Luke declares at the beginning of his gospel that he writes of “the things that have been fulfilled among us” (Luke 1:1). In Luke and then Acts he then makes it clear that the people of God’s evangelistic task of global mission is a crucial fulfilment of the Old Testament hope, particularly as expressed in the prophecy of Isaiah. In Isa. 42:6 it is promised that the Servant of the Lord will be a light to the nations. This is expanded upon in Isa. 49:6 where the Servant is to be a light to the Gentiles “that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” With Jesus in his arms, Simeon proclaims that in seeing Christ, God has brought about this salvation long-prepared (Luke 2:30–32). Accordingly, in Luke’s schema the proclamation of forgiveness in the name of the resurrected Christ to the ends of the earth is as much the goal of prophetic hope as the death and resurrection of the Christ.

In Luke 24:45–47, the resurrected Lord Jesus gives his disciples the essence of Old Testament scriptural hope as fulfilled through his ministry. The necessity of prophetic hope created a necessity that shaped his own ministry—it was “everything that must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). The suffering of the Messiah and the resurrection of the Messiah both took place just as had been prophesied as a fulfilment of Old Testament hope (Luke 24:46). However, Jesus adds a next step of necessary fulfilment, one which still lies in the future as he speaks to his disciples: “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). Just as much a part of the prophetic hope as his own death and resurrection, just as vital to God’s plan, and just as certain to be fulfilled, is the proclamation to the ends of the earth of the gospel of repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus.

Furthermore, Jesus promises empowerment by his Holy Spirit for the work (Luke 24:49). In this promise Jesus links the ongoing proclamation mission of the church with his own preaching ministry. Isa. 61:1–2 had promised the Spirit would be on the Servant of the Lord, anointing him to “proclaim the gospel to the poor.” This gospel proclamation would bring spiritual comfort, freedom, sight, and a season of favour and blessing from the Lord. Jesus began his public ministry at the synagogue in Nazareth by preaching these verses from Isaiah, declaring those words to be fulfilled in his ministry (Luke 4:21). Jesus is the Spirit-empowered gospel preacher bringing freedom and spiritual sight as he breaks the chains of oppression. Accordingly, the promise in Luke 24:49 of divine empowerment for mission links Jesus’ evangelistic mission with that of his people. In Acts 2:1– 12 Luke makes it clear that this empowerment is the Holy Spirit, and that power drives forth the church in mission, not just to the nation Israel but to all the tribes and tongues of the earth.

As Luke follows the growth of the gospel word in the book of Acts, he continues to draw on the prophesy of Isaiah as central in shaping the essential and necessary nature of the church’s ongoing mission. Luke recounts a crucial turning point in Paul’s ministry during which he defends his evangelistic strategy by quoting Isa. 49:6 (Acts 13:47). Paul and Barnabas’ heightened focus on Gentile mission was driven by theological and not just strategic or pragmatic considerations. In quoting from Isa. 49:6 Paul declares, “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’” (Acts 13:47; emphasis added). In Isaiah 49 the “you” refers to the Suffering Servant, but in Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas take it as directly referring to them. It is “what the Lord has commanded us” (Acts 13:47; emphasis added)—that is, Paul and his missionary co-workers. The commission to the Servant has become for them a command to engage in Gentile mission. As he and Barnabas are engaged in that ministry of the Servant as they plant Gentile churches, Paul unequivocally sees them as fulfilling the ministry of the Suffering Servant to be a light for the nations and bring salvation to the ends of the earth. In his commission God set Paul apart to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, and he does the work of the Servant, so he will also bear the stripes of the Servant (Acts 9:15–16). Furthermore, he includes in that commission those who partner with him in the work.

An examination of two key passages in Paul’s letters confirm this link. Paul retells the story of his own calling in Galatians writing, “God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,” and in so doing recalls the words from Isaiah, “the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name” (Isa. 49:1). The commission Paul received to preach the Son among the Gentiles (Gal. 1:16) is in fulfilment of the promise in Isaiah that God would bring saving light to the Gentiles. Also, in Romans 15:19 Paul could boldly claim, “from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the gospel of Christ.” Paul continues in Romans 15 by quoting another of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant songs: “It 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. Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’” (Rom. 15:20–21, quoting Isa. 52:15). Once again Isaiah provides Paul with a self-understanding that informs his missionary strategy. The Suffering Servant has come and was pierced for the transgressions of the whole world, and so Paul will go to those who have not heard. In this sense Paul is completing the work of Christ as he carries on the work of the Suffering Servant in bringing light to the nations. In all of this, Paul is clear that it is Christ the Suffering Servant who works through him in his own suffering and ministry; it is all “what Christ has accomplished through me” (Rom. 15:18). Strengthened by Christ, and with Christ speaking through him, Paul proclaims light to the nations.

In the second half of the book of Acts (read alongside Paul’s letters) it is clear that the Spirit-empowered proclamation of salvation in Christ becomes not just the task of the apostolic eyewitnesses but also of the churches established through their ministry. The mission strategy of the Apostle Paul is to plant key churches as training and mission centres to further the evangelisation of a wider region, and so has built within that strategic plan an expectation that local church members would follow his lead in using their gifts and opportunities to proclaim Christ to their family, friends, and acquaintances. His aim was to firmly plant the gospel in the key cities of each region through ceaseless work in evangelism and faithful nurturing of the emerging churches into an established maturity. His pattern was then to return to those churches, appointing and training leaders, and envisioning for sustained faithfulness and mission (cf. Acts 20:28ff.). As Paul writes his letter to Rome, he can look out over that great area from Jerusalem to Illyricum and can say, ‘my work here is done’ (Romans 15:19). For Paul, at this point, the gospel has been fulfilled amongst the Gentiles of the East and they are now able to continue the task themselves. He aims to leave churches mature enough to get on with the task of preaching the gospel and furthering the mission without Paul’s ongoing direct support.

In Paul’s ministry as recorded by Luke there is an expected and normal link between proclaiming Christ and enduring hardship. This is important for the church in every age to grasp as they continue on mission. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes strikingly, “I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church” (Col. 1:24). The sufferings of the Apostle for the Gentiles are in continuity with the sufferings of the Christ, not in terms of atonement but in terms of mission. Christ suffered as the source of the gospel message, Paul (and those who follow him) suffer in the proclamation of that gospel message. The suffering that is the source of grace is that of Jesus and is perfect and complete, however, the suffering that is the necessary accompaniment to the proclamation of the gospel is incomplete. Both sufferings were anticipated by Isaiah, and so the figure of the Servant finds fulfilment not solely in Christ’s sufferings for the church, but also in the sufferings of those who proclaim the light of the gospel to the nations. In the era of salvation history between the resurrection and the return, the gospel must be proclaimed to the nations, however this proclamation is not done by the Suffering Servant himself (as Isaiah 49 seemed to indicate) but is through the church acting by his commission and power. Christ will proclaim light to the Gentiles as Isaiah anticipated, but it is through his church. As Paul conducts a mission to Gentiles he fills up in his “flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:29) as his toil, struggle and suffering for the Gentile church become a necessary part of his continuation of the ministry of the Suffering Servant, whose energy works within him. In continuing the ministry of the Suffering Servant, Paul was the pioneer, but others joined him in the task. Barnabas was designated as one who alongside Paul fulfilled the song of the Suffering Servant, and as Paul taught and trained others he made it clear that the link between suffering and mission was not unique to him. In writing to his young protégé Timothy, Paul reminds him of his teaching and the persecution and suffering that it produced, “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured” (2 Tim. 3:10–11). Having seen Paul’s ministry up close, there is no doubt that Timothy understood what Paul meant when he writes, “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). The faithful ministry of the word of God involves persecution and suffering. As Paul stands at the finish line exhausted, but victorious in Christ, he calls back to Timothy, “keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Tim. 3:5). Timothy was part of the fruit of Paul’s pioneering mission, and now he is called to share both its joys and its trials as he carries on that same mission. Paul planted churches in the Gentile world, but having laid a foundation in Christ, he handed over responsibility for the development of that mission to those young churches. Believers today are recipients of the gospel to the nations and stand in this line of responsibility as the present generation to whom the mission has been entrusted.

As Luke writes his two-volume work to show what has been fulfilled through the ministry of Jesus he also displays what is continuing to be fulfilled by Christ through his church, empowered by his Spirit. Evangelism is at the heart of the life and purpose of the church, even as it leads believers directly into the types of hardship that Paul and his apostolic band endured.