An Extraordinary Commission (Part 2)

I have entitled our sermon this morning, “An Extraordinary Commission,” and this will be Part 2. The word “extra-ordinary” means “outside, above and beyond the ordinary,” which is what we saw in our last message, when Jesus gave His disciples “power over unclean spirits” (Matthew 10:1); and commissioned them to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons” (v. 8). We looked at these extraordinary abilities, and considered if they might possibly apply to followers of Christ today. For some of us, such a notion is challenging in our western rationalistic society; however, this morning, we will look at a concept that is more readily accepted; that Jesus has given His disciples a commission to evangelize the world. I want to invite you to stand with me in honor of God’s Word as I read Matthew chapter 10, verses 5-7 and verses 9-15:

5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’ . . . 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 11 Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”

Jesus Gave an Evangelistic Commission

Let me get started by acknowledging the elephant in the room; the prohibition against going to the Gentiles. I am going to put the elephant back in the pen for now, and bring him out in just a moment. In the last message from our two-part series, “An Extraordinary Commission (Part 1),” we began looking at how Jesus gave His disciples the authority to heal every sickness and disease, just as He did; but here, we begin to see how He also gave them the authority to PREACH. In verse 7, He specifically stated, “And as you go, PREACH.” In our last sermon, we looked at the content of their message – the kingdom of heaven is at hand – and so, we are going to skip that part today; but what I want us to take away, is how part of the task given to the twelve was an evangelistic commission.

Mark Dever, in his book What Is a Healthy Church, says that evangelism is more than doing good deeds. He defines evangelism as “speaking words,” and elaborates on how it is “being faithful to God by presenting the good news . . . that Christ, by His death and resurrection, has secured a way for a holy God and sinful people to be reconciled.”(1) In Romans 10:14, Paul asked, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” The healing of sickness and disease will definitely open people’s hearts, but they cannot put their faith in Christ until they first know what they believe. Knowledge must be communicated, which takes more than doing good deeds; it requires words or preaching.

Now, in addition to the direct command, “and as you go preach” (v. 7), there are two phrases that suggest how evangelism was expected as part of their kingdom efforts. In verse 5, we read how Jesus both “sent out” the twelve and He “commanded them.” The phrase “sent out,” implies the work of an itinerant evangelist, and the phrase “commanded them,” implies a commission, such as a missionary commission. The Greek word used for how Jesus “commanded” His disciples is paraggellein, which according to commentator William Barclay has four special uses, which I am going to share with you right now:

“1.) It is the regular word of military command: Jesus was like a general sending His commanders out on a campaign, and briefing them before they went. 2.) It is the word used of calling one’s friends to one’s help. Jesus was like a man with a great idea summoning His friends to make that idea come true. 3.) It is the word which is used of a teacher or philosopher giving rules and precepts to his students or disciples. Jesus was like a teacher sending His students out into the world, equipped with His teaching and His message. 4.) It is the word which is regularly used for an imperial command. Jesus was like a king dispatching his ambassadors into the world to carry out His orders and to speak for Him.”(2)