Christ’s Commission to His Disciples and to Us

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV) The eleven disciples who remained with Jesus after His resurrection (Judas had already committed suicide because of his grief over betraying Christ) had gone to a mountain in Galilee to await his appearance to them. He was ready to ascend into Heaven, back to His Father. We are told in verse 17 that they “worshiped Him, but some doubted.” Even though he had been seen, we are told, some forty times since His resurrection, some “still doubted” that he had arisen triumphantly from death and the grave. And now Jesus had an important announcement to make to the disciples and a very important commission to give to them. First, He stated firmly: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Because of His authority, He had the power to be with them in what He was about to ask them to do. He had the authority to empower them for the task. He was going triumphantly back to Heaven, His reason for coming to earth fully accomplished. And even though He did not come to set up a political earthly kingdom as so many had anticipated He would do, and hoped He would do, He was ready for them to take part in building that kingdom of believers. They (and we) were (are) to do this by going into all the world and making disciples in every nation. Believers are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Baptism is an act of obedience. It also demonstrates to the world that the believer is “dead to sins” and “resurrected to new life in Jesus Christ.” Next, they (we) have the command to “teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.” In other words, we are to disciple the saved, teach them the Bible, teach them to walk in God’s ways, as Jesus had taught His disciples when He was among them on earth. And this marvelous promise came from the mouth of Jesus before He ascended into heaven in their sight: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Go to Acts 1:6-11 to read a fuller account than in Matthew’s gospel of the Great Commission and what happened just before and just after Jesus ascended (was taken upward in a cloud as they watched). Would you not like to have been standing on that mountain in Galilee that day to hear Christ’s commission and to see the remarkable spectacle of His ascension? How very thrilling that event was! Now, back to earth and the job the disciples had to do. We hear no more about “some doubting” after hearing Jesus that day and seeing Him ascend into heaven. They were so awe-struck that two angels were sent from God to tell the disciples Jesus would return even as they had seen Him go into heaven. This is the one promise of Jesus that has not yet been fulfilled. Be ready; this will happen when all peoples everywhere hear the Good News that Jesus is Lord and Savior! My pastor of years ago used to urge us to expect Jesus each day: To arise and say, “Lord, are You returning to earth today?” He told us that if we live in anticipation, we will also live in holiness and obedience. I believed him when I was a child and become a Christian (at age 9), and I believe even today that we should live with this expectancy of Jesus’ return very present in our minds. In the meantime, as disciples, we are to go, tell, baptize, teach. And I add, live in expectancy of His return to earth. The next day after I became a Christian at age nine, I led my cousin to the Lord. Later that revival week, I led another cousin to the Lord. Did I know “how” to witness? Not really; I had no previous lessons in the “steps to salvation”. But I knew how to tell Dennis and Mary Lou that Jesus loves me and He loves each of them. At age six, when Missionary Pearl Todd from China came to our church to speak, I was not then a Christian; but I loved Jesus in my heart and wanted to do His will as I understood it. I felt at age six that God was calling me to China to be a missionary like Miss Todd, to tell people there that Jesus loves them. My job, instead, was to stay home and “hold the ropes,” to be a preacher’s wife, and to seek to faithfully witness to the lost where ever God led my husband and me in our ministerial and teaching work. What a life He has provided me: seeking to do the Great Commission. Lord, help us be faithful. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 05.28.2017