Passion for the Great Commission - Part 2!

             If you read my last blog, then you know that developing a passion for the Great Commission has become a focus of my church’s mission team and for myself.  That post talked about the reasons that Christ gave the Great Commission, and if you haven’t read it, I urge you to go back and do so. 

Today, I would like to address two questions that I raised in that post:  what is meant by “Commission” and who were the intended recipients of the Commission?  I think that much of our lack of passion for Christ’s “Commission” can be traced to our misconceptions about the answers to those questions. 

First, we probably all understand what it means to be commanded to do something, but do we understand what it means to be commissioned for a specific purpose?  When we hear the word “command” or “commandment” as Christians, our minds immediately go to the Ten Commandments.  Those were clearly a set of instructions that God intended the Israelites to obey.  There were no exceptions, no excuses, and no ignoring them – not if you wanted to avoid punishment.

In contrast, what do you think of when you think of “commission”?  Is a
“commission” just an instruction to perform a particular task or carry out a duty?  If that’s all it is, then does that mean you can accept or reject the commission?  Unfortunately, I think that’s how a lot of Christians view the Great Commission.  Many see it more as a “Great Suggestion” rather than a commandment.  If you view it in light of the reason for it, God’s desire that all the world be saved, then it must be seen as a commandment.  It is our “Ten Commandments” all rolled into one giant commandment.  It is our marching orders to complete the task that Jesus left us with.

Once we settle that part of the question, then we must consider who the commandment was given to.  Now, if we want to be completely technical, the eleven remaining disciples were the only ones present at the time that Jesus uttered those words, so obviously He was speaking to them.  That might let us off the hook, except for nine little words at the end of the Commission: “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  The disciples were commanded to make disciples and then teach them to obey everything that He had commanded the disciples to do.  They weren’t just to go make followers of Christ.  They weren’t just to teach the followers what Christ had taught them.  They were to teach the followers to obey what Christ had taught them.  That would include the Great Commission. 

So, if you are a Christian and you always thought that Christ’s words in Matthew 28 applied to other people, I’m sorry to disappoint you.  You are not off the hook.  You and I each have a commandment from our Savior.  It’s not a suggestion and it’s not optional.  So, the next question is how do we go about obeying it?  Tune in next time for some ideas.

Matthew 28: 18 - 20