THE GREAT COMMISSIONS

Matthew 28:18-20

The classic formulation expressing our mandate for evangelism is located at the conclusion of Matthew's Gospel when the risen Lord tells the eleven disciples: “All authority in both heaven and on earth has been given to me. Thus, 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 that I have commanded you. And remember, I am always with you,even to the end of the age.”

There are four verbs in verses 19 and 20a, but all are not equal. This is not always obvious in translation, but a literal rendering of the Greek gives these verbs as “going,” “disciple,” “baptizing,” and “teaching,” respectively. When in junior high school, I mastered the now lost art of diagramming sentences. I found it to be an extremely useful way to think logically and better comprehend what others were trying to communicate. If I were to diagram the long sentence in verses 19-20a, I would immediately recognize that there is only one verb in Jesus' command, “make (disciples).” The other three verbs are modifiers of “make” describing how it is to be done – one must first go and seek people out, bring them to the point of faith demonstrated by their baptism, and finally continue to teach them God's truths for their life.

When I started to see what the other three evangelists had to say on the subject, I realized something interesting. Each one of them stressed a different one of the three components in making disciples.

Mark 16:15-16

Some of you may have a little trouble finding these verses unless you have a King James Version. Other translations may omit anything past v. 8 of Mark 16, include verses 9-20 in a footnote, put it in brackets, or print it in smaller print. It is too large a subject to discuss here, but most scholars are in agreement that these latter verses (called the Longer Ending, or LE, of Mark) were not actually part of Mark's original writings. If you are interested in learning more on the subject, you can look at my post entitled “The Ending to Mark's Gospel.”

But despite the dubious nature of the LE, it does arise at a very early date, and some even think it was in a later edition prepared by Mark himself. Verse 15 is quite reminiscent of Matthew's Great Commission: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” But it is followed by some additional insights on the subject of the initiation into the faith not given in Matthew: “The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.”

Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8

A parallel to the Great Commission at the end of Luke's Gospel is indeed present in Luke 24:47, but it is given in a rather incomplete form when Jesus says that “repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47). But since Luke continues the accounts of the risen Christ's encounters with the Apostles in Acts 1, that is where we will find their marching orders from the Lord that have the closest equivalent to Matthew's account. Acts 1:8 reads, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.” There is a two-fold emphasis in these words: how the Apostles will have the ability to carry out their evangelistic effort (i.e. through the power of the Holy Spirit, not their own power) and the geographical scope of their activity of “going.” The latter is to start out near to home and then systematically branch out from there.

Unfortunately, I have known of evangelists who totally ignore the mission field in their very family in order to pursue a “more noble and praiseworthy” ministry as far from home as they can manage.

John 21:15-17

Of course, John seldom follows the material found in the Synoptic Gospels. Nevertheless, the risen Christ addresses a somewhat similar final commission to Peter alone, perhaps as a representative of all the Apostles. Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him, and three times Peter says, “Yes.” In reply each time, Jesus tells him to feed / tend His lambs / sheep. There is probably no significance in the slight variation in Jesus' wording each time. The two implications of this conversation are (1) Jesus is helping Peter “undo” his earlier three-fold denial of Jesus and (2) Peter's main role in making disciples will be to teach them Jesus' words after He is gone from earth.

R.E. Brown perceptively notes that in John 21:1-14 “the fish symbolism, while well suited to the theme of a Christian mission, could scarcely have been adapted to the theme of the care of the faithful, which is the central idea in the threefold command of 15-17...One can catch fish, but fishermen do not take care of fish the way shepherds take care of sheep.” Brown also notes that the lack of a 'Great Commission' in John's Gospel is “partially filled by the commission to Peter in 15-17.”

Thus, we see that Matthew gives the complete overview of disciple making; Mark or his anonymous follower stresses the process of initiation; Luke zeroes in on the aspect of going; and John's Gospel concentrates on the subsequent teaching of converts.

Application

The next question is a seemingly simple one: Is the Great Commission only addressed to the original Twelve, or does it apply to us as well? Actually, the answer may not be quite that simple. On the one hand, as Christ's disciples it would seem logical to use His teachings to the Twelve as a good template for ourselves. But when we turn to the book of Acts we will see that the only person besides the Apostles (including Paul) who is called an “evangelist” is Philip (Acts 21:8), who is directly appointed by the Jerusalem church. Turning to the epistles, only Timothy (II Timothy 4:5) is so designated, and he was appointed directly by Paul.

But where does that leave other believers? Becker points to Ephesians 4:11 where evangelists are listed along with apostles, prophets, pastors and teachers. He states, “But it is difficult to decide whether the reference is to an office, or simply to an activity.” And as for Paul's teachings to the church on the subject, “there can be no denying that Paul's emphasis in speaking of the ministry rests on how the ministry should serve the church and not on how it should serve the world, and that the stated purpose of the church's being equipped by the ministry is not that it may serve the world but that it may upbuild itself (Eph. 4:12,16).” (Fung) Thus, Paul tends to treat the “teaching” aspect of disciple-making as the main purview of the church body.

Actually, the closest thing to a NT teaching on the universal call for all Christians to reach others with the Gospel message is found in the teachings of Peter. “Always be prepared to make your defense to anyone who demands that you give a reason for the hope that is within you.” (I Peter 3:15) Note that this is more of a defensive activity than being on the offense. But, of course, for someone to even come to you with a question regarding your faith, they must clearly know first that you are a believer. And this is where the concept of lifestyle evangelism comes into play, and that is certainly an activity enjoined on all of us, not just a gifted few.