The Great Commission
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Lesson Six
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
There are five times in the Bible that Jesus Christ gave us what we call the Great Commission. The Great Commission is a commission that Christ has left for his churches to fulfill until He returns. It is mentioned once in all four gospels and once in the book of Acts. In each of these five occurrences we have some truth revealed that when combined give us a clear picture of what it is we need to know to successfully fulfill this commission.
After Jesus Christ died and three days later arose from the grave, he spent 40 days with His disciples teaching them before He ascended into heaven. There are two mentions of the Great Commission on the day of the resurrection, one during the forty days Christ spent with His disciples and twice on the day of His ascension.
Christians need to understand that there is a purpose for their lives and that all things in their lives should be aiming at this purpose. Everything we do should be a support for this commission. This is why Christ left us on earth. Let’s consider these five occurrences of the Great Commission in chronological order.
I. We Are Sent By Divine Authority.
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
A. Our obedience to the commission must start with God not with man
Men are going to Hell. This is a terrible and fearful truth, but as horrible as this truth is, this cannot be our motivation. If we are going to begin and continue winning souls for Christ we must do it because of God. The commission starts with God not with mankind. Burdens may develop in our hearts for souls, but this burden wanes and is inconsistent. The command of God is constant. If our motivation is simply to obey God because of what He has provided for us, we will be far more effective in our overall witnessing. So many that once had great burdens for souls are no longer winning souls, because they got disgruntled or fed up with man’s responses. Motivation by burden will not cause one to be a consistent soul winner, but an obedient Christian, that loves God will do what God says to do, and will develop a burden for souls.
B. Knowing we are sent by God will give us confidence to be a bold witness.
Many times fear keeps us from being the witness we ought to be. We need to understand that God sent us. God is reaching souls through those He sends. He has authorized us to go forward in every part of this world to preach the gospel. We do have authority to tell every person on this planet about what Jesus has done for them.
II. Ye Are Witnesses
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.
A. We must be witnesses, before we can witness.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
We have to be one before we can function as one. We each personally have to have experienced the salvation through Christ in order to witness of this salvation. We must also understand what Christ has done for us, and make that a part of our life. What Christ spoke about was that He had to die and rise from the grave. This is what we witness in word, but also in our experience. Have you experienced Christ’s death and resurrection? Was there a day you died with Him and began to live Christ’s life?
B. We must die to self to become true witnesses of Christ.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The root word for the word witness is the same word for martyr. A martyr is one that gives his life for a cause. A Christian running after their own causes, whether that is money, fame, notoriety or anything else will never be an effective witness. We must crucify our ambitions and desires and let Christ live through us. If Christ is living through us we will seek and save that which is lost. God is not looking for dead martyrs today. He is looking for living martyrs. A true witness knows what He believes, because He has experienced what He believes personally. It is not just cognitive knowledge, it is experiential.
III. The Lord Jesus Is With Us While We Witness.
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
A. Christ promised that He would be with us as we are obedient to His Commission.
Jesus Christ said “go” and “lo” He will be with us. He will not leave us alone as long as we do what He has asked us to do. His presence and power will go with us as we witness of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. We can never claim Christ’s presence when we design our own plan. His promise is if we go, lo He would be with us. The method needed today is the same method used in Jesus’ day. We need to preach the gospel and baptize the converts and then spend time teaching these saved baptized believers how to become Christ-like in every area of life. As we follow this commission, Christ promised to be with us until the very end.
B. Christ gave this promise to every believer.
This event in Matthew 28 coincides with what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, when Christ was seen of five hundred brethren at once. It is believed that during this particular mention of Christ’s commission there were over five hundred believers present. The command is not just given to preachers and pastors. We are all commanded in the church to go, whether that is in our neighborhood or across seas, we are all commanded to go.
IV. Miracles Take Place As The Gospel Is Proclaimed.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
A. God used miracles to confirm the apostle’s message as Christ had prophesied.
And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.
Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.
B. We are never to seek signs and wonders.
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Some have used this passage to prove that we are to look for signs and make this a priority in ministry. Jesus told us that is sinful to seek after signs. God used signs and wonders for specific purposes before the scriptures were completed to confirm the message of the apostles. There is no need for signs and wonders since the message has been confirmed in His Word. We must simply believe His Word by faith without signs and wonders.
Jesus Christ prophesied that miracles would follow those that believe. Directly after His ascension sign miracles were used, but after the Bible was written, these sign gifts were no longer necessary. Christ was interested in saving souls, not entertaining people. The signs were always incidental to what Christ was doing in bringing souls to himself.
C. The real miracle that follows believers today is a transformed life.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Transformed lives will follow those that are truly following Christ and fishing for men. Let us never lose sight of the true miracles of life. A miracle can take many forms and God can do supernatural works in the world if He wishes, but the greatest work He does is in the soul of man, renewing the mind and transforming a sinful life to be Christ honoring and righteous.
V. There Is No Place To Stop
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Our mission field is every part of the world. There is no way that we can say we are done at any point in our life. We need to continue sending missionaries out to every part of the world. We can never stop. As long as there are lost souls and Christ has left us here on earth we have to continue the work of the Great Commission. We have been sent by the highest order to be a witness of what Christ has done for mankind.
We have been given the promise of Christ’s presence and power. If we choose to obey Christ’s command to go, we will see God do supernatural works in the hearts of people all over the world. If we want to become fishers of men let’s get a grasp of the sea that we are fishing in, and the tools that God has given us to bring people into God’s kingdom.
Assignment 1
1. Find as many scriptures as you can that reveal who the person of Jesus Christ is. Start with these descriptions:
as creator, God, man, Saviour, a servant, a friend, a judge, eternal, one resurrected, an interceder, etc… See if you can find any other descriptions of Jesus Christ.
2. Memorize two scriptures that prove that Jesus Christ is God.
Assignment 2
1. Evaluate how much time you spend with Christ.
2. What priorities need to be changed to increase my desire for the Lord?
3. What is evidence in my life that I am truly following the Lord?
4. What are some ways I can become more faithful in following the Lord?
Assignment 3
1. How do we know that someone will be conscious immediately after death?
2. What provided the greatest proof that there is a literal Hell?
3. What is our responsibility to help people escape Hell?
4. Who are some people you know that would go to Hell if they would die today?
5. Explain what you would need to tell them so they could escape Hell? Use Scripture to back up your message.
Assignment 4
1. What is the Great Commission?
2. How many times did Jesus give the Great commission?
3. Write the references to each occurrence.
4. Whose responsibility is it to fufill the Great Commission?
5. Why did supernatural miracles accompany the apostles’ message?
6. What is the greatest miracle that accompanies the Great Commission?