Method Of The Great Commission: A Comprehensive Approach Series

Method of the Great Commission: A Comprehensive Approach

- Rev. Dr. Vivek A Gundimi

Introduction: The Gospel of Matthew ends with a responsibility that the resurrected Jesus gives to his disciples - called the Great Commission. And because of this - a small band of followers would spread around the globe.

You see the Jews who had killed Jesus were equally ready to do away with His disciples now. And the Roman empire on the other hand was a strict regime that didn't like people causing any problems. And it was into this world, that Jesus commissioned his disciples to talk about the new life to conquer sinful nature and to be fruitful. Their commission was difficult....

Verse 16 says, "… the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated."

You see the mountain is often used in the Bible to designate a meeting with God. Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai for example. This meeting with the disciples was not in hiding.

When you come to Verse 18, we read that "… Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."

This is one of the most crucial statements that Jesus ever made. Jesus has all the authority... in heaven and on earth. This verse is possibly an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14 indicating that Jesus has begun His messianic sovereignty. But this authority that Jesus speaks about is in what significance? Well it means that Jesus has:

- Authority to forgive sins (Luke 5:20; 7:48).

- Authority to mediate to the Father (1 Tim. 2:5).

- Authority to send the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26).

- Authority to open the hearts and minds of His people (Luke 24:45).

- Authority to reveal the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22).

- Authority to give eternal life to whom He chooses (John 10:27-28).

- Authority to raise us up on the last day (John 6:40).

And so with this authority, Jesus says in Verse 19f, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…”This commission applies to us as well. The Great Commission is about making disciples for Jesus.

But I want to re-look at this mission given by Jesus so that we can be reminded and motivated to act in discovering what our mission is in this Great Commission – because it’s a command for all Christians.

It is interesting that in the original Greek, the only direct command in the Great Commission

Matthew 28:19–20 is “make disciples.” A disciple is a learner, one who understands and obeys the teachings of Jesus.

To “make disciples” means to teach or train people to know and obey Christ completely and broadly. The mission is to make people radical followers of Jesus. Therefore, making disciples is the central mission of the church. All our Church activities should be penetrated into making disciples as well as edifying the church on the whole. Because of disciples such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, Europe was opened to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Reformation. Bible came to our hands because of such disciples such as William Tyndale.

The instructions to “go,” “baptize,” and “teach” are indirect commands—participles in the original.

But why ‘Making disciples’ is important? Making disciples is important because it is the Lord’s method of spreading salvation through Jesus. And as a result of that we introduce to people about the true life and about the ability to bear fruit (Jn 15) and also about Eternity in heaven. (Eph.2:8-10).

So how are we to make disciples? By baptizing and teaching them all that Jesus commanded. You see the primary command of the Great Commission is “Make disciples”. “Going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are the means by which we fulfill the main command which is to “make disciples.”

In order to make disciples it is wise to see how Jesus discipled. His disciples literally walked with him, lived with him, watched how he made decisions, saw how he interacted with different people, they saw how he interacted with people from different social status and they observed His prayer and moral life.

As disciple makers we share our lives with others. We study the Bible together with them; we pray for them, we meet for Tea, play games together, go excursion together. Disciple making is investing in the life of another with the intent of both getting to know Christ better and follow Him closely. These days many Christians have become secluded because of their attachment to Smartphones and online shopping, and club mentality that they feel insecure to share their lives with others. But on the contrary, making disciples is about sharing our lives with others.