The Great Commission

The Great Commission

This morning we are going to take a look at the Great Commission in Mathew 28:16-20. From time to time we get requests to do Sunday messages that walk through a bit of scripture.  So that is what we are going to do this morning.  We are going to work through this section of scripture verse by verse in order to develop what Jesus was commanding us through the first disciples. 

Everyone who brought their Bible, raise it above your head.  If you want to study the Bible, you need to bring yours with you every week.  Those who have Bibles can find today’s Scripture at the end of Matthew.  These five verses are the mission statement for all churches that call on the name of Jesus, as well as all people who call on Jesus’ name as disciples.

Before we begin we need to provide a disclosure statement.

While I want to be sensitive that today’s content will contain some challenging questions and statements, my overall response is GOOD!  If what we talk about this morning makes you squirm a bit, then you probably need to squirm a bit.  But I will give you fair warning by saying something like, “here is a question that might make some of you uncomfortable.”

So let’s dig in we have a lot of ground to cover in a short time.  Please stand as we read. Thank you for standing, you may be seated.  You can find references to the Great Commission in: 

Mark 16:14-18, Luke 24:36-49, John 20:19-23, and in Acts 1:6-8

We aren’t going to take time to read those references now.  But I encourage you to explore those passages on your own.

VERSE 16

Verse 16 sets the stage by telling us that the eleven disciples (the original twelve minus Judas Iscariot who hanged himself) have journeyed to a mountain in Galilee, one that Jesus had told them to go to.

VERE 17

In verse 17 the eleven see the resurrected Jesus and their immediate response was to worship him.  This worship isn’t what we imagine as worship.  It is not singing, or meditating, or reading the Bible.  The Greek word used here indicates that all eleven engaged in the act of worship and it literally means to bow down and kiss the feet, or the bottom of the garment, or the ground in front of the person worthy of such homage.[1]  This word is used throughout the scripture to refer to prostrating oneself before God.[2]

We are being told that all eleven disciples did this (lay face down on the floor).  Now they didn’t have a nice carpeted surface to lie on.  They are on a mountain, lying in the dirt and rocks.  And if it rained the night before they are laying in the mud.  Got the picture of what worship is?

Worship is giving yourself totally over to God in an act of reverence.  Here’s the first warning for you, some of you might be uncomfortable with what I’m going to tell you next.  Worship IS NOT ABOUT YOU!

You get the benefits of participating, but it is for God.  We are to gather on Sunday’s to worship God.  Our society in America has turned this around 180 degrees.  The vast majority of people attending church in North America attend looking to see what they can get out of it.  Then they are disappointed when they don’t connect with God.  And they will never connect with God, the way he desires, unless they come to corporate worship and give themselves totally over to Him.

It doesn’t matter if you like the music, the hour of the day, the color of the walls, the sermon, or how the offering is taken.  It’s not about you.  It is about God.  Followers of Jesus desire to live a life of worship, giving themselves totally over to God every moment of every day.  And when they come together to worship as a body, it is to focus on God and what he likes, not our petty likes or dislikes.

Now verse 17 also tells us that some doubted.  That just doesn’t sound right.  How can these guys have hung-out with Jesus for three years, ate together, slept together, traveled together, witnessed the miracles, seen him crucified, and now risen, and still have any doubts?

The word that we translate as doubt is better thought of as hesitation rather than unbelief.  It could be that they didn’t quite recognize Jesus as first, or they were fearful about how Jesus was going to respond to them in this encounter.  And you have to remember that these guys are Jewish.  They have been taught all their lives that they are to worship only Yahweh.  So maybe they haven’t quite got their theology right yet.  Or maybe the simplest explanation is that they didn’t know how to behave in the presence of a supernatural holy being.

The account in Luke 24 provides some insight into this doubt. It reads in verses 37-38:

37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

This tells us that the disciples were not sure what they were seeing.  They are afraid because they think they are looking at a ghost.  “Ghost” is being translated from the word pneuma.  That is the word from which we get our English word pneumatic.  In scripture it can be used to mean wind, breathe, spirit, Holy Spirit, or as Luke uses it here, “ghost.”  In the context of the first century Holy Land, these Jewish disciples understand this word to mean the deceased in graves who may roam the earth at night.[3]   And in the Jewish context the dead were unclean and you were to stay away from the unclean.  So you can see why they might be scared.

Well, the application of all of this is that sometimes we will be hesitant, sometimes we will be wondering.  And that is alright, as long as that is part of the process on our way to developing our personal theology and growing as a disciple.

VERSE 18

In verse 18, Jesus proclaims that he has been given all authority on heaven and earth.  He has been given it...by God the Father.  This statement clearly provides a distinction between God the Father and God the Son, and Jesus’ claim to all authority shows that he is fully God. The point of Jesus’ telling this to his disciples is to empower them through the verses that follow.

VERSE 19

“Go and make” are the two operative verbs in the next verse.  “Go” is without restriction.  There is no geographic limit, next door is equally as important as around the world.  There is no time limit.  It is not just for a few minutes, or hours, or days.  Without limit means EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME.  And there is never a time when a disciple is done going.

Here is a question that might make you uncomfortable:  Are you ready to give an account to God of where you went?  If your answer to God is, “Uh, I never really went anywhere,” what do you suppose his reply to you will be?  Do you think it might be, “If you were really my disciple you would have gone and kept going,” or maybe, “a disciple of mine would have a better answer to my question.”

Now “make” is modified by “disciples.”  Disciples are specifically to make other disciples.  Jesus is commanding, and authorizing, his disciples to duplicate the focus of his earthly ministry - making disciples.  This “make” is an ongoing action, which has two effects.  First it means to keep making disciples and second, it means to keep “discipling” disciples that are “made.”  Last week, Pastor Steve Hixon shared with us a teaching about being a disciple, so we won’t spend time re-treading that ground today.

It is worth noting that Jesus did not tell us to “go and make converts, seeking professions of faith from many, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”  Conversion, rebirth, or whichever term you prefer to use is implied in this passage of scripture, it is assumed by Jesus that conversion is necessary before the discipleship journey begins.  Conversion isn’t the goal for disciples making disciples.  It is a requirement to enter the process, but it isn’t the goal.  Becoming a disciple is the goal and it is not a one-time event.  It is a life-long task, a life-long desire, a life-long yearning.

Michael J. Wilkins defines a disciple as: “…one who has come to Jesus for eternal life, has claimed him as Savior and God, and has embarked upon a life of following him.  To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means living a fully human life in this world in union with Jesus Christ and growing in conformity to his image.  The disciple is the whole person, and unless the intellectual aspect of the person is integrated fully with the emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual aspects, we create one-dimensional ministers.”[4]

This statement is a clear indication that becoming a disciple of Jesus is not strictly an intellectual process.  Neither is it strictly an emotional process.  It is above all a process, one that engulfs the entirety of a person from the time of belief until glorification.

The apostle John identifies three evidences of a person’s actual belief and becoming a disciple: continuing in Jesus’ word (John 8:31-32), if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35), and bearing fruit (John 15:8).[5]

Here is another question that might make you uncomfortable: Based on John’s declaration for identifying true disciples, “If a professing believer of Jesus lacks one or any of these evidences, are they truly a disciple, are they really saved?”

What do you suppose James is talking about when he declares, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead? [6]  Dead...ineffective…it is a faith that won’t get you into heaven.

Is this the condition of the church in Laodicea addressed in Revelation 3:15-16, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish that you were either cold or hot.   So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth?”

When I was playing little league we had heavy wool uniforms.  I remember the tag on the neck of the jersey.  It was a big red Rawlings tag with the washing instruction.  It read to wash the jersey in lukewarm water.  I always thought that was curious and one day asked my mom about it.  You see, lukewarm water is the least effective water in which to wash something.  It isn’t hot so it doesn’t shrink the wool or make the colors bleed and it isn’t cold so it doesn’t set the stains in the wool.  That’s the deal with lukewarm it has minimal or no effect.  And that was the condition of the church in Laodicea.  They had no effect in a world where God commanded them to have an effect.

More pertinent for us; is this the condition of the church today?  Dallas Willard bemoans: A fundamental mistake of the conservative side of the American church today, and much of the Western church, is that it takes as its basic goal to get as many people as possible ready to die and go to heaven.  It aims to get people into heaven rather than to get heaven into people.[7]

Is the church making disciples or is it merely grooming people for heaven?  And if that is all the church is doing, will all of these “groomed” people really spend eternity in heaven?

What exactly do disciples do?  Acts 2:40-47 gives us a picture of what the early disciples did:

40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds  to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home  and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. [8]

Here is a more practical example of what disciples do, from a blessing story we received recently:

“My small group blessed me so thoroughly this week.  They gave five hours on a Sunday and several hours the following Thursday to fix-up my home.

Being a single mom and definitely not a “handyperson” with tools, I saw those projects as impossible.  Once the group stepped-in, they made my wants a reality by fixing and painting my garage door, kitchen and bathroom work, removing a door and replacing weather-stripping and wind-blocking material that had long since fallen apart.  They also helped me with yard projects that would not have gotten done – the power of 13 versus the power of one makes an enormous difference.”

Some more questions you might not like:  To what or whom are you devoted to?  Who are you spending time with day by day?  Who are you breaking bread with?  The disciples in Acts were committed.  They were committed to Jesus and the Gospel message and reaching others.  They were committed to each other and meeting daily, at church and at home, to learn and take care of each other.

I think it is safe to assume that they did their work each day, whatever there jobs were, and then made time for devoting themselves to being discipled and making disciples.  They didn’t just show up on Sunday, put in their time, and call it good.  They did what disciples do, they prioritized learning, and growing, and completing their mission.

A few weeks back, Rob Denler gave us the picture of the “Dust of the Rabbi.”  A true disciple of Jesus has Jesus dust on him or her.  Here’s another question you might not like:  Do you have any dust on you?  If you do, is it Jesus’ dust?  If you don’t, why are you so clean?  Are you prepared to answer God when he asks: Where is your Jesus dust?

We are commanded to make disciples.  Someday when God asks you to name the disciples you made, what will be your answer?  And remember that if you aren’t dusty you can’t very well make disciples because part of the process is to transfer the dust on you to them.

The next part of this verse sets some parameters.  “Of all nations” means everyone on the face of the earth.  All means all.  Our western notion of nations is of political entities with geographic borders.  That is not the meaning here.  “Nations” is the translation of the Greek word ethnos, the word from which we get the English word ethnic.  You need to have the perspective of these Jewish disciples in mind to understand that “nations” means all of the peoples of the world. They belong to the nation of Israel which was an ethnic people group.  Israel did not always have geographic boarders, like when they were in Egypt, but they have always been a nation.

Next we are told what to do with these disciples we are making: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Baptizing is the transliteration of the Greek word baptísō.  Do you understand the difference between translation and transliteration?  Translation is providing the meaning of the word in the desire language, English in our case.

Transliteration is translating the letters of the word to the letters in the desired language.  So baptism is the English spelling of baptísō.  Some other common transliterations are: Tithe which means tenth, Yahweh which is God’s covenant name in the Old Testament, Christ is not Jesus’ last name.  Christ means anointed one or Messiah.  Typically transliteration is used when translation would not capture the whole meaning and effect of the word.

Okay back to the text.  Baptize literally means to immerse or dip in water.  This is where we get our practice of baptizing.  The symbolic marking of disciples.

Then Jesus makes reference to the trinity.  The word trinity never appears in the Bible but this is a clear reference to the three persons of the one God.

VERSE 20

Verse 20 finishes what we are to do with these disciples, and what disciples do: “and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

By teaching we are talking about actual lessons, reading through the Bible, studying resources, asking and answering questions, mentoring and maybe most significantly teaching by living example.  That is the essence of discipleship – making disciples.

And Jesus is very specific about what we are to teach disciples – everything that he commanded.  Again, all means all. Everything means all things.  That is everything he commanded during his earthy ministry, recorded in the Gospels, everything he commanded by the further explanation of the significance of his teachings in the balance of the New Testament, and everything in the Old Testament. 

Yes, I said the Old Testament.  Jesus is God and Israel received the commandments of God as recorded in the Old Testament.  Jesus did not come to abolish the law or the teaching of the prophets, which is how Jews described what we know as the Old Testament, but to fulfill it.  Matthew 5:17-20:

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter,  not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

In 2 Tim 3:16-17 the Apostle Paul tells us:

16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

All means all, and remember the scriptures used in the early church were the Old Testament.

Turn with me to Matthew 22:34-40.  You will recognize this passage as the Great Commandment:

34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments into two for us.  And he used some great language to do it.  But he didn’t just think that up on the spot.  Turn with me to Deuteronomy 6:4-9:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

God told this to Moses as instruction for the Hebrews as they prepared to enter the Promised Land, thousands of years before Jesus told the same thing to the Pharisees.

This bit of scripture is known as the Great Shama (Shaw.mah).  Shama is the Hebrew word for hear.  So based on our earlier discussion, Shama is a transliteration, hear is the translation.

שָׁמַע  shama` /shaw·mah                  Hear

In the context shama carries a sense of urgency, or importance.  Moses wouldn’t have just said “Here O Israel.”  He shouted it with a sense of urgency in his voice.  This was an important word from YAHWEH.

Just before the Hebrews entered the Promised Land, God told them to love God and disciple others.

Jesus instructed his disciples to teach all of his commands so that his disciples follow them.  So here are the next series of thoughts you might not like:  A disciple of Jesus follows ALL of Jesus’ commands.  His disciples don’t just follow the ones they like and ignore the ones they don’t like.  They follow ALL of them.  They follow the one about loving your neighbor, the one about not coveting stuff you don’t have, the one about not gossiping, the one about tithing, and all of the rest.

Jesus’ disciples put their hope in him, not in their own human abilities, not in the state lottery, and putting their hope in him means that they trust him to take care of all of their needs.

Verse 20 ends with the most reassuring words you will ever hear: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Jesus promise to be with us throughout the process of being discipled and making disciples.  The One who gave us our mission gives power through the Spirit of God for us to accomplish that mission.

Now I don’t want you to get the impression that this is about a life that is easy, without slips and falls.  If we look to the first disciples, the ones who were covered in Jesus’ dust from head to foot, we find:

Peter was called “Satan” by Jesus – probably not a good thing for you boss to call you by his arch enemy’s name.  And he denied Jesus three times – not much of a witness.  But he was restored to ministry by Jesus and was used in a mighty way.

Thomas doubted and Jesus had to let him touch him to be convinced – and that did not disqualify Thomas form being a disciple.

James and John were so intent on their status that they had their mommy ask Jesus if they could sit at his right and left hands in his kingdom – not necessary the best career move.  Yet, Jesus used these disciples to further his kingdom.

The encouragement to all of us is that when we slip-up, when we aren’t as devoted as we should be, Jesus has promised to be with us always.  The Spirit of God resides in each disciple and amongst all disciples as they gather.  The power of His Sprit is how God leads us in accomplishing His mission for His church and for His disciples.

As we close, you need to consider:

To who or what you are devoted?  Is it Jesus?  Are you on the path of discipleship?  Do you need more dust on you?  Do you need to find a disciple to share their dust with you?  Do you need to share your dust with someone else?

You don’t need to be able to understand Hebrew and Greek to be a disciple.  You don’t need a vast library of reference materials to make sense of what God is telling us through His Word.  God’s Spirit will let you know what you need to do in your discipleship journey.

He will definitely tell you if you need to make that initial step and become a disciple that is His job.  If you need a disciple in your life, find one; join a bunch of them in a Life Group.  If you have questions or need reference material, ask; email the staff, or the disciple in your life with your discipleship questions.  I you need to identify a disciple to make, do it.

Our mission is not a passive one.  Jesus expects action.  It is time to get busy.

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[1]Friberg, T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. (2000).  Vol. 4: Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Baker's Greek New Testament library (Page 334).  Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

[2]Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.),   (G4352).

[3]Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1995, c1985). Theological dictionary of the New Testament. Translation of: Theologisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament. (883). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.

[4] Michael J. Wilkins, Following the Master: A Biblical Theology of Discipleship, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 342.

[5] Ibid., 134.

[6]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Jas 2:17). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[7] Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002), 238-239.

[8]The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Ac 2:37-47). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.