"Great Commission" Truths

Hmmm. As I write this the windows in my home are being replaced, so what I write may be a bit dingy.

Anyway, it occurred to me that my last entry was sort of out of character for me. I prefer to make constructive statements more than "demolish" myths. That way you as a reader can sort out what kind of response you wish to make :-) So this time I am simply going to make a few statements about the "Great Commission" that aren't always obvious. Please forgive any repetition from last time--I am kind of in a hurry, and I want to be sure that each of these points gets made.

First, the (five-part) Great Commission is preceded by the "Great Commandment" (Matthew 22:37-39) and, even more importantly, the New Commandment (John 13:34-35). Why is this important? Because the commandment to love, especially one another as Jesus loves us, was the context in which the admonition to share the Good News of the Kingdom was given. Note, too, that as Wayne Jacobsen and others point out, that New Commandment is the most significant because it is a reflection of the New Covenant. Only after the demonstration of God's love for us through Jesus' life and death and the outpouring of the Spirit (Romans 5:5) can we truly, at last, love others. Bottom line here: the message we bring is a message of love, not a message about avoiding being fried in hell.

Second, the heart of the commission is to make disciples, and this was given to those who had been discipled by Jesus for three years. We are not merely to announce a message, we are to make disciples. And the original disciples would have understood this in the context of how Jesus had discipled them. The implications of this are huge. Western Christians tend to think of discipleship as something that happens through the accumulation of information, "discipleship" classes, etc. Peter, John and the others would have thought of it in terms of having lived life with Jesus in the closest of relationships. For them discipleship had at its core living life together as followers of Jesus and would consist more of obedience, moving in supernatural power, etc. (I have talked about discipling the way Jesus did in earlier entries).

Third, the message that is to be announced (not "preached" as so many translations put it--"preach" has negative and erroneous connotations), is one of invitation, not confrontation. Much evangelism historically has been of the "turn or burn" or "get out of hell free" variety. But the Gospel of the Kingdom that we are to share is a message of invitation back into intimate relationship with the One who loves us most. It is an invitation from a loving Father to return to Him no matter what we have done (see Luke 15), not a threat to fry us in hell if we don't come back. The difference in tone between these two approaches is very important to catch and says everything about one's view of God and about what will ultimately motivate those who respond to the message (think about it). I could say more but I will save some things for a later entry.

Finally, at least for this time, the commission was under no circumstances to be undertaken in human effort. Jesus specifically tells the Eleven that they are to wait until they are "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:48-49). Hmmm, I wonder how different things would be if folks would heed this one!! This one sort of speaks for itself, I think. But let me get a little ornery here and say that I don't believe a message without power is anywhere near the message that Jesus had in mind. The vapid, powerless message that the Western Church has too often put before folks for the last several decades is not in any way a fulfilling of the commission that Jesus gave to His followers.

Okay, enough for now. I haven't even touched on the nature of the message (to turn from self; embrace Jesus as total master of one's life; of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, etc.). That will have to wait for another time, I guess.

Hope you find a few things to ponder here.

Remember to live lost in His love and saturated in His power.

Tom, Abba's least child