Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission (New Studies in Biblical Theology (Intervarsity Press), 11.) [Hardcover]

Andreas J. Kostenberger (Author), Peter T. O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001 | ISBN-10: 0851115195 | ISBN-13: 978-0851115191

Few biblical topics are as important as mission. Mission is linked inextricably to humanity's sinfulness and need for redemption, and to God's provision of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This "good news" of salvation must be made known! The saving mission of Jesus constitutes the foundation for Christian mission, and the Christian gospel is its message. According to Andreas Köstenberger and Peter O'Brien, this significant theme has rarely been given its due attention in biblical theology. Motivated by their passion to see God's mission carried out in today's world, they offer a comprehensive study of the theme of mission. In Salvation to the Ends of the Earth they explore the entire sweep of biblical history, including the Old Testament, the second-temple period, each New Testament Gospel, Paul and his writings, and the General Epistles and Revelation. Among other questions, Köstenberger and O'Brien examine whether or not Old Testament Israel was called to mission, whether second-temple Judaism should be characterized as a missionary religion, whether Jesus limited his earthly mission to Israel or also embarked on a Gentile mission, and whether or not there is continuity between the missions of Israel and the missions of Jesus and the early church. They write, "It is our sincere hope that our Christian mission, which is first of all God's, will be founded on a biblical theology that takes its cue from the scriptural revelation as a whole." To that end, they offer this work as a service to the worldwide church.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Together [Köstenberger and O'Brien] have written a biblical theology of mission that listens carefully to the biblical texts and follows the Bible's 'story-line' without flattening the diverse emphases of the various biblical books. Here is scholarship that matters: careful and even-handed, yet of transforming significance for all Christians serious about the mission of the church of Jesus Christ." (D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, Illinois) ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 351 pages
• Publisher: Inter Varsity Pr (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851115195
• ISBN-13: 978-0851115191
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,117,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Survey of Missions in the Bible, July 7, 2006

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Marc Axelrod (Potter, Wi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission (New Studies in Biblical Theology No. 11) (Paperback)

In Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, Andreas Kostenberger and Peter O'Brien have presented a systematic study of the subject of mission from Genesis to Revelation. After surveying the Old Testament and Second Temple Jewish literature in the early chapters, the authors conclude that there is no evidence for an organized Jewish mission to Gentiles, and that the Judaism of Jesus' day could not be classified as a missionary religion. While I am sympathetic to their presentation, I contend that Matthew 23:15 does indeed allude to a Pharisaic outreach to non-Jews, and must be regarded as an exception to the rule.

Beginning with Mark's gospel, the authors show that while Jesus was open to the entreaties of various non-Jewish people (Mark 7:24-30), it goes beyond the evidence to suggest that Jesus engaged in an active Gentile mission. Rather, a mission to the Gentiles is anticipated as a future reality in such texts as Mark 11:17 ("My house will be a house of prayer for all nations"), and in the cry of the Roman centurion in Mark 15:39.

In their survey of Matthew's gospel, the authors explain that the particularist statements of Matthew 10:6, 23 demonstrate God's faithfulness to His covenant community while the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 envisions the worldwide impact of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They rightfully stress that Matthew 10:23; 24:14 and 28:16-20 teach that missionary work is the church's primary responsibility between the first and second comings of Christ.

Noting the universal scope of Luke's gospel of inclusion, Kostenberger and O'Brien stress that Luke-Acts may be the clearest presentation of the church's universal mission in the entire New Testament. They correctly identify the hints of the Gentile mission in Luke 2:32 and Luke 4:16-30, though they may be making too much of the sending of the seventy-two in Luke 10, a vague allusion to a future ministry to Gentiles at best.

The book also has an inspiring discussion of the book of Acts, noting that it chronicles the unstoppable word of God. Taking the words of Ben Witherington as their cue, they assert that neither persecution nor imprisonment nor legal obstacles can prevent the gospel of Jesus Christ from penetrating to the heart of the Roman empire.

The authors go on to note that from the time Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, he was completely devoted to the gospel of Christ. They highlight key texts such as Romans 1:5-6, where he testifies that he has received grace and apostleship to call people from among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes through faith. They also underscore passages such as Romans 15:14-33 gives an overview of his missionary career and his desire to preach Christ in regions where He is not known, and 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, where Paul states that he is willing to be or to become almost anything to win people for Christ. There also note that while Paul never commands that believers in Christ share their faith, he notes with approval in Philippians how many have preached the gospel. I would have also included a discussion of Philemon 6 where Paul explicitly prays that Philemon would be more active in sharing his faith.

The writers also recognize that there is a missionary thrust in the gospel of John, with Christ as the primary missionary, the One who is sent by the Father. Furthermore, they recognize that while the Johannine epistles and the General epistles do not have a strong evangelistic emphasis, they stress the purity of the gospel, which is absolutely foundational for a successful missionary enterprise.

I highly recommend this book and I consider it to be a very important biblical exposition on missions in the Bible.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars one of the best..., September 13, 2006

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Brian Fulthorp - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission (New Studies in Biblical Theology No. 11) (Paperback)

Besides the big flop on saying the book of Jonah isn't missional (Jesus said it was, why don't they?), this is probably the best book out there on presenting a biblical theology of Missio Dei in the Bible you will find. The authors are in contrast to Walter Kaiser in that they do not believe Second Temple Judaism was a missionary religion. Judaism served to draw in the nations, not go out to the nations. That comes in the Acts of the Apostles. While in the OT the Jews were a light that drew the nations in for a closer look, in the NT, all believers are to go out as a light to the nations taking the salvation of the Lord to the ends of the earth.

For the work on John and Paul alone, this book is worth having. Whoever thinks John isn't missional needs to read again. The standard Paul set for missions still stands today.

If you want to round out your understanding of the Bible theologically, you should read this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mission, August 14, 2011

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michael (BEL AIR, MD, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission (New Studies in Biblical Theology No. 11) (Paperback)

First and foremost, the most positive side to Köstenberger and O'Brien's book is the section which focuses on the biblical books of Luke and Acts. Oftentimes theologians look at the man of missions - the Apostle Paul - as their number one example. They look at his work, who he was, what he did, how he related to the cultures, and of course what his mission to the Gentiles was, in order to come up with their definitions of mission. In Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent looking at the writer of both Christ's and Paul's missions - the Apostle Luke. This section on the Lukan writings does a great job describing God's mission through the coming of Jesus Christ, and how that was applied to the church's mission (namely through the historical records of the New Testament Church found throughout the book of Acts). Köstenberger and O'Brien also key in on the important passages that played a role in the transition of the mission of God in the Old Testament to that of the New. Looking at Lukan books this way lays out a historical time-line for the reader to see what took place during Christ's incarnational ministry here on earth, and how it brought about the mission that would then be done by the church.

Another point of great importance is found in the authors' dealing with the book of Acts, specifically, looking at how the mission of the gospel was spread among Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. In this, Köstenberger and O'Brien concentrate on how Luke focused on the promises that were given to Abraham, and how this then ran throughout Luke's writings (p. 137-8). This is then broken down further in the sermons of Peter, Stephen, and Paul, throughout the key passages which they highlight.

What is most important overall in this section is the understanding that the Gospel of Luke cannot be read without Acts, and likewise, that Acts cannot be read without the Gospel of Luke; they go hand-in-hand if you are looking for a proper biblical theology of mission (p. 111-2). For example: the writers do a great job of explaining that you cannot properly understand Jesus Christ's command in Acts 1:8 without first reading Luke's account of Christ's mission (p. 111). Furthermore, understanding that the early church's mission is found in what Christ did Himself during His earthly mission (that is, what He did in order to give the Spirit), Luke's books - both his Gospel and the book of Acts - must be seen as a historical record of the mission of Christ, and the giving of the mission to the New Testament church. In all, Köstenberger and O'Brien seem to see that the book of Acts and the Gospel of Luke are the most helpful and clearest perspectives of the mission of God during Christ's time, and also for that of the New Testament church today.

Another positive side of this title is the section on John. It seems that over the past 10 years both the Gospel of John, and John himself, have gotten much flack for "not being missional." Köstenberger and O'Brien hit right at that point - that John is missional in his Gospel. They seem to understand that this mistake of viewing John as non-missional is mostly because of Matthew's Great Commission, and Luke's Gospel, which is then followed by the historical value that Acts brings to the theology of mission. Köstenberger and O'Brien see the importance in what John is writing, and also see John's focus on Jesus' mission here on earth. In this section, instead of dealing with certain passages the way they did in their previous chapters, the authors lay out the events and topics of Christ's earthly work, and how they relate with mission. In doing so, they focus on Christ's humanity while on earth, and how He played out the mission of His Father in the bringing about what was to come. They do this by focusing on the truth that the gospel's primary interest lies in Christ's relationship with His Father, and not the ontological nature (p.204).

After dealing with this, the focus is then turned from Christ's mission to the community of His disciples, to the disciples then going out and living what Christ gave them for their communities (p. 204-22). A key point in this section is found as the authors point out that the Gospel of John never once focuses on the disciples' work, signs, etc., in the way the other Gospels do. Instead, John focuses on Christ's mission - both His own earthly mission (John 1-13) and the giving of His mission (John 14-21).

Negatively

Like most biblical theologies I come across, this book seems to have purposely (or unknowingly) neglected the Old Testament. Time and time again biblical scholars spend countless words in their writings dealing with the New Testament, and do not spend enough time dealing with the Old Testament. Here, Köstenberger and O'Brien have spent barely 50 pages looking at the Old Testament's theology of what mission is, and well over 200 on the New Testament's theology of mission. Why is this happening so commonly? Is there a lack of mission in the Old Testament? Or is it the lack of dealing with the whole canon equally? It most certainly is not the lack of God's mission in the Old Testament. For example: if one is looking for a proper understanding of a biblical theology of Mission in the Old Testament, Christopher Wright spends more than 75% of his massive 581-page book The Mission of God looking at the Old Testament.

Another negative aspect of Köstenberger and O'Brien's title is that they say that Jonah is not a missionary (p.44-5) - something I personally do not agree with. They believe that saying Jonah was a missionary is "going too far." To me, I feel as though the prophets were, in some way, missionaries to Israel and even to other nations from time to time. Regardless, the authors spent barely one page defending their argument that Jonah is not a missionary, and were therefore quite lacking to convince me of their view.

Lastly, Köstenberger and O'Brien seem to be in disagreement with many Missiologists as they do not believe that the second-temple period of Judaism was missional (p.55-71), nor had a mission at all. I completely disagree with this. I personally felt that their statement, "while the Christian canon itself provides little (if any) information regarding mission in the second-temple period" (p.55) is absurd. Were there not still thousands of synagogues carrying out the same purpose, and countless priests carrying out the same mission they were called to? Furthermore, why in Acts 2 did Peter have to defend the new mission of Pentecost against that of the Old mission, which the Jews were still trying to carry out? I could be wrong, but it seems that this distinction they make is largely due to their separation in eschatology - that is, the Old Testament and New Testament having separate eschatology (p.232-250). I say this based on how they conclude their ending sections on "The Second-temple Period" and how they conclude Revelation as well. It seems that they see the second-temple period as the ending times for Israel; and also see that both the nation of Israel and the New Testament church have separate ends in their missions. In this, they then separate eschatology. How this affects their Old Testament interpretation is that it then creates first-temple mission and second-temple eschatology, which I personally do not see as clear as they try to make it.

Another flaw in thinking that second-temple Judaism was not missional is that it hints that the mission that was given by God was not carried out. God's mission that started in Genesis 3:9 and Genesis 3:15 was still existing, and yet saying second-temple Judaism was not missional argues whether or not God's covenant people were still in His mission (Genesis 10). Were not the Lord's people still waiting for their Kingdom (Psalm 72)? Was not Israel looking for their expansion and shalom (Isaiah 45:22)? Just because they did not keep their covenant with the Lord did not mean that the Lord (and some of the Lord's chosen nation) did not continue to keep covenant. On this subject, I'd personally rather spend the time reading Walter Kasier's Mission in the Old Testament: Israel as a Light to the Nations.