The Great Commission - GO!!!

Matthew 28:19: 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,

Mark 16:15: And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Ever been to an old fashioned tent meeting or any week long revival meetings? They are normally evangelistic in nature (all for that) and are somewhat pep rallyish in nature (not so much for that). They seem to serve as a way to get the body of locals to attend a little extra church, meet a new speaker (it seems that the churches normal shepherd rarely leads these meetings), and invite the unchurched to attend them. I think something is missing. I think that the point is being missed altogether.

GO.

GO OUT.

Move along, get going, leave the area, make tracks. According to Vines Expository Dictionary, it marks the end of a conversation, such as, "you go on your way, we're done here."
Go. It is a very crucial part of evangelism and the part no one seems to be able to get past. We all seem to have a grasp on the fact that we need to spread the Gospel, or at least it appears that we do. We give to missions, we cry when someone confesses Christ, we might even leave a tract when we finish our meal (please leave a decent tip when you do). So we get that we should be sharing the Gospel. We often seem to think that it is the pastor's job to be doing it though. So, that means that we try and get the world to come in to our arena. We invite them to church, try to get them to rallies, tune our radios to Christian radios stations at work, etc. But we don't actually GO!

I once offended a guy (no, really) by saying that Christian music wasn't meant for him. It was meant for Christians. I think that church is the same. My church is meant for Christians. It is meant for Christians to come to for nourishment, for guidance, for accountability. It is a place that Christians should be gathering together in order to GO out. It seems fairly simple to me.

The point of this post is that we should be going out and witnessing. Not waiting for the world to join us on Sunday mornings. Will they come? Sometimes, yes. Should we be waiting for that event? Absolutely not!

So what are you waiting for? Find yourself a sinner and experiment on him!!

The Great Commission - The Authority of Jesus

Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.' "


Anytime I have ever heard someone speak of the Great Commission, the focus has always been on Matthew 28:19-20, the "go and make" portions of the passage. Without a doubt, the command to go and make are very important, as how are to know what we are to do if we aren't told? They are our marching orders, if you will. However, I cannot remember having heard anyone give so much as a passing comment on verse 18. Jesus' authority. Who is giving these instructions? Jesus is. Who is sending us to go and make? Jesus is. He is the Lord, the Master, the Creator of the universe. He has the authority to give these commands, to make the demand that we his followers obey.


Authority, by definition, is the right to hold sway in a given relationship. To be in charge would be a simple way to put it. A father over his children, a general over his soldiers, a manager over his employees, etc. In Matthew 28:18, the word authority is also translated power, which invokes the imagery of might. The person at the top. THE MAN!

One example we see of this in Scripture is in Matthew 8:8-9, "But the centurion replied, 'Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it.' " While the main focus of this passage is the great faith of the centurion, his grasp of the authority of Jesus is also remarkable. He knew that he was unworthy to have someone as powerful as Jesus in his home and that a mighty word from the Lord was all that was needed.


I have been somewhat puzzled by some of the commentaries on this particular verse that seem to say that NOW Jesus has this authority to send us. From what I have been able to find in the Gospels, Jesus had always had authority. He had the authority over the weather, over elemental properties, over sickness and demons, in His teachings, over death, even over His own death. So, while the resurrection of the Savior certainly paid our price for sin, securing our salvation through Him, how does it increase or finalize His authority? Does His resurrection simply prove His authority over sin and death, therefore being a very visible demonstration of His supremacy?


Two things are clear to me from this passage. First, the scope of Jesus' authority. He makes it plain that He is Master of all. Where is there that doesn't encompass heaven or earth? He has authority over both and all that they contain. He is Lord of the spiritual realm as well as the physical realm. He has the right to command all to be saved (Acts 17:30) and to demand that we glorify Him in whatever we do (1 Cor.10:31).


The second is that Jesus not only has the authority to send us to do His work, He also has the authority to command all who hear our message to obey it (again, see Acts 17:30). If they reject the message we bring, they are rejecting Jesus. To reject Him is to reject God (Luke 10:16). To reject Jesus is to remain under the wrath of God (John 3:36)


The blessing in this verse is that we are acting in obedience to our Lord and Savior when we "go and make," when we share the Gospel. There was no question in the Apostle Peter's mind when he said, "And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead." (Acts 10:42) It is a command and it is to be obeyed. There is no other option for us as believers. We are to spread the Gospel!!

---MP

Evangelism Thought

In a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, the cow and the chicken are involved but the pig is committed.

Be a pig.

---MP