Read Matthew 25-28
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Last Saturday we read the Great Commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-38). And, today we read Matthew 28:18-20, known as the Great Commission.
It’s clear that every believer is commanded to love others. But for some, it’s not so clear that the Great Commission is also a command for each of us. We are all commanded to GO and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, and TEACHING them to obey everything I have commanded…
MAKE DISCIPLES is an imperative in the Greek, it’s our primary goal, because God has chosen us who have been saved to work for the salvation of others. We have been blessed to be a blessing! Jesus modeled this when He seamlessly joined the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. He forgave the sins of the repentant and fed the hungry. He taught the word of God and healed the sick. This was a holistic gospel; Christ’s love expressed in all dimensions, towards human need and towards a lost spiritual condition.
The great news here is that we don’t have to be a missionary in a distant land to “GO” to the “nations” who are peoples of common culture and language (not political countries). You can be a prayer or financial sender; or you can welcome these “nations” coming here. There are many roles. You can BAPTIZE and you also have a something to share in TEACHING.
Maybe the end times will motivate you. Forget all the speculation. You just read in Matthew 24:36 …”about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So why should we be motivated to get in the game of the Great Commission? Because as we learned in Matthew 24:14, “…this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
So, make ready Jesus’ coming by getting into the game! The Great Commission isn’t t a suggestion; it’s a command for every believer!
- Bob Kaess is the Connections Coordinator at Adventure Church
