The Great Commission

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

            Found at the end of Matthew’s gospel, The Great Commission is Jesus’ last instructions to his disciples.  Following the resurrection, Jesus told the women who had come to the tomb that he was going to Galilee and he would meet his “brothers” there.  Matthew tells us the eleven remaining members of Jesus’ inner circle met him on a mountain in Galilee and worshipped him.  Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching.”  This is an abbreviated version of his last words, but it’s the essence of his final instructions to his closest followers.  Go.  Make disciples.  Baptize.  Teach what I have taught you.  This is The Great Commission.

            We are Christ’s current disciples, so these are our instructions also.  We are to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.  There are some churches which believe these words so strongly that they make this their primary—in some cases only— function.  Their goal is to make sure as many people as possible come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Some churches focus so intently on the first part of the instructions (go, make disciples, baptize) that they shortchange the last part (teach).  I suggest that this last step is as important as the other three.  Coming to Jesus is the first step.  Once we lead someone to Christ and baptize him/her, the next step—the ongoing step, is to teach. 

            Jesus said, “[Teach] them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  In the gospels we find a pattern of Christian life that is both demanding and fulfilling.  While John 3:16 is often called “the gospel in a nutshell” (For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life), perhaps Jesus’ most important teaching is the Christian life in a nutshell: “Love God; love your neighbor.”  To fulfill this commandment takes a lifetime of commitment, study, prayer, and application, so it is important that we begin teaching Jesus’ lifestyle as soon as someone comes to know Christ.

            When we place Jesus’ words at the center of our teaching, and let everything flow from them, we fulfill the Great Commission.  Unfortunately, we too often get sidetracked in the minutiae of church membership—what we call doctrine, what our competitors (other denominations) call dogma.  Whatever name we use to identify these rules and regulations, they too frequently get in the way of “love God; love neighbor.”

            Here’s a suggestion:  Let’s look at our doctrinal/dogmatic statements and measure them against Jesus “greatest commandment.”  Do our doctrines interpret Jesus’ words in ways that help our people grow spiritually?  Do our doctrines “fulfill the law and the prophets” to quote Jesus’ commentary on the greatest commandment?  Do our doctrines encourage (perhaps urge, or push are better words) our new converts—all our members—to greater service in the name of Christ, remembering that he said the highest calling we can fulfill is that of servant?  If our membership requirements cannot answer these questions with an unqualified Yes, it’s time to look for new requirements.  If we’re not leading our members to love God and our neighbor as Jesus loved, we’re leading them astray.

            Go—wherever God leads you, whether around the corner or around the world.

            Make disciples—not church members, but followers of Jesus Christ, with all that means.

            Baptize—into the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

            Teach—as Jesus taught, what Jesus taught. 

That’s the Great Commission.