A Very Big Task
Matthew 28:16-20
On the brink of leaving this earth, Jesus approaches the eleven disciples to give them, and through them to all the church in all ages, this Great Commission. Jesus gives no ordinary task; it is clearly a very big task, as evidenced by the four “all’s” in Jesus’ mandate.
1. All Authority
Here is the impetus and the enablement for the task. It is the Why and How of the Great Commission.
But first, how did Jesus get this authority, for Jesus says it was been given to Him. It is clear from Ephesians 1:19-23 and Philippians 2:6-10, that it is God the Father who gave Him this authority. It was given as a consequence of His humiliation and obedience to God to the ultimate point of His death on the cross. Because of this, God the Father raised him from the dead and exalted Him above every authority or power you can even conceive of, whether in the present or in the future. All things have now been put in subjection to Jesus. Jesus reigns over all things, and this authority will inure to the benefit of His church. This means that sin, Satan, the penalty of the Law and even death are under the sway of Jesus Christ.
Now back to Jesus’ statement in Matthew 20:18. Jesus’ all-encompassing authority provides the impetus for His commission to His Church. If the authoritative Jesus speaks, surely we should listen carefully and respond.
Jesus’ authority also provides the enablement for us to carry out this very big task. Jesus leaves the scene, because His work is done. We, the disciples and succeeding generations of disciples, have a role to play in Jesus’ plan for his church. Jesus will shortly send His Spirit to enable us to do our part in this task. Jesus will gather a people, His church, who will demonstrate by their weakness His power, by their love His love, and by their changed lives His transforming grace. He has the power and the authority to accomplish all this. No one can resist Him, thwart Him, or derail His plan.
2. All Nations
Here is the scope of Jesus’ commission to his church. Jesus says, “Go,” for His intention is to reach to world, not just the Jews, historically speaking, his favored people. God always had His eyes on a great diversity of peoples. This message kept coming through, from the God’s covenant with Abraham (“all peoples”) to Israel’s prophets.
Jesus tells us “Go,” not “Stay.” He does not direct us to stay in our comfort zones, but to reach out and touch the lives of others. For some this will involve a move to somewhere else, because someone has to go to wherever people are, worldwide. But for all of Jesus’ disciples it means that we are not to keep warm in our comfortable cocoons, but we are to get involved in the lives of others.
Jesus commands, “Make disciples.” Disciples are followers, and Jesus tells us to make people into followers of Jesus. Everyone follows someone or something, even if it is just the ephemeral image of independence or being myself (in this case, following my self-focused desires). God has designed us to be more than slaves to self; He has designed us to follow Jesus who will teach us how to live, how to maximize happiness in the present, how to prepare for all that lies beyond death, and how to deal definitively with the reality of guilt. Jesus will change us from what we unhappily are to become all we can be.
Jesus tells us to baptize these disciples, to demonstrate visibly the change that occurs when we repent and believe.
3. All I Commanded
This is the demonstration of the extent of the change that Jesus works in us when we follow Him. Jesus tells us to teach these disciples to obey all He commands us. We are to teach these new followers of Jesus from the Scriptures how to live out what God is working in us by putting into practice all of Jesus’ commands, not just the convenient ones.
God gives us a remarkably clear template for what we are to change into (the goal) as well as how we are to go about pursuing this goal (the process). It’s all in the Bible; the challenge is to take what’s in the Bible and get it into us, changing how we act and think. Teaching is the process Jesus prescribes to fulfill this challenge. Yes, there are other means as well, such as modeling (“example” in the NT) and counseling (Rom. 15:14), but predominantly it is teaching the Bible to disciples so that they would conform their thinking and their behaving to the commands of Jesus that will accomplish His purposes in His disciples.
4. Lo, I Am with You Always
Yes, it is a very big task. Indeed, it is an overwhelming task. All the nations, and it’s not like everyone is just searching for the answers. And superficial changes will not do in people; God wants us to change radically, from the inside out.
In tackling this very big task, we face many obstacles, we are often bewildered, and we are sometimes discouraged. And this is exactly why Jesus tells us He is with us. Always. Here we rest and here we place our hope, in Jesus, who promised always to be with us.