June 1 I Wednesday

2 Chronicles 15-16

John 12:27-50

“As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”    —John 17:18

In a game of broken telephone, one person receives a message that they quietly whisper into another person’s ear. This person then attempts to whisper that same message to the next person, and so on, and so on, until it reaches the last person, who repeats the message out loud. This game is humorous because, more often than not, the final message differs quite a bit from the original.

       When we look into the accounts of Jesus’s final commands to His disciples before He ascended into heaven, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts all have different versions of the marching orders Jesus gave to His Church. Matthew 28:18-20 tells us, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mark 16:15 records, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Luke 24:46-48 says, “This is what is written: the Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” John 20:21 reports, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.” Finally, in the book of Acts, Jesus declares, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

       Like broken telephone, we may be tempted to think that Jesus passed His message to one disciple, who passed a distorted version of this message to another disciple, who then passed it on to the next. What makes each account different is not faulty memories, but that Jesus likely said the same things again and again and each disciple picked out something different.

       Unlike broken telephone, however, Jesus’s message to His disciples is very clear and unambiguous. We are to preach the gospel to the whole world. We are to make disciples of all nations. We are to start exactly where we are and keep expanding outward until we reach the ends of the earth. As hearers of His message, may we also be bold, courageous, and obedient to Jesus’s command and share His Truth with all the world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You have sent me on mission to reach the world with Your good news. I ask that You may grant me the boldness and courage to do this. Thank You, Lord.