Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, June 11, 2017
Most commonly known as the Great Commission, Jesus gives the eleven disciples a vision of his universal authority, a charge to make disciples, and the gifts he gives to make it happen: the Word of God and Baptism. If you look on the back of your bulletins, you will find First Saint Paul’s Mission Statement. It has three headings: Proclaiming Christ, Nurturing Faith, and Serving Others. It is how we believe we are fulfilling the Great Commission as a particular community of faith. But it is good to revisit Jesus’ simple yet profound words.
“All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” This is the foundation of the Great Commission—the universal reign of Christ. He is Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He has conquered our sin, all evil, and death itself. We confess in the Creed “He is seated at the right hand of the Father”—that is our way of saying that Jesus rules all creation from the strength and unity of the Father and Holy Spirit. “He’s got the whole world in his hands!” I remember singing as a child. “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me…”
“…therefore…” My seminary professors use to say, “Wherefore the therefore?” Or “what is the ‘therefore’ there for?” The cornerstone is Christ. He has brought everything together and holds it together. And so, therefore, our mission flows from the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has acted. Now we act. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations.” Oddly, the word “go” is the word “going.” The main verb is “make disciples.” You could translate this as, “As you are going make disciples.” Or “As you go, make disciples.” Jesus assumes that his people will be on the move. They will leave the city of Jerusalem into the region of Judea. They will go into their neighboring country of Samaria. They will then go to the ends of the earth. And as they go, as apostles…but also as traveling business people, craftsmen, soldiers, and politicians. And as they go around the world, they will proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. And so to this day, Christ’s commission extends to us. To go means that we are to be flexible. It means we take the initiative. We make the first move. And like the early Church, we are willing servants as we travel, move, or come across people who are very different from us. Sometimes the going part is easy. We buy a plane ticket and we go. What takes courage and openness is talking to the person sitting next to you. It takes a prayerful attitude not to let an opportunity pass us by.
“As you go, make disciples,” Jesus says. The word disciple means “pupil” or “learner.” It does not say, “Go and make scholars” or “Go and make experts.” “As you go, make people curious, teachable, and eager to learn and grow. A disciple is excited to learn more about the Bible. A disciple is open to new ideas. A disciple loves to discover something—even if it has always been there in the Scriptures. A disciple is teachable. A disciple learns from others even from—or especially from a child. “Out of the mouth of babes, God ordains strength” (Ps 8).
The word for nations is where we get word “ethnic.” In other words, this is not making disciples of politically organized regions. This is making disciples of every ethnic group. Or as Scripture says, “every nation—from all tribes and peoples and languages.” That means that Jesus does not favor one skin tone over another, or one dialect or one culture, or one social class more than another. What Jesus gives us a vision of in this commission is a global movement.
And the two means of doing this will be through Baptism and teaching. Even the way God chooses to do this challenges our human understanding. How can Baptism change lives so powerfully? How can water do such great things? God chooses to use water and the Spirit along with his powerful name—the triune Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. He washes away sin, guilt, shame, division, and ethnic and personal pride. He molds us into the teachables—disciples who are eager to grow and learn. And so we as sisters and brothers get to share this journey of discovery, learning, and growing into the people of God that we wants us to be. “…teaching team to observe everything that I have commanded you,” Jesus says. It does not say, “teaching them to memorize and systematize all that I commanded you” but “to observe.” One person wisely said, “Christianity is not about making us smarter sinners but more godly and faithful followers of Jesus Christ” (Howard Hendrix).
Isn’t the Great Commission wonderful? And by wonderful I mean fill us with wonder. Even who he is should fill us with wonder—one God in three Persons who transforms this world. God’s ways are not our ways. It would also fill us with wonder that he would choose the likes of you and me and simple things like water, bread, wine, and the spoken Word. It is wonderful in the truest sense of the word. What a privilege! What an opportunity! How wonderful it is to be invited to take part of this global movement of God in our world!
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