Published on: 11/08/2026
When the early Christians were persecuted, it wasn’t usually because they were kind, it was because they were rebels. They probably didn’t see themselves as rebels, they tried to be good citizens, Romans 13: 1-7, but nevertheless the authorities saw it differently. This might help us think about mission in our own day.
The reason for the persecution, is that they declared ‘Jesus is Lord’, not Caesar but Jesus. This put them at odds with the earthly powers and rulers. The early Christians believed that the ruler of the world was Jesus, his name was above all names, Philippians 2: 9-11 even above the name of the Roman Emperor. This was a big deal when Emperor worship was a civic duty, and the coins of the time proclaimed Caesar is the ‘Son of God’.
The implication of this declaration of Jesus as Lord is that Christians weren’t just sharing their faith ‘out of interest’ but proclaiming it as reality. They were saying that with the death and resurrection of Jesus, a whole new order had come to the universe. They were saying that once again God was king, and there are no other gods besides Him and that everything and everyone is subject to that truth, even if it made them angry, Psalm 2.
This then is the Missio Dei, that God is once again reconciling all things to Himself, 2 Corinthians 5: 18-21 through grace and forgiveness. Reconciliation by not counting trespasses, and making Jesus sin for us, implies an acknowledgement of our sin and a willingness to repent. No one is exempt from forgiveness, and no one is exempt from turning from sin in order to be reconciled. This is not a religious offer it’s a statement about reality. The choice is not whether to believe in that reality but which side of that reality to choose.
In our day we tend not to be quite as stark as that. Since the Emperor Constantine gave legal cover to the church in the early 4th century AD, the church has been, in the west at least, in the place of power. As its power has waned, it has tended towards persuasion and choice rather than proclamation. In the post-enlightenment world, it has often been seen as, and worse still, seen itself as optional.
We are perhaps hesitant in our response to the Missio Dei when it comes to the proclamation of Jesus as Lord because people associate lordship negatively with the kind of rule that the Roman Emperors modelled. They may also connect it to the kind of rule Christendom rulers modelled. The rule of God as king will be like the rule of other kings, either tyrannical like Henry VIII or affable and ceremonial like Charles III. Either way we can get along well without it.
This view however betrays an understanding that God is modelled on earthly kings rather than earthly kings being modelled on God and failing. If you have time read Deuteronomy 17: 14-20 to find out what a king modelled on God is supposed to look like. The practical outworking of this is of course Jesus. Messiah includes kingship, Jesus was crucified as ‘King of the Jews’.
When we declare the Lordship of Jesus we are to have in our mind his Kingdom. Jesus is the king and he is the suffering servant, he was obedient to death. His followers don’t rule over each other, the first shall be last and they will be like children. His Kingdom is one where the blind see and the lame walk and the prisoners are free, where the mourning are comforted and the meek rule. This is the new reality, this is the proclamation, this is why Jesus is Lord and should be Lord and will be Lord. This is why we have confidence to declare a new reality not simply offer a religious option.
This week’s Blog post was written by John Marsh, Mission Development Adviser