The minister went to visit a friend who refused to leave his house. The minister wanted to help so he suggested that the man should leave the house so he could fulfill the Great Commission by sharing his faith with his neighbors. But the man insisted he wouldn’t leave the house. When asked why, the man replied, "Because there’s a lion in this neighborhood." That startled the minister, but he was determined to help his friend so he looked up and down the street, and sure enough on a house he found a Detroit Lions football pennant with a picture of a lion. He brought the pennant to his friend’s house and said, "See it’s only a football pennant. So now you can come out." "No," said the friend. "There are giant spiders in the neighborhood." So the minister went up and down the street again, and sure enough, one of the children had left a large Halloween spider hanging from a tree. He cut it down and brought it back to his friend. "See, it’s only a plastic spider. So now you can come out." "No," said the man. "I can’t go out because of my neighbors." "What’s wrong with the neighbors," asked the minister. His friend told him, "There is no accord in this neighborhood." So the minister looked up and down the street again, and sure enough, his friend was right. There was a Civic, and a Prelude, but no Accord.

We all make excuses why we can’t get out to share our faith with our neighbors, don’t we? Before Jesus left his disciples and ascended to heaven, he spent 40 days instructing them. During this time he gave teachings about how his followers were to go out and minister to the world. These teachings we have come to call the Great Commission. But actually the Great Commission was apparently a series of teachings since each writer has given us a brief portion of the longer teaching. These parts of Christ’s teachings on the Great Commission are located in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the book of Acts. I would like to examine parts from all four places where this teaching is given and see what we can learn about reaching others for Christ. We will look at these passages in the order they are presented in the Bible.

The first passage I want to examine is Matthew’s. In these verses Jesus gives us practical advice as to what we are to do to make and keep disciples.

Jesus points out that all authority has been given him. When we witness to others, we are presenting the one who has all authority. We are not simply telling others about a good man, or a great teacher. We are telling them about the one who has all authority in heaven and in earth.

Jesus gives us four things we are to do – go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.

Go. Nothing will ever be accomplished for Christ until we decide to go. We must get off of our chairs, get out of our house, go beyond the walls of the church to reach others with the gospel message. If we want to fulfill the Great Commission, the first step is to go. Kermit Longwrote about the church, "We’re no longer fishers of men, but keepers of the aquarium, and we spend most of our time swiping fish from each other’s bowl." Let us not be just keepers of the aquarium. Let us be willing to go.

Make disciples. This means more than just telling people about Jesus. It involves spending time with them and helping them in their spiritual journey. The work of the Great Commission begins with telling about Christ, but then it continues with discipling those who are ready to hear the message. We must be willing to come alongside others and help them.

Baptize. Baptism is a result of a commitment to Christ. Being nice to people and helping them is important. But at some point we must be willing to ask them if they want to make a commitment to Christ. Baptism is the public confession of the commitment they have already made in their heart. But if we never ask people to make a commitment, people will not be able to experience spiritual growth which can only come from a transformed heart.

Teach. Once a person has made a commitment to Christ and been obedient in baptism, they must be instructed in the ways of God. Without proper teaching, followers of Christ will be stunted in their spiritual walk. New believers will be taught as they read the Bible, they will be taught by the Holy Spirit, and they will be taught as they spend time in prayer with God. But God also wants us who are established Christians to invest time and effort in sharing what we have learned. Teaching is an important part of making disciples.

In 1825 Adam Clarkewrote, "Men are ignorant of divine things, and must be taught. Only those can be considered as proper teachers of the ignorant who are thoroughly instructed in whatsoever Christ has commanded. Persons who are entrusted with the public ministry of the word should take care that they teach not human creeds and confessions of faith, in place of the Sacred Writings; but those things, and those only, which Jesus has commanded."

Jesus ends verse 20 with the words, "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." You may not feel you have the ability to make disciples or to teach them. But remember, Jesus is with you. He has promised that he will be with you even to the end of the age. So when you go to share the gospel message with others, you are not doing it alone. Christ is right there beside you, helping you, directing your thoughts and giving you words to speak.

Next we go to Mark’s treatment of the Great Commission. In this section we have three things we are to do – go, preach, and to everyone.

Go. Once again the gospel writer emphasizes Jesus’ command for us to go. We must be willing to step out in faith. We must be willing to speak to others, and we must be willing to go to areas and people that may even make us feel uncomfortable. The one wonderful thing about living in California is that we don’t have to go to a foreign country to find a mission field. God has brought the mission field to us!

Dunkinpoints out, "It was a Jew who brought the Gospel to Rome; a Roman who took it to France; a Frenchman who took it to Scandinavia; a Scotsman who evangelized Ireland; and an Irishman in turn made the missionary conquest of Scotland. No people have ever received the Gospel except at the hands of an alien."

Preach. People will not come to Christ unless we are willing to tell them about him. We do this in many ways – through our words, through our actions, and through our life.

Francis d’Assisionce invited a young monk to join him on a trip to town to preach. Honored to be given the invitation, the monk readily accepted. All day long he and Francis walked through the streets, byways, and alleys, and even into the suburbs. They rubbed shoulders with hundreds of people. At day's end, the two headed back home. Not even once had Francis addressed a crowd, nor had he talked to anyone about the gospel. Greatly disappointed, his young companion said, "I thought we were going into town to preach." Francis responded, "My son, we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We were seen by many and our behavior was closely watched. It is of no use to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk!"

Francis understood that before he could preach to the people he must care for the people. Let us also care for the people, but let us not forget that we must also tell others about Christ.

To everyone. Jesus said that his followers must be willing to minister to all. There are no favorites in God’s kingdom. There are no races or nationalities. There are no ethnic groups, age groups, or gender groups that are more important to God. God loves them all equally, and wants all to be saved. But we must be willing to carry the message for them to have an opportunity to accept Christ.

Luke’s section tells us what things need to be preached in Jesus name. This is a brief synopsis of the gospel message – Christ’s suffering, resurrection, repentance, remission of sins, preached to all. Since these words are part of Christ’s final instruction to his apostles, I think we need to realize the importance of each of these areas.

Christ’s suffering. We don’t like to talk about Christ’s suffering too often. As a visiting minister told us here in this church a few years ago, we like to celebrate the birth of Christ and we have great attendance on Christmas. We like to celebrate the resurrection and we have great attendance on Easter Sunday. But we don’t like to talk about the cross. We always have poor turn-out for Good Friday services. But it was because of Christ’s suffering that we are saved. It was necessary for the passover lamb to be sacrificed for our redemption.

Resurrection. Without the resurrection Christ’s death is nothing more than a good man who was martyred. With the resurrection we understand that Christ has triumphed over sin, death, and Hell. Since Christ has been raised, we will also be raised into a new life. Paul wrote in

1 Corinthians 15:14-19, "And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up-- if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." Preaching about the resurrection is an essential part of the Christian faith.

Repentance. God wishes all to be saved, but only those who repent and turn to Christ will be saved. Repentance is another essential part of the gospel message. Yes, God loves everyone. Yes, Christ died for everyone. But each of us must choose to accept Christ in our heart. Repentance means that we are sorry for our sins, and we forsake them. Repentance means a change of attitude and a change of heart. We will never be perfect, but repentance means we will strive to obey God’s commands and resist temptation.

Matthew Henrywrote, "None are exempted from the obligations the gospel lays upon men to repent, nor are any excluded from those inestimable benefits which are included in the remission of sins, but those that by their unbelief and impenitency put a bar in their own door."

Remission of sins. Our sins must be forgiven in order for us to be saved. As Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." We deserve eternal separation from God. But Christ paid the price for our sins, and we are no longer under the penalty of sin. Without Christ’s atoning work on the cross there would be no remission of sins.

Preached to all. Once again the gospel writer emphasize that Christ taught for us to reach all people from all nations and all backgrounds. God is no respector of persons. He loves all people and desires that all be saved. But they must hear the message. Let us be willing to fulfill the Great Commission to all our neighbors no matter what their race or nationality.

In verse 48 Jesus reminds his disciples that they are witnesses of all these things. Did you know that you are Christ’s witness today? You have experienced the mercy of God, the love of Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. You are the one who is Christ’s representative. You are the one committed to be a witness for Christ. Will you fulfill that role?

Luke continues with his gospel narrative in the first part of the book of Acts. He gives us the setting for the Great Commission, and in this one verse, Luke records Jesus’ challenge to his disciples to be his witnesses. There is much that can be learned from these few words. His teachings are power, witness, Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Power. We must receive the power of the Holy Spirit before we can be effective witnesses. If we try to go in our own strength and speak our own opinions, we will encounter frustration. We cannot do something so important by ourselves. We need God’s help. That’s why Jesus said the disciples would receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Allow God’s Spirit to minister to you and make you an effective witness. We receive this power by spending time in prayer, worship, and communion with God. We must be willing to have God speak to us, instruct us, and guide us.

Witness. We are Christ’s witnesses. We must be willing to share our faith with others. There is a story of a famous life insurance company in New York. In their large professional office building, there were all kinds of shops. For years these different businesses worked side by side in the same building owned by the insurance company. One year the insurance company invited all its agents throughout the country to its office building for a conference. While there, one agent from California sold three insurance policies – one to the barber, one to a restaurant waiter, and one to an elevator operator. All these people had worked in the insurance company’s building for years, but no one had ever thought to ask them if they needed life insurance!

All Christians are life insurance agents – we are offering policies of eternal life. How many people have we passed by for years and never asked them if they needed what we have to offer – life with Christ!

Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the town in which the disciples were living. By today’s standards, it was not a large town. It was more like a small village. I believe our Jerusalem is our family and friends – those close to us that know us. We must start our witness at home. It’s one thing to want to win the world for Christ. But let us not be so eager to win the world that we neglect our family. Those that know us best will be most receptive to what we have to say. Sharing the gospel message with family and friends always requires love, patience, and kindness. We must be careful never to be argumentative, condemning, or hostile.

All Judea. Judea really was a small province. I think of our Judea as our city – all of Merced. Let us reach our neighbors and our community for Christ. Let us not be hesitant to find opportunities to witness. Many times a kind word to the grocery clerk or the letter carrier may lead to later opportunities for witnessing. When people share about their troubles, an offer to pray for them will often open doors. And certainly faith must be backed up by action. Words are good, but sometimes people need to know that someone cares and other times they need tangible help. Let us be willing to do all these things.

Samaria. Samaria was right next to Judea populated by Jewish descendants who had mixed their faith with pagan beliefs. I think of our Samaria as that area surrounding our city – such as Atwater, Planada, Snelling, and El Nido. There may be some in these cities that we can reach and help.

Even to the end of the earth. Our witness should not stay local. The early church slowly ministered further and further from Jerusalem until the whole of the Roman Empire had been penetrated with the gospel. We may not be able to minister in other states or other countries, but we are able to support those that can. Let us be willing to have an eye toward missions, and do what we can to send the message of Christ around the world.

In these four portions of the Great Commission we see a recurring theme. We must go, we must witness, and we must reach others. This was Christ’s commission for the early church 2000 years ago, and it is still Christ’s commission for the church today. There are many people searching for answers. They are hurting emotionally, spiritually, or mentally. Their life may be one of confusion or turmoil. There are many who are ready to hear our witness. Are we ready to go?

This study on The Great Commission © 1999 by David Humpal., all rights reserved.
All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the New King James Version © 1984, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Long: Christian Victory, quoted in Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations pg. 1326 © 1979, Bible Communications Inc.

Adam Clarke’s Commentary, electronic version © 1996, Biblesoft

Dunkin: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations pg. 806 © 1979, Bible Communications Inc.

Assisi from the Life of Frances d’Assisi quoted in Daily Bread, December 15, 1991