Therefore go (part 1)

‘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 28.18 – 20

From Sam Lomas:

Are you somebody who enjoys a challenge? 

If you are anything like me, when it comes to challenges, it really depends on what kind of challenge it is as to whether I will either be excited to take it on, or not interested and probably feel very lethargic!  For example, if someone suggests an endurance challenge, I won’t take much convincing.  In fact, I’ll start planning right away.  But if someone presents me with a maths challenge – no thanks. (Shout out to all you maths enthusiasts).

I wonder whether the challenge found in the verses above, known more commonly as the Great Commission, is one that gets you excited or makes you feel a little bit overwhelmed?

Well, feeling excited or overwhelmed is completely understandable, as this mission that Jesus has called all of us to take part in, is a pretty big one.  It is the call to make more followers of Jesus.  To share our faith with those who do not yet know Jesus.  To name Jesus boldly in our conversations.

And so in today’s and tomorrow’s blog, I want us to take a closer look at these verses from Matthew’s Gospel.  And to do that, I have split them up into three parts to try to help us understand what it is we are being called to as followers of Jesus.  The three parts are:

• The Sending
• The Instruction
• The Promise

The Sending: (v18)

God gave Jesus authority over heaven and earth.  It is on the basis of this authority that Jesus told his disciples to make more disciples, as they go out into the world to spread His message of salvation from sin, through faith. 

When you are set a task or given a role, the execution of that task or role is dependent on how you perceive the one who has set it.  In this instance, Jesus told his disciples to go and make more disciples.  They were to go in the knowledge that their sending had the full weight and authority of heaven and earth.

With this same authority, Jesus still commands us to tell others the Good News and make them disciples for the Kingdom of God.

That’s all for today, tomorrow we will think about the instruction & the promise of Jesus found in these verses.