Matthew 28:19-20-19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The statement Jesus made here is absolutely in the form of a command. He doesn’t say “Go if you can” or “Go if it seems good” or “Go if you think it is safe” or “Go if you think it will be well-received” or whatever other condition we might place on our going. If we are going to maintain and live out that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, we must go. It is a command to go.
Jesus says we are to go and make disciples. Whether we will share our faith or not is not negotiable if we are going to live as followers of Christ. In other words, “Go means go.” This Gospel is meant to be shared. Intentionally. Purposely. Faithfully. You see, when you go somewhere, you plan to go there. You prepare to go. It is an on purpose going. It involves making the decision to leave where you are and to go where you intend to go. Perhaps it is an elementary and unnecessary observation to make, but I am not sure we view it that way. I am not sure we live with a purpose to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Like how does our response to the command to go work itself into the priority of our week? How does our lifestyle reveal that we have accepted the command to go? When did you last decide to go to someone or to go somewhere for the purpose of sharing your faith?
Do you see the word “mission” in the word Com-MISSION? Jesus is sending us on a mission. It is a Co-Mission with Jesus. This is central to who we are. It is to be our focus as disciples of Christ. What is it that we are to do as we are going according to the Great Commission? Let’s go back to the text.
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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
I think the crux of the Great Commission is the two words, “make disciples.” It is the second piece of the Great Commission that is worded in the form of a command. The other words here are important as they help to define how we make disciples. We basically have been charged with the task of duplicating ourselves. We don’t just have a mission to teach or a mission to convert people or a mission to baptize people. We are not just calling people to a decision, and we are not just giving people information, but the goal is to produce people who are followers of Jesus. Our mission is not to make people members of a church but to help them become followers of Jesus Christ.
People who want to follow Jesus wind up living as He did. This is our goal. We want to live like Jesus and help others do the same. Baptism becomes a teaching tool to help people further understand what it means to be a Christ follower. Do we understand the significance of baptism? When a person is baptized, they are publicly identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That is no small thing. They are saying through the symbolism of baptism that what Jesus willingly underwent for them, they are willing to undergo for Him. They are willing to give up their lives and the control of their lives to live for God and others the way Jesus did. Baptism symbolizes a commitment a person is making to die to their wishes and wants in order to live a new life that is devoted to knowing and doing the will of God. It is our responsibility to help people understand what is involved in the discipleship step known as baptism.
Jesus said we are to teach people to obey His commands. Teaching takes time. It takes a commitment from us. True discipleship is about more than disseminating truth. It is about helping people obey Jesus. Listen, the goal of discipleship is life transformation. We have to teach people what this involves. In Galatians 2:20 the Apostle Paul said, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” That is discipleship. When we are living to put Jesus on display, we are His disciples and we become people who set an example for what discipleship looks like.
And what about having a sense of urgency to accomplish the Great Commission? Do we have that? A sense of urgency about winning the lost. Do we have that? This is a time-sensitive mission, isn’t it? Our earthly lives come with an expiration date. We do not have “all the time in the world” to make disciples. We have to allow the urgency of the call; the urgency of people’s need for salvation and the command to “Go” to somehow fit into our everyday lives. How urgent should it be that our friends, neighbors, loved ones, classmates and co-workers are dying and going to Hell? Going in Jesus’ name has got to become the priority of our lives. Can we work our witnessing into a social media post? Can we take an opportunity to share Jesus in a break room conversation or in the stands at a ball game? In a study I read this week, the report was that only 10% of believers are actively sharing their faith. If the Great Commission is our job, apparently only 10% of us are showing up for work! How are we supposed to effectively advance the Gospel if 90% of the Gospel workers are calling off work? How can we recover the sense of urgency needed to purposely make disciples?
Do we understand that a person’s eternal destiny is determined in time? There aren’t any second chances after death. People need to turn to Jesus while they live, while they live in time. No one knows how much time they have in this life. The fragile nature of life alone should create a sense of urgency in each person to do business with God, but how much more for we as believers who have been tasked with going to the world to share the Gospel message?
John 9:4 says, “As long as it is day, we must do the WORK of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”
As long as it is day. In other words, earthly life is not forever. Time is short. A day does not last very long. While people are living, we must hurry to get the work of witnessing done. Notice that Jesus even called it work. It is work! But it is the most fulfilling, rewarding, satisfying work we can do.
In John 17:4, Jesus was praying to the Father, and He said, “I have brought You glory on earth by completing the WORK you gave me to do.”
In that prayer Jesus could not have been referring to the work of the Cross because He had not yet been crucified. The word “completing” was the same root word that Jesus spoke from the cross when He said, “It is finished.” What work had Jesus finished that glorified the Father?
It was the work of witnessing, the work of making disciples, the work of reproducing Himself as He had taught the disciples how to live. Even as He was headed to the Cross, Jesus had this sense of urgency that as His time was drawing short, He needed to tell the disciples everything they would need to know once He left. Look at John 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, the chapters that precede the arrest of Jesus. They are filled with red letters, with the words of Jesus. It is like He couldn’t talk fast enough to get it all said. It was urgent!
So, we have a command to go. We have a mission to accomplish, and it must be done with a sense of urgency because time is of the essence. Allow me to re-read John 9:4, “As long as it is day, WE must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
Who is the WE? Jesus was speaking not only to His 12 disciples, but He was also speaking to us. We are part of the WE and Jesus is the other part. What you need to understand is that we do not go out to do the Great Commission alone. Oh, glory to God! We are partners with Jesus. The truth is, we cannot really make a disciple. Only Jesus can. He does that, however, through the power of the Holy Spirit that resides in us! Look at the Great Commission one more time.
Matthew 28:18-20 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
That is incredible! Jesus is with us in this Great Commission business, and He is not just saying He is with us in spirit. He is not just saying that He is encouraging us or cheering us on. He is not just saying He will be watching to see how it goes! No! He is with us with an ongoing, abiding presence and power. We are the messengers, but He is the One who will speak to hearts. He is the One who will give power when it is needed. He is the One who will tell us what to say. He is the One who will reveal the truth to people as we present it. He is the One who will draw them to Himself. He is part of the “we,” and we are part of the “we!” What an awesome privilege to be a partner with Jesus!
Here is what I know: When you take the challenge to execute the Great Commission you will experience a supernatural fellowship with Jesus that you cannot experience any other way. You will see God work as never before when witnessing and making disciples becomes the priority of your life.
We have work to do, satisfying and fulfilling work. Sharing the Great Commission is a command of Jesus. It is a mission that is time sensitive. It is the opportunity to team up with Jesus and experience Him as never before. If you have ever wanted to know what the will of God is for your life, I believe it can be summed up in Matthew 28:19-20. “Go and make disciples.” Let’s get to work, Church!
