Do the words, “the Great Commission,” inspire visions of boldness, or do they inspire a guilty shudder down your spine?
The Great Commission is not the only commission given by Jesus, but it is deeply important. And it has dominated the attention of many strands of his followers today. Usually because we struggle with it. Usually to point out how inadequate we are doing with it.
Hence the guilty shudder.
God is not above making us feel guilty; but sometimes we feel guilty for our own reasons, rather than his.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. What is the Great Commission:
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 keep all that I have commanded and, behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
Before feeling guilty about failing to make disciples, consider with me the first part of this command: “Go.”
of the mechanics of this passage in Greek, especially how the command “go” and “make disciples” relate, see here.
Why does Jesus command “go”?
Why Jesus commands his people to “go”
Here’s 2 good reasons Jesus commands his followers to GO:
- He’s the king on the mountain, and his Kingdom should spread
- To check the disciples’ impulse of veneration on a mountaintop
Jesus is King on the Mountain…and beyond
Matthew does not record Jesus’ ascension into heaven.
He ends the narrative with Jesus as King on the mountain giving a royal command. So, at the end of Matthew, we see Jesus’ kingdom = the mountain they are on.
His territory + his people = his kingdom
That is good, but Jesus intends more. He is interested in God’s Kingdom come into the whole world. That’s a lot more than the little mountaintop they are gathered on. So, the logical next thing to do is for the disciples to go somewhere else and make disciples.
Where Jesus is worshipped as king, there his kingdom is. Thus, “go!”
Jesus wants his kingdom to spread. To do that, he needs to address the “stay where we are and venerate” impulse his disciples have already shown.
Go and take the Kingdom elsewhere, don’t build a shrine
The disciples already have an ambiguous track record when it comes to mountains, a glorified Christ, and what to do there.
At the transfiguration, Peter says to Jesus:
Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah
Matthew 17:4 ESV
In other words, let’s build a new tabernacle here because this is the place to be to worship!
Granted, it was a crazy experience and the response is entirely understandable. But here, now, at the end, Jesus is really clear that the point is not to turn this mountain into new shrine for his followers to tend. His kingdom is like a seed, compressed down into that tiny little space on the mountain, and it needs to ‘blow up.’
That ‘blowing up’ happens when they “go” and make disciples.
Need I point out that churches today tend to show a strong impulse to stay where we are and worship. We are better at building shrines than going where Jesus isn’t already worshipped as king.
What Jesus commands in the Great Commission
“Go” is an important part of carrying out Jesus’ vision for the Kingdom of God spreading.
Phrased more interpretively, here’s my stab at capturing the gist of Jesus’ Great Commission:
“Go out to where I am not honored as King, and wherever you find that place, whoever you find there, make disciples so that I am honored as King there, too.”
Wherever you happen to be in life, there is certainly room for “going.” And you probably won’t have to go far to find places where Jesus isn’t honored as king.
