I Am Sending You

The first thing Jesus told the disciples after He resurrected was, "Peace be with you."  After He showed them His scars, He said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you" (John 20:21).  I can only imagine their need for peace in that moment.  Their Lord has just been killed, they were hiding in fear of their lives, then Jesus appears in a room with the doors bolted shut.  I could have used a double-dose of peace in that moment as well!  But Jesus doesn't leave them there, he tells them what is next in His plan - He is sending them.  They will need His peace for this mission even more.  But this message wasn't only intended for the 11 disciples in the room.  It was a commissioning for all who love Jesus, an invitation to  follow Him. 

So what was Jesus sent to do?  He tells us very early in His ministry.  He enters the synagogue in Nazareth and reads from Isaiah 61:1-2, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he says, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21).  It couldn't get any clearer.  This is Jesus' mission.  It is what He has been sent to do and it is what He is sending us to do as well.

This begs the question, what does it mean to proclaim liberty to the captives and proclaim the year of the Lord's favor?  I can't give the blind their sight so what does this mean for me?

This passage speaks to us on two levels - the vertical and the horizontal.  Vertically, it is about our relationship with God.  It is spiritual.  We are the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed.  We need to be set free from our sin, and Jesus did just that when He paid the penalty for our sin on the cross.  Now, we are sent to proclaim the message of the Gospel to those around us who need to hear the good news that Jesus wants to set them free as well.  But this is not all.  If we watch His earthly ministry, we see this passage lived out horizontally to the people around Him as He demonstrated the good news in their lives.

Jesus fed the poor with real food, not just spiritual food.  He healed people's physical ailments - blindness, leprosy, even death.  Jesus met people where they were and met their needs.  This drew others to Him because they saw what He offered was tangible and real, not some mystical, hyper spiritual dialogue.  Jesus was a God who they could touch and now as His ambassadors, He is sending us as God sent Him so we also need to demonstrate the good news of the Gospel in addition to proclaiming it.  We need to meet the needs of others around us.  Does your neighbor need help with a project on his house?  Help him out.  Do you have a friend struggling emotionally?  Listen to them.  Is there an organization in town that helps serve those in need?  The poor, widows, orphans, victims of domestic violence or human trafficking?  What time, abilities, and money could you give to an organization who is carrying out Jesus' loving work of proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor to people in your community? 

I believe that this is the abundant life that Jesus spoke of.  Going to church is wonderful, but if the love of God does not move you to follow Jesus in doing what He did - both demonstrating and proclaiming His message of love - then we're missing out.  As we demonstrate the gospel through acts of love, it opens the door for us to discuss the message of the gospel with those we are loving.  Will it be easy?  No.  Will it be worth it? Absolutely.

So you're probably thinking, "Enough preaching Blair, what does this look like in your life? Do you practice what you preach?"  The simple answer is, I'm learning to.  Since we work at Cru headquarters, all our co-workers are Christians, so we have to meet people who don't know Christ in other places.  We're getting to know our neighbors, although not doing a great job at that.  Why?  Because it's hard and it takes time.  But God is opening up some relationships for us with people in the community in other ways.  So we're trusting God will continue to lead us to the people we should invest in and taking the opportunities He gives us.  We're also both very passionate about the issue of modern-day slavery so I volunteer with Florida Abolitionist, a local group who is raising awareness and facilitating victim services here in Orlando.  (If you're in Orlando and want to check it out, please let me know!) We don't pretend to be perfect but are just trying to be real and follow after Jesus.  It's a Beautiful Mess... 

To dig into this more, grab a group of friends and read The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay.  After you finish that read Barefoot Church by Brandon Hatmaker.  Both of these books have rocked my world and have opened my eyes to living a 'sent' life by following Jesus.  Put into practice just some of the things they write about and you will begin to experience the Gospel more fully in your own life and in the lives of those around you.