The Spark of Gospel in the Land of Darkness

like the Jewish people. They believe in good works and not in grace. They are selfrighteously complacent about their religiosity. Most of them recite this sloka on a daily basis for illumination: “ asathoma sadgamaya, thamasoma jyothirgamaya, mruthyoma amruthangamaya, om shanthi shanthi shantihi.” Which means “lead me from untruth to truth; lead me from darkness to light; lead me from death to immortality. Let your peace abide with me.” This prayer has three important things: untruth, darkness and death. Did any of their deities ever proclaim like Jesus did as in John 14:6 (cited above)? None of them had the history of rising from the dead as Jesus did. The resurrection of Christ is the Christian's hope for eternal life. What joy would it be to live in heaven forever! This is what Jesus wants us to tell people who have no hope of having a place in heaven. Jesus rose from the dead (resurrected) after being buried for three days. He appeared to His disciples several times before ascending into heaven. On the first occasion when He appeared to them behind closed doors, one of the twelve by name Thomas doubted Jesus' resurrection and demanded to feel Jesus wounds before being convinced (John 20:2429).The Lord allowed him to touch his wounds. Then Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Was Thomas ashamed of his unbelief? Was he repentant? I always wonder how he reacted. “My Lord and my God” conveys feelings of remorse to me. Remorse cuts through the core of a repentant sinner. Before His ascension the Lord said to his disciples “All authority in heaven and on earth

has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20). Also in Acts 1:8 the Lord said to them “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”The Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing ministry, missionary work, evangelism, and baptism. “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” Acts 1:4. To spread the teachings of the Lord, people need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Rev. Charles Stanley explained this concept in “The Power Within” that “we cannot harness the power of the Holy Spirit. This power is not just for preachers, evangelists, or people who work in special ministry; rather it is available to every believer who willingly surrenders moment by moment in submission and obedience to the Holy Spirit.” The significance of Christ's choice of the word nations is that the goal of the Great Commission is not limited to the Jews in Israel only but to all the nations. The disciples' task was to witness to Jesus starting from Jerusalem “to the ends of the earth” which includes India, China and Japan too. The church's task is not completed until institutions, cultures and governments submit to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. It is an international program of salvation. Peter and John were committed to Jerusalem, while Paul and others went into the Roman world. Perhaps the only two of the

eleven who went outside the Roman world to preach the Gospel was Thomas and Bartholomew. According Eusebius, the Roman historian, Thomas and Barthalomew went to Parthia (present Iran and many other near eastern countries) and India. According to the third century New Testament apocrypha text called “The Acts of Thomas” the disciples drew lots to decide where each one of them needed to go according to the will of the Lord, and India fell to Thomas. It is said that Thomas went to North West India first along with a merchant and ministered unto them as in that part of India Koine Greek was spoken. This was a result of the hellenization of the region by Alexander the great. Thomas spoke the language and had a fruitful ministry and many conversions took place which included the king Gundaphorus, the founder of Indo-Pakistan kingdom and also his brother. His second missionary trip was in 52 AD to a kingdom in the south west of India ruled by King Mahadwa in Kerala. Thomas evangelized to this area and then crossed to the Coromandel Coast of south east India where he suffered martyrdom near Madras about 72 AD. He was buried near the site of his death in Chennai. He is the pioneer who carried the torch of the gospel to the people in darkness in a far off land which may come under “the ends of the world. The “doubting Thomas“ became the “believing Thomas” because he had obeyed the command of the Lord. This was the result of the unction of the Holy Spirit. As evangelizing started at Jerusalem, so it must go from the inner most part to the outer most parts of our territories starting from family members and ending with utmost strangers.