Missional Jesus sympathized with the poor and the marginalized and the powerless. As his mother was a widow and suffered, so Jesus was sensitive to widows. Here’s a story that opens a window on missional Jesus:
Luke 7:11-17: 11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out–the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”14 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
1. Missional Jesus “teaches” by “showing” the kingdom’s power to others.
2. Missional Jesus raises the dead — which tells about (1) who Jesus is and (2) what the kingdom of God accomplishes. And this must be read over against the Jewish anticipation of the general resurrection at the end of the ages — which means it is the demonstration of the arrival of the eschatological age of salvation in Jesus.
3. Missional Jesus restores people to their families — empowering and resocializing them.
4. Missional Jesus created rumors.