01.10. The Great Commission

THE GREAT COMMISSION Memory Verses:Matthew 28:19-20;Mark 16:15-16;Luke 24:46-49). The personal ministry of Jesus, that period between his baptism at the hands of John in the river Jordan (Mark 1:9-10), and his death on Calvary (Luke 15:42-46) was devoted to labor among the Jews. (John 1:11-12).

LIMITED COMMISSION When he sent the apostles out to preach, during his personal ministry, he limited their field of labor to the Jews. "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and charged them, saying Go not into any way of the Gentiles, and enter not into any city of the Samaritans; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6). THE GREAT COMMISSION

After his resurrection from the dead Jesus gave what we call the Great Commission. This Commission is recorded six times in the New Testament, as follows: (1) "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). (2) "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16). (3) "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission, of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:46-47). (4) "Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when, he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit: Whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained" (John 20:21; John 20:23). (5) "But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). (6) "But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me" (Acts 26:16; Acts 26:18).

ALL AUTHORITY

If this commission is not founded on absolute authority it is worthless. He came forth from the grave supreme in power, for he had conquered Satan, and all power "in heaven and on earth" had been given him (Matthew 28:18). He is now on the right hand of God, angels and powers and authorities being made subject to him (1 Peter 3:22). Though he has all authority, all power, he is not at this time exercising all power; all things have not yet been subdued, and will not be till the end of time. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. "Then cometh the end when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy which shall be abolished is death" (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).

All authority must include legislative, judicial, and executive. Jesus is Lawgiver, Judge and King. Men who have swayed the scepter over a few of the denizens of earth have been styled great; but think of Jesus who rules the hosts of angels, and is the rightful ruler over all men. Satan does not rightfully rule in any heart—he is a usurper. The disciples to whom Jesus gave this world-wide commission must have been well prepared to hear him claim all authority. They had seen him open the eyes of the blind, loose the bound tongue, unstop the deaf ear, make the lame walk, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, cast out devils, and still the winds and waves.

DIFFERENT WORDING OF COMMISSION

Some have wondered why Matthew, Mark and Luke differ in the wording of their records of the Great Commission. In those days effort was made to give the sense rather than the exact words. But another very important fact has been overlooked. Jesus was about to send the apostles out on the greatest work ever committed to man. It is a mistake to think that he mentioned the contents of the Great Commission only once. After his resurrection, he was with the disciples about forty days, speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:1-3). What was more natural, yea, more important, than for him on various occasions to dwell on every phase of their work, and speak of it from every angle. This is exactly what he did.

Matthew records the Commission as given on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20).

Mark and Luke seem to have recorded what he said on different occasions in Jerusalem. In each record emphasis is placed on different phases of the Commission.

Matthew’s record emphasizes rather the duty of the preacher, Go—make disciples—baptize—teach.

Mark’s record covers more the duty of the people to whom they preached, and the blessing they may obtain, Go—preach the gospel— he that believeth—and is baptized—shall be saved.

Luke’s record emphasizes the beginning, time and place, Preach—repentance and remission of sins—beginning at Jerusalem— when clothed with power from on high.

HEAVEN’S MARCHING ORDER: GO This command was given directly to the apostles, but every disciple to the extent of his ability is obligated to carry the gospel to the world. Love for souls should impel us, and the love of Christ will constrain us in the work. The imperative command is "Go," but the method of going is left to the convenience and common sense of the individual, so long as he does not contravene the rights of others. NO NEED FOR MAN-MADE SOCIETIES The command to "go" does not authorize the organization of societies to send forth men to preach. A society is not a method of doing anything; it is an organization to do a certain work. Societies must adopt the same methods of sending men and money that have been open to the churches throughout the Christian dispensation. There is not a righteous work they undertake that is not a work the church should do as such. Societies today are rival institutions of the church, proposing to do the very work the church must do to fully carry forward the work the Lord has commanded. A mob is an unauthorized, unlawful body of men who propose to do the work which belongs to the courts of the land; so, societies today are unauthorized, unlawful organizations proposing to do the work which belongs to the church. Do not forget, in opposing the unlawful societies, to go and preach the gospel. THE FIELD The apostles began at Jerusalem, their home at that time; then to Judea, the homeland; then Samaria, the neighboring country, then to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). Let us not begin and end at home. What missionary effort have you put forth in the past year, and what are you to do this year to have the gospel preached to others?

PREACH, TEACH In Matthew, the Commission reads, "Make disciples of all nations." In Mark it reads, "Preach the gospel to the whole creation." To "make disciples" is to make learners, and in preaching the gospel information is imparted to the people. The world in sin needs teaching; people need to know that they are sinners, that sin is ruinous and leads to a damnation in the world to come, that God longs for their salvation, and that in mercy he points out the way to escape. Without being taught, there is no way for them to escape. "And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me" (John 6:45). What, my brother, are you doing to open the eyes of the blind, and to turn them from darkness to light? But you must first inform yourself. Ignorance is sin. Failure to strive to save lost men is a crime against God and man.

ANALYSIS OF THE COMMISSION

"Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). In this record we find: (1) Make disciples. (2) All nations. (3) Baptize. (4) Teach. The apostles were commanded to make disciples and baptize, and to teach those they baptized. Salvation is not directly mentioned in this record, though they were to baptize "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," which in every instance necessarily brought salvation. Does the Commission Contemplate Infants? Some who are partisans to a theory to which they have subscribed insist that "all nations" are to be baptized, that since "nations" includes infants, they are, therefore, subjects of baptism. That such a contention is untrue must be obvious to the thoughtful. "Nations" are composed of murderers, infidels, and moral reprobates, as well as good men and infants. The pedo-baptist puts it this way: (1) Christ commanded the baptism of all nations. (2) Infants are a part of nations. (3) Therefore infants are subjects of baptism. That such is not correct reasoning must be evident from the following: (1) Christ commanded the baptism of all nations. (2) Infidels, drunkards and moral perverts are part of nations. (3) Therefore infidels, drunkards and moral perverts are subjects of baptism. The trouble with the foregoing reasoning is that the major premise is false. Christ did not command the baptism of "all nations." The command is not to baptize infants, adults, men or women. They were commanded to baptize the ones discipled. The command is "make disciples" and baptize them—the ones discipled. Infants cannot be disciples, neither are moral perverts disciples, and for that reason neither can be baptized. Is a Disciple a Christian? "Jesus therefore said to those that had believed him, if ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32). A disciple is not necessarily a Christian; the word signifies that one is a learner, a pupil. Before one can be baptized he must be a disciple—a learner—must be taught till he believes in Christ as required in the Commission as recorded by Mark. It should be remembered, though, that after one has been baptized, after one becomes a Christian, one is to continue to learn of Christ, and is therefore a disciple.

Record of the Commission by Mark. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16). In this record we find: (1) Preach. (2) Believeth. (3) Baptized. (4)Saved. This record emphasizes the duty of the people, and promises salvation to those who believe and are baptized. From the Commission in Matthew and Mark it is learned that the apostles were to make disciples, and baptize the believer. It is also learned that the ones baptized are to be taught to observe all things that Christ commanded; but it has not been learned from the record by either Matthew or Mark, when or where they were to begin their work of teaching or baptizing.

Record of the Commission by Luke. "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:46-47). In this record we find: (1) Preach. (2) Repentance. (3) Remission. (4) Begin at Jerusalem. (5) After being clothed with power from on high. The Commission in Full. To get the Commission in full, we must take all the items learned from all the writers. This gives us the following:

Matthew Make disciples. All nations. Baptize in name.

Mark Preach. Every creature Believeth. Baptized. "Shall be Saved."

Luke Preach. All the nations. Baptize. Saved. Repent. Remission Total: Preach. All nations. Believe. Repent. Baptize. Saved

Though every one recognizes that all the foregoing items are in the Great Commission, we are well aware that different people arrange them differently. Our Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian neighbors insist that salvation comes before baptism—that baptism is not necessary to salvation. Are you able to follow the records of the Great Commission and place salvation before baptism?

Let us follow the apostles and see how they arrange the items in their preaching.

FIRST SERMON UNDER THE GREAT COMMISSION The Great Commission demanded they begin in, the city of Jerusalem, after they were clothed with power from on high. On the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ the apostles were in the city of Jerusalem, were baptized in the Holy Spirit, and began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4). The multitude came together, and Peter’s sermon followed. Did he follow the record?

• He preached. That much is certain (Acts 2:14).

• He demanded that they believe (Acts 2:36).

• He commanded them to repent. (Acts 2:38).

• He commanded them to be baptized (Acts 2:38).

• They were promised remission of sins (Acts 2:38).

Here then is, 1 Preaching, 2 Believing, 3 Repenting, 4 Baptism, 5 Remission of sins, in the exact order as outlined in the summing up of the Great Commission.

BLACKBOARD EXERCISE The Great Commission, and Peter’s Sermon Matt. Make disciples. All nations. Baptizein name.

Mark Preach. Every creature. Believeth. Baptize. Saved.

Luke Preach. All the nations. Repent. Remission.

Preach. All nations, Believe, Repent. Baptize. Saved.

TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND DISCUSSION Whose duty is it to preach?

How all may have part in preaching.

Purpose of the miracles performed through men.

Importance of having a teachable spirit.

Jesus as a teacher.

QUESTIONS