; I am fully aware that this is a work in progress. I would like to express my gratitude to a number of people and groups who have been instrumental in the production of this volume, in particular Philip Duce and Inter-Varsity Press for their kind commissioning of this second edition and D. A. Carson, the series editor, who, apart from his scholarly and editorial expertise, also has a very strong lifelong commitment not only to writing about but to engaging personally in global mission. I am also exceedingly grateful to the copy editor, Eldo Barkhuizen, for his painstaking and stellar work, and to my son Timothy for helping with the author index.

I would also like to express my appreciation to the trustees and administration of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for their encouragement and support. Thanks are also due to several students for their help in updating scholarly references: Jimmy Roh (Gospels, Acts, and Paul), Mark Baker (Paul) and Dave Phillips (Revelation). Above all, I am deeply grateful for my wife of over thirty years, Margaret Elizabeth, for her strong and committed partnership, not only in marriage, but also in mission. As we have expressed in our books God’s Design for Man and Woman and Equipping for Life, we view marriage and family not as self-serving enterprises but as vehicles for witness and mission. I could not imagine a better partner on this journey.

Finally, I am deeply grateful to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, for seeking and saving me and calling me into his service almost forty years ago. I will never regret following his call, and I love him more today than I ever have. As I move closer to the fulfilment of my earthly calling, I am also increasingly mindful of Jesus’ words to his first followers, ‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). Even so: ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ (Rev. 22:20).

Andreas J. Köstenberger

Abbreviations

1QM – Qumran War Scroll

1QpHab – Qumran Habakkuk Pesher

1 En. – 1 Enoch

2 Bar. – 2 Baruch

4QFlor – Florilegium (Dead Sea Scrolls)

AB – Anchor Bible

Ag. Ap. – Against Apion (Josephus)

AJBI – Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute

AnBib – Analecta biblica

Ant. – Jewish Antiquities (Josephus)

AOAT – Alter Orient und Altes Testament

AOTC – Apollos Old Testament Commentary

ASMS – American Society of Missiology Series

ATJ – Ashland Theological Journal

av – Authorized (King James) Version

AYBRL – Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library

b. – Babylonian Talmud

BBR – Bulletin for Biblical Research

BBRSup – Bulletin of Biblical Research Supplement

BECNT – Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

Ber. – Berakot

BETL – Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium

BFCT – Beiträge zur Förderung christlicher Theologie

Bib – Biblica

BibInt – Biblical Interpretation

BibRes – Biblical Research

BSac – Bibliotheca sacra

BJRL – Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, University of Manchester

BST – The Bible Speaks Today

BT – The Bible Translator

BTB – Biblical Theology Bulletin

BTCP – Biblical Theology for Christian Proclamation

BTNT – Biblical Theology of the New Testament

BZ – Biblische Zeitschrift

BZNW – Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft

c. – circa

CBET – Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology

CBQ – Catholic Biblical Quarterly

ConBNT – Coniectanea biblica, New Testament

CRINT – Compendia rerum iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum

csb – Christian Standard Bible

CTQ – Concordia Theological Quarterly

CurBR – Currents in Biblical Research

CurTM – Currents in Theology and Mission

Decalogue – On the Decalogue (Philo)

diss. – dissertation

Dom. – Domitianus (Suetonius)

EBC – The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. T. Longman III and D. E. Garland, 13 vols., Grand Rapids: Zondervan

EBS – Encountering Biblical Studies

EEC – Evangelical Exegetical Commentary

EGGNT – Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament

EHS – Europäische Hochschulschriften

EMS – Evangelical Missiology Society

EMZ – Evangelische Missions-Zeitschrift

Epig. – Epigrams

EstBib – Estudios bíblicos

esv – English Standard Version

EvQ – Evangelical Quarterly

EvT – Evangelische Theologie

ETL – Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses

ExAud – Ex auditu

evv – English versions

FB – Forschung zur Bibel

Flight – On Flight and Finding (Philo)

FRLANT – Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments

Gk – Greek

GNC – Good News Commentary

Haer. – Adversus Haereses (Irenaeus)

Hebr. – Hebrew

Hist. – The Histories (Tacitus)

HorBT – Horizons in Biblical Theology

HS – Hebrew Studies

HTKNT – Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament

IBS – Irish Biblical Studies

ICC – International Critical Commentary

Int – Interpretation

Irén – Irénikon

IRM – International Review of Mission

IRT – Issues in Religion and Theology

ITQ – Irish Theological Quarterly

IVPNTC – InterVarsity Press New Testament Commentary

JBL – Journal of Biblical Literature

JETS – Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JGRCJ – Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism

JJS – Journal of Jewish Studies

JPTSup – Journal of Pentecostal Theology Supplement Series

JR – Journal of Religion

JSNT – Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSNTSup – Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series

JSOT – Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JSOTSup – Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series

JTS – Journal of Theological Studies

Jub. – Jubilees

J. W. – Jewish War (Josephus)

KEK – Kritisch-exegetischer Kommentar über das Neue Testament

Let. Aris. – Letter of Aristeas

LHB/OTS – The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies

lit. – literally

LNTS – Library of New Testament Studies

lxx – Septuagint

m. – Mishnah

McMNTS – McMaster New Testament Studies

MJT – Midwestern Journal of Theology

Moses – On the Life of Moses (Philo)

mt – Masoretic Text

NAC – New American Commentary

nasb – New American Standard Bible

Neot – Neotestamentica

nets – New English Translation of the Septuagint

NICNT – New International Commentary on the New Testament

NICOT – New International Commentary on the Old Testament

NIDNTT – The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. C. Brown, 3 vols., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979

NIDNTTE – New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. M. Silva, 5 vols., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014

NIDOTTE – New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. W. A. VanGemeren, 5 vols., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997

NIGTC – New International Greek Testament Commentary

niv – New International Version

NIVAC – NIV Application Commentary

njb – New Jerusalem Bible

nlt – New Living Translation

NovT – Novum Testamentum

NovTSup – Supplements to Novum Testamentum

nrsv – New Revised Standard Version

NRTh – La nouvelle revue théologique

ns – New Series

NSBT – New Studies in Biblical Theology

NT – New Testament

NTAbh – Neutestamentliche Abhandlungen

NTOA – Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus

NTS – New Testament Studies

OT – Old Testament

par. – paralleled (with)

PNTC – Pillar New Testament Commentary

Pss Sol. – Psalms of Solomon

PTR – Princeton Theological Review

Q – Quelle (source)

QD – Quaestiones disputatae

RB – Revue biblique

ResQ – Restoration Quarterly

RevScRel – Revue des sciences religieuses

rsv – Revised Standard Version

RTR – Reformed Theological Review

Šabb. – Šabbat

SANT – Studien zum Alten und Neuen Testament

Sat. – Satirae (Juvenal)

SBJT – Southern Baptist Journal of Theology

SBL – Society of Biblical Literature

SBLDS – Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series

SBLMS – Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series

SBLSP – Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers

SBS – Stuttgarter Bibelstudien

SBT – Studies in Biblical Theology

SE – Studia evangelica

SHS – Scripture and Hermeneutics Series

Sib. Or. – Sibylline Oracles

SJT – Scottish Journal of Theology

SNT – Studien zum Neuen Testament

SNTSMS – Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series

SP – Sacra pagina

SR – Studies in Religion/Sciences religieuses

ST – Studia theologica

STR – Southeastern Theological Review

Str-B – H. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrash, 6 vols., Munich: C. H. Beck, 1926–61

StUNT – Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments

SubBi – Subsidia biblica

TAPA – Transactions of the American Philological Association

T. Asher – Testament of Asher

TBei – Theologische Beiträge

T. Benj. – Testament of Benjamin

Them – Themelios

T. Jud. – Testament of Judah

T. Levi – Testament of Levi

T. Sim. – Testament of Simeon

ThStud – Theologische Studien

tnk – Tanakh

TNTC – Tyndale New Testament Commentaries

tr. – translated, translation

TrinJ – Trinity Journal

TS – Theological Studies

TToday – Theology Today

TU – Texte und Untersuchungen

TynB – Tyndale Bulletin

TZ – Theologische Zeitschrift

T. Zeb – Testament of Zebulon

VE – Vox evangelica

Vg. – Vulgate

VT – Vetus Testamentum

VTSup – Vetus Testamentum Supplements

WBC – Word Biblical Commentary

WMANT – Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament

WTJ – Westminster Theological Journal

WUNT – Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

WW – Word and World

ZECNT – Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

ZNW – Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft

ZTK – Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche

1

Introduction

Between Eden and the eternal state, between Abraham and Armageddon, between Babel and the beast’s confinement to the lake of fire, few biblical topics are as important as mission. This is because mission, while purposed by God prior to sin, is inextricably linked to human sinfulness and need for redemption and God’s provision of salvation in the person and work of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. This ‘good news’ of salvation in Jesus, however, must be made known. Thus, mission is the ingredient that both precedes Christian existence and constitutes a major motivation for Christian living: the saving mission of Jesus forms the foundation for Christian mission, and the gospel is the message of this mission, a mission that is not optional but mandatory.

A biblical-theological approach

Throughout much of the history of New Testament theology, mission has been neglected.

¹

The present study, while also concerned to deal with larger missiological issues, represents a modest effort to help fill this gap. An attempt is made to explore mission comprehensively throughout the entire sweep of biblical history in both Testaments as well as the second-temple period. The approach followed is biblical-theological.

²

Many previous treatments of the theme of mission have tended either (1) to be descriptive and to stress the diversity of the different portions of Scripture, or (2) to assume the pre-eminence of mission in a given book of Scripture at the outset, and then to find these assumptions confirmed in the study of the respective biblical writings. The present work seeks to follow a third path, combining a commitment to a biblical-theological method and a salvation-historical approach with an openness to examining the various portions of Scripture regarding their respective contributions to the biblical theme of ‘mission’. This allows for the possibility that certain books may contribute little, or even nothing, to the theme while in others mission is central. It also makes room for discontinuity between mission in the two Testaments. The difficult question of whether second-temple Jews pursued mission likewise must be treated primarily as a historical rather than dogmatic exercise. For biblical theology is first of all inductive and must be open to diversity.

At the same time, the present study proceeds with the expectation that the message of the biblical writings regarding mission will turn out to be more than a conglomerate of disparate data. A biblical-theological approach may indeed reveal a certain amount of diversity in the scriptural teaching on mission. Since Scripture, however, is ultimately God’s Word, we may legitimately expect to see an underlying logic and unity in the biblical message on this subject.

³

For Scripture is united by one primary pervading purpose: the tracing of God’s unfolding plan of redemption. It everywhere assumes that this God acts coherently and purposefully in history.

In claiming that our approach is biblical-theological we recognize that it is neither a systematic-theological nor a missiological examination. This is not to suggest that we have no interest in systematic-theological issues or missiological questions. Quite the contrary. It is hoped that any biblical-theological insights or conclusions may help both systematic theologians and missiologists in their own study of the issues related to this subject. But in the first instance, at least, we are not addressing the legitimate questions of these related disciplines.

While we have engaged in serious scholarly investigation of the mission theme in Scripture, we have conducted our research self-consciously as believers who are committed to the lordship of Christ, rather than as dispassionate, ‘neutral’ observers.

⁴

Our interest in the subject at hand is not merely an academic one. Our driving motivation springs from a passion to see God’s mission carried out in today’s world.

History, literature and theology

The study rests on three hermeneutical pillars: history, literature and theology.

⁵

As Eckhard Schnabel aptly notes:

Since the theology of the New Testament involves historical events and literary texts, the three main parts of a description of New Testament theology has to pay attention to these three poles: historical events and developments, the literary character of the New Testament texts, [and] the theology of the authors of the New Testament texts.

⁶

History is important, because biblical scholarship should practise the craft of every historian: painstaking historical research.

⁷

Christianity is a historical religion, and if its historical moorings are uncertain, theological findings will necessarily be undermined.

Literature has its place, because Scripture has come down to us as a collection of sixty-six books, in the form of literature rather than unmediated historical events. These writings convey history, but one that is interpreted, written by believers who put on their writings the stamp of their convictions concerning the significance of the events they record. The best approach to uncover biblical teaching on a given theme, and the one followed in the present study, is therefore a narrative one, which traces the way in which teaching on a particular topic unfolds in a given corpus or even all of Scripture.

Finally, theology must be given its due. Unlike history-of-religions treatments, which are largely descriptive and comparative in nature, the present study proceeds with the conviction that Scripture is first and foremost a divinely inspired book, setting forth authoritative teaching that provides a framework for Christians’ beliefs as well as actions. Thus, the primary purpose of the present work is a careful exploration of the biblical-theological interconnections between the different portions of Scripture. No abstract definition is postulated at the outset of this work, if for no other reason than that Scripture itself does not define ‘mission’.

⁸

We consider that an inductive exegesis leading to biblical theology should come first, after which an effort is made to relate the contributions of the different corpora, and even Testaments, to each other.

⁹

This does not mean that any of us approaches Scripture on a given topic without presuppositions. We all have a synthetic approximation in mind when we set out to explore biblical teaching on a particular subject. At present our concern is simply to maintain maximum openness to the actual scriptural message on mission and flexibility throughout the entire process of exploration. On a general level, the criterion for inclusion of a given portion of Scripture for discussion in the present volume may simply be that it relates in a significant way to the proclamation of God’s name and of his saving purposes in Christ to the unbelieving world (hence the title Salvation to the Ends of the Earth). These passages may ordinarily be accessed through a particular writer’s terminology (e.g. ‘sending’), and it is in any case important not to lose sight of the connection between biblical words and biblical themes.

¹⁰

Nevertheless, any given scriptural theme is greater than strict verbal boundaries, so that attention to larger overarching concepts must balance terminological considerations.

Moreover, in our commitment to an inductive biblical-theological approach, we come to our task aware that considerable previous work has been done in this area. An acquaintance with the history of biblical scholarship is necessary, for it provides us with many questions that have, not without good reason, set the agenda for scholarly discussion. Was Old Testament Israel called to active missionary outreach similarly to the New Testament church? Did Jesus limit his mission to Israel, or did he extend it also to the Gentiles? Did Paul encourage believers to emulate his practice of evangelism and mission, or not? Can second-temple Judaism be characterized as a missionary religion? These are just some of the questions that any treatment of mission in Scripture needs to take up and seek to answer as precisely and accurately as possible. We recognize the need to be conversant with a wide range of literature, in the fields of biblical studies (OT as well as NT) and missiology. Given the magnitude of the task (and space constraints no less), our goal has been to interact with major representative works rather than provide an exhaustive treatment of the whole.

The procedure followed in this work

History is often told as the story of great men and women. This approach to history is often fuelled by the romantic notion that magnifies the significance of individuals. Greco-Roman biographies, the works of Shakespeare and, more recently, biographies by excellent historians and popular writers such as David McCullough or Eric Metaxas have all advanced the notion that history is best written as the story of great men and women. Similarly, many have found inspiration in reading Christian or missionary biographies chronicling the lives of men and women such as William Carey, Hudson Taylor, Lottie Moon, Amy Carmichael, Jonathan Edwards or Charles Spurgeon. Applied to the writing of biblical history, then, this kind of approach would seem to warrant a focus on great men such as Abraham, Moses and David in Old Testament times, or Jesus, Peter and Paul in New Testament times, as well as significant female characters such as Ruth, Esther or Mary the mother of Jesus.

While no one would deny the importance of these key figures and the inspiration they provided to those who came behind them, many trained historians today would question whether this ‘great men and women’ approach to historiography is the most satisfying and accurate.

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To go no further, any reader of the book of Acts or the last chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans will readily discover that the early Christian movement involved more than a handful of key leaders; rather, it was undergirded by many ordinary Christians who participated in the early church’s witness that soon reached the ends of the earth. Rather than unilaterally focusing on Jesus’ messianic or Paul’s apostolic consciousness, therefore, without denying the seminal impact of these key leaders, we have chosen in the present work also to pay closer attention to the various major and minor voices across biblical history and to trace as closely as possible their underlying convictions as they are attested to in the multifaceted writings they produced and that are included in the canon of Scripture.

The plan for this book, then, succinctly put, is as follows.

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The opening chapter is devoted to an exploration of mission in the Old Testament, focusing on the major theological strands (notably the Abrahamic promises) that lay a foundation for mission in later Scripture. The crucial groundwork is laid by tracking closely vital themes and events such as Israel’s exodus, the promise of a messianic son of David, and Israel in exile. Starting with chapter 3, the various corpora of the New Testament will be mined for their contribution to a biblical theology of mission. The Synoptic Gospels will be discussed in the canonical order Matthew, Mark and Luke, whereby the voices of James and the author of Hebrews will be included in conjunction with Matthew while Peter’s writings (along with Jude) will be discussed in conjunction with Mark.

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Jesus will not be dealt with in a separate chapter (neither will Paul; see below), since we have no unmediated knowledge of him and his mission apart from the Gospels (just as the early church will not be treated separately but in the chapter on the book of Acts).

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That said, the Gospels will be treated as reliable witnesses to the mission of Jesus as they constitute the one, fourfold, Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Chapter 5, on Luke’s Gospel, will also include a discussion of the book of Acts in keeping with the two-volume character of this work. In a departure from the method followed in the first edition, Paul’s writings will be treated in the context of the framework provided by Acts, wherever possible in conjunction with the account of Paul’s planting a given church.

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In this way we hope to provide a more balanced and better integrated account of Paul’s role as part of the larger Christian mission and of God’s salvation-historical purposes across biblical history. This is followed by a discussion of mission in John’s writings – his Gospel, letters and the Apocalypse.

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Writing, as is likely, a generation later than the Synoptic evangelists, John made a unique contribution to the biblical theology of mission, especially with regard to the way in which believers are sent in analogy to the way in which Jesus was sent by God the Father. The conclusion will seek to assess the way in which the contributions of the various biblical writers relate to each other in terms of diversity as well as underlying unity. The appendix will round out this volume by discussing the question of mission in the second-temple period. Here the issue dealt with will be whether second-temple Judaism can be properly characterized as a missionary religion.

Part 1

THE STORY OF ISRAEL

When Jesus instructs his disciples to be his witnesses, he describes their task as beginning in Jerusalem and then radiating outwards to ‘all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8 niv). His remarks reflect the central location that Jerusalem and its surrounding territory has in the outworking of God’s plan of salvation. In large measure, this movement outwards beyond Judea and Samaria distinguishes the two Testaments that comprise the Bible. Whereas the Old Testament is primarily ‘the story of Israel’, the New Testament story of Jesus and his disciples moves beyond the geographical borders of ‘Israel’ to encompass the whole earth. It is, therefore, natural that any discussion of mission concentrates on the writings that form the New Testament canon. Yet, it would be erroneous to assume that the Old Testament canon is irrelevant to the theme of mission. On the contrary, the Old Testament story plays a vital part in presenting the purpose and nature of God’s missional activity in the world. For this reason, New Testament writers draw heavily upon the Old Testament for understanding and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.

The story of Israel begins in Genesis by setting a universal scene, highlighting the self-inflicted plight of humanity that tragically includes their alienation from God their creator. Against this background, God reveals to the patriarch Abraham that the nations of the earth will be blessed through one of his descendants, a unique king. The outworking of this promise involves the establishment of the nation of Israel from Abraham’s biological descendants. This, in turn, will lead to Abraham’s being the spiritual ‘father of many nations’ as blessing is mediated to those who bless Abraham.

As we shall unpack more fully in chapter 2, the divine promises to Abraham reveal the direction of God’s restorative mission. God’s dealings with Israel establish a typology for understanding how the nations will be blessed through a royal descendant of Abraham. The story of Israel models God’s mission of salvation. At the heart of this is a process that involves God’s rescue of the Israelites from the tyranny of evil powers to then establishing a theocracy centred on Jerusalem, with God’s living among his people. However, while the Israelites experience something of the benefits of being God’s covenant people, the story of Israel includes the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 bc, resulting in exile for the people. This tragedy is a consequence of the people’s disregard of God, despite his presence among them.

Exile, however, is not the end of the story. While divine judgment comes upon Abraham’s wayward descendants, Old Testament prophets speak reassuringly of restoration and the creation of a new Jerusalem, coterminous with a new earth, that will be the climax of God’s salvific activity. Importantly, expectations regarding the transformation of Jerusalem are not restricted to the nation of Israel. God will restore the entire world, recreating a new earth and new heavens. The future Jerusalem, as the holy city of God, will be a multinational metropolis of gigantic proportions, bringing together God’s people from ‘every tribe and language and people and nation’ (Rev. 5:9), all who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ, the spotless, sacrificial lamb of God.

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The Old Testament

From the original creation of the heaven and the earth to the future formation of a new heaven and a new earth, the books of Genesis to Revelation present an incredibly diverse, but nonetheless remarkably coherent, account. At the heart of this story is the grace-inspired, missional activity of God, focused on both restoring the broken relationship between himself and wayward humanity and renewing all creation. Fundamental to this entire process is the incarnation of God’s unique son, Jesus Christ, climaxing in his sacrificial death, bodily resurrection, glorious ascension to the right hand of the Father and future return as universal judge. While Christ’s first coming to the earth as the God-man is central to the success of God’s mission, the whole of Scripture bears witness to an extended programme of divine activity that prepares for and follows on from Christ’s incarnation. The story of God’s activity to reconcile humanity and all creation to himself undoubtedly unites the library of books that comprise the Bible.

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The importance of God’s restorative mission is especially evident when we focus on the story that underlies the whole of Scripture. According to Christopher Wright, a missional reading of the entire Bible is ‘a major key that unlocks the whole grand narrative of the canon of Scripture’.

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The significance of the biblical grand narrative for understanding the purpose of human existence has recently received renewed recognition, in spite of postmodernist abhorrence of all metanarratives.

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In the face of conflicting master narratives the Bible offers a radically different account that claims for itself an authority that rests in the unique deity whose existence the entire story presupposes – a story communicated through an unprecedented collection of books, penned by human authors under divine inspiration.

At the heart of the biblical metanarrative is ‘the story of God’s mission through God’s people in their engagement with God’s world for the sake of the whole of God’s creation’.

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Rightly, the emphasis falls here on what God does; it is the missio Dei that shapes and permeates the whole of Scripture.

In this chapter we shall briefly unpack something of the multifaceted nature of the biblical metanarrative as presented in the Old Testament. The approach adopted here is but one of several ways in which the biblical material could be summarized.

From creation to recreation; from garden to city

In its entirety, the biblical metanarrative is framed by two acts of divine creation. Genesis opens by briefly describing how God created the heaven and the earth in the beginning. At the other end of the biblical canon, Revelation concludes by anticipating the divine (re)creation of a new heaven and a new earth. While protology and eschatology clearly resemble each other, a vital difference exists between the first creation and its subsequent recreation. Whereas the opening chapters of Genesis focus on a garden with two human inhabitants, the concluding chapters of Revelation describe a populated city of enormous dimensions, where ‘every tribe and language and people and nation’ (Rev. 5:9) assembles to worship God on his throne. Undoubtedly, the city of Revelation 21 – 22, the future New Jerusalem, represents the fulfilment of what God intended when he first created the earth.

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God allocates to human beings a special role in his plan for the earth. Unlike other creatures, they are made in the divine image (Gen. 1:26–27) and given authority to rule over all other creatures on God’s behalf (Gen. 1:26, 28).

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Appointed as God’s vicegerents, they are instructed to be fruitful, filling the earth and, in so doing, creating a community that will honour its creator God. Underlying these instructions is the expectation that human society will establish a single city where they will dwell in harmony in God’s presence.

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As the Lord of creation, God authorizes humanity to exercise dominion on his behalf over the earth. While the first human couple are instructed to rule over all the animals, birds and fish, they betray God by succumbing to the sinister temptation of the ‘serpent’. By obeying this creature rather than the Creator, they submit to its authority. Consequently, the ‘serpent’ gains control not only of human beings but of everything placed by God under their rule. In this way the serpent, identified elsewhere in Scripture as the ‘devil’ and ‘Satan’,

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becomes the prince of this world, usurping God’s authority over the earth.

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The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden signifies the end of their special status as God’s vicegerents. Exiled from God’s presence, with their original nature now corrupted, human beings experience the tragic consequences of being alienated from their creator and the rest of creation. As the opening chapters of Genesis disclose, God’s good creation is soon polluted by human violence.

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Originally tasked with constructing God’s holy city upon the earth, sinful humans ironically build an alternative city, Babel/Babylon,

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a monument to humanity’s arrogant determination to oust God from the earth and even heaven itself. While God intervenes to halt the initial Babel/Babylon project by scattering the city’s inhabitants throughout the earth, the human ambition to construct an alternative, God-less city remains. As the book of Kings reveals, Babel/Babylon resurfaces in the future to plunder God’s chosen city, Jerusalem, destroy its temple and carry its inhabitants into exile (2 Kgs 25:1–21). In the book of Revelation, the city of Babylon continues to be the symbol of human enterprise undertaken in defiance of God (Rev. 17:1–18). As the Bible repeatedly highlights, there is ongoing human resistance to the construction of God’s temple-city upon the earth.

The offspring of the woman

While humanity’s rebellion against God jeopardizes the completion of his plan for the earth, God does not abandon humans to their fate. In a process that will span millennia, God embarks upon a mission of rescuing sinful, but repentant, people from the power of Satan, sin and death. This mission of restoration forms the very core of the biblical metanarrative.

The first indication that God will act to reverse the consequences of Adam and Eve’s betrayal comes in Gen. 3:14–15 in his pronouncement of judgment on the serpent. Addressing this mysterious, anti-God creature, yhwh states that the woman’s ‘seed’ (av; csb; rsv) or ‘offspring’ (esv; niv; Hebr. zeraʿ) will crush the head of the serpent.

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This pronouncement, which anticipates the serpent’s defeat, has long been designated in Christian tradition as the ‘protoevangelium’ or first announcement of the gospel. While there are strong grounds for maintaining the traditional interpretation that this is the first allusion to a future messiah, modern scholarship has veered towards understanding the ‘offspring’ as referring to humanity in general and not an individual.

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This latter approach, however, ignores how the rest of Genesis develops the motif

Reviews for Salvation to the Ends of the Earth

[theologicaldan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Did Israel have a theology of missions? Did Jesus? When did the church get its? Great questions, great book with great answers (I need a better word than great).