by John Piper
Isaiah 66:18–19
“LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE YOU, O GOD!”
The third category of texts that express the hope of the nations does so with confident prayers that God be praised among the nations.
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Psalm 67:1–5
May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!
Psalm 72:11
May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!
Psalm 72:17
“I WILL SING PRAISES TO YOU AMONG THE NATIONS”
The fourth category of texts that express the hope of the nations announces the plans of the psalmist to do his part in making God’s greatness known among the nations.
For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.
Psalm 57:9
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
Psalm 18:49
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
Psalm 108:3
Blessed to Be a Blessing
What these texts demonstrate is that the blessing of forgiveness and salvation that God had granted to Israel was meant eventually to reach all the people groups of the world. Israel was blessed in order to be a blessing among the nations. This is expressed best in Psalm 67:1–2: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, [Why?] that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” Blessing came to Israel as a means of reaching the nations. This is the hope of the Old Testament: The blessings of salvation are for the nations.
The Missionary God versus the Reluctant Prophet
One of the most vivid Old Testament confirmations and illustrations of God’s saving purpose for the nations is found in the Book of Jonah. The prophet was commissioned to preach to the pagan city of Nineveh. He tried to run away because he knew God would be gracious to the people and forgive them. The point of the book is not the fish. It’s about missions and racism and ethnocentrism. The point is: Be merciful like God, not miserly like Jonah.
Nineveh did in fact repent at the begrudging preaching of Jonah. When God saw the repentance of Nineveh, “God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it” (Jonah 3:10). This is what Jonah was afraid of.
It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Jonah 4:1–3
Jonah is not the model missionary. His life is an example of how not to be. As he sulks on the outskirts of town, God appoints a plant to grow up over Jonah to give him shade. When the plant withers, Jonah pities the plant! So God comes to him with these words: “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:10–11).
The missionary implications of Jonah are not merely that God is more ready to be merciful to the nations than his people are but also that Jesus identifies himself as “something greater than Jonah” (Matt. 12:39–41). He is greater not only because his resurrection is greater than surviving a fish’s belly but also because he stands in harmony with the mercy of God and extends it now to all the nations. Thomas Carlisle’s poem “You Jonah” closes with these lines:
And Jonah stalked
to his shaded seat
and waited for God
to come around
to his way of thinking.
And God is still waiting for a host of Jonahs
in their comfortable houses
to come around
to his way of loving.20
To see what power this Old Testament hope had on the missionary vision of the New Testament, we turn now to the apostle Paul and his idea of the missionary task. The Old Testament hope is the explicit foundation of his life’s work as a missionary.
Paul’s Idea of the Missionary Task
We examined Paul’s use of Genesis 12:3 (Gal. 3:8) earlier in this chapter. He saw the promise that in Abraham all the nations would be blessed, and he reasoned that Christ was the true offspring of Abraham and thus the heir of the promises (Gal. 3:16). Further, he reasoned that all who are united to Christ by faith also become sons of Abraham and heirs of the promise. “It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. . . . If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:7, 29). This is how Paul saw Abraham’s blessing coming to the nations. It came through Christ, who was the seed of Abraham. By faith people are united to Christ and inherit the blessing of Abraham. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law . . . that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles” (Gal. 3:13–14). So the promise of Genesis 12:3 comes true as the missionaries of the Christian church extend the message of the gospel to all the families of the earth.
How Would Abraham Be the Father of Many Nations?
But Paul saw another connection between the promise to Abraham and Paul’s own calling to reach the nations. He read in Genesis 17:4–5 that God promised to make Abraham the father of a multitude of nations. “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”
We saw earlier that “nations” here refers to people groups, not Gentile individuals. But how was this promise supposed to come true? How could a Jew become the father of a multitude of nations? It would not be enough to say that Abraham became the great-grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel plus the father of Ishmael and his descendants plus the grandfather of Esau and the Edomites. Fourteen does not make a multitude.
Paul’s answer to this was that all who believe in Christ become the children of Abraham. In this way, Abraham becomes the father of a multitude of nations, because believers will be found in every nation as missionaries reach all the unreached people groups. Paul argues like this: In Romans 4:11, he points out that Abraham received circumcision as the sign of righteousness which he had by faith before he was circumcised. “The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well.” In other words, the decisive thing that happened to Abraham in his relation to God happened before he received the distinguishing mark of the Jewish people, circumcision. So true spiritual sonship to Abraham is to share his faith, not his Jewish distinctives.
The way Abraham becomes the father of many nations is by those nations coming to share his faith and being united to the same source of blessing that flows through the covenant God made with him. So Paul says in Romans 4:16–17, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law [that is, Jews] but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham [that is, the non-Jewish nations], who is the father of us all, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations.’”
When Paul read that Abraham would be made “the father of many nations,” h
e heard the Great Commission. These nations would come into their sonship and enjoy the blessing of Abraham only if missionaries reached them with the gospel of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. It is not surprising then that Paul supports his own missionary calling with other Old Testament promises that predicted the reaching of the nations with God’s light and salvation.
“I Have Set You to Be a Light to the Nations”
For example, in Acts 13:47, Paul’s explanation of his ministry to the Gentile nations is rooted in the promise of Isaiah 49:6 that God would make his servant a light to the nations. As Paul preached in the synagogue of Antioch of Pisidia on his first missionary journey, the Jews “were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him” (Acts 13:45). So Paul and Barnabas turned away from the synagogue and focused their ministry on the people from other people groups. To give an account of this decision, Paul cites Isaiah 49:6: “Since you thrust [the Word of God] aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles [ethnon, “nations”], that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’” (Acts 13:46–47).
It is difficult to know why the English versions do not preserve the Old Testament sense of Isaiah 49:6 and translate, “I have made you a light for the nations.” The Hebrew word in Isaiah 49:6 is goyim, which means people groups, not Gentile individuals. Then Paul would be doing just what he apparently did in Galatians 3:8. He would be drawing a necessary inference about individual Gentiles from an Old Testament reference to nations. Thus, Paul’s own missionary vision was guided by meditating not only on the promises to Abraham but also on the wider Old Testament hope that salvation would come to all the nations.
Paul’s Passion for Unreached Peoples
This is remarkably confirmed in Romans 15. Here it becomes crystal clear that Paul saw his missionary calling as reaching more and more people groups, not just more and more Gentile individuals.
In Romans 15:8–9, Paul states the twofold purpose for Christ’s coming. “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised [that is, became incarnate as a Jew] to show God’s truthfulness, in order [1] to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order [2] that the Gentiles [ta ethne] might glorify God for his mercy.” The first purpose for Christ’s coming was to prove that God is truthful and faithful in keeping, for example, the promises made to Abraham. The second purpose for Christ’s coming is that the nations might glorify God for his mercy.
These two purposes overlap since clearly one of the promises made to the patriarchs was that the blessing of Abraham would come to “all the families of the earth.” This is in perfect harmony with what we saw of the Old Testament hope. Israel is blessed that the nations might be blessed (Psalm 67). In the same way, Christ comes to Israel so that the nations might receive mercy and give God glory.
Saturated with the Hope of the Nations
To support this claim of God’s purpose for the nations, Paul gathers four Old Testament quotations about the ethne, all of which in their Old Testament context refer to nations, not just to Gentile individuals.
As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the nations [ethnesin] and sing to your name.”
Romans 15:9 = Psalm 18:49,
author’s translation
Rejoice, O nations [ethne], with his people.
Romans 15:10 = Deuteronomy 32:43,
author’s translation
Praise the Lord, all you nations [panta ta ethn], and let all the peoples praise him.
Romans 15:11 = Psalm 117:1,
author’s translation
The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the nations [ethnon]; in him will the nations [ethne] hope.
Romans 15:12 = Isaiah 11:10,
author’s translation
What is so remarkable about this series of texts that Paul strings together is that Paul either had them memorized or took the trouble to find them in the Old Testament—without a concordance! Either way it shows that he was intent on seeing his missionary calling in the light of the Old Testament hope that all the nations would be reached with the gospel. The people-group focus of these texts is unmistakable from the Old Testament context.
From Jerusalem to Illyricum: The Work Is Finished!
What we see next, therefore, is how the people-group focus governed Paul’s missionary practice. Was his aim to win as many Gentile individuals as possible or to reach as many people groups or nations as possible? Romans 15:18–21 gives a startling answer:
For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles [ethnon, “nations”], to obedience— by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
Literally, Paul says, “From Jerusalem and around to Illyricum I have fulfilled [peplerokenai] the gospel.” What can that possibly mean? We know that there were thousands of souls yet to be saved in that region because this was Paul’s and Peter’s assumption when they wrote letters to the churches in those regions. It is a huge area that stretches from southern Palestine to northern Italy. Yet Paul says he has fulfilled the gospel in that whole region, even though his work of evangelism is only ten or fifteen years old.
We know that Paul believed work was still needed there because he left Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3) and Titus in Crete (Titus 1:5) to do the work. Nevertheless, he says he has fulfilled the gospel in the whole region. In fact, he goes so far as to say in Romans 15:23–24, “But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions . . . I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain.” This is astonishing! How can he say not only that he has fulfilled the gospel in that region but also that he has no more room for work? He is finished and going to Spain (Rom. 15:24). What does this mean?
It means that Paul’s conception of the missionary task is not merely the winning of more and more people to Christ (which he could have done very efficiently in these familiar regions) but the reaching of more and more peoples or nations. His focus was not primarily on new geographic areas. Rather, he was gripped by the vision of unreached peoples. Romans 15:9–12 (just quoted) shows that his mind was saturated with Old Testament texts that relate to the hope of the nations.
Driven by a Prophetic Vision of Hope
What was really driving Paul when he said in Romans 15:20 that his aim is to preach not where Christ has been named “lest I build on someone else’s foundation”? One could uncharitably assume a kind of ego that likes to be able to take all the credit for a church-planting effort. But this is not the Paul we know from Scripture, nor is it what the context suggests.
The next verse (Rom. 15:21) shows what drives Paul. The Old Testament conception of God’s worldwide purpose gives Paul his vision as a pioneer missionary. He is driven by a prophetic vision of hope. He quotes Isaiah 52:15: “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
In the Old Testament, these words are immediately preceded by, “So shall he sprinkle many nations [ethne polla]; kings shall shut their mouths because of him” (Isa. 52:15). No doubt Paul reflected on the fact that his commission from the Lord came to him in similar words. In a close parallel to Isaiah 52:15, the risen Lord Jesus had said to Paul that he was “to carry [Christ’s] name before the Gentiles [ethnon, “nations”] and kings” (Acts 9:15).
In other words, Paul was driven by a personal commission from the Lord that was richly buttressed and filled out with a prophetic vision of hope. He was gripped by the Old Testament purpo
se of God to bless all the nations of the earth (Gal. 3:8), to be praised by all the peoples (Rom. 15:11), to send salvation to the ends of the earth (Acts 13:47), to make Abraham the father of many nations (Rom. 4:17), and to be understood in every group where he is not known (Rom. 15:21).21
So Paul’s conception of his specifically missionary task was that he must press on beyond the regions and peoples where Christ is now preached to places such as Spain and to peoples “who have never been told of him.” God’s missionary “grace” for Paul was that he be a foundation-layer in more and more places and peoples. His aim was not to reach as many Gentile individuals as he could but to reach as many unreached peoples as he could. This was Paul’s specific missionary vision.
Obedience for the Sake of His Name among All the Nations
Against this backdrop, the missionary statements at the beginning and end of the Book of Romans take on a distinct people-group coloring. Earlier we said that panta ta ethn in these two verses is ambiguous. But from what we have seen now, from the phrase’s use in the Old Testament and from Paul’s dependence on that Old Testament hope, it is likely that Paul has in view nations or people groups and not just Gentile individuals.
Through [Christ] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations [pasin tois ethnesin].
Romans 1:5
[The mystery] has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations [panta ta ethn], according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.
Romans 16:26
Paul saw his special missionary “grace and apostleship” as one of God’s appointed means of fulfilling the “command” that the obedience of faith be pursued among all the nations. To this he gave his life.
John’s Vision of the Missionary Task
The vision of the missionary task in the writings of the apostle John confirms that Paul’s grasp of the Old Testament hope of reaching all the peoples was not unique among the apostles. What emerges from Revelation and the Gospel of John is a vision that assumes the central missionary task of reaching people groups, not just Gentile individuals.