Instead of welcoming their King, the Jews cried out, “We will not have this man reign over us!” and they crucified Him. Yet the cross was never the end; it was the means to the proper end: the universal reign of Christ.

When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He didn’t launch a new idea. He revealed the fulfillment of a story the Old Testament had been telling all along—the story of a King who would reign over all nations. To understand the mission of the church, we must root it in the Christological storyline of Scripture: the promised King has come, He now reigns, and the world must be told.

The Christological Context of the Great Commission in the Old Testament

Long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the Old Testament pointed forward to a coming King—One who would rule not only Israel, but the nations.

Psalm 2:7–12 announces the Son, “begotten”—a term that Acts 13:27 37 connects directly to His resurrection. And what is given to this resurrected King? “The nations as Your inheritance.” The psalm points the nations to Jesus as the rightful, reigning King.

Psalm 110:1–2, the most quoted psalm in the New Testament, identifies the Messiah as the Son of David who will “rule in the midst of His enemies.” His authority is absolute because He is the divinely enthroned King.

And Isaiah 52:7 celebrates the beautiful feet of those who proclaim this message: “Our God reigns!” Paul reaches back to this very verse in Romans 10:15, anchoring gospel proclamation in the announcement of the King’s reign.

The Old Testament’s hope for Israel and the nations was the arrival of the King who reigns over all.

The Christological Context of the Great Commission in the New Testament

When we step into the Gospels, the King arrives.

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