16Now
the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus
had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some
doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Authority
The
mission of the church is not something Jesus has left us to get on
with. If it was, then it would be a daunting task, and rightly so,
because we would fail. In our strength, we can not transform anyone’s
life. But this is Jesus’ mission that he is inviting us to be a part of.
All authority has been given to him in heaven and on earth. There is no
higher authority than that! And he tells us he will be with us always,
to the end of the age. That is forever! If Jesus wants something
to happen, it will happen. He doesn’t need us for his mission, but he
wants us, being part of this mission is what we were designed for.
Sitting around discussing the bible with fellow Christians without the
gospel getting beyond that is dysfunctional, and it probably means we
haven’t understood the bible that we are reading!
Disciples
The mission is making disciples. Discipleship
is a life-long process. Making disciples is not the same as making
converts. People will be “converted” as they hear and respond the gospel
(baptising them... v19) but that is only the beginning of a life-long
journey of growing in our understanding of who God is and what he has
done and becoming more like him (teaching them to obey... v20). This mission is not
limited to “professionals” or people who are really keen - but to all
disciples. We should all be disciple-making disciples, who are making
disciple-making disciples!
Everywhere
We
are to make disciples of all nations (v19). Acts 1:8 elaborates, “you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the end of the earth” This involves some going across the world, but it
also involves us going across the street. We are missionaries in our
families, workplaces and social networks. God has determined the places
and times that we live in order that some may come to know him (Acts 17)
and we should see our whole life as a mission field. This is not about
setting up events, it is about building relationships and sharing the
gospel. It is ordinary people living ordinary lives with gospel
intentionality.