The Great Commission

The most recognizable rendition of the Great Commission comes from Matthew 28:

"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 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 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"

In essence, Jesus says, "Hey guys, this one is from Me, and I have authority everywhere now. Go, Make disciples, Baptize, and Teach them."

If you look online, you'll find a lot of very strong statements on TGC, including "It's not the Great Suggestion," and "It goes without saying that ALL Christians have a responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission." It does go with saying that "The Great Commission" is not a term ascribed to this passage by the Bible, kind of like the term "Trinity." How can we determine whether this specific command from Jesus is to the eleven disciples He was directly addressing or to every Christian in every generation? I don't believe it goes without saying at all, so here are some thoughts:

1. Some would say that based on Mark 16:20 and Romans 16:25-26, the gospel has already been taken to "all nations." Which clearly, at this time period, wouldn't really mean all the nations of the world, but when The Great Commission uses the words "all nations," and those other two verses talk about the gospel having "been made known to all nations," it would seem like a fulfillment of a specific, finite command.

It reminds me of the case where Jesus cries out, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones the ones sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate, for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!'" And after reading that, you have to balance whether salvation will return to the Jewish people only after they have turned from evil and sought His face (2 Chronicles 7:14), or whether that Scripture had more specific tie-ins to the fact that, in Matthew 21, the Jewish masses in Jerusalem had welcomed Jesus into the city shouting, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!" The broader viewpoint is often more compelling and convicting, but the latter has enough Scriptural basis to make you wonder if this prophecy of Jesus is a more finite, specific case.

2. It's pretty clear that we are supposed to serve as the means of God's gospel going to the nations. Romans 10 makes the case, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" If believers are supposed to be the means of God's salvation reaching the world, then the Great Commission certainly supports that end.

3. The idea that Jesus uses the phrase "to the very end of the age" suggests that His command covers a larger time frame than the lifetimes of the eleven disciples. It's not immediately apparent what "the very end of the age" means, but it's probably longer than one generation.

4. If the eleven disciples were supposed to teach people to "observe all that Jesus commanded," then they should probably teach their disciples to observe this last command of Jesus to "go and make disciples." So the Great Commission, by including this "teach" command, is self-perpetuating, like a "Go To" function. That's just good, solid algorithmic logic.

5. The kicker for me is that my faith and probably yours is a direct result of Christians being obedient to the Great Commission. Even if it's not clear from Scripture that the Great Commission is intended for all Christians, the fact that you and I are believers in Christ is a testament to many Christians in many generations taking this command to heart and making disciples. That seems like pretty strong evidence that they were doing what they were supposed to be doing.

I think most people would agree with me that we are supposed to follow the Great Commission, that we are sent with a mission ("commission" -- "with a mission") by the highest Authority to Go, to Make disciples, to Baptize them in His name, and to Teach them everything Jesus said.

So we shouldn't be, but we probably will be, challenged by the following queries:

Is the directive "of all nations" for every single believer to take to heart, or a directive to the body of Christ at large? In other words, does every believer have an obligation to be nation-minded, or should the body of Christ as a whole be targeting to all nations?

How many disciples have you made? Who are they?

Where have you Gone? How are you Making disciples? How have you Baptized them? What have you Taught them?