TL;DR:
Hudson Taylor, missionary to China, insisted that Christ’s Great Commission is not a suggestion but an absolute command for every believer to help make disciples among all nations. Taylor's life became one of Christianity’s most influential missionary examples, inspiring generations through his cultural immersion, holistic ministry, and unwavering obedience to Christ’s call.
Oil Painting of James Hudson Taylor at Age 21, created 1853, not long before he left for China |
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1. Christ's Great Commission -- An option or a command?
Missionary Hudson Taylor declared that the
Great Commission is not an optional suggestion but a command Christians must obey.
Hudson Taylor's passion for evangelizing all of China's
inland provinces led him to establish the China Inland Mission.
Taylor believed Christians have no choice but to fulfill
Christ's Great Commission through prayer, giving, mobilizing, sending, and going.
Hudson Taylor's faith-based approach to missionary work influenced later generations of missionaries.
A slogan about world evangelism to stir our hearts and move ua to action
"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed" -- J. Hudson Taylor
In the mid-19th Century, Hudson Taylor said something obvious: Matthew
28:19-20 is not simply one item on a list of suggested activities. Those words of Jesus are the
"Great Commission" -- a label
popularized by Taylor himself -- and they constitute a clear command to make disciples among all nations!
Taylor's declaration reflects his missionary experience in China. Not long after arriving in
Shanghai in 1854, he realized that while foreign missionaries were becoming common in China's coastal
cities, most places further inland remained untouched by the Gospel.
Taylor was passionate about obeying the Great Commission. That meant all of China
was to be evangelized. He eventually had to start his own missionary-sending agency in order to
get missionaries sent to the unreached inland areas of China.
We live in an age of options. Christ-followers have a choice of denominations. We have
options for Bible cover colors. We have options as to which Bible translation we use. We can
choose Bibles with or without study notes. We do not, however, have an option when it comes to
fulfilling the Great Commission through our praying, giving, mobilizing, sending, or going.
When we make Jesus Lord, we sign on to obey His every command. Obedient believers cannot
consider evangelizing all the world's people groups as something optional
No obedient believer can say, "World evangelism? That is not my thing." Grammatically, the Great Commission is an imperative, whether it be the wording in Matthew
28:19-20 or the verses in Mark 16:15 or Acts 1:8. It is an order or directive from our Lord.
How well the Church responds to the Great Commission will be a valuable measure of how truly yielded she is to Jesus as Lord.
More mini-essays in the "Slogans that awakened the Church"
series that appeared in Engage magazine.
What are the Implications of Calling Matthew 28:19-20 a "Commission"?
Think in military terms. Don't officers all receive a "commission" as they begin their military service?
It implies authority. A commission is something given by one with legitimate authority to those under that authority.
Calling Matthew 28:19–20 a commission recognizes that Jesus spoke those words as the risen Lord with all authority in heaven and on earth (v.18). Obedience is expected, not optional. Mission flows from Christ’s kingship, not merely from personal passion or preference.
It implies responsibility. A commission is a duty. That means the Church is not simply invited into global witness — it is charged with it. The Great Commission is not something to admire. It is something Jesus entrusted His followers to carry out. Global evangelism and disciple-making are not peripheral programs. They are core identity responsibilities.
It implies something will be ongoing. A commission continues forward after it is given. The authority given by Jesus continues “to the end of the age.” The task did not end with the first disciples — it extends to each generation. The Church becomes the ongoing instrument of Christ’s mission.
It implies purpose. A commission has a goal. In this case, the goal is clear: Make disciples of all nations — baptizing, teaching, sending. Calling Matthew 28:19-20 a commission highlights world missions as central to the purpose of the Church. It is not merely a ministry department or an optional activity.
Calling Matthew 28:19–20 a “commission” carries a set of theological, practical, and missional implications. It does more than label the passage. As Hudson Taylor said, it frames the words of Jesus as an assignment rather than as a suggestion.
What to know about Hudson Taylor
Taylor had a Christian conversion experience at age 17 and soon became convinced that God
was calling him to be a missionary to China.
He then studied medicine and theology to prepare for that missionary work.
In 1853, Taylor sailed to China. He eventually founded the China Inland Mission (now
OMF International). That organization was originally focused on evangelizing China's interior
provinces.
Taylor believed that for missionaries to truly connect with the Chinese, it was important for
them to dress and live like the Chinese.
Taylor was known for his faith-based approach to mission work. He believed that God
would provide for his and fellow missionaries' needs. He called on missionaries to rely on God
for everything.
Legacy:. Taylor's approach to mission work, which put emphasis on faith and cultural adaptation, greatly influenced later generations of missionaries.
Reflection Questions on Hudson Taylor's Legacy
How would you describe the Great Commission to someone who had never heard about
it? Why would you tell that person why it is important for Christians to obey it?
In what ways might Hudson Taylor's experience in China have formed his understanding of the Great Commission?
In what ways can it be said that today's Christians have options and choices when it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission?
Are there ways we can see how Hudson Taylor's approach to mission work likely influenced later generations of missionaries?
The conversion of James Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission out of his zeal to move beyond the
coastal cities to the immense unreached interior of that Asian country
"For a time in his early teens, it seemed that young Taylor might not respond to the family
tradition and to his rearing. To be sure, in later years, he said that many times he had tried to
make himself a Christian but had failed and that when he was about 14 years of age, he had given
himself to God. However, some months later, he began to think that he could not be saved and
that he had best take his 'fill of this world.'
"It was in this frame of mind that he worked for a time in the local bank. There, under the
influence of associates, he became skeptical and gave to himself as the reason for the inconsistencies
of Christians, who, professing to believe the Bible, actually lived as though there were no such
book. Then, when seventeen, in other words, not too far from the age at which Carey and Mills
were struggling their way to faith, came a transforming experience.
"One holiday, while alone in his father's library, Taylor picked up a gospel tract hoping for an
interesting story before the inevitable moral at the end. As he read, the phrase the finished
work of Christ caught his attention. He asked himself: 'What is finished?'
"Reared as he had been, the answer came quickly to him: 'A full and perfect
atonement and satisfaction for sin; the debt was paid by the Substitute; Christ died for our sins,
and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.' Then flooded in the joyous
conviction that if the whole work was finished and the whole debt paid, all that was left for him
to do was to accept it. That he did and fell on his knees, praising God.
"He soon discovered that at that very hour in a distant town,
his mother, driven by an inner compulsion to pray for him, had had the quiet assurance that her
prayer had been granted. A little later, he also learned that his sister Amelia had, for exactly a
month, been praying for his conversion. All of this helped to give him confidence in [the
possibility of] concrete answers to explicit requests in prayer." —
from Kenneth Scott Latourette, These Sought a Country, p. 64
Taylor's call to inland China
"On Sunday, June 25th, 1865, unable to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or
more Christian people rejoicing in their own security, while millions were perishing from lack of
knowledge, I wandered out on the sands alone, in great spiritual agony; and there the Lord
conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God for this service.
"I told Him that all the responsibility as to issues and consequences must rest with Him; that as
His servant, it was mine to obey and to follow Him — His to direct, to care for, and to
guide me and those who might labor with me. Need I say that peace at once flowed into my burdened heart?
There and then, I asked Him for twenty-four fellow workers, two for each of eleven inland provinces (of China) which were without a missionary, and two for Mongolia, and writing the petition on the margin of the Bible I had with me, I returned home with a heart enjoying rest such
as it had been a stranger to for months, and with an assurance that the Lord would bless His own work and that I should share in the blessing."
— J. Hudson Taylor, quoted by Kenneth Scott Latourette in These Sought a Country, p. 74
How Might Hudson Taylor's Life and Ministry Help Missionaries Today?
Nineteenth-century British Protestant Christian missionary to China Hudson Taylor is regarded as one of the most influential missionaries in modern history. Seven aspects of his life and ministry are good models for today's cross-cultural missionaries. Those seven things are:
Taylor fully immersed himself in Chinese culture. He adopted Chinese dress and hairstyle as well as learning the language and customs. His willingness to identify with the local culture communicated deep respect for the people he sought to reach.
Hudson Taylor was known for his belief in prayer. He founded the China Inland Mission (now OMF International) with areliance on prayer for financial support and spiritual guidance.
Taylor demonstrated remarkable adaptability in his cross-cultural ministry. He understood that contextualization of the Christian message within Chinese culture would be necessary if Christianity was to be widely embraced by the Chinese.
Hudson Taylor lived a life of sacrifice. He endured personal hardships and major challenges in his missionary work. His all-out commitment to making Christ-like disciples in China should remind us today of the sacrifices required in cross-cultural ministry.
Hudson Taylor recognized the importance of meeting both the spiritual and physical needs of the people he served. His holistic approach to ministry included establishing hospitals, schools, and other social services alongside evangelistic efforts.
Taylor faced obstacles and setbacks in his missionary work. These included persecution, illness, and financial difficulties. Through it all, he remained committed to cross-cultural missionary work in China. He persevered through adversity with faith and resilience.
What's the bottom line? It's this: Hudson Taylor's life and ministry exemplify key principles that are relevant for today's cross-cultural missionaries. Those principles include cultural sensitivity, prayerful dependence on God, adaptability, sacrificial commitment, empowerment of indigenous leaders, holistic ministry, and endurance in the face of challenges.
Tributes to Hudson Taylor
“How lowly [Hudson Taylor] remained in his own eyes, God was able to take that beloved man and make him a prince, if I may say so, among all the missionaries of the Victorian era.” — Arthur Glassr, quoted in “Hudson Taylor: An American Tribute,” Christianity Today, June 18, 1965, p. 20.
“Mr. Taylor…is not in outward appearance an individual who would be selected among others as the leader of a gigantic enterprise; in fact, he is lame in gait, and little in stature; but…his spirit is quiet and meek, yet strong and intense; there is not an atom of self-assertion about him, but a firm confidence in God.” — Charles H. Spurgeon, quoted in Hudson Taylor in Early Years: The Growth of a Soul by Howard Taylor, p. 329.
“No other missionary in the nineteen centuries since the Apostle Paul has had a wider vision and has carried out a more systematized plan of evangelizing a broad geographical area than Hudson Taylor.” — Ruth Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions,, Zondervan, p. 73.
“[Hudson Taylor] was primarily a man of God — the God of the Scriptures. A life filled with Bible study, prayer, vision, and faith made him venturesome and hopeful.”
— Arthur T. Pierson, quoted in “Hudson Taylor: An American Tribute,” Christianity Today, June 18, 1965, p. 21.
