The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20 New International Version (NIV)

The Great Commission

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.”

The Light of the World

A woman who had taken time to contemplate Holman Hunt’s magnificent picture, “The Light of the World,” told some friends what came to her mind.

As she studied Jesus standing at a wooden door, a door without a latch on the outside, she knew that the door represented her heart. She knew that the door could only be opened from the inside. She knew, also, that the picture of Jesus preparing to knock on the door was based on a text found in Revelation 3:20. In that text Jesus says, “Listen, I am standing at the door knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come to you and eat with you, and you with me.”

The woman said she then began to imagine opening the door, letting Christ in, having fellowship with him, and then Christ taking her arm and saying, “Let’s go out into the world to see who we might help.”

That, my friend, is what discipleship is all about.

Some folks want a closed off relationship with God. “Me and Jesus” is the name of the old Tom T. Hall song that exemplifies this type of belief. The chorus goes –

Me and Jesus got our own thing going Me and Jesus got it all worked out Me and Jesus got our own thing going And we don't need anybody to tell us what it's all about

While it is a catchy tune, the message it shares is not what discipleship is all about.

Discipleship is about relationship with the entire world through Christ. Too many folks profess faith and then decide to keep it all to themselves. Our faith may be personal, but it is not private. A ship may be safest in dry dock, but that is not what a ship is made for.

Our faith is about trust and risk and hope. It is about daring to love and seeking out opportunities to share the Good News.

The disciples encountered the risen Christ, and I imagine their inclination was to stay with Him. But Jesus was clear that they were to go. The disciples were safest up there on that mountain in Galilee, but that is not what disciples were made for.

Yes, we need to let the love of Jesus in our lives…but then we must go out with Christ and see who we can help through the power of love that we have found in opening thethe door to our life.

door to our life.