Jesus the Rescuer of All Nations

January 3, 2022

David Platt invites us into the stories of unreached people around the world, pleading with us to refuse to settle for a casual, comfortable, cultural Christianity. Instead, we are challenged to follow Jesus and let His worldwide plan of ransom and rescue dictate everything we think, desire, and do.

Key Takeaway

God has given us the responsibility and opportunity to proclaim Jesus to the ends of the earth. It may cost us everything, but everything is worth it for one more person to come to know Him.

The big picture is that God desires and decrees for people from all nations to head and receive the good news of His great love in Jesus.

A picture of God's Word.

John 3:16- God sent His only Son to sacrifice His life on our behalf. Those who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Matthew 28:18-20- Go and make disciples of all nations.

Acts 1:8- The disciples will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:4-11- Filled with the Holy Spirit, they were able to speak in other languages to share the gospel.

Acts 8:1- The Word never left Jerusalem until Stephen was martyred and great persecution pushed them out.

Acts 11:19- Those that were scattered preached the Word first to the Jews and then to the Greeks.

Acts 13:1-5- While worshiping, the Holy Spirit moved in power and set apart some to go to new places to proclaim the Word of God.

Acts 16:6-10- God sends Paul to Macedonia.

Romans 15:19-24- Paul didn't visit any new places on his new journey, but while he was in Corinth preparing to take an offering to Jerusalem, he wrote a letter to the church at Rome. When Paul says, "I've no work left to do in this region." he means that they have all heard of Jesus and there are places like Spain where no one had ever heard the name of Jesus. Paul ended up dying in Rome and never made it to Spain himself.

Revelation 5:1-13- John is weeping because no one is worthy to open the scroll, but then Jesus comes forward and He is beyond worthy to open it and end the suffering on the earth through His sacrifice.

Revelation 7:9-10- Every nation, all tribes, all tongues are present in Heaven and worshiping God.God's Word makes clear that it is His desire and passion to have His Word go throughout the whole world.

A picture of the world.

Those who never put their faith in Jesus go to Hell. People can't call on Jesus to save them from their sins if they've never heard of Him. We have to go and share it.

Romans 10:17- Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.There are approximately 3.2 billion people who are unreached by the gospel today.

David told the story of a little girl named Malia. She is living an earthly Hell and no one is telling her she can be saved from an eternal Hell. Jesus came so that she and 3 billion other people could be ransomed and rescued. We know the Rescuer and we are to tell people about God's love and sacrifice for them.

A picture of your life.

Refuse to settle for a casual, comfortable Christianity that totally ignores the lost of the world. Don't turn a blind eye to the need.

God has decreed that we spend our lives to do this: to follow Jesus is to let His worldwide plan to rescue and ransom dictate how you'll spend your life.

If you've been broken in ways that you think you don't have anything to offer, rest assured that you have so much to offer to those who have never heard the name of Jesus. You process of healing isn't neverending, one day you will be whole. God's glory shines in this broken world not only through strength but through scars.

We are not the rescuers. We are the rescued. Jesus shed His blood to rescue and ransom us, so we don't sit back when we see others needing it. We tell them about it.

Live for this, if necessary, die for this: for all peoples of all nations to hear and receive the good news of God's great love for them in Jesus.

“

"God's glory shines in this broken world not only through strength but through scars."

”

David Platt

Discussion Questions

What does God desire for and decree us to do?
What is our motivation for taking the name of Jesus to the world according to John 3:16?
Read Acts 8:1. What was it that forced the believers in Jesus to go and take the Word out of Jerusalem?
What are some of the places that Paul went to in order to share the gospel?
Read Romans 15:19-24. What did Paul mean when he said he had no work left to do in that region?
What is going on in Revelation 5:1-13? Why is John weeping? What eventually happens that brings great joy?
Who is represented in Heaven in Revelation 7:9-10?
How many people in the world today are unreached? What happens if they never heard of Jesus?

Scripture References

18Then Jesus came to them and said,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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.”

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.”

4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.

7Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?

8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome

11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

1And Saul approved of their killing him.

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

19Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews.

20Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.

21The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

1Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.

2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

3So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

4The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

5When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

19by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

20It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.

21Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,

and those who have not heard will understand.”

22This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

23But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you,

24I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.

2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”

3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.

4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

7He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.

9And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slain,

and with your blood you purchased for God

persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,

and they will reign on the earth.”

11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

12In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and praise!”

13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!”

9After 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 before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

10And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb.”

17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

David Platt

David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical. David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series. Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C., metro area.