THE
GREAT COMMISSION?

I'll begin in a contrarian mode by taking exception to the title "The Great Commission." And before I explain my issue with it, let me also confess that I lose no sleep over this
title being in common usage and that I have no burning need to organize a
campaign to change it. There is,
nevertheless, an important observation to be made.

This is not a title that Jesus used to describe His final words to his followers in Matthew 28:18-20, and you will not find
that phrase in any of the ancient texts. In 1907, Professor John Strong wrote:

"Neither master, disciple
nor evangelist, however, is responsible for the title by which that final
charge has commonly been known."

I have done some research into the origin of this title
and believe that it came into general usage when the typesetter who printed the
King James Version of the Bible put subtitles over various sections of
scripture. The title he put over the
final part of the book of Matthew was "The Great Commission," and by that title
it has since been known.

I happen to believe that calling this final commission of
Jesus "The Great Commission" does a disservice to a linchpin of the Christian
Faith. It is true that there is a sense
in which this charge from the Master to His followers is a "great" commission: it is the sense of being given a high or noble
calling. The problem, however, is that
the title tends to elevate these words of Jesus to a point where, what in fact
is a corporate calling-applicable to all of us-is put into a special category
that is above those of us who are just "regular" Jesus followers. To put it more directly, the Great Commission
is regarded by many as being for "great" Christians, not for "normal"
Christians. I believe that calling it "Our Commission" would be more apt,
because, indeed, this charge is a charge for all followers in all ages.

In His departing words, Jesus gave this charge to His
followers:

"All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me.Therefore, go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spiritand teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you" (Matt 28:17-18)

Jesus begins with the stark declaration that "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Immediately following this unequivocal
declaration of absolute cosmic authority, He uses the conjunctive adverb,
"therefore." In other words, Jesus is
saying,

‘Based on my absolute authority, I am charging you to go
and make disciples. As you go on my
behalf, you will carry with you my full delegated authority.' Jesus concludes His instructions with an
assurance: "And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matt.
28:20b).Jesus delegates His
mission-His purpose-to His disciples and assures them that, as they follow in
obedience, He will be with them and will empower them to what He has called
them to do. A disciple of Jesus
fulfilling the Master's calling carries with him the official signet of the
King of Kings.

• Going
  speaks of the necessity to move outside our own boundaries and comfort
  zones. We are by nature selfish and
  inwardly focused. We ALL need to undergo
  a process of spiritual transformation that puts our selfish nature to death and
  imparts the unselfish nature of Christ. The only effective means by which this
  can be accomplished is DISCIPLESHIP. Dallas Willard says that

  the
  evil within us is so radical and thoroughgoing that it requires an equally
  radical and thoroughgoing remedy: that remedy is discipleship.. Our focus needs
  to move off of "me and mine," to those who are far from God, those who are on
  the outside, those who have little or no worldly importance but who have great
  importance to God.

• Making
  disciples is why we go. It
  is among the prime reasons for the church's existence. The western church and the church in Peru do
  a poor job of making disciples. It's
  been said that the church in the U.S. is a thousand miles wide and an inch
  deep. Richard Foster wrote: "Superficiality is the curse of our age... The
  desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or
  gifted people, but for deep people."  Only
  through discipleship can we go deep with God. Only through discipleship can our character authentically resemble His Character.

• Baptizing is
  an act of identification, of commitment and of initiation on the part of new
  followers. Jesus told us to go make
  disciples. He also told us to baptize
  them, to immerse them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Baptism becomes a practical necessity when
  we've obeyed what God calls us to do.

• Teaching is
  the means by which those who embrace the way, "the truth and the life learn how
  to be established, rooted, productive followers. Jesus' manner of teaching wasn't a classroom
  or a sanitary laboratory. He said to
  those who He was calling, "Come, follow me." It was hands-on, skin-on-skin, face to face-for a substantial amount of
  time. There is value to classroom
  instruction. It has its place. But it will never be an adequate substitute
  for discipleship. You will never really
  speak a language well without a time of immersion in an environment where that
  language is spoken. You will never be a
  competent Jesus follower without immersion in the discipleship process either.

Our natural environment is not conducive to
discipleship. Maintaining a middle class
lifestyle in the U.S. is time and labor intensive. We will never drift into spiritual effectiveness.
It requires intentionality, it requires time, and it requires effort. 

The practice of disciplines is something that will enable
you to do tomorrow what you cannot do today. Ask a world class athlete or a concert pianist. When they first undertook to learn their
skill, they could do very little, or nothing. But through the discipline of daily practice, they could do at the end
of a period of time what they could not do before they made that
investment. Through perseverance and hard
work, some get to the point where their ability enables virtuosity that causes
the rest of us to watch in amazement.

There is a desperate shortage of authentic disciples.
What the world needs today are those who've learned well from their master how
to live a life that matters for eternity and who, in fact, are living it.