Beyond Evangelism: The Deeper Meaning of the Great Commission
The Great Commission is a proclamation to take the Gospel to the nations, but what else does Jesus explore in His final sermon? How does the central command of the Great Commission impact how we approach relationships and evangelism?
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The Great Commission
16 Now, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And 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[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Setting Up the Great Commission
This passage is known as the Great Commission, and it was shared in the post-resurrection period when Christ appeared to His disciples to give them a final commission. It can be summarized: Jesus instructs that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations in His name.
But before we go into what Jesus said in the Great Commission, let’s examine what led to this point. Matthew’s Gospel is very interested in showing us God’s heart for the Gentile people from the beginning. An important part of the early church was that it would break as the cradle of Judaism and burst out to the ends of the earth. Jesus regularly made this point, and we see it demonstrated in Matthew’s Gospel:
Matthew explained Jesus’ genealogy, which included four Gentile women (Matthew 1).
The only Gospel to tell about the three wise men from the East bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1–12)
It was the only Gospel to tell us about King Herod wanting to kill all the male babies and how Jesus’ family had to flee to Egypt. (In the Old Testament, Egypt was a nation that oppressed Israel and even put them in bondage, but God’s design flips the imagery and makes Egypt the nation that protects the Messiah from harm. (Matthew 2:16-18))
Matthew’s Gospel is the only one to reveal that Jesus’ ministry began in Galilee of the Gentiles. (Matthew 2:13-23)
He also features many parables that show His love for the Gentile people. This also includes several miracles where Jesus heals Gentiles.
So, when we get to the Great Commission, a lot has happened in Matthew’s Gospel to bring us to this point, including Christ’s death, resurrection, and reveal to the disciples.
“But Some Doubted”
We don’t know how much time has passed since Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples. Jesus told the disciples to meet Him at the mountain in Galilee, which was quite a distance from Jerusalem. Therefore, we can assume several weeks have passed since the first Easter.
In addition to the eleven disciples gathering at the mountain in Galilee that Jesus called them to, according to 1 Corinthians 15:6, there was a much larger crowd there as well.
“And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.” Matthew 28:17
This verse can take some people by surprise. I’ve been asked, “Why would you record that some people doubted?” Conversely, it makes sense why you’d record that people worshiped, but what about the doubt? Personally, I love that the Bible is so transparent about what happened.
One of the problems with translations is that we don’t always have a one-to-one translation for certain words. For instance, in the New Testament, there were two different words for doubt, whereas modern English only has one.
In the original Greek, the word that we most commonly associate with the meaning of doubt was διακρίνω, which is pronounced diakrono and means to separate, make a distinction, discriminate, or prefer.
However, the word used for doubt in this verse is δισταζω, which is pronounced distazo, and means unbelief or bewilderment. “What’s going on here? I don’t understand what’s happening, and I’m not ready to jump in.” They’re saying they want more information to understand better. Tell me more.
But we see Jesus’ response to their distazo in the next verse, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matthew 28:18).” Who talks like that?
Think about all the amazing leaders throughout history: Nebuchadnezzar, Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, Abraham Lincoln, etc. They led great movements, fought great battles, and dreamed big dreams, but none proved more powerful than the grave. Jesus Christ is the risen Lord.
When the women made their way to the tomb, the angel asked them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead (Luke 24:5)?” In other words, don’t look for Him in a place of death because He’s the Lord of Life. He conquered the grave and is the victorious one. In verse 18, Jesus announces His full authority as the resurrected Lord. That’s the Jesus that we worship. We should never forget that as it’s the central and foundational point of what makes Christianity unique among world religions.
The author and journalist G.K. Chesterton was once asked, “What makes Christianity unique among all the world’s religions?” He responded, “All religions can be taught, but only Christianity can be proclaimed.”
Many religions have some wonderful teachings about morals and ethics, and yes, Christianity also has wonderful teachings about morals and ethics, but we also have the proclamation of the Sermon on the Mount. It’s the proclamation of God’s accomplishments in Jesus Christ through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement. As believers, that’s what we proclaim. While many world religions say, “I have taught the way,” “I have seen the way,” or “I have heard about the way,” yet Jesus said, “I am the way (John 14:6, emphasis added).”
What is the Central Command of the Great Commission?
JESUS: “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
In this verse’s original Greek grammatical structure, there is only one word, which is a command. It’s not the word “go,” which we tend to presume and often associate with the Great Commission. The central command in the original Greek is μαθητεύω, or “matheteusate.” However, that command is two words in English, which is translated to “make disciples.”
We’re called to teach and make disciples. We should all feel this call in our lives and in our ministries as people come to be discipled, which is to grow in our faith and learn the ways of Christ. It’s not simply about getting people in the door but about helping people grow and find the fruits of the Spirit that God has called us to.
What Does it Mean to Make Disciples of All Nations?
A part of the Great Commission’s central command can be confusing for some. Not only does Jesus instruct us to “make disciples,” but He says to “make disciples of all nations.”
When we hear the word “nation,” we think of a portion of land that’s defined as a political unit, such as Nigeria. However, as Jesus describes it, a nation refers to the peoples that make up a country. The Greek word used here was ethne, from which we derive the English word ethnic. So, in other words, God doesn’t want to be seen as the figurehead of something like the United Nations; instead, He sees more than 17,000 unique people groups.
Since I already mentioned Nigeria, let’s consider what that would mean. Yes, Nigeria is a country, but inside Nigeria, there are different ethnic groups, such as the Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and many other tribes. To use another example, there are 1.417 billion people in India, yet there are hundreds of people groups and languages within India’s borders.
Jesus isn’t simply telling us to plant a church in every nation. That’s already been done, as a church is planted within the borders of every political unit in the world. But what Jesus commands is for us to plant a church within every people group. There are more than 17,000 people groups, and more than 10,000 of them have access to the Gospel. However, there are still around 7,000 groups that have no witness to the Gospel.
Part of every church’s mission should be to help identify people groups that have never heard the Gospel.
It has to be stated that evangelism alone won’t do it. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every Christian were to become a mighty evangelist so that every person they witnessed to became a Christian? But that’s overly optimistic, right? Even Billy Graham didn’t have that kind of success!
The thing is, even if we had a billion people new Christians who professed Christ, there’d still be a billion who’ve never heard the name of Jesus because there’s no one in their group to share with them. There are some ethne that we call “hidden groups” that are behind barriers such as linguistics, and current methods of evangelism cannot reach them. What Jesus commands is that someone has to cross over to them.
But there’s also our everyday work of evangelism: reaching out to people in our region and country who don’t know Jesus. These are your co-workers, classmates, friends, family, and those we encounter daily. That’s a significant responsibility, and that is why some of our churches have to focus on mobilizing your discipleship first and foremost.
Many people hear the word evangelism and get intimidated about sharing. They fear they don’t know how to approach the subject, but what’s important to remember is who the greatest evangelist is: God. Evangelism is essentially you catching up on the conversation that He’s already having with someone. Wesleyans believe God is already talking to everybody and actively conversing with the world. So, when we participate in evangelism, God is already engaging the person, and we’re just joining the conversation.
Now, let’s be clear: some people won’t hear it. Yes, they may physically listen to it, but their hearts won’t receive it. Our job is to figure out “What God is saying,” which involves more listening than talking. As you build relationships and are asked questions, you experience God in the conversation. Joining His conversations is a wonderful way for us to experience God.
God With Us
JESUS: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
As stated, evangelism can be intimidating, but remember, we’re not alone in this process.
Years ago, I was in a very remote part of North India that had no access to the Gospel as most of the Christians in India are in the Southern parts of the country.
Several missionaries had already spent many years working with these people; one thing we recognized was their passion for movies. They realized that to bring these people together, they needed a Gospel movie in their language. Several Christian leaders gathered and were able to produce a Gospel-accurate movie of Christ’s life, done in the proper fashion of Indian film. It was called Daya Sagar, which means ocean of mercy. It’s a wonderfully well-made movie.
So when we offered a showing of this movie, they had more than 300 people gather to watch it. The viewers had no Gospel background, and you could see their amazement as Christ healed the sick and the blind. But when they got to the crucifixion, Christ called out, “It is finished!” We were shocked that many guests got up and began moving to the exits. They thought it meant the movie was done. We ran to the exits and encouraged everyone to sit back down so they could finish the story.
When they got to the resurrection, Jesus emerged from the tomb, and the filmmakers created it as a very cinematic moment with flashing lights and dry ice machines. Completely unprompted, the audience stood and began giving Jesus a standing ovation.
What stuck out to me is, that’s how we should regard the Easter message. Stand up and be about His words. Be about the great message of the Gospel and take it to the ends of the earth. Jesus gave us an amazing commission. He called us to participate in His word; there’s no barrier so great that the Gospel can’t reach any ethne. There’s no sin too deep or bad that the love of Jesus isn’t deeper still. There is no bondage that the resurrection can’t break; That’s the Gospel.
TL;DR
The Great Commission in Matthew's Gospel reflects God's heart for all nations, emphasizing the global reach of Christianity.
Despite doubts, Jesus asserts His authority over heaven and earth, signaling His victory over death.
The central command is to "make disciples of all nations," emphasizing growth in faith and understanding Christ's teachings.
Making disciples involves reaching every people group, not just political entities, and requires both global and local evangelism efforts.
Christ's enduring presence assures us in our evangelistic endeavors, breaking barriers and transforming lives with the Gospel.
Related Reading
Jesus is Head of the Church by Rev. Paul Lawler
What is the Church’s Global Responsibility? by Rev. Paul Lawler
What is the Church by Rev. Paul Lawler
