Part 1 – “Go!”Matthew 28:18-20
Introduction
Everybody
needs a purpose. With no purpose, you
have no direction and no motivation. A
person's health often declines drastically in the months just after they
retire. Researchers believe this is
largely due to the retiree losing their since of purpose. A study by the Harvard School of Public
Health showed that recent retirees were 40% more likely to have a heart attack
or stroke than those who were still working.[i]
Perhaps this is because while people
are working, they have a stronger identity and more driving them. When people retire, they often feel adrift,
become depressed or inactive. It is not
that retirement is unhealthy, it’s just that retirees need to find a new
purpose to give them direction and motivation.
We all need
a purpose. The Good News is God gives us
a noble purpose that transcends our jobs, our age, our gender, and everything
else about us. Our purpose, our mission,
is called the Great Commission. Today we
begin a new sermon series on the Great Commission. It was
given directly by Jesus after he rose from the grave, just before he ascended
to Heaven to sit on his throne at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty. Let’s look at the Great
Commission as it was passed on to us in the Gospel of Matthew 28:18-20.
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in
heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all
the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even
to the end of the age.”
Context
The Great
Commission is not an option; it is a command given to Jesus' disciples. In the beginning, it was to the 12 original
disciples (minus Judas who betrayed Jesus and committed suicide). But the command was not just to the twelve,
it is to all who call themselves “disciples”—anyone who has decided to follow
Jesus. If you have decided to follow
Jesus, you are a disciple and this Great Commission is for you.
Jesus said,
“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore…”
In other words, we had better pay attention and heed his command because
it has the authority of the Son of God, the Lord of all Heaven and Earth,
behind it. The Great Commission is a
command that transcends all other missions we have in life. It is the Christian’s ultimate objective. When God gives an order, it transcends all
commands given by those of lesser authority.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said it this way: “You have one
business on earth—to save souls.”
That
doesn’t mean we drop all our other responsibilities in order to carry out this
one Great Commission. The Great
Commission can be carried out—actually it should be carried out—as we go about
all our other duties. The Great
Commission ought to permeate everything we do.
Let’s look a little closer at what the Great Commission says by breaking
it into parts. We will look at the first
part today. It is simple. Just one word. “Go!”
Lost in Translation
Some things are easily lost in
translation. The Chevy Nova was one of
the top selling cars for General Motors in the 1960s and 70s. I used to catch a ride to high school with my
best friend in his brother’s 1974 Chevy Nova SS. It was a fast, fun car to ride in. But legend has it, the Nova did not sell well
in Spanish speaking countries because “No Va” in Spanish means “No Go!” Who wants to buy a car that “won’t go”?
We have a
similar problem when we read the Great Commission in English. The first word we read is “go.” It could lead us to think the main point of
the Great Commission is to go, but that’s not it at all. The issue is the Gospel of Matthew was
originally written in Greek. The Greek
language does not phrase sentences the same way we do in English.
A literal
translation of the Great Commission from Greek to English would say something
like: “Make
disciples when you go…” In other words, the main
point is to make disciples. It is assumed that you will go.
And when you go, wherever you go, and in whatever you do, you should seek
to make disciples.
The Great
Commission should permeate every action of your life. You should make disciples when you go home to your family. You should make disciples when you go to work to make a living. You should make disciples when you go next door to your neighbor’s house. You should make disciples when you travel to a faraway land you’ve never been to
before. You should make disciples
when you become a parent and start
raising kids. You should make
disciples if you decide to
remain single or not have any kids. You
should make disciples next Sunday when you go to work on a project for Be the Church. You should make disciples whenever and
wherever you go and whatever you do. It
is the main point—the Great Commission. But I like the word go. It reminds us to be active. We’ve got to step on the gas and get
busy.
Listen to what James 2:14 says, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if
you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of
faith save anyone?”
Sometimes
we in the church get so caught up in being “spiritual” (studying our Bibles,
praying, etc) that we forget to go
and make disciples. We become so
spiritually-minded that we are of no earthly good.
In thinking
about James 2:14, listen to what our music minister, David Crawford, wrote this
week. He said:
“I believe there is a similarity
between faith and prayer in this instance.
Prayer is important, and is a power given to us that enables us to ask
for things we do not have the ability to achieve on our own with the resources
God has given us. But there are times
when action other than prayer is necessary to show God’s love, and do His will. Sometimes it is being God’s hands and feet
that may be the answer to the prayer of those unable to help themselves. Yes, you should pray, but don’t forget to
do. Faith without works….prayer without
deeds….we should all strive to Refuse to have one without the other.”
Closing
Are you
willing to obey the Great Commission from Jesus Christ? Are you willing to make disciples whenever
and wherever you go in whatever you do?
Will you refuse to “sit around and wait for someone else to do what God
has called [you] to do [yourself]”?[ii] I hope so.
Because what the world desperately needs is Christians who are willing
to go make disciples of all nations.
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