A Bible teacher writes about the Lord’s so-called Great Commission (Mt 28:19: “Go therefore!“): “The commission to do this was given by the risen Lord himself to his disciples. It was a command. Clear! Intrusive! Inescapable! And this command was not only for the disciples back then. It is still valid today. It is not just for the missionaries and evangelists. No, it applies to me and you. The Lord means every one of us. We are all called upon to pass on the word of the cross. We are all to shine in this world as lights representing the word of life (Phil 2:16). Not everyone has the gift of an evangelist. Not everyone gets the call to go to the mission field. But where God places us, we may bear witness to our Lord.”
In all four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, we find the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus. Before we look at it, let us ask ourselves: Does this mission also apply to us? We think: yes! Of course, it is correct that it was given to the eleven Jewish disciples at the time and refers directly to them and their particular ministry. But isn’t there a danger in using this explanation to get out of the affair and saying: “So it doesn’t apply to me”? The Lord makes it unmistakably clear that we are all “ambassadors” (2 Cor. 5:20), and the New Testament is filled with exhortations that we are all to shine as witnesses in this world.
Our Lord’s commission is: “Go!” We may only think of exceptionally gifted men and women, missionaries in a distant country, or so-called “full-time evangelists” who are on the streets every week. Then, we often hide behind them and think that the Great Commission is for them only while we go about our everyday working and household lives. In truth, however, the Great Commission is given to all those whom the Lord has saved. The saying “Every Christian is an evangelist” is true in a broader sense and makes us aware of our responsibility to the environment in which we live.
One Bible teacher writes: “There are quite a few Christians who do not know why they are on earth at all. If you ask them why Jesus Christ did not take them to heaven immediately after their conversion, they do not know the answer. They are lukewarm regarding the mission to be fishers of men and don’t give a thought to the salvation of their fellow human beings.”
William Booth says something similar: “‘Not called,’ you say? You rather mean: ‘Not heard the call’. Incline your ear to the Bible and hear how the Lord asks you to go to sinners and pull them out of the fire of sin. Incline your ear to burdened, tormented humanity and listen to their pitiful cries for help. Stand at the gates of hell and hear the damned begging you to go to their parents’ house and beg everyone there not to go to that place. Then look Christ in the face – whose commandments you profess to obey – and tell him if you want to be there with heart, soul, body, and circumstances to proclaim his mercy to the world.”
The fivefold Commission
The Great Commission is presented in the following five Bible passages, each time with a different exciting and important focus:
a) John 20:21: “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
In the Gospel of John, the Lord emphasizes that we are sent ones. And just as the Lord was sent to proclaim his Father, we are also sent into this world. We are not here to put our hands on our laps and our feet up, and at no point are we asked to wait for people to come to us. Instead, we are sent out as highly official ambassadors of the great Creator who has returned to heaven: “We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor 5:20).
b) Acts 1:8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Here, the writer, Luke, emphasizes the power with which the Lord’s disciples proclaim the gospel. The Lord says they can never carry out this mission in their strength but need power from above – through the Holy Spirit. It is beautiful that the Lord sends us out for this ministry and, at the same time, provides all the strength we need.
We also find this principle elsewhere: “If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure” (Ex 18:23). J. O. Sanders says: “The basic principle is that God takes full responsibility for enabling man to fulfill every task to which He has appointed him.”
c) Mark 16:15: “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.‘”
Mark focuses on the scope of the gospel’s spread: “The whole world” is the mission field. The message of the cross is to be proclaimed to everyone without exception. This refers to the heathen in the remotest mountain village in Central Asia just as much as your neighbor. Paul writes to Titus: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). No boundaries and no limits.
d) Luke 24:46-48: “Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the 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 to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.‘”
Luke speaks particularly about the content of the preaching: forgiveness of sins. It is not about inviting people to believe or simply promoting Jesus but about placing people in the light of God so that they recognize themselves as sinners. To conceal this would mean not to fulfill our Lord’s commission. This message is not pleasant, but it is necessary. That was the case then, and it is no different today.
e) Matthew 28:18,19: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.’”
In the Gospel of Matthew, the task is particularly emphasized: sinners are not only to become saved but disciples. It is about follow-up work to strengthen them in following the Lord. The Lord wants to save people for heaven and is looking for faithful disciples (= pupils, followers, servants). When someone is converted, it is a beautiful work of God – but after that, the work continues! The ultimate goal is to grow spiritually, as shown in 3 Jn 4.
This thought is also seen in Dr. M. R. DeHaan: “There was a time in my ministry when I often said, ‘The greatest joy of a Christian is to lead a person to Jesus Christ.’ But over the years, I changed my mind about that… There were so many that we had rejoiced over when they confessed, and yet they soon fell and went by the wayside, and then our joy turned to sorrow and deep sorrow. But the greatest joy is to return to a place years later and find those who were converted at that time growing in grace and advancing in the truth.”
The Lord means every single believer when He says: “You are my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). It does not matter whether we are working “in Jerusalem” or at the ends of the earth. Let us fulfill His commission – His heart’s desire! You and I have an important job…
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