The Great Commission

Two wonderful seasons in the Church Year that are side-by-side are Epiphany and Lent. Epiphany is the season of light – Jesus, “the Light of the World,” revealed as such not only to His own people, but also to “Wise Men”—Gentiles—who followed a star. Lent is the season of repentance “in light of” our Lord’s accomplished redemptive work for ALL through His crucifixion and resurrection.

While considering these two seasons, I decided to study our Lord’s Words in Matthew 28:18-20 that have come to be known as “The Great Commission.” I am sure you remember them: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” Eventually, I approached the study of these verses hoping to answer two simple questions: “Why is this called ‘The Great Commission;’ and why use the word ‘Great’?” Here are a few thoughts …

The Greatest Service

First, this commission is “great” because its fulfillment is the greatest service anyone could ever give. Matthew 28:18-20 outlines God’s program for bringing the world to Jesus. It is a program that is universal in its extent—Christ died and rose again for all—and is personal in its application.

“Therefore go,”Jesus says. The word “Go” is a present participle that is literally rendered, “Having gone.” It is assumed that we have already gone, and are continuing to go, into the world, and that we have embarked on the great adventure to speak of Jesus and His work to others. The God who in the past used a burning bush and a rod (Moses), the jawbone of a donkey (Samson), and a little stone (David), now has chosen to use you and me, equipped with the Gospel—the Good News of Jesus crucified and risen. What Jesus asks, by grace He enables, equips, and strengthens us to do.

We should well remember these Scriptures:

• God wants “all men to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). 
• “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
• “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30).

Lyman Beecher (1775-1863), a great preacher in the early to mid-1800s, was once asked: “Mr. Beecher, you know a great many things. What do you consider the greatest thing that a human being can do or be?” Without hesitation he replied: “The greatest thing is not that one should be a scientist, important as that is. Nor that one should be a statesman, vastly important as that is. Nor even that one should be a theologian, immeasurably important as that is. But the greatest thing of all is for one human being to bring another human being to Christ Jesus, the Savior.” 

The Greatest Story

Second, it is the Great Commission because it is the greatest story anyone could ever hear! Every one of us shares a different salvation experience and story. Some were saved in the waters of Holy Baptism; some were saved at church; others were saved at home; and, still others were saved at work.

Regardless of our story, there is one thing we all have in common: the day we were saved the Holy Spirit brought us to the feet of Jesus where our sins were washed away by His holy and precious blood, and He changed our lives and future forever.

By grace through faith, given as a gift and ever nurtured by grace, all of us have had our sins forgiven, separated from us, “as far as the east is from the west …” (Psalm 103:12). Remember this: you can travel west forever, make laps around the globe, and never go east. You can also travel east forever, and never go west. That is not true of the other two directions. You can travel north, but after hitting the North Pole you begin going south. Go south, and eventually you will cross the South Pole and begin going north.

The Psalmist’s inspired words make it clear: when God forgives, He sends your sins east, sends you west, and never the two will meet (again). God “remembers your sins no more” (Isaiah 43:25). When He sees you, he sees the righteousness of Christ. Don’t we have reason to continually give thanks knowing “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10)? Don’t we have reason to continually share this great Good News?

All of our stories are based upon the greatest story that has ever been told. It is the story of the Lord Jesus Christ, true God, becoming man and coming into a dark, depraved world “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). It is about His death, His burial, and His resurrection. This greatest of stories tells us that Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2) in order “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

The Greatest Savior

Third, this commission is great because Jesus is the greatest Savior anyone could ever have! Of all the things I have learned, there are only two lessons worth remembering: (1) I am a great sinner; and (2) Jesus is a greater Savior. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once wrote, “We have a great need for Christ; and, a great Christ for our needs!”

Do you want the answer for crime? Drugs? Mortality? Abortion? Pornography? Divorce? Emptiness? Lack of purpose and direction? Do you want the answer for your family, your finances, and your future? The answer is to be found in Jesus, the greatest Savior anyone could ever have.

Christ’s greatness is exhibited in two ways. First, He speaks of His irrefutable power: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). It is as if He is saying, “All power and authority are Mine! Now you go with it.” His Gospel message, that we know, love, and possess, “is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). In other words, He not only has the power to save sinners, but also to transform our lives, and to conform us into His very image. There is no problem He cannot solve. There is no prayer He cannot answer. There is no person He cannot save.

We also see His greatness in His irreplaceable presence. Jesus, the “Lamb slain from before the creation of the world,” (Revelations 13:8) having finished the work He came to do, having asked every disciple of every age—you and me—to go out with Gospel power and win this world for Him, PROMISES we will never go alone: “And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

The word “surely” is the Greek word“behold,” and it is an interjection frequently used in the New Testament to call attention to something of special importance. It is like Jesus is saying, “I command you to go, but I Myself—your divine, resurrected, living, eternal Savior and Lord, your Friend, your Brother, your eternal Companion—am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

We cannot go without Him, and He will not go without us. Without Him, we CAN NOT; and, without us, He WILL NOT! He is with us, and in us, so we can take Him to others. 

I remember this simple story shared by a friend. There was quite a storm in south Texas. After the storm subsided, a little girl walked down to the beach and discovered that the storm had washed up what seemed like hundreds, maybe thousands, of starfish onto the shore. Her heart broke for these helpless little starfish. So, one by one, she began tossing the baby starfish back into the ocean.

An elderly man watched the little girl for more than an hour. Finally, he walked up to her and said, “You silly little girl. Do you think that you are going to save all of these starfish? Do you think that what you are doing will really make a difference?” The little girl held up a starfish, looked to the man and said, “Mister, maybe not; but to THIS ONE, it makes all the difference in the world.”

That, I believe, is an excellent picture of the Great Commission. We may never be used by God to win thousands of souls to Christ; but if He uses us to win just one—who might very well be your husband or wife, your son or daughter, your friend, your co-worker, or your classmate—TO THEM, IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

The world has so many questions, so many needs. There is only one answer, one solution …

He is the bread of life to the hungry.

He is living water to the thirsty.

He is comfort to the hurting.

He is provision to the broke.

He is a father to the fatherless.

He is a mother to the motherless.

He is help to the helpless.

He is hope to the hopeless.

He is shelter to the homeless.

He is the ever-seeking shepherd to the addicted.

He is light to those living in darkness.

Most importantly, to the sinner, He is the Lamb of God who carries the sin of the world.

Jesus is needed!

Humbly, I want to say that each of us needs to be confronted with the truth of these verses. No one is exempt. No one is excluded from their significance. Consider and pray for individuals in your life who need “help.” Gain the privilege and opportunity of speaking to them about Christ. Ask the Lord Jesus to help you prepare for and accomplish the greatest endeavor in life—witnessing. Perhaps, that is the best way to give thanks “to God for his indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Forgiven, freed, and fired by the Holy Spirit, may we engage those around us in this lost and dying world, relying on Christ’s work for us, in us, and through us, knowing that through the Holy Spirit’s attendant blessing, whatever we do can make all the difference in the world.

Desiring to make a difference together,

Pastor David P. E. Maier