The Great Commission

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As Christians, we must not only share the Gospel and the unique testimony written for each of us by Our Father, but we must also make disciples. Jesus didn’t qualify who should participate in the Great Commission. He didn’t qualify who the Great Commission is for. All Christians are  to be obedient to the call of the Great Commission. 

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ “
– Matthew 28:18-20

These three verses are simple, but it seems in our modern church, we try to add many other ideas into Matthew 28:18-20. Foolishly, we often put other things in front of discipleship, in an attempt to make it easier in accordance with our standards. I wonder if we are forgetting the verse begins with Jesus stating His authority over all in heaven and earth. Why does man try to make things more complex? Jesus wants us to make disciples of all nations. All nations are everywhere. It is in our homes, our neighborhoods, our places of employment, etc.… We are all called to pray. Some are called to mission fields outside our community. Others called to fund mission work, which could be locally, nationally, or globally. The Great Commission is a simple command of discipleship, no more and no less. We don’t need much to do discipleship, just the Bible.

“And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’ ”
– Mark 16:15  

After discipleship, is the call for baptism. Baptism is an outwardly public declaration of our relationship with Jesus Christ, our Savior. It is not a requirement for salvation, it is to be obedient like Jesus. He was baptized by John in accordance with His Father’s command. During baptism, we are submerged under the water. This action proclaims the gospel message: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. Rising out of the water is an expression of our new relationship in Jesus Christ. We should all want to joyfully be baptized in His death.  

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ ”
– Matthew 3:16-17

The third part of the Great Commission is to teach them from Jesus’ commands through the New Testament. Again, we don’t need any complex training – just the Bible. We need to teach His commands, not to whitewash, make Him more relatable, or modernize the message. Use His Words. He is the Word made into flesh. 

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”.
– John 1:14

Lastly, Jesus will always be with us. In our world, sharing the Gospel or our testimony can be a scary thing. If our church community truly has a Gospel/Great Commission culture, they should include an encouraging atmosphere to assist all to be obedient. We (churches, organizations, Christians, etc.), are creating all kinds of programs and policies to look like we are obeying Jesus, but in reality we are avoiding obedience to the simplicity of His Great Commission. It seems we are being fearful of man and the world, not God. The phrase “don’t be afraid” is the most repeated phrase used 365 times in His Word. God knows we are fearful, because of our sin and fragility toward temptations and desires of the world. He dwells in us so we don’t need to be fearful.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.” – Isaiah 43:5

Let us be bold because He dwells in us. No other religion or gods dwell in their worshipers. This is a radical notion! Why won’t we want all to experience this? Be shameless and shout to all our repentance from sin, the amazing grace of Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection, and joyfully make disciples of all nations. Be daring and serve at your church’s vacation bible school. Be courageous and share your testimony and His Gospel to all you connect with. Be audacious and serve on a short term mission trip overseas. God made all in His image and His Word is written on their hearts, but depravity blinds them. We are foolish to think that we can change hearts, but God can change the wicked hearts of His creation. We are foolish to think we can. 

We are called to serve, evangelize, and disciple. Only through the saving grace of Jesus Chirst and discipleship are people changed. His restoration transforms their life and circumstances, not by our serving. We are a part of His plan because He loves us.