I like this little cartoon about the Great Commission which
ends our gospel reading for today, and is the end of Matthew’s gospel. These are Jesus’ last words to his
disciples.
I suspect we don’t like this commission. The idea of going out and making disciples
brings up the image of Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses going door to door and
annoying you. I mean, how many times
have you actually been excited to see them come? I believe we’ve all had the impulse to hide,
or not answer the door, or pretend we have to leave for something
important. I’m sure those who do door to
door evangelism get a lot of frustrated and angry responses. Even if you do try to be polite and listen
you probably just want them to go away and have it over.
Is that what Jesus really meant? Is that what he wanted his disciples to do
when he gave this Great Commission?
Let’s take a closer look and see.
Some places in Matthew’s gospel are jam packed with details and
subtleties. These five short verses are
that category.
The setting is after
the resurrection. Matthew gives no clue
as to how long after the resurrection this occurs. We are just told that the women who went to
the empty tomb were to tell the disciples to go to the mountain in Galilee
where Jesus had directed them. In Verse
16, the first verse of our reading, we learn that they have done that. And in Verse 17 we are told that they saw him
and worshipped him.
And let’s remember that just about every word here has been
carefully chosen by Matthew. The next part
of Verse 17 is very interesting. Our
English translations read, “When they saw him, the worshipped him; but some
doubted.”
Now that’s an odd thing.
The disciples saw the resurrected Jesus on the mountain where he had
directed them to go, but some doubted.
How could that be? What more
proof could they want?
But that is actually a mistranslation. There is no word “some” in Matthew’s Greek
sentence. It literally reads, “When they
saw him, they worshiped him; but doubted.”
Now that’s even more intriguing. More literally we realize that all eleven
remaining disciples are having doubts; doubts despite having solid evidence
right in front of them! What is going on
here!?!
Two major themes of Matthew’s appear to be at play here. First, for Matthew, doubt and worship can
work together. All of the gospels record
the resurrected Jesus as being real, yet not limited or totally tangible. They don’t give us a scientifically detailed
description of his resurrected reality.
All they talk about is an empty tomb and Jesus appearing to his
followers.
I think our human minds want God overall to feel more
tangible, more concrete, more like something we can wrap our minds around with
confidence. But we do not get it. Our gospel writer Matthew seems to know
that. That brings us to our second theme
of Matthew’s here.
For Matthew doubt is not the opposite of faith. For Matthew fear is the opposite of
faith. We get to see that developed a
little in the three verses that follow.
Again, this is jam packed with details.
Jesus next line is, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me.” Does that ring a bell
for you? Does that remind you of
anything?
Think back to the beginning of the gospel. Just before Jesus begins his public ministry
he goes out into the wilderness and fasts for 40 days. At the end of it he is tested by the
devil. What does the devil say at the
final test? It’s Chapter 4 Verses 8
& 9. The devil shows Jesus all
the kingdoms of the world and their splendor and then says to him, “All these I
will give you if you fall down and worship me.”
Were the actually the devil’s to give away in the first
place? No. At best we could say the devil stole them all
and was offering them to Jesus if Jesus would play the game of life the way the
devil wanted him to. But Jesus refuses.
Here at the end of the gospel Jesus says, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
In other words the authority has now legitimately been given to
him. It is his. It is not the devil’s. It is not someone else’s. And it is more than just earthly authority,
it is heavenly authority.
Remember, from the beginning Matthew’s gospel has been a
story about a conflict of kingdoms. The
kingdom of heaven (or kingdom of God) and the kingdom of this world; which
includes political power, satanic power, and the human mind. For Matthew’s gospel it’s all one and the
same.
Now after the crucifixion we see that all authority has been
restored to its rightful owner – Jesus.
That is what we need to keep in mind as we get into the Great
Commission. The Great Commission is not
at all like the little cartoon we started with.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” There we have the word all again – all
nations are God’s possession.
And what does the word “disciples” really mean?
When we hear the word disciples we probably tend to think of
Jesus’ twelve closest followers. Or
maybe we think of someone who follows a leader and is loyal to that
leader. But that Greek word that we
translate as disciple is more literally the word “learner.”
Hear it in the full context of the Great Commission, “Go
therefore and make learners of all nations baptizing them into
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
What are they to teach?
Facts? Religious doctrines? A supernatural belief? No.
They are to teach everything that Jesus commanded them. What have been the commands since the
beginning? Is faith a belief system for
Jesus?
We’re still in the conflict of kingdoms. Jesus’ commands are about bringing about the
kingdom of God into this world, where it rightfully belongs. For Matthew that is faith. That is belief. That is a Christian’s way of life.
When people make faith into belief in Biblical teachings or
church doctrines they are missing the point.
Faith is not holding fast to beliefs and believing in them with all your
might despite a lack of solid evidence.
Faith is a life of trust. And
just like the disciples with Jesus on the mountain that day, faith, doubt, and
worship all go together.
So, is Jesus telling his followers to go door to door with
Bible in hand and annoy their neighbors?
No. Jesus is changing his
disciples, or should I say learners, into teachers who are now
equipped to spread God’s kingdom into the world. This is not about winning souls for
Jesus. This is about making God’s will
into living reality on earth – earth which is still trapped in the conflict of
kingdoms.
I think we can be far more enthusiastic about that sort of
Great Commission. That is something we
can strive for and easily believe in.
There is one final thing.
Has Jesus left them abandoned? Is
he going away and saying to keep the shop until he gets back? No. He
says he’s still going to be around. He
says it in an interesting and profound way.
The Great Commission includes the words, “… baptizing them
into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Again, back to the gospel’s beginning. What does Matthew’s gospel begin with? A genealogy, a list of names. Now the disciples are to act in God’s name.
We aren’t done with God’s name yet either. Even in our English translations which so
struggle to get the Greek nuances, it hasn’t been lost. Jesus says, “And behold, I AM with you
always, to the end of the age.”
What is God’s name? I
AM. In Greek it is more emphatic. A closer attempt into English leads to bad
grammar, but it’s something like this, “Behold, I with you, I AM, to the end of
the age.”
Jesus’ presence as God’s divine presence is emphatic. It really says, “I AM is with you till the
completion is with you.”
God is with us until all is complete.
Doubts are a part of faith.
They go hand in hand. Fear is the
opposite of faith and it will keep you in the kingdom of this world. But faith is freeing. Faith is empowering you to accomplish this
great commission; to bring about God’s kingdom.
God is with us until all is done, and God will not leave in any way
shape or form beforehand.
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