In my lifetime I had the privilege of visiting all six continents and living in four different countries. During my travels I discovered that people everywhere have the same basic needs and longings, the greatest of which is to be reconciled to each other and live in peace. This, however, requires that people be first reconciled to their Creator. But who can put man in touch with God and restore the broken relationships that we experience in this life?
There is only "one mediator" who has been effective in reconciling man to God. It is Jesus Christ (1Timothy 2:5). For this reason all peoples (regardless of color, nationality or social position) need Him as their mediator with God. This universal need is clearly proclaimed in the Scriptures. God reminds Abraham that the blessing, which was to come through his Seed, Jesus Christ, was meant for "all the families of the earth" and not just for Abraham's physical descendants (Genesis 12:3).
Why is it then that it took so long for this blessing to be experienced by all the nations? Following the day of Pentecost and the persecution of the followers of Jesus Christ, His teaching began to spread to other parts of Palestine and throughout the Roman Empire. Tradition tells us that the apostle Andrew preached on the northern shores of the Black Sea, which today is Ukraine, and the apostle Thomas, supposedly, took the Gospel to India. The effect of their ministries, however, was rather limited.
The most effective missionary to spread the teachings of Jesus was the apostle Paul. He established many churches, mostly in the territories which today belong to Turkey and Greece. Most of the others nations lay far beyond the reach of the apostles and the first followers of Jesus. It was only in 1793 that the modern missionary movement began, spearheaded by William Carey, a shoemaker from England, who brought the Gospel to the people of India.
It took almost 1800 years for the teaching of Jesus to begin reaching the ends of the earth. The main reason for this long delay was the lack of knowledge of the Scriptures, which were not available in the native tongues of the peoples around the world. For many centuries the Roman Catholic Church used the Latin translation of the Bible (the Vulgate) in the celebration of its mass. Most people attending mass had no idea what was being read or said. The Russian Orthodox Church still uses the Old Slavonic language during its worship services, a language which very few Russian people understand. Martin Luther was the first person to translate the entire Bible into German - the language of his fellow countrymen. As Scriptures became available to people in their own languages, Christians realized their debt before the world and began to take more seriously their responsibility to share the teachings of Jesus with all nations.
This is why William Carey set sail for India. And so, the modern missionary movement was born, which has brought the teaching of Christ to most nations. To be sure, there are still people living in inaccessible places that have not yet been reached with the Gospel.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ made it very clear that He came to be the Savior of all the nations (John 3:16). The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), given just prior to His ascension into heaven, reveals that Jesus expected His followers to take His teaching to the ends of the earth.
The fact that today the Church of Jesus Christ includes people from most nations of the world, reminds us that all people seek their Creator. To be sure, there are sociologists who claim that the teaching of Jesus destroys the indigenous culture of a people. This is why some governments do not permit Christian missionaries to work among their native people. Yet the reality is that all people need Christ. He is the only one who has been able to bring people and nations together! It is only as people gather under the banner of the cross that they experience the forgiveness of their sins and full restoration to God and to each other!
In the book of Revelation, John writes that he saw all nations gathered before the throne of the Lamb. "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb' " (Revelation 7:9-10).
Who needs Jesus? Everyone! He is the only mediator between God and man. In view of the deteriorating conditions throughout the world, all of us need to have a sense of greater urgency to take the teaching of Jesus to the ends of the earth. His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world, His resurrection from the dead and His ascension into heaven qualify Jesus the Christ as the only mediator for all peoples of the earth.
Dr. George Boltniew,
SMS International Field Advisor
