Great Commission

The Great Commission – What Is Our Responsibility?

We will be talking about a subject that is not often preached in the church.  In fact, I have never heard a detailed message on the Great Commission.  Why has this great command been omitted in today’s church when more than ever we need to be involved in carrying out the Great Commission?  People are suffering and they need our help.

Matthew 28:19-20 contains what has come to be called the Great Commission: “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.” It is repeated in more detail in Mark 16:15-18 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Jesus gave this command to the disciples shortly before He ascended into heaven, and it essentially outlines what Jesus expected the apostles, and those who followed (disciples) them, to do in His absence.

 It is interesting that in the original Greek, the only specific command in Matthew 28:19-20 is “make disciples.” The Great Commission instructs us to make disciples while we are going throughout the world and while we are going about our daily activities. How are we to make disciples? By baptizing them and teaching them all that Jesus commanded. “Make disciples” is the command of the Great Commission. “As you are going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are the means by which we fulfill the command to “make disciples.”

Many understand Acts 1:8 as part of the Great Commission as well, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The Great Commission is enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to be Christ's witnesses, fulfilling the Great Commission in our cities (Jerusalem), in our states and countries (Judea and Samaria), and anywhere else God sends us (to the ends of the earth).

The New Testament has numerous references to people called "disciples" and "apostles." What's a disciple? What's an apostle? What's the difference, if any, between disciples and apostles? We need to understand the difference as we carry out the command of Jesus in The Great Commission.

Disciples

• Disciple is derived from the Greek word, pronounced math-ay-tes, which means learner, or student. The Biblical usage involved not just learning, but also agreement and acceptance of the teacher as a leader.
• Followers of Christ were not called Christians until the founding of the church at Antioch (Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch). Before then, Christians were called disciples of Jesus Christ.
• The apostles began as disciples (Matthew 10:1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease). There were far fewer apostles than disciples - all apostles were disciples, but not all disciples became apostles.

Apostles

• Apostle is derived from the Greek word, pronounced ap-os-tol-os, which means messenger, or ambassador.
• The Twelve Apostles, with Matthias replacing the traitor Judas Iscariot, were given the symbolic "Keys to The Kingdom," whereby they will serve as the foundation of the Christian church. All of them, with one possible exception (see John), were martyred.
• As might be expected, Satan, That Old Serpent, used corrupt and evil men as his own "apostles."  "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.  And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.)
• What did Paul say were the proofs of an apostle? 2 Corinthians 12:12 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.

Let us now look at Mark 16:15-18 and discuss this version of The Great Commission as Jesus gives instructions to His disciples who we can assume became Apostles shortly thereafter.    

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  It took me much meditation over the years to understand this verse in its totality.  Only little pieces were revealed to me.  Hopefully, I can convey to you all a few things that helps explain this verse.

To be able to preach the gospel, we need to read the gospel first.  We need to immerse ourselves to learn, understand, receive, and be able to explain what the gospel says.  We have to hear the word of God every day to gain faith and confidence to share the word of God with others.  Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  This is not a part-time job.  We are required to share the gospel at every opportunity. Unfortunately, most do not take this command seriously.   

I encourage you to make an effort to preach the gospel.  You can start by preaching the gospel to yourself by reading God’s word every day.  Take what you learn and preach to your immediate family.  By doing this, you gain the confidence to go outside your immediate family and preach to other family members and friends.  How about preaching the gospel to the children’s ministry, bible studies, and bible classes at church?

So, we just need to make the effort and God will honor you with many blessings.

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  Belief is the inward reception of Jesus Christ, and baptism is the outward testimony of that belief.  Romans 6:3 tells us “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Water baptism is a symbol of the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial, and Resurrection.

17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.   Most will agree that one quarter of Jesus’s ministry was casting out demons.  Not only were the twelve with him observing and learning, but there were others following as well.  Jesus was preparing them to be Apostles so that they could disciple others who will in turn disciple others.  He promised that he would be with the disciples through history until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”).  Jesus calls us to disciple and prepare believers to cast out demons as one part of the Great Commission.

So, why are believers not casting out demons?  The church is not teaching the flock to cast out demons. Apostles are few and they are not able to teach the masses.  Others are not stepping up to the plate.

I was part of a group of people praying for a person who was in great despair.  The group was praying a general prayer asking God to comfort this person and take away the despair.  I am not saying God will not answer prayer request like this if it is His will.  But God, through His Son Jesus Christ gave us authority to cast out this spirit of despair.  God wants us to do the work.  I took it upon myself in the name of Jesus to cast out the spirit of despair and this person had a great weight lifted off their shoulders. It doesn’t take a theologian to understand why we are not successful in the spiritual battle in this day and age.  The knowledge is there but we choose not to hear.  We choose not to be doers.  

As a whole, the Body of Christ cowers when it comes to Satan and his demons.  Satan is winning the battle but will ultimately lose the war at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

It is interesting that speaking “with new tongues” is used within same verse, but not surprising.  Speaking in tongues is a supernatural speaking a human language unknown to the speaker or speaking in language of heaven that is beyond rational.  It is my position that we are calling on the Holy Spirit when we speak or pray in tongues.

Those who are in the deliverance ministry will tell you that they rely on the Holy Spirit to conduct deliverances.  We cannot attempt to cast out demons without the authority of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s power.

It is very important to allow the Holy Spirit to flow as Pastor Lou reminded me recently.  We can’t allow ourselves to think that it is our authority.  We must know that our authority is given to us by Jesus Christ.  We can’t manipulate it, we can’t control it, and we can’t own it.  It is given to us by Jesus as a Spiritual endowment.

18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  Jack Hayford in his study bible says that taking up serpents does not refer to handling snakes in religious ceremonies, but casting them away without being harmed.  The Greek verb airo “take up” can also mean “remove,” “take away,” or “cast away.”  Similarly, a servant of the Lord may look for divine protection in matters pertaining to food and drink.  Many missionaries have testified to God’s miraculous protection in heathen territories, where they experienced no ill effects from impure food and drink.  There may be more to this verse, but I have not been able to find additional meanings.

The second part of this verse “they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” can test our faith because our success rate of laying hands and healing is less than five percent.  Why is this?  Maybe, it is because we take this verse too literally and limit ourselves in healing the sick.  Many verses in the Bible talk symbolically and we may have to look at symbolically laying hands on the sick through teaching what it says in the Bible. 

Let me explain.  As Henry Wright explains in his book A More Excellent Way, there are many thoughts that can cause a compromised immune system.  Thoughts of rejection, self-rejection, broken heart, can cause depression.  But God tells us that “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones” Proverbs 17:22.   What is in the bones?  It is bone morrow which produces the cells that fight off disease such as MS and cancer.  Dry bones means that the bone marrow is not producing cells to fight off disease.  If we can teach (lay hands) the person to be merry, they can avoid many diseases.

Another example is stress, anxiety, and worry/fear.  The medical field has listed over 8,000 stressors that exist in this world and it has impacted our lives greatly.   Fear is the major cause of heart problems.  Other characteristics are migraines, itching, neck/back pain, panic attacks to name a few.  In Matthew Jesus says “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing? Matthew 6:25.  This is another way to teach (lay hands) people who struggle with fear so they can receive healing. 

Anxiety causes depression according to Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.  The medical field can only treat fear with medication.  You, in the name of Jesus Christ through our Father can lay hands on the sick and bring healing by speaking “a good word.”    

He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick Luke 9:2.

As New Testament believers, we are to understand that God has invested in the church by the power of the Holy Spirit, the same power, authority, and honor He gave His Son.  God gave us every spiritual blessing, Ephesians 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,  to empower us to do his work.  Unfortunately, as Believers, we are not believing the power and authority given to us so plainly outlined in the Bible and more specifically, the Great Commission (Mark 16:15-18).  Are we to blame the Pastors, the church, or the teachers?  No!  Ultimately, the responsibility is on the individual to come to a point where we disciple others as it says in the Great Commission.  We can’t depend on anyone but ourselves.  We must read and take to heart what God’s Word says to us.  God gives us the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:19).  It is up to us to know how to use these keys.

How do we become Apostles? We open ourselves up to being discipled by Apostles and immerse ourselves in the written Word of God..  Once God determines we are ready, He will anoint us as Apostles so that we can disciple others.

Mark 16:19-20 (NLT) When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.                                                

Many blessings, Tony Sanchez