A Great Commission ... but how?

Introduction

Having looked at the beginning of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke in the lead up to Christmas, now let's take a look at the conclusions to those same Gospel narratives.

Matthew 28:16-20

At the end of Matthew’s gospel, following the resurrection, when the eleven remaining disciples there waiting up on a mountain in Galilee were joined by Jesus, we read that they worshipped him … but also that “some” still “doubted” (in the sense of uncertainty and hesitation). It is probably understandable that because of the revolutionary last few weeks that the disciples have experienced, that “some” would not have been able to fit all the pieces together. The Holy Spirit would soon complete the job in the hearts and minds of these ones. Yet this connects well with the fact that when we believe in and accept Jesus, we don’t immediately have all the answers to all the questions. We only start to appreciate what we’ve received as we live into those questions. So Jesus didn’t give them a whole lot more facts or information or even an instruction book – just a job description. Do this … and learn along the way! See what I have done – “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me [by God] – live like I have lived – do what I have done! Go!! For the welfare of all the people and all of creation depends upon it!

The purpose in going is to what??? Firstly, to “make disciples” – those who will follow in the way of Jesus, those who will live under the discipline of Jesus (in attitudes and ethics). We don’t seek to make only ‘converts’, for what will that achieve in the big picture of God’s purposes? Secondly, to “make disciples of all nations” – to make deep inroads into God’s world sharing the grace-filled, compassionate, justice-seeking, peace-making ways of Jesus. Then, “baptising them” – thus helping people to fully and publicly identify with the sacrificial death and life-giving resurrection of Jesus (and demonstrating a first priority allegiance to Jesus). As they are baptised in the name of the Triune God, they are joining a Community for the benefit of another community. Discipleship, then, is about following Jesus, and knowing and living his teaching (especially the foundational teaching of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”). This obviously comes with its challenges, yet no greater challenge than the original disciples faced. But all disciples of all generations would be reassured how??? That Jesus would be with us everywhere and always … guiding, comforting, encouraging, strengthening (but also seeking to break, melt, mould and fill)!!

So Jesus’ close ongoing presence with us is not only reassuring, but also a necessary dynamic for the mission we have been given. As we have mentioned often from Matthew 1:23 … “they shall call him Emmanuel, which means, God is with us”. As we “go”, of course Jesus will go with us, for it is first and foremost God’s mission! In fact, the more I “go”, the more I am likely to experience Jesus’ presence with me. The converse is probably also true. Some people will think that they don’t feel God with them enough to “go” anywhere, yet it is only as you “go” that you can truly benefit from this promise of closeness! So we ‘step out’ and trust that Jesus will be there – going before us, walking beside us, living inside us. To “go” simply requires mental and physical movement – whatever it takes to connect with people in a positive and redemptive way. To “go” mentally … is to activate a desire to connect and connect well. To “go” physically … is to move our bodies as far as necessary to connect with the person God requires us to (on this the distances involved will vary). [We could also add "going" emotionally, involving our commitment to care; and also "going" spiritually, involving our capacity to follow the leading of God's spirit.]

Luke 24:44-49

In his conclusion to his gospel (before he moves on to write Acts), Luke has Jesus addressing some of the doubt (or hesitancy or uncertainty) that exists by “opening [the disciples’] minds to understand the scriptures”. If these disciples could just look at the Hebrew Scriptures (of the old testament) afresh, they will see that God had been preparing the way for Jesus right from the beginning. Who would redeem those who have followed in Adam’s rebellion? Who would ultimately facilitate Abraham’s call to be a blessing to all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3)? Who would provide for the ultimate exodus, and a holistic return from exile? Who would answer the prophets’ call for a Messiah to change humanity’s future? It is all there in the ancient scriptures to see. And Jesus simply “opened their minds” to a new interpretation of things they had always known. Jesus had, for the last three years, wholly represented the interests of God on earth – by passionately promoting the healing of relationships and [by] sacrificially delivering life-altering forgiveness.

Now they understand, or at least they are further along the road of understanding, they know the great significance of this, and the need to be “witnesses” concerning God’s gift of Jesus. The disciples are called upon to testify about what they know, and tell about things they have seen and experienced for themselves. They are to start locally, “beginning from Jerusalem”. They are to bring God’s offer of “repentance” i.e. a change of direction; where a person has gone down a destructive path, there is always the opportunity of a new direction. The call for “repentance” is not only necessary because of the abiding evil in the world, but also as a proactive opportunity to embrace the best that resides deep within a person. This is accompanied by the gift of “forgiveness”, so that the past can be dealt with … dead and buried, opening up a guilt-free shame-free future. In a nutshell, we witness to God’s outrageous re-creative love. This level of witness obviously comes with its challenges. But all disciples of all generations would be reassured how??? That the Holy Spirit would accompany us (literally “clothe us” against nakedness), and give us great effectiveness (resourcefulness, giftedness)!!

We know that with any attempt to witness to the worth of something – actions speak louder than words. To properly represent Jesus will take lives that positively model the “repentance” and “forgiveness” (both receiving and giving) that we seek to promote. There sits another hurdle … Jesus-followers who don’t think they are ‘good’ enough to be actively vocal on his behalf. Or perhaps they have an inner sense of hypocrisy. Yet this is another faulty way of thinking! It is really as we challenge ourselves with the call to witness, that we grow in our understanding of what it means to live in the Jesus way.

Application

Jesus clearly believes that his disciples can succeed. And they did succeed brilliantly in the first generation of the Jesus movement that became generally known as the Christian church. And various subsequent generations of Jesus-followers have succeeded as well. Now is our day. We return to Jesus’ great commission to mission and apply it to our time and to our cultural context. Research shows that people are not seeking out the church anymore, not for their social needs, not even for their spiritual needs (where they have identified such). There are many reasons for this, which will include: the great variety of other options through which to form relationships, the tainted reputation of the church in some quarters, and an emphasis for some on material acquisition as the centre of life (which of course sits in real tension with the message of the gospel).

In the 1980’s and 1990’s the church sought to respond to flagging interest by running ‘seeker services’, trying to make the church more intelligible and welcoming and, dare we say, entertaining, to an ever increasingly alien and disinterested mission-field. In Europe, the United States, and certainly in Australia, the relevance of the church in the view of the community has continued to reduce. [Some churches are doing well (numbers wise), but one wonders if they are just collecting the disaffected church consumers from other places and giving them a comfortable diet of feel good psychology. For the true gospel of Jesus would be changing the world.] So where do we go from here?

A guy named Thom Schultz (in a short article entitled The Vanishing Seekers) has made three very strong points (I call this a ‘3-point plan’), which draw together what an increasing number of modern mission-minded people (including myself) think:

(1)    We should, “Look for ways to go to the people on their turf and their schedule, rather than expect the people to seek out a typical religious service that runs on a churchy schedule”. My comments: This is the church dispersed, yet I think there also needs to be a solid (people) base through which the necessary variety of abilities and gifts and resources are brought together to allow for the vast range of needs and interests and opportunities in the local community to be adequately addressed. Also the often necessary prophetic voice of the church cannot be forgotten in the search for increasing relevance. Yet, this principle (1) holds firm, as God is never confined to our spaces or our agendas, but rather is already active in the local community … calling us to join in.

(2)    We should, “Learn what people are actually seeking, and find ways to meet those human needs. Then form authentic relationships and earn the right to share your faith”. My comments: I don’t think we have to “earn the right to share our faith”, as our faith is so much a part of who we are that this would just happen naturally (in action, if not in words as well). Rather, through good listening and showing interest in the lives of others, we actually ‘earn the necessary trust to build solid friendships’.

(3)    We should, “Move from passive spectator services to settings that allow the “spiritually open” to participate, ask questions, and share their thoughts. When it comes to Sunday morning churchgoing, the majority is playing hide and seek … without the seek”. My comments: The religious consumers can/will always go somewhere else that suits them, but we should be open and conversationally ready for the ones who can’t go anywhere else.

Conclusion

This ‘3-point plan’ (with some qualifications) certainly helps meet the objectives of the great commission to mission in Matthew, Luke (and other places). There is certainly the aspect of “Go”. There is also the concept of transformation and “making disciples” through the forming and building of relationships. Then there are the possibilities of healing and reconciling through those relationships flourishing. There is also the aspect of teaching, as people come together in dialogue, working through the questions of life and faith. In this way, many will have their minds illuminated and inspired.

John Dickson writes:

Our friends and neighbours live and breathe in the presence of the greatest Lord. Yet, they do not know it. We, the people of the Lord, who know [God’s] majesty over heaven and earth, must stand up on the bus, so to speak, and, in whatever way is appropriate to our gifts, personality and circumstances, promote [God’s} glory. “The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission”, p.37. Refer also Psalm 96:3-5.