The Great Commission
Author: Pastor Ron Freeland
May 24, 2022
What is the Great Commission? The first account on the
giving of the Great Commission is given in Matthew chapter 28. Prior to Jesus
giving the Great Commission, we read that the disciples are hiding out, and
that people are saying that Christ’s body was stolen from the tomb. In Matthew
28;17 we read that they saw Jesus, and they worshipped Him, but some doubted.
Even though the doubts would soon fade, some of these disciples, maybe even
some of the original 11, doubted. That sounds like us at times, we worship Him,
when we go to church, but then we doubt Him and His Word during the week. If we
do not live according to His Word, then it would seem to me that we doubt Him
and what He has said. I am not pointing
this out to condemn any of us, but it is a common thread in these accounts of
the Great Commission. What I want us all to take from this fact, is we are to
not let our fear and doubt cripple us from obeying the Lord.
Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All Power is
given unto Me in Heaven and in Earth.” This Power wasn’t given to Him, because
He was the Son of God, because as God nothing could be added to Him or be taken
from Him; this Power was something He won, because of His Perfect Life and His
Perfect Sacrifice. If you question this point, please read for yourself what
the spirit of the Lord says in, Philippians 2:6-11.
Then in Matthew
28:19, Jesus says, “Go ye (you, all believers) therefore (because Christ has
all Power in Heaven and in Earth), and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (water baptism;):” Jesus
continues in Matthew 28:20, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I
commanded (not a suggestion) you (disciples then and now): and, lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world/age (My Return).”
Now let’s go to the Mark chapter
16 account of the giving of the Great Commission. We see in Mark 16:13 that the
disciples didn’t believe the reports of Christ’s Resurrection. The next thing
we read is that Christ appears to them as they are sitting down having a meal,
and He upbraided them (rebuked them sharply) with their unbelief and hardness
of heart, because they didn’t believe the testimony of those that saw Him after
He was Risen. Then Jesus told them, Go, into all the world (which would include
their own country), and preach the Gospel to every creature/person. Anyone who
believes and is baptized (into His death, not water baptism) shall be Saved;
but anyone who does not believe shall be damned. Please take the time to read
for yourself, Romans:3-11, and John 3:15-18.
Then Jesus went on to say, “These signs shall follow them
who believe (all believers); in My Name shall they cast out devils/demons
(Jesus defeated Satan and all of his fallen minions at the Cross); they shall
speak with new tongues (be baptized with the Holy Spirit); they shall take up serpents
(put away demon spirits; and if they (believers) drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt them(speaks of drinking poison accidently, not on purpose); they
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” If you read Luke 10:17-24, you will see what is meant by taking
up serpents.
Let’s go on to the account given
in Luke 24. As two travelers were giving testimony, that they had seen Jesus
Alive to His disciples, Jesus appears unto them, and said, “Peace be unto you”,
but they were terrified and affrighted, and thought they seen a spirit. The
first thing Jesus did was speak peace unto them, but they were still scared,
and they really didn’t understand much of anything about His Resurrection at
that time. So, Jesus asked them, “Why are you Troubled? And why do thoughts
arise in your hearts?” Being troubled robs us of our peace, furthermore, fear,
doubt, unbelief are all a result of a lack of faith in Christ and His Word.
“Hey, look at My hands and feet, it’s Me, touch Me and see; a spirit doesn’t
have flesh and bone like Me.” The Scriptures tell us that the disciples, “yet believed
not for joy, and wondered”, meaning their faith was still weak, so Jesus asks
them if they had any “meat” and they give Him a piece of broiled fish and a
honeycomb, and He ate it in front of them (note here that Jesus didn’t ask them
to believe anything contrary to their senses). And He said, “These are the
Words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in
the Psalms, concerning Me.” The Old Testament is the story of Jesus Christ and
His Cross. Then Jesus Opened the disciples understanding, that they might
understand the Scriptures. At which point He gave them the Great Commission
saying, “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 you are
witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon
you (the baptism of the Holy Spirit): but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem,
until you be endued with power from on high.” Then Jesus led them out to
Bethany, and He lifted up, His hands and blessed them, which was proclaiming
Himself as the High Priest, having made Atonement for sins, and Blessing the
people. His Blessing was for both the Jew and the Gentile. While He was
Blessing them, He Ascended into Heaven, signifying that His Blessing continues
to this very second. Afterwards they worshipped Him and went back to Jerusalem
with great joy. Which signified that His Presence was still with them, they had
been changed, the fear and the unbelief were gone and were continually in the
Temple, praising and blessing God. We are now the Temple of God and we should
continually praise and bless God.
Now let’s look at the account in
John chapter 20. In John 20:9, we see that some didn’t know the Scripture that
Jesus must Rise from the dead. Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene, and she
went and told the disciples what Jesus had said to her. That same day on Sunday
evening, the disciples were assembled together with the doors shut, for fear of
the Jews, and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them and said, “Peace be unto
you.” He then showed them His hands and His sides; then the disciples were glad
that they saw the Lord. Then Jesus said again, “Peace be unto you: as My Father
has sent Me, even so send I you.” When He said this, He breathed on them and
said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted
unto them; and whosoever sin you retain, they are retained.” Now Thomas wasn’t
there at this time, so when he found out, he didn’t believe the other
disciples; 8 days later, while the disciples were still shut in, and Thomas
being with them, Jesus appeared and said, “Peace be unto you.” Jesus basically
told Thomas to touch His wounds; “and be not faithless, but believing.” Thomas
responded, “My Lord, and my God.” Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen
Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have
believed.” Then Jesus did many signs in the presence of the disciples, and what
is written in Scripture is so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that believing we may have life through His Name.
Apparently, Peter and John didn’t know the Scripture that
Jesus must rise again from the dead. Psalm 16:10-11- For
thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to
see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in
thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore. They needed Divine Help to understand the Scripture, Lord Help me to
understand, please let the Spirit of God teach me, in the Name of Jesus.
“Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them” (in
its simplest form means that when the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and
accepted by sinners, the preacher of the Gospel, or any believer for that
matter, can announce unequivocally to the new believer, that all his sins are
remitted/forgiven. This note is taken from the Expositor’s Study Bible John
20;23.); “and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained (is the same as
the former, but exactly the opposite; if the Gospel is refused, the believer
has the obligation to inform the Christ-rejector that, despite whatever else he
might do, he is still in his sins, and barring repentance will suffer the
consequences. Taken from the Expositor’s Study Bible.) This was written so, “that you might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through His
Name.” Faith accepts the testimony of the Scriptures as it regards Christ.
We see prior to the giving of the Great Commission that
there was fear, doubt, unbelief, hardness of heart amongst Christ’s
disciples/followers, they were troubled and terrified, there was an ignorance
of Scripture concerning Christ’s Resurrection, and even a misunderstanding of
their duties as the church moving forward. These are some of the things that
cripples the church today in the carrying out of the Great Commission. I am not
trying to slam anyone or be judgmental, I am just trying to bring attention to
what stops us from doing what Christ has commanded us to do. Fear is probably
the biggest one. Fear of not being able to present the Gospel; Fear of being
laughed at, or rejected, or even attacked verbally, or physically. Doubt of God
being able to use you, which is doubting God Himself; Doubting yourself.
Unbelief in the Scriptures, that God will be with you, give you the words to
say, and speak through you; unbelief in the fact that you are to share the
Gospel. Hardness of heart occurs when we ignore the Word of God, when we let
our fears, desires, and comfortability rule over us. We become religious,
self-righteous, complacent, and lukewarm, there is no love or compassion, or
angst for the lost souls on a collision course with Hell. What we think or how
we feel should not be our guide in the furtherance of the Gospel, our Guide
should be the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Lastly, a lack of
understanding the Scriptures can prevent us from being True Followers of
Christ. False teachings can have us believing that the story of the Bible is
about ourselves, and that life is supposed to be easy, until we arrive in
Heaven. Not understanding the Scriptures, can have us believing that the
carrying out of the Great Commission is just for those in ministry or for
missionaries; or that we just give money to the cause and that is enough. This
isn’t an exhaustive or in-depth look at everything that hinders us
individually, or corporately as a church, in the carrying out of the Great
Commission, but it is some of the major reasons and excuses for not doing so. It's not all bad news, Christ loves us like He loved the
disciples, even though He may have to rebuke us for our unbelief and hardness
of heart, as He did the disciples. He may have to say to each one of us, as He
said to Thomas, “Be not faithless, but believing,” but He will follow that up
by asking, “Why are you troubled, and why do such thoughts arise in your
hearts?” “Don’t you know that I have all Power in Heaven and in Earth, and that
I will be with you always? You are not alone, I have sent the Comforter, the
Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit to help you. Listen, because I have all
Power, go, preach, and teach the Gospel to everyone, in every nation, including
your own.” Jesus isn’t going to turn His back on us, because we have failed Him
in the past, or because we are unsuccessful, He wants us to be faithful, and
trust in Him alone. The disciples were hiding in fear, and one of the first
things Jesus said to them, if not the first as a group was, “Peace be unto
you.” He said that at least three times, just prior to the issuing of the Great
Commission, and once immediately afterwards. He was talking about sanctifying
peace, that we receive by trusting in Him and His Perfect Sacrificial Finished
Work upon the Cross. Fear, doubt, unbelief are tools of the enemy. Christ
Promises to be with us and He will, He is not a man, He does not lie, and He
will not let you down. Furthermore, Christ showed Himself Alive. He is Alive,
and He will return, Glory to God! Hallelujah! If we trust in the Lord and step
out in faith, He will give us the peace that washes away the fear of the enemy.
The Great Commission is a command from our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ to preach and teach the Gospel to all nations, including our own
nation. We are to water baptize new believers in the Name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe/obey (this is Biblical
Discipleship) everything Jesus Commanded, and to remember that He is with us.
Those that reject the Gospel, we are obligated to let them know, that they will
die eternally damned, unless they repent. We preach the Message of the Cross,
Repentance, and Remission (forgiveness) of sins. Looking at all the accounts of
the giving of the Great Commission, this is what it is in a nutshell. Some
would say that I am being legalistic, I am not, as a follower of Christ, we
should be a reflection of Him, and the only way to get there is by faith, the
help of the Holy Spirit, and a dying to self (God first, and me, third, fourth,
or fifth). As we step out in faith, the Lord will be working with us confirming
His Word with signs. The greatest sign of all is that lost souls will be
getting Saved.
Within the broader context of the giving of the Great
Commission, we must address the Promise of the Father, the giving of the Holy
Spirit; the enduing with Power from on High, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues; God will give the utterance.
Jesus told them in Luke that He would send the Promise of the Father to them,
and that they were to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from
on high. All which speaks of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. And in Acts 1:5- For
John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost
not many days hence; then in Acts 1:8- 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. Biblically speaking, we need the Power of
God in the form of the Holy Spirit, working in us and through us to be fruitful
witnesses of Christ, and to fully carry out the Great Commission as we should.
It is the Promise of the Father for all believers. Why wouldn’t any of us that
are Born-Again not want it? The only
requirement is to be Saved, and to receive it by Faith in Christ and Him
Crucified.
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