Jesus left us with a command to preach the gospel to every creature. We call it His Great Commission. Jesus’ love for the world, for every person in the world, is clearly seen in His command. There is no one who does not fall beneath the blanket of Christ’s love. He died for all.

Though the command is for every disciple of Christ, Paul seemed to feel it even more acutely as demonstrated by his rabid zeal to cross the world with the message of Christ. Paul had been confronted by the Lord Jesus Himself on his now famous road to Damascus. It was then that Paul was given his own personal commission from the Lord.

Jesus gave to Paul the ministry of opening up the gospel to the Gentile world. He was given the task of being the pioneer to the Gentiles, telling them that the blood of Christ was available to them as well. Jesus died for the Jew and the Gentile; He loves them all.

We have read the remarkable successes that Paul enjoyed, going from city to city sharing Christ and starting churches throughout the Gentile world. Paul became the poster child of Christ’s love to the people previously looked down on by the Jews. They were able to learn that His precious blood did not follow racial boundaries, but was spilled out for all.

Paul expressed his burden in…

Romans 1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

It didn’t matter to Paul what economic status his listeners had, they all needed to hear the news that Christ loved them and made a way to escape the penalty of their sin. Known in his day as the Greeks and the Barbarians, or the Greeks and all other Gentiles, Paul was determined to reach them all.

Of special interest is his mention of the wise and the unwise. That basically differentiates between those who were educated and those who were not. Among the Greeks especially, there was a reverence for the intellectual. To be well learned was to be respected. Paul knew that Christ loved them all, and so should he.

In our world today, we are faced with such a cross section of personalities and intellect abilities. It is sometimes tempting to chase after the elite, while ignoring the less qualified. Paul set for us an example that demonstrates the love of, and desire of our Lord Jesus.

We are to share the Good News with them all; we are to show them all His love.