5 Common Great Commission Myths
From Joey Shaw, the Minister of International Mission at The Austin Stone Community Church.
Matthew 28:18-20, And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The passage above is commonly known as “The Great Commission”. Jesus spoke these words to his followers before ascending back to heaven to be with the Father. His followers were left to discover the Holy Spirit and to change the world through one simple process – making and multiplying disciples [learners] of Jesus. Many people teach on this passage… most of us don’t regularly obey it. Below are five of the more common myths about the Great Commission that lead us to miss out on disciple making.
- The myth of accidental discipleship.
The bottom line here is that the Great Commission will be completed only by intentional action and resoluteness. Jesus commands us today to set our eyes on the goal of disciple making and pursue that goal with stubborn focus. This means, that unless you pray and plan to make disciples, you won’t do it!- Crossing cultures is a step beyond the general mandate.
Jesus left his home (with the Father), his culture, his language, his people (the trinity) to come to our home (earth), to our people, to speak our language, to grow up in a Jewish culture, and so on. Jesus was a cross-cultural missionary and he commands us to follow in his steps, cross any boundary, live incarnationally and make disciples.- Jesus wants converts.
The most interesting thing about the Great Commission is that it does not command us to make converts of Christianity. Instead, we are to make disciples of Jesus. The difference between convert making and disciple making is crucial. Converts change religions. Disciples change masters. Converts follow a system. Disciples follow a Person. Converts build Christendom. Disciples build the Kingdom of God. Converts embrace rituals. Disciples embrace a way of life. Converts love the command to “baptize them” in the Great Commission, but that is all. Disciples baptize others but only in context of “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”. Converts love conversion. Disciples love transformation.- When I am ready and able, I will start making disciples.
I think Jesus knew the gravity of the command that he was giving in Matthew 28:19-20; he was asking his followers, most of them unlearned and lower/middle class, to go every conceivable people group on earth by multiplying disciples of a Person who is physically unseen (after giving the Great Commission, Jesus ascended to heaven). This is a heavy-duty command! The reason I think that Jesus knew the gravity of this command is that he buffers his commandment here with two powerful promises of His authority and presence. Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” Matthew 28:20b, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age”. In the Great Commission, Jesus gives a command along with a promise of His power and presence.To completely put off practicing the process of making disciples now in your life because you claim that you need more equipping or growth, therefore, is actually unbelief in God’s promises! Is having the promise of Jesus’ power and presence not good enough for you to get started in the process of making disciples?- Making disciples is great advice.
The fact is, though, that the Great Commission is a commandment coupled with the commissioning of Jesus. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Jesus expressed the same truth inversely, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36, italics added). In other words, the measure of one’s love for Jesus is one’s obedience to Jesus!You cannot love Jesus and not obey him. Stated inversely, you cannot disregard the Great Commission and claim to love Jesus. The command is simple, “go and make disciples”. Ask yourself, “Am I currently making disciples of others?” If not, why not ask yourself, “Will I today commit myself to beginning the process of making disciples of Jesus?”