Go: A 40-Day Journey To The Never ReachedSample

Setting Things Right

By: Chris Carter

The cross is the sharpest knife. With it, God split time itself in half. At the cross, one age ends with words of apparent defeat on Jesus’ lips: “It is finished.” Another begins with two commands: “Come see,” and “Go quickly!”

We clearly see the significance of “it is finished.” Redemption complete. Salvation won. Death defeated. That’s how God makes an end of things gone wrong. How does he make a beginning of setting things right?

The answer—resurrection. Thus, the story of things set right can only begin in the empty tomb. That’s precisely where Matthew brings us:

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead.” Matthew 28:5–7

Here we see the entire mission of the church in miniature. The experience that makes us God’s people begins with a message: “He has risen.” It requires a first-person encounter with resurrection power. It comes with a command to go and tell the message of resurrection. 

Yet, the angel commanded them to tell in a particular way—“go quickly.” A sense of urgency is captured in the adverb “quickly.” But “quickly” is not primarily about speed. “Quickly” conveys priority and single-mindedness. 

Responding to the command to go quickly requires years of marching in one direction while ignoring all distractions. Obedience trumps everything. Normal priorities of life are reordered. For us, success, comfort, security, honor, and fame mean nothing. They belong to the old age undone by the words on our Savior’s dying breath: “It is finished.” Now, as denizens of the new age, our lives are dominated by the values of that age, with it’s imperative to go and tell. We go quickly because, for us, nothing else matters. 

Go Quickly!

How can you better reflect the urgency of Christ’s command? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you analyze your priorities as revealed by your actions and attitudes. Recommit yourself to quickly obeying the Great Commission. 

Pray

Never reached People Group: The Rakhine of Myanmar

Ask God to send more workers so that no Rakhine man, woman, or child will remain never reached by the gospel.