The Lord Jesus and His disciples did not cocoon themselves away from the world; they were missionaries (sent-out-ones). Jesus was sent from heaven to earth (John 17:3). Jesus sent His disciples (the word means 'learners') as the founding apostles (the word means 'missionaries') into the world (John 20:21). His commission was to go and make more disciples and teach them to live as God's children (Matthew 28:18-20). By contrast, in the Old Testament, God wanted to use His people as a different and distinctive model community – witnessing to the surrounding nations the greatness of their God.

In the wilderness, almost everything happened inside the camp. But on the Day of Atonement, and some other times, the sacrifice was burned outside the camp as a reminder that the accumulation of all the people's sins was so offensive to God, they must be taken far away (Leviticus 16:27). The same principle was expressed in sending the scapegoat away (Leviticus 16:10). In the same way, Jesus was taken outside Jerusalem's city wall and crucified at the polluted execution site of Golgotha (John 19:17). But He had already trespassed religious boundaries by meeting with corrupt people like prostitutes and tax collectors (Matthew 9:10-11) – because He said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:12-13)

And that continues to be the mission of the church (Luke 24:46-48). Equipped with God's Word and filled with His Spirit they had courage to speak boldly about Jesus where they lived and eventually throughout the then-known world (Romans 1:8). It is the normal pattern for the disciples of Jesus to go out into a hostile world with the message of God's love and salvation so that people might believe … and become missionaries in their own communities. As we go out, we not only have the Lord with us (Matthew 28:20) but He is already there waiting for us to work with Him. Like Him we may suffer ridicule and shame, and even violence. But our life is not about how we can best advance ourselves in this world. Jesus said, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:26). With the church, we learn about the Lord; in the world we should live and speak for the Lord. Don't wait for your friends to come to church, tell them about Jesus today right where they are.