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.” Matthew 28:16-20
The events of the public ministry of Jesus were history. His
death, burial an resurrection were a thing of the past. Jesus had made some
appearances since being raised from the dead, the these verses were his
departing commands to his closest disciples. They contain those words which we
call the "Great Commission," which extend even to us and become the basis
for the church's ministry of evangelizing the world.
One special note for those who are familiar with this
section of scripture is we often start quoting with the command of Jesus,
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...." We fail to read and remember the verses that
lead up to the command. Notice, the
eleven went to Galilee, to the exact place where Jesus had told them to
go. Then they saw him. They worshiped
him, but some doubted.
Was there doubt in the ranks of the remaining eleven? The
very ones who had followed him through all the ups and downs, in good times and
bad, those who were witnesses to his resurrected state. How can it be, even
after all that, there were some that still doubted?
Before we find an answer to that, we must make a contemporary
glance at those of us who are disciples of Jesus. His authority in heaven and
earth has been established and it is by his authority that we are commanded to
make disciples of every nation. We preach and proclaim that every Christian is
commanded to actively participate in evangelizing the world.
Even when understanding that, we must admit that we have
fallen short of being obedient to the Great Commission's commands. We may hear it preached from the pulpit, and
drop a few bucks in the collection plate, and feel confident we are supporting
the spread of the gospel. I would never discourage your financial support to
missions and evangelism, but there is a trend among us just like that of the
eleven mentioned at the end of Matthew 28.
Even today, some see him, they worship him, but some doubt. They may
doubt the authority of Jesus, or they
may doubt their own ability to be making disciples of all nations, but
the doubt is there.
Look again at the closing words of Jesus' commands.
"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." My premise is this. When our doubts have been erased concerning
Jesus being with us now and to the very end, only then will we be instruments in
his hands, bringing others to him.
<ronbwriting@yahoo.com>
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