The Great Commission’ Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Many refer to this passage as ‘The Great Commission.’ What is a commission and why do we call this particular commission – ‘great’? A commission is a duty or task that is committed to someone to perform. It is to send someone out on a special mission. Why do we call this the ‘Great Commission’? Let me suggest three reasons. First of all, it is great because it comes from a great Savior. Jesus is the one giving this mission to His disciples. “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” The word ‘power’ means authority. Because Jesus possess all authority, He has the right to instruct us in what we must do. We could say that the Great Commission is – ‘Christ’s mission for the church.’ Secondly, we might call it the Great Commission because of its great scope. Christ’s commissioned His disciples to “Go into all the world, and to preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15). Luke records Jesus as saying: “… and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Everyone in the entire world is within the scope of this divine commission. We should note also that this includes not only the entire world of Jesus’ day, but the entire world of our day as well. Note that Jesus promised: “And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” Christ was with the 1st Century Christians and the 2nd Century Christians and the 3rd Century Christians and even the 21st Century Christians. Christ’s Great Commission involves Christians today as much as it did the Christians of the 1st Century. Thirdly, we might call it the Great Commission because of its great salvation. The Great Commission is our mission to go into all the world and tell everyone that Jesus came to save us from our sins. Though there are many activities and events for the church to become involved in, there is none greater than for us to tell our friends and neighbors God’s good news. God loves them so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for their sins, and if they will put their faith and trust in Him, they will not perish in a place called hell, but they can have everlasting life in a place called heaven.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:56:35 +0000