A Light For All The World To See

A Light For All The World To See

Robert Jason Bryant

There is a commonly held misperception in many a Christian's mind that Yahweh only sent missionaries into the world with the first advent of Christ, and His giving the Great Commission to the apostles, disciples, and church He established here on earth. This was a belief and misunderstanding the writer of this paper held himself until recently. The entire Old Testament since the fall of man in the garden of Eden is a hefty indictment against this incorrect teaching, belief, and understanding of Yahweh revealing Himself unto fallen humanity. The first missionaries were the nation of Israel. She was given the task as a whole, with manifold opportunities to be the people who were to reveal the Light, Yahweh to a dark and fallen world. She struggled to no surprise, recorded in the Old Testament pages of Scripture, and her failure was completed until the second advent of Christ, when she rejected the first coming of the Messiah. She got it wrong for now, until the Abomination of Desolation occurs, and the Messiah is received and preached by Israel. With the before mentioned statement brought to mind to the reader, are we church being the light that Christ assigned us to be? Are we church fulfilling that which Israel has failed to do so far?

" 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." (Luke 2:27-32 KJV)

In Simeon's declaration and fulfilled prophecy, in six short verses, it is seen evidently and clearly that the proclamation that God has made since He said, "Let there be light..." that God's purpose has always been to make Himself known. To the Hebrew first, then the Gentile that He is God, and in Him alone is salvation. Notice in verses 30 through 32 God reaffirms this. He sums it up rather well with the Hebrew Simeon stating he has seen the salvation of the Lord upon seeing the Christ. He again reaffirms it in his statement that it was prepared for all people. Simeon leaves no room for error with the statement that God has prepared this before the face of all people, and it is a light to the glory of Israel, and a light to lighten the Gentile people. All bases are covered. God leaves absolutely no wiggle room. None are with excuse in this matter. The reader may be asking them self, "This is a New Testament passage, how does this show that Israel is a missionary nation or people?

"49 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. 5 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up t he tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. 7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. 8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them." (Isaiah 49:1-10 KJV)

Written almost three thousand years ago, in the Word spoken to Isaiah it is even more detailed the model, purpose, and plan of God, to the nation of Israel. They were given charge, a commission to bare witness of the Light of salvation. In the mentioned passage from the forty-ninth chapter of Isaiah, glean from the very first word of verse one, "listen, hearken, ye people" these are the ones whom are charged with sharing the light. This is the Hebrew people. What are the Hebrew people to listen and hearken for? To begin with, they are servants of God! Servants have a master to serve in the very nature of the name servant. Secondly, notice the statement, "I will be glorified." God is the "I" and the servants are to bring Him glory. How is Israel to glorify God? Again beloved it is in the passage of Isaiah chapter forty-nine, verses on through ten. Hone in on verse six. God says it is a "light thing" that Israel should be His servant. God also says that Israel should be light to the Gentiles and His salvation unto the end of the earth! Here in the Old Testament, there is an unveiling, peeling back, or revealing of God's plan of redemption laid before the foundation of the earth. Where else might the reader recall the sharing of salvation unto the end of the earth? It is the Great Commission account of Mark.

"14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." (Mark 16:14-20 KJV)

It is wonderful how God ties everything together in His Word. He leaves no loopholes, and it isn't ambiguous to the seeking heart, mind, strength, and ability to the servant who seeks with all his heart what God desires. It is written in plain English for the English believer of the Way. Look at verse fifteen of Mark chapter sixteen and behold the words Jesus spoke are the same as what God spoke to and through His prophet Isaiah. Jesus said it, God the Father said it but are we obeying it? Did Israel obey it? For the most part, collectively as a whole no it isn't obeyed. The other side of the same coin is yes in faithful circles of biblical oriented Christians it is. Sound familiar reader? It should sound very familiar to the biblical Christian. Anyone who is familiar with the nation of Israel and the Hebrew people in the Old Testament, is well familiar with the reality that Israel as a whole collectively wasn't faithful, yet there was a faithful remnant in her serving the Master. In Babylon, in the wretchedness of being a Hebrew, in a lost and desolate land, four faithful Hebrew princes come easily to mind for the lay person as an example of the faithful remnant that chose to be examples of light, and thus remain loyal and faithful to Yahweh. Daniel, Meshach, Sadrach, and Abendigo were faithful to God. Was it easy? No it wasn't. Was there a cost to pay? Yes, there was. Daniel stood as a faithful old man, before the mouths of ferocious lions, yet faith in God saved him! Sadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo would not commit idolatry, and their faithfulness landed them in the fiery furnace, yet the walked out with Christ unharmed. There is a Missionary Baptist church in Lauderdale county Mississippi that averages approximately around seventy souls for corporate worship on the Lord's Day, yet the sponsor two churches overseas with an annual amount of over 100,000 dollars. That is an example of a faithful remnant in the midst of an unfaithful majority. There is a church here in Jones county, that averages easily around two hundred and fifty souls on the Lord's Day, yet only an approximate 10,000 dollars are scraped up for missions. To those whom much is given, even more is expected. Is the the larger congregation even considered faithful to the Great Commission in comparison to the smaller one? No, it isn't. There appears to be a disconnect to where the treasure of the heart is, and a willingness to be selfless. Which group of Christians are taking God and Jesus at their Word? Which group is obeying what the Master has commanded His servant to do? Which group is letting the Light of salvation shine for all the world to see beloved? The answer is obvious reader, it is the group that is letting the light shine for, the group that has it's "feelers" branching out into the dark and fallen world. Is the light shining in you? Are you letting His Light shine forth? Is a dark, dying, and fallen world seeing the Light? Is God being glorified? When these are answered to the yes, then we are carrying out the Great Commission as a whole.