The Great Commission
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
Welcome
Good morning everyone and welcome. Today in our Gospel Story sermon series we are going to cover the very last part of the gospel of Matthew. Last week we looked at Jesus’ conversation with Thomas when he was doubting the resurrection and to we are going to move on ahead to when the disciples go to Galilee as Jesus told them to do after his resurrection. It is in this encounter that Jesus gives the disciples (and us) a command, a job to do. So let’s pray together and begin to look at the passage that contains the great commission.
Prayer
Prayer
Engage / Tension
Engage / Tension
As we begin this morning to look at the great commission, I want us to think about dominoes. Specifically, I want us to think about what a lot of people use dominoes for, and it isn’t for the actual game that is meant to be played with them. In fact, I don’t know how to actually play the game of dominoes, I just know that they are fun to set up one by one, and create a huge chain of them that you can then knock over. This is the domino effect. Now when I do this with dominoes, there is usually a point where I run out of them. There’s only so many in the box. But, I came across this story of the lady in china that created a gigantic domino fall. This happened back in 2003 and was done by a 24 year old woman named Ma. She set up 303,621 dominoes just to knock them over. She spent 13 hours a day working on this stretch of dominoes for seven weeks! Bugs and rats messed up her work. In one instance, a bug knocked over 10,000 tiles. Organizers spread pungent leaves from a local tree — thought to repel insects — around the Singapore Expo hall where Ma staged the record attempt. They also laid down rat traps. It took just over four minutes to knock down the series of white, red and yellow tiles that revealed the words “World Record” and images of electrical appliances.
So let’s talk some complicated science and physics when it comes to dominoes? How do they fall? How exactly does a domino topple work? It starts with one domino falling over into another domino which falls over to hit another domino and that process gets repeated until they are all knocked over. See, big science facts here today. The domino effect, in essence, begins with one domino, who impacts another. And that domino impacts another, so that the original domino not only impacts one other domino, but it impacts ALL of the other dominoes.
This is what Jesus is starting when he issues the great commission to his disciples before he ascends to the Father. He knocks this first domino down and what is so amazing, is that this domino topple is still continuing to this very day.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”
As we look at this, notice how the disciples are reacting to seeing Jesus again. Some are doubting even as Jesus is standing before them. Now, we don’t know exactly who doubted or how exactly they doubted. Was it some of the eleven disciples who doubted? Was it referring to some other followers of Jesus beyond the eleven? We don’t know for sure. It is worth noting that the Greek word for doubt here refers more to a hesitation to believe rather than an unbelief. This may have been like the situation when Thomas needed to confirm that Jesus really did rise from the dead. Remember, a lot is happening at this time. Some of the followers of Jesus may still need to understand a little clearer what is going on here. I just want to point this out again after our passage last week to once again demonstrate that doubts are okay, we can learn and grow from our doubts. These disciples have seen Jesus risen from the dead and yet they still have some doubts.
As they worship Jesus though, he goes to them and gives them a command. Now, Jesus begins this command by first telling them why they need to follow it. Jesus is not just a man, Jesus is not just a prophet, Jesus is the Son of God and Lord. He was sent by God the Father and if anyone has authority to tell the disciples and us what to do, it is Jesus. The position of the person who gives the command is important. I think for instance about when I was growing up and if my brother and sister told me to do something, pick up something, clean, take trash out, I brushed them off. Why would I listen to you? You’re my sibling, you don’t get to tell me what to do. But, the command is different if my parents were telling me to do it (now I know I didn’t do everything my parents told me, but I sure listened a lot better to them than to my brother and sister.) Unlike my siblings, my parents had authority over me.
So Jesus begins this command by telling the disciples that he has all the authority to tell them what to do. In verse 18, it’s almost as if Jesus wants to clear up any doubt and confusion. He’s essentially saying, “I am Jesus, I have all authority, and I have a mission for you!” They worshiped and some doubted. I believe that after Jesus gave the commission, the “some” that doubted probably crossed over to the “they” that worshiped! So he reminds them that he has all of the authority to give them a command, and then we get to the great commission.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. So pause here for a second. One of the best things to do when you’re reading the bible and you see a therefore, is to look and see what it is there for. Go and make disciples, okay, sounds good, but why should the disciples do it? Because once again, Jesus has the authority to tell them to do this. If Jesus is Lord, if Jesus is who you are following, then we should listen to what he tells us to do. Jesus tells the disciples to go into all nations, making disciples, baptizing, and teaching people to obey what Jesus has commanded. Jesus did not intend for the disciples to stay there in Galilee after this encounter with him. He wanted them to go out, he wanted them to continue this domino effect of spreading the gospel, the good news about Jesus.
For us modern readers, I think we can read the great commission and begin to associate it only with foreign missionaries. After all, Jesus said to go to the nations. So this is meant for those people who feel called to travel the world in order to share the gospel. Now, it definitely includes them. But it also includes each and every person in this room. You don’t have to travel to a different nation to spread the gospel. You can and should be spreading the gospel wherever God has you. (We’ll touch more on this in just a second)
The great commission though can be nerve racking. Even we are all here this morning and thinking about talking to others about our faith, about teaching people about Jesus, we might have some nerves and anxiousness around actually doing it. It is a big task that we shouldn’t take lightly. Jesus comforts us in those anxious feelings though! Just like the disciples, we aren’t spreading the gospel and teaching other about Jesus on our own. Jesus told the disciples that he would be with them always, to the very end of the age. And that promise stands true for us as well. We do not carry out the great commission on our own, we do it by the power of the Holy Spirit that God has given to us. God has given us this helper, this encourager, who goes with us and before us as we talk to other about Jesus.
Application
Application
This business of making disciples is only going to come about through making connections. You can’t make a disciple of someone you’re not connected with. You have to be involved in someone’s life to make him or her a disciple of Christ. You have to be connected with someone to make him or her a disciple.
Jesus spent three years of his life with the twelve disciples. He ate with them. He drank with them. He had slumber parties with them. He did ministry with them. He spent all of his time with these men. You could probably say that these men were Jesus’ best friends. He had more of a connection with these men than any other people he knew. He invested his life into these men and expected them to invest their lives into others. And he not only expected them to do it, he commissioned them, as well as those who would come after the disciples, to invest their lives into others.
So, why connect? You gotta connect to make domino disciples. You gotta connect to carry out Christ’s commission.
Inspiration
Inspiration
Columnist Art Buchwald tells the story of a day when he was riding in a cab in New York City with a friend. When they got out of the cab, the friend said to the driver, “Thank you for the ride. You did a superb job of driving this cab!”
The taxi driver seemed stunned for a second and said, “Are you a wise guy or something?”
“No,” said the man, “I’m serious. I admire the way you keep cool in heavy traffic. Not many cab drivers are able to do that. I’m glad I rode in your cab today!”
“Yeah, sure,” said the cab driver and he drove off.
Buchwald asked his friend, “What was that all about?”
“I am trying to bring love back to New York City,” said the man. “I believe it’s the only thing that can save the city.”
“You think one man can save New York City?”
“It’s not one man,” said the man. “I believe I made that taxi driver’s day. Suppose he has twenty fares. He’s going to be nice to those twenty fares because someone was nice to him. Those fares will in turn be kinder to their employees, shopkeepers or waiters, or even their own families. Eventually, the goodwill could spread to at least a thousand people. Now that isn’t bad, is it?”
By changing someone’s life through the power of connection, you can make a difference at your school, in this youth ministry, and anywhere you meet people.
Making a connection with someone gives you the opportunity to speak into someone’s life. It gives you the opportunity to help someone. You’ve probably heard this phrase before, but “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Well, once they know that you care, you’ll be able to share your experiences with them and talk to them about how your life’s been changed by the power of your connection with Jesus, and in turn you’ll be able to help them see the amazing truth of the Gospel.
Prayer
Prayer