Last night there was a mini debate in our community group on whether or not the great commission was for everyone (and by everyone I mean all believers). Here’s what Jesus said,
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
So…is it for everyone? My short answer: yes.
Just for clarity’s sake there was some confusion between the debating parties. The difference of terms and phrases coupled with meaning can add a bit of fire to any discussion. But there was one who said the great commission isn’t for everyone and the other said it is. Just to be clear I agree with the latter.
There were two arguments against the great commission being for all believers:
- The commission was only given to the disciples.
- Not everyone is called to go out to the nations.
To the first argument:
If the great commission was only given to the eleven disciples, what would happen after they died? If no one continued to carry the message of the Gospel then we wouldn’t be here now. To say that this command was only for the eleven there is a bit ridiculous and I doubt that’s what the person truly meant.
If you look at the great commission after Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” he finishes with “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.” Didn’t Jesus just command them to go and make disciples of all nations? So one of the things the disciples would have taught their disciples would be to go and make disciples of all nations.
To the second argument:
Everyone is called to go out to the nations. End of story. However, what that looks like will be different for everyone. I think one of the issues in the debate was the definition of nations. The party against* the great commission for all, it seemed, defined nations as countries other than your own. The other party defined nations as all nations, including the one you occupy.
The one against argued that not everyone can literally go depending on age, season of life (ie, mother with young children). True.
But everyone is called to spread the gospel wherever God has them. At home, in prayer, giving to send others out, local ministry. If we’re moms with young children then they are our primary mission field. If we’re a wife to an unbelieving husband, then he is our “nation.” If we have unbelieving friends, family, neighbors, co-workers then they’re our “ends of the earth.” When we see the hopeless, helpless, needy they are our nation.
If you’re a disciple of Jesus, then you’re commanded to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Don’t wait. Everyone has a nation.
Who’s your nation?
*I don’t like saying against because I don’t think they’re really against the great commission, but it was more an issue of miscommunication.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I FULLY agree with you. My husband and I were discussing this just the other night, and he made the statement that it seems to be impossible to be a Christian without being a missionary. Now, that doesn’t mean up and moving to a foreign country, but being a missionary right where God has placed us. Good thoughts!
So true!
He has us where He has us for a reason! He loves to work through relationships.
I love the name of your blog, by the way!
Acts 1:8 (NASB) says, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Jesus spoke these words to His disciples after His resurrection. Like you said, He also told His disciples to go and make disciples which can only be possible if they GO. But where are we, His disciples, supposed to go?
All of us can go as far as our neighbor’s house, or to speak with the street person asking for help, or any place in our local environs, including making telephone calls and internet connections — our Jerusalem. Others can go a short distance, like to Mexico if you live in Southern California — their Judea. And some people can go a bit farther out, maybe a short term (3, 5, 10+ days) mission trip — their Samaria. Then others are blessed to be able to go to a distant land — the remotest part of the earth.
Do we really want to be Jesus’ disciples? Then we must obey and go. Before we go we must seek the Lord, waiting on Him. When we wait in a surrendered attitude He will empower us by His Spirit and then we want to go — we cannot wait to go.
Jesus is our model. He spent time waiting to hear from His Father and He did what He saw His Father doing. God our Father sent His Son; Jesus said, “Even so, send I you…go.” As Jesus was going about doing the Father’s will He took His disciples with Him. After they’d been with Him for a while He sent them out on their own, in pairs, to do the same things He did — heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, preach the good news of the kingdom; they had the same results Jesus had. Amazing!
If we truly are His disciples we will take a few faltering steps, following someone, a modern-day disciple, who’s gone before. After a few times you will get hooked. Really! There is such joy in going and identifying with your Master that you want to go again and again. And sometimes the circle widens from your neighborhood, to your city, to more distant places.
My husband, Gary, and I started by picking up trash with our church group, using this as a way to invite street people to come have lunch in an empty parking lot. Not hard to do at all; even children came with their parents. Seeing the people fed and cared for was an uplifting experience. We graduated to reaching out in broader contexts and now we are full-time missionaries in Lithuania. When picking up trash in a nearby neighborhood we never dreamed we would find ourselves going and living half way around the world. But, oh the joy we have. There is no greater satisfaction than knowing you are in the center of God’s will, fulfilling His destiny for His own glory.