THE CHALLENGING COMMISSION

By

Shelby G. Floyd

June, 2010

 

 


 

 

       The greatest challenge ever committed to mortal man was couched in the words of the great commission. This commission was given by Jesus Christ to the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee. It is great be­cause of the great authority which empowers it and sus­tains it. Jesus said,   “. . . All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28: 18). One of the many pursuits of man has been power and authority, but no one man has ever been able to achieve all the power and authority that there is in the earth, but Jesus has all power and authority, not only in the earth, but also in heaven. Therefore, he is preeminently qualified to give a commission that relates both to heaven and to earth, to this life and to the life to come.

 

       The power, all of which Jesus claimed to have, both in heaven and earth, is the power of rule or government, and is generally translated authority. It is the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others, and obeyed. The power, or rule of government, which Jesus claims on this particular occasion is that which Isaiah predicted seven centuries before Christ claimed it. Speaking of Christ, Isaiah said that the government would be upon his shoulder, and, “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever” (Isaiah 9: 7).

 

       There are only two kinds of power or authority, primary or delegated authority. Jesus states that all power and authority which he had, had been given to him. Therefore, Jesus received his power from some­one else. God, the Father, delegated all power in heaven and earth to his son, Jesus Christ, when he sent him into the world to be the savior of mankind. Near the end of his life, in his great high priestly prayer, Jesus said to his Father, “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him” (John 17: 2). The Father then gave Christ power over all flesh. Jesus exercised this kingly power through his kingdom or church after he had ascended to the right hand of God; angels, authorities and powers being made sub­ject unto him (1 Peter 3: 22). The power then which Christ has transcends all earthly and heavenly powers, might, principalities and dominions (Cf. Daniel 7: 13-14; Ephesians 1: 19-21).

 

       In view of the great authority which Jesus had, he said to the apostles, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). The antecedent of the pronoun “them” refers to the eleven apostles. The charge was originally given to them in order that the word of God might be put on record. They were challenged to teach all nations. The word “teach” is a transitive verb which takes a direct object to complete the meaning. The object of their teaching was to be “all nations.” Therefore, the great commission is unlimited in its nature. It is to be a universal teaching program throughout the whole earth. It is not to be exclusive as to class or race as was the Old Testament system of religion. It is to be world wide in nature.

 

       The word “teach” means to make a disciple, to in­struct, to make scholars out of all nations. While it is not stated in this particular account of the commission what they were to teach, it is implied from what they were told to do. In Mark’s account of this same charge, Jesus said, “...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16: 15). Therefore, the subject matter was to be the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth (Romans 1: 16-17). This im­plies that no one can enter into the kingdom of God without first being instructed in the kingdom (Matthew 13: 52). That this is the case can be seen by Jesus’ own words: “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh un­to me” (John 6: 45).

 

       The reason the apostles were charged with teaching the gospel to all the nations is because men must be instructed and taught before entering the kingdom of God (Cf. Hebrew 8: 10-11). After the church was established this is exactly what the apostles did. We have an example in the fourteenth chapter of Acts of Paul and Barnabas preaching the gospel and making disciples out of many in the city of Derbe (Acts 14: 21). The action then which Jesus commands is teaching or making scholars and learners, and the object of that action is to be all nations.

 

       Jesus not only charged his apostles to teach all nations, but also to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The object of the baptizing was to be them. The pronoun “them” refers to nations, but in the context it is understood that they should baptize only those who had been taught or “discipled” out of all the nations. Therefore, first, they were to teach them, then baptize those who had been taught and were willing to submit to that com­mand.

 

       The term “baptizing” is a present active participle, which completes the idea of the leading verb in the sentence which is “teach.” A participle has the quali­ties of both a verb and an adjective, clearly implying that the baptizing was to be done to those who had been taught, and who had learned the gospel of Jesus Christ out of all the nations. The word baptizing comes from the root verb which means to dip, plunge or immerse. The element in which they were baptized is not stated in this passage but can be inferred from reading the scriptures concerning this subject elsewhere. They were to be baptized in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2: 38).  

 

       To some early disciples, Jesus said, “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men” (Mark 1: 17). These men to whom this statement was made were fishermen. They made their living by catching fish out of the Sea of Galilee. Therefore, they were well qualified to understand the figurative statement of Christ that they were to become fishers of men. They understood that this meant they were to be evangelists concerning the kingdom of God. They were to be the fishermen, the sea would include the whole world, the fish would represent all humanity and the net would be the gospel.

 

       Today, if we would serve Christ, we also must be fishers of men. If we would follow Christ, we must be like Christ; but in order to be like Christ, we must endeavor to seek and to save the lost. Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19: 10). We must be fishers of men because the everlasting souls of men are worth more than all the world.

 

       We will never be very effective in seeking and saving the lost until we lose our life in service to God and his kingdom. Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and. lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16: 25-26)? Paradoxically, when we lose our life in service to God, we save our life. Conversely, when we save our physical life, we lose our spiritual life. Therefore, if a man were to save his physical earthly life, gain the whole world and lose his own soul, he would not be profited anything.

 

       The soul of man, made in the image of God, is worth more than all the world. Therefore in order to save our own souls, and the souls of others, we must be evangelists of Jesus Christ and fishers of men. The only way that a soul can be saved from death is by converting that soul from error to truth, from dark­ness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God. James said, “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5: 19-20). God’s people then are to be the agents in converting souls from death and the means to be used to accomplish this end is the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

       Unless we convert sinners, therefore, from the error of their way, they shall be separated from God forever because of their sins and. iniquities (Isaiah 59: 1-2). Realizing the value of a soul, made in the image of God, and realizing that apart from conversion to Christ that soul will be banished from God’s pre­sence forever, we should be motivated to bring them to Christ, for apart from Christ there is no life.

 

       When Jesus lived on the earth, he had compassion on the multitudes of people because he saw them scat­tered abroad as sheep without a Shepherd. They were scattered because there were not enough workers to bring then to God. Jesus addressed his disciples and said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that be will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matt. 9: 37-38). Today the fields are white unto harvest, but there are few who will labor in that harvest to bring souls to God. If we are truly wise and. intelligent we will involve ourselves in winning souls for Christ. We have been won to win others. We have been saved in order to bring others to salvation, Solomon said, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11: 30).

 

Is there anything else that is better worth, as along life’s way we plod,

Than to find, some wandering soul of earth, and bring him home to God?

 

I would rather find, a soul that is lost, and bring him home again,

Than to own what all earth’s acres cost, or all the wealth of men.

 

Wouldn’t I be glad when the day is done, in breathing my latest breath,

To know some word of mine had won, and saved a soul from death?

                                                                                  --Author Unknown

 

       It is a fact clearly taught in the New Testament that the early church was a soul winning church. The apostles and the members of the church involved them­selves in evangelism. In the early chapters of the book of Acts we read of Peter and. John being cast into prison because they preached Christ and his kingdom to the population of Jerusalem. They were threatened and charged not to teach or preach in his name any longer. However, they would not be intimidated, “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5: 41-42).

 

       Therefore we see that New Testament evangelism involves teaching in houses, and preaching publicly the gospel of Jesus Christ. If the church today is to grow as it once did there must be private as well as public evangelism. This requires the efforts of every member of the body of Christ.

 

       The whole life of Christ centered on his supreme mission to seek and to save the lost. Jesus himself said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19: 10). Jesus also desired that his disciples would have the same interest in the lost which he did. Therefore, his invitation to some of his first disciples was, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). So, today, we also must be concerned about the lost, and bring them to Christ the savior of the world.

 

       One of the first evangelists of Christ was his predecessor, John the Baptist. John the Baptist pointed his hearers to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. In the book of John we have this record, “Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus” (John 1: 35-37). On a previous day, John the Baptist had seen Jesus coming unto him and had said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1: 29).

 

       We should be like John the Baptist in that we mast preach Christ and not ourselves. From the statement of John the Baptist, we learn that Christ is the Lamb of God and the great sin offering of which all animal sacrifices under the Old Testament era were only types. It is through the precious blood of Christ that we are redeemed from our sins. Like Paul, we must be deter­mined not to know anything except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2: 2). When John the Baptist preach­ed, his hearers followed Christ and not him. We do not need leading brethren nearly as much as we need follow­ing brethren. It is to the credit of John’s preaching that his hearers followed Christ. This is an index to the value of any man’s preaching if it causes people to follow Christ.

 

       We also notice that the two disciples who heard John speak followed Jesus literally, and then religiously.    They followed Jesus to his abiding place, and after spending a night with him, they followed him religiously. We must encourage people to follow Jesus by following in his steps. The apostle Peter states that Christ left us an example that we should follow in his steps (1 Peter 2: 21).

 

       We also notice that Jesus Christ used unusual wisdom in winning these two disciples of John to follow him religiously. “Then Jesus turned and saw them follow­ing, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour” (John 1; 38-39). The wisdom of Christ is demonstrated in this conversation in that be asked questions to start a conversation and to draw them out. He asked the question, “What seek ye,” or in other words, “what are you looking for, what is your desire, can I help you in any way?” Jesus also used gentleness and hospitality to win these disciples for life. These disciples asked Jesus where he was living or abiding. He then invited them to his home or abiding place by saying, “Come and see.” Suppose Christ had said, “It’s none of your business where I live, why don’t you mind your own business.” Many people would have replied in that manner, and those who do will never win anybody to Christ. Jesus used hospitality and gentleness to win these people to a favorable hearing of his word.

 

       As a result of spending a day with Christ, the next day the two disciples went out from Christ’s presence looking for their relatives saying joyfully, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1: 41). One of the disciples, Andrew, first found his own brother Simon, and brought him to Christ. Then John the apostle brought his brother, James, to Christ. We must be evangelistic like Andrew and John the apostle. “One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone” (John. 1: 40-42).

 

       As a result of the work of Andrew and John the apostle, the number of disciples doubled in just a short time. Andrew found his brother first; this means John also found his brother. Think of how the church would grow today if each disciple would find one more. The number could be doubled in only a short time. When Andrew found his brother, he said, “We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ” (John 1:41). Andrew was enthusiastic about his message which is expressed by the words, “We have found the Messiah.” The phrase “we have found” translates the Greek tern eurisko which means to find or to discover something. “Andrew’s exclamation of delight on finding the Messiah is the same attributed to Archimedes when he made his discovery of the amount of adulteration in Hiero’s crown. The cry of each was Eureka, ‘I have found.’ The grandest discovery ever made, greater than that of a continent, was the finding of Christ, the hope of the world” (B. W. Johnson, A Commentary on John, p. 40).

 

       Think how successful every member of the church could be today in winning people to Christ if we were as enthusiastic as Andrew when he found the Christ. When we find the Christ and the salvation that is of­fered through him, we should be just as enthusiastic about it as a man who would find a treasure hid in a field. Jesus said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seek­ing goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Matthew 13: 44-46).

 

       We notice in the work of Andrew and. John that they began their work at home with their families and then extended outward to all mankind. Someone has said, “We love the heathen at a distance, but we are indif­ferent to the lost at home.” If a man has never obeyed the gospel, he is lost whether he is an educated and civilized man in America or an ignorant person in the far away corners of the earth. So unless we are en­thusiastic about taking the gospel to the lost at home, it is doubtful if we will have much interest in the lost that are across the ocean and on the islands of the sea. *

 

*Shelby G. Floyd delivered this sermon January 5, 1975 at the Garfield Heights Church of Christ, 2842 Shelby Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. Copyright © 2010 Shelby Floyd, All Rights Reserved