Jesus the First Missionary: Reaching the Unreached Worldwide

Nov 14, 2021

Devotional

Day 1: Sent as the Father Sent Me

Jesus’ resurrection appearance to the locked-room disciples redefined their purpose. He showed his scars, spoke peace, and commissioned them with the same mission the Father gave him: to cross barriers for the sake of those who’ve never heard. This sending isn’t optional—it’s the heartbeat of everyone who follows the First Missionary. The Holy Spirit’s breath empowers ordinary people to announce forgiveness to a world trapped in fear. [43:46]

“Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (John 20:21–22, NIV)

Reflection: Where has Jesus strategically placed you—at work, in your neighborhood, or in relationships—to embody his mission? What fear or excuse keeps you from leaning into that sending today?

Day 2: No Mission Without the Breath

The disciples’ locked-door paralysis couldn’t be overcome by willpower or guilt. Jesus’ breath—the Spirit’s arrival—turned cowering followers into bold witnesses. Missions isn’t a human project but a divine partnership. Without the Spirit’s power, our strategies and budgets are empty. With him, ordinary people ignite movements. [45:05]

“‘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, NIV)

Reflection: When have you relied on your own strength in sharing Jesus? How might praying for the Spirit’s boldness shift your conversations this week?

Day 3: Eternal Stakes in a Costume-Culture World

Hell’s reality isn’t a scare tactic—it’s the urgent context of mission. Jesus spoke of perishing souls more than heaven. Yet our spending priorities reveal misplaced values: pet Halloween costumes over unreached billions. The gospel isn’t a luxury; it’s the only cure for eternal separation from God. [53:53]

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16–17, NIV)

Reflection: What practical step—giving, praying, learning—could align your resources more closely with Jesus’ heart for the perishing?

Day 4: Worship Where No One Knows His Name

Over 3 billion people live without access to a Christian, church, or Bible. These unreached groups aren’t statistics—they’re image-bearers God desires to worship him. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Every tribe and tongue will glorify Jesus, but millions wait in silence for someone to cross barriers with the Story. [58:01]

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” (John 4:23, NIV)

Reflection: How does it reshape your prayers to know God actively seeks worshipers among people who’ve never heard his name?

Day 5: You Are the Plan—No Backup

The legend of Jesus’ heavenward return haunts: if we fail, the nations stay in darkness. No angels will replace our calling. Sending isn’t about heroism but obedience—learning, praying, giving, welcoming, going. Central Manor’s legacy isn’t in budgets but in surrendered people joining Jesus’ unfinished work. [01:13:06]

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14–15, NIV)

Reflection: What’s one “yes” you sense Jesus asking from you—right where you are—to advance his global mission this month?

Sermon Summary

John 20 steps into a locked room, names the disciples’ fear, and answers it with “Peace be with you.” Twice the risen Christ says peace, then he shows his wounds so they know the crucified one now stands alive. Then the sending lands: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” The text puts the mission in motion and immediately ties it to power: he breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The mission is impossible without the Spirit.

Jesus sets the pattern. The Greek apostellō sits behind “sent,” the root of apostle, and the Latin missio gives the church its word missionary. The big idea comes into focus: Jesus was the first missionary. He was sent, so he sends. He even states his mission like a personal banner over John 3:16–17: the Father loved, so he gave; the Son was not sent to condemn, but to save. Romans 10 then presses the logic. People will only call if they believe, only believe if they hear, only hear if someone preaches, and only preach if they are sent. That is what the Father did with the Son, and what the Son now does with his church.

The urgency is not hype. Jesus says people are perishing. Hell is real, and love refuses to pretend otherwise. The gospel’s claim is not one option among many. In John 14:6 Jesus says he is the way, the truth, and the life, and Acts 4:12 echoes that salvation is found in no other name. That claim, if true, bears global weight.

God’s heart is not just rescue; it is worship. John 4 says the Father is seeking worshipers who worship in Spirit and truth. Revelation shows the end of that search with every tribe and tongue. Missions exists because worship doesn’t, and where worship is missing, mission runs.

The world’s need is staggering and specific. Billions live among unreached peoples with little or no access to the gospel, and the church’s resources are imbalanced toward places that already have Bibles, churches, and Christians. Jesus’ last command should be the church’s first concern. He is still sending, and love obeys. Not all are career missionaries, but all are sent ones. Every disciple can think and act like a missionary where they live, pray and give with global intelligence, welcome the nations next door, and ask Christ in earnest, “Should I go?” The risen Lord breathes peace, gives the Spirit, and sends his church to the nations until the Father receives the worship he deserves.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus is the first missionary Jesus is sent by the Father to save, not condemn, and then he sends disciples in the same pattern. His incarnation crosses the greatest cultural and cosmic barriers, and his cross supplies the message he commands to proclaim. Mission flows from his identity and achievement, not from human enthusiasm. To follow him is to take up a sent life. [47:57]
2. The Spirit empowers the church’s witness Jesus breathes the Spirit because mission without power is just noise. The Spirit arranges providential meetings, supplies boldness and wisdom, and opens hearts that arguments cannot open. Pentecost shows how quickly the impossible becomes normal when God moves. Strategy matters, but the Spirit makes fruit possible. [45:35]
3. Hell is real, urgency is right Jesus speaks of perishing, not to scare, but to love. Indifference in the face of eternal loss is not compassion; it is cruelty disguised as calm. If sin is worse than cancer, then silence is not kindness. Urgency that is tethered to truth and gentleness is the shape of love. [52:38]
4. Jesus alone opens the way The claim “I am the way” refuses to sit beside other paths as one choice among many. A risen Lord, not a remembered teacher, stands behind Christian hope. Exclusivity does not breed arrogance when it is received as mercy and carried in humility. Clarity honors Christ and serves neighbors who deserve to hear what is true. [55:02]
5. God seeks worshipers from all peoples The Father is after hearts that know him in Spirit and truth, from every people group. Where worship is missing, mission persists until praise rises. Giving, praying, welcoming, sending, and going are not programs; they are the church answering the Father’s desire. Zeal for his glory becomes love for the nations. [63:27]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[36:09] - Comics to calling
[37:34] - Jesus, the first missionary
[39:34] - Great Commission for all nations
[41:33] - John 20: Peace and sending
[45:35] - Power from the Spirit
[50:12] - Why missionaries are sent
[51:08] - Sent so they can hear
[52:38] - Hell is real, urgency matters
[55:02] - Jesus alone saves
[58:01] - The unreached and the imbalance
[63:27] - God seeks worshipers
[65:05] - Obedience and everyday witness
[68:45] - Six ways: learn to go
[72:00] - No other plan

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 20:19-23 (ESV)
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Observation questions

What two things does Jesus do immediately after saying “Peace be with you” the first time (John 20:19-20)?
How does Jesus connect His own mission (“As the Father has sent me”) to the disciples’ mission in verse 21?
What specific role does the Holy Spirit play in the mission according to the sermon? [45:35]
According to the sermon, why is the phrase “all nations” (Matthew 28:19) critical to understanding the scope of the mission? [39:34]

Interpretation questions

Why might Jesus have shown His wounds before commissioning the disciples (John 20:20)? What does this reveal about the relationship between His sacrifice and their mission?
How does the gift of the Holy Spirit address the disciples’ fear and equip them for being “sent” (John 20:21-22)?
The sermon argues that urgency in missions is tied to the reality of hell. How does this urgency align with Jesus’ statement in John 3:17 about not condemning the world? [52:38]
Why does the sermon emphasize that missions exists “because worship doesn’t” (Revelation 7:9-10)? How does this reshape our view of evangelism? [01:03:27]

Application questions

Jesus’ mission required crossing cultural barriers. What practical step could you take this month to engage with someone from a different background or belief system in your community? [01:10:15]
The Holy Spirit empowers boldness and divine appointments. What fear or hesitation do you need to surrender to Him to share the gospel more freely? [45:35]
If 3 billion people have little access to the gospel, how could you adjust your prayers, giving, or priorities to help reach the unreached? [59:24]
“Not all are career missionaries, but all are sent ones.” What does being “sent” look like in your current workplace, neighborhood, or family?
The sermon warns against imbalance in missions resources. How can you advocate for or support ministries focused on unreached people groups? [58:32]
Jesus linked peace with being sent (John 20:21). Where do you need His peace to replace fear or complacency in your witness?
What is one way you could intentionally “welcome the nations next door” this week (e.g., international students, refugees, neighbors)? [01:10:15]

Sermon Clips

33s

#SentNotSuggested

“So I'm gonna give you one more reason to be serious about missions. That is that Jesus is sending and we must obey. In John chapter 20, Jesus wasn't suggesting, he was sending. Remember, it's called the great commission, not the great suggestion. Jesus said, as the father sent me, I am sending you. Of course, we don't obey that command out of duty or fear, but out of love. In John 14 verse 15, Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commands. And it's really that simple.”

35s

#FundTheUnreached

“Think about that. In our culture, we spend more money on Halloween costumes for our pets than the church spends on supporting missionaries trying to reach the unreached. Are we okay with that? I'm not. People in unreached parts of the world go their entire life and never even meet a Christian. They have no one to tell them the good news. If hell is real and Jesus is the only way, then what are we gonna do about this? Well, we at Central Manor Church can do something. As we grow our mission focus, we can prioritize supporting ministry among the unreached.”

31s

#WeAllNeedASavior

“You know, someone once said that sin is like cancer. If you had the cure for cancer, you'd wanna tell everybody. But think about it, sin is even worse than cancer. Cancer can only destroy your body, but sin can separate you from God for all eternity. We all have neighbors, friends, relatives who don't know Jesus. What will happen to them if they don't turn to Jesus and ask for his forgiveness? They may be the best neighbors and great friends, but the bible says we're all sinners. We all need a savior.”

34s

#EmpoweredBySpirit

“In John 20, Jesus was sending his disciples to continue his mission. They had absolutely no hope of success without the spirit. I believe many of you want to make a difference for Jesus. You want to be witnesses to people in your life and you want our church to reach people both here and around the world. But it's not going to happen without the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit. We need him to give us divine appointments with people. We need him to give us boldness, love and wisdom as we witness and we need him to work in types of people to bring them to Jesus.”

31s

#JesusIsTheOnlyWay

“Now, that's controversial in our world today. We know that there are many great religious leaders throughout history. We can read about Moses in the old testament. We can learn about the Buddha or about Mohammed. Some people today think there are many ways to God. They think Jesus is just one of the great religious leaders, but he taught something different. He taught that he wasn't just a great man, a great prophet, or a great religious teacher. He claimed that he was the only son sent from the father to save the world.”

30s

#WayTruthLife

“In John 14, Jesus was with his disciples just hours before he was arrested. The next day, he would go to the cross to fulfill his mission. So, he's gonna tell them stuff that's really important and he makes one of the most controversial and amazing claims in all in the whole bible. Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one can come to the father except through me. In other words, I am the way. I am the only way. No one can come to the father except through me.”

38s

#BothWordsAndDeeds

“The second problem is even more is that it doesn't quite make total sense. Think about it. It's like saying, feed the hungry at all times. If necessary, use food. Well, how can you feed the hungry without giving them food? And how can you preach the gospel and share how someone can start a relationship with God through Jesus Christ unless you use words? We need both words and deeds. So the quote is good because it reminds us that we need to to love and meet physical needs, but we must also pray for boldness, wisdom, and opportunities to verbally tell people about the love of Jesus.”

41s

#GreatCommissionIsCommand

“A famous missionary Hudson Taylor, missionary to China in eighteen hundreds once said, that the great commission is not a command is not an option to be considered, but a command to be obeyed. In our world today, many churches are losing their focus on reaching the nations. It's good to be reminded of the great commission and think about it often. After all, shouldn't Jesus' last command be our first concern? When Christians talk about the great commission, they're usually referring to Matthew 28, but there's actually five great commission passages. Five times after Jesus rose from the dead did he give this mission to his apostles.”

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