Our Lamb Has Conquered, Let Us Follow Him: The Pious Mission of the Moravian Church
As Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf stood before Domenico Feti’s painting, Ecce Homo, the futility of his life flashed before him. Ecce Homo, which means “Behold the Man” in Latin, is a work of art from the Baroque period that depicts Jesus as bound and bruised with a crown of thorns on his head looking back at the observer. As Zinzendorf viewed the painting, he also read the inscription below it, which asked, “All this I have done for you; what have you done for me?” From this time forward, the Wittenberg educated judicial counselor recommitted himself to the service of Christ and his church.
Shortly after this rededication, Zinzendorf encountered a group of refugees from Moravia who were seeking a place to live as they fled persecution. Zinzendorf obliged their request, granting them the land and resources necessary to establish a community, which would be called, “Herrnhut.” As the community grew with more disenfranchised protestants, disunity spread among Herrnhut. Zinzendorf attempted to bring unity, but it was to no avail, until August 13, 1727. On that day in the Herrnhut community, the Moravians assembled to pray and fast, and the Holy Spirit showed up. According to one the Moravian historian, Robert Gallagher, “The service was impregnated with a sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit moving among the people in response to the increase in unity and spiritual renewal. It was as if the Holy Spirit himself immersed them into one love.”
The Spirit-imparted love of the Moravian church moved them to missionary service. They committed to taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. And after only 28 years of mission work, the Moravians had sent out over 200 missionaries. Though relatively small in number, the Moravian did not allow obstacles to stand in the way of fulfilling Christ’s great commission. Their Lamb had conquered, and they resolved to follow him.
The pious mission of the Moravian church is still legendary to this day. While disputed by some, most historians agree that the stories about Moravian missionaries being willing to sell themselves into slavery were true. When the law forbade them from voluntarily entering into slavery, they found other means to take the gospel to the African slaves, making the Moravians not only the first organized Protestant mission work in the world but also the first mission work among slaves. Empowered by the Spirit, carried along by prayer, guided by the theology of the Augsburg Confession, and concerned with personal holiness, the Moravians were resolved to labor for the Lord who had done so much for them.
As Christians, we must never underestimate the power of the One to whom we pray. While some in our day have abandoned the importance of corporate prayer on account of low participation, the Moravians did not let small numbers dictate their faithfulness. In like manner, we should not lose faith in the God of prayer. If only 10 people show up for prayer, we must pray anyways. Great mission movements and revivals have started with less than 10 people resolving to pray for the movement of God among them.
Finally, we not underestimate the importance of “small” mission work. We have a tendency to overestimate what we can accomplish in 1 year of mission work and underestimate what we can accomplish in 10 years of mission work. Like the Moravians, we must believe that God is still able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to His glory in the church (Ephesians 3:20-21). Let us, therefore, with the Moravians, declare, “May our Lamb who has conquered receive the reward of His suffering! Let us follow him!”
CBH
