The Great Commission

April 30, 2017             3rd Sunday of Easter   Matthew 28:16-20

            Here we are, the end of Matthew’s gospel.  We’ve read all the way through.  These five short verses a jam packed with key words.  They pull together just about every major theme in the gospel, and they point us to what we should do now that we’re here.

            Verse 16 starts off with some very basic math.  The eleven disciples…  We know there used to be twelve.  We’re down by one.  In Chapter 27, the climax of the gospel that we read on Good Friday, we learn that Judas kills himself.  His remorse is too great.  He goes to the religious leaders to return the money but they reject him.  It’s impossible to get inside the mind of Judas, but imagine the desperate depression of seeing that a friend is going to be executed wrongly.  You had a hand in it.  You try to undo your mistake but it is too late.  You turn to your faith but the religious leaders reject you.  What Judas does is not defendable, but he was in a situation where it felt like the whole world was crashing in on him.

            Judas wasn’t the only disciple who failed.  In 26:35 all of the eleven other disciples promised they would never desert Jesus.  Peter was the most vehement of them.  Yet every last one of them fled at Jesus arrest.  But before that they all fall asleep while Jesus is praying and greatly agitated.  After they flee Peter does manage to pluck up enough courage to follow at a distance, but you know the story well.  He denies that he even knows Jesus three times over before the rooster crows.

            Put yourself in the situation of Matthew’s original readers.  Times are tough and many are persecuted for their Christian faith.  It’s not at all unusual for someone to renounce their faith in fear or pain.  It is good for them to know that even Jesus’ closest disciples also failed.

            Then look at what the eleven do in contrast to Judas.  Despite their failings they obey Jesus.  He tells them to meet them on a mountain in Galilee and so indeed they do.  Jesus doesn’t condemn them for their failures, but accepts them and we’ll see in a couple minutes that he even empowers them.

            But first, there is what I think is a translation mistake.  That mistake has a huge impact on how we understand Matthew’s entire gospel.  Our English reads, “When they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted.”  There’s no word “some” in the original Greek.  So it should read, “When they saw him they worshipped him but doubted.”  All of them worshipped, and all of them doubted.  The resurrected Lord is there right in front of them: real, solid, tangible; yet they doubt!

            The whole scene with the disciples is shaky.  They’re struggling to understand.  They’re struggling with their forgiveness.  And they’re struggling with their beliefs.  Matthews wants us to know that doubts go hand and hand with faith.  All too often I’ve heard pastors proclaim that if you believe thoroughly enough and have absolutely no doubts then your faith will be stronger.  Then you’ll be able to pray with certainty.  Then you’ll know God better.  But all of this ignores the truth Matthew presents.  While he wants faith to win the day he knows that doubts are going to be part and parcel with it.  Ultimately Matthew teaches that the opposite of faith is fear, not doubt.  And while a certain amount of fear is healthy, fear can lead to paralysis.  That is what Matthew wants to avoid.

            So, despite the disciples numerous shortcomings Jesus gives them what we call the “Great Commission:  “All authority…”  Remember back to the temptation of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry.  What does the Satan say to Jesus, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (4:9)  But look who really has authority now!  And again, consider Matthew’s original readers in their lives of persecution.  If all authority has been given to Jesus then they need not fear anything else claiming to have authority.

            Anyway, moving on: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.  Go therefore 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.”

            This shaky bunch of eleven disciples fresh from their failures is commissioned to spread the gospel throughout the world.  How could Jesus entrust something so important to a bunch of so woefully unqualified people?!?  If it were me I’d do a marketing study first – who am I trying to reach, how do they think, what will I have to do to connect with them?  Then I’d form a search committee of industry experts.  They’d scour the land, maybe employ ‘head hunters’, to identify and recruit potential candidates.  Then I’d interview them.  I’d see if I liked them and if they fit with my ideals.  Then I’d offer contracts and we’d negotiate.  They’d need to be relocated too. 

            But that’s not what Jesus does: fishermen, a tax collector, and a bunch of other ordinary tradesmen are the people he trusts.

            There’s no way to prove the authenticity of Christianity, but with this bunch there is no logical reason why Christianity should have survived if it weren’t for the serious support and ongoing nourishment of the Holy Spirit.  Judaism was started with a nation.  Islam was started by a charismatic leader and an army.  Buddhism was begun by a wealthy aristocrat.  Christianity?  One itinerant preacher and eleven first-century nobodies.

            At the end of the Great Commission Jesus promises the key thing, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  More closely translated it is, “Behold, I with you, I Am, to the end of the age.”  Of course “I Am” is the name of God.  So, I Am is with you until the completion is with you.

            This is good news for the first people who read Matthew’s gospel.  In their fearful state of persecution they know that Jesus is with them always.  They need not fear.  They also can be bold to spread the gospel in the uncertain world around them.

This is also good news for us.  The Great Commission has never really been easy to fulfill.  It has always been challenging.  And it is growing harder every day.  Though we aren’t persecuted for our faith, the world around us is certainly uncertain.

At the church council retreat a few weeks ago we talked a lot about the future and direction of this church.  We noted the difficulty of engaging the Millennial Generation in church activities.  This generation often identifies itself as spiritual but not religious.  Some find Christian faith to be an outright turnoff.  Many find Christian faith to be an interesting faith expression, but not something to commit to; certainly not the core commitment to build life around. 

At best we could say that evangelism in America today is trying to present Christian faith in the least offensive light.  There seems to be no interest in its strengths, and no willingness to make a significant long-term commitment.  For those who love the church and want to see it flourish in the future, the future looks bleak.

But let’s take a lesson from our Lord in Matthew’s gospel.  We’re no better equipped to evangelize in this world than the original disciples were.  But we do it anyway.  The Church is God’s; yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  God is with us always, until God brings all things to completion.  And so we should not fear the future.  We should not worry about the Church.  God will do what God wants to get done.  Our job is the same as the disciples – to always authentically let the love of God show in our lives.  Sometimes that’s easy.  Sometimes it’s hard.  Our job is to share.  God’s job is to do the rest.

            So, I’ll end with Matthew’s final words from Jesus, “Go therefore to all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you to the end of the age.