April 17 - Congrats, Now Go!

Matthew 28:16-20

Maybe it’s because we’re about to enter graduation season (whatever that may look like this year), but when I read the Great Commission this time, I thought of students donning caps and gowns and preparing for the next chapter of their lives.  For years they’ve been learning best practices from teachers and professors.  Some may have served as interns or apprentices and now they’re given a chance to put what they’ve learned into action - on their own.

The Great Commission is like Jesus’ commencement speech.  He’s telling the disciples that they’ve been given the tools they need to be successful in the world, it’s now time to “Go” and do what they’ve been taught to do.  But he assures them they will not be alone.  He’ll always be with them.

Stepping into a new way of life after graduation can be scary.  Those who were students, become the teachers.  It’s their turn to pass on their knowledge to others.  That was the point of Jesus coming to earth, wasn’t it?  He wasn’t meant to only touch the lives of a few, but through his instruction and example, he mentored 12+ who would go out and continue his mission - creating a chain of reaction that would last for centuries.

Jesus, thank you for the instruction you provided and thank you to all those who shared your lessons.  Each day we are called to pass on what we’ve learned from you.  May we always remember the importance of our mission and rest in the comfort of knowing that when life gets scary, you’ll always be with us.  Amen

Gridlock

Matthew 28:18-20

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028%3A18-20&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

There are a lot of things that can keep us from taking action. Fear, feeling overwhelmed by an impending major decision or lack of confidence, just to name a few. Also high on that list is the loss of a family member or a close friend.

 

Any of these can send us into an emotional tailspin that can take hours, days, weeks or even months to recover. In the meantime, we remain motionless at best or even going backwards at worse. It’s as if our decision making ability, even our instincts to survive, are frozen in time. We’re in a personal gridlock.

 

The disciples were faced with a similar situation following the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. They had lost their leader. They were afraid. What would happen to them? Where would they go? What would they do?

 

These verses in Matthew 28, are some of the last recorded words that Jesus spoke to his disciples telling them in no uncertain terms that they were to go and make disciples; that he would be with them always.

 

It seems simple doesn’t it? Yet, apparently more was needed. In Acts 1, as the disciples were looking up into the sky where Jesus had just disappeared, apparently leaving them forever; they were unable to make a decision… unable to take action. At that point, two men dressed in white spoke to them.

 

¹¹ “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky?”    NIV

 

In other words, “Get up off the couch and get going. You heard Jesus promise you power from the Holy Spirit. Nothing’s going to happen when you aren’t doing anything. So do something and watch him work”. That isn’t in the Bible, but they could have said those words to the disciples… and to you and me.

 

Matthew 28:18-20 is well known as the Great Commission. It’s often quoted and used as a teaching tool for evangelism. It’s Jesus’ call to action. However, Acts 1:8-11 is also his call to action. Following this call, the first thing the disciples did was to pray.

 

So, why are you standing there looking up into the sky? Reading this devotional? Get going! Do something! Get involved! Break out of your gridlock! Pray!

 

 

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. ¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”         NIV

 

 

 

 

 

Potential Friendships are all around us.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

How can I fulfill the Great Commission in the context of my family? My co-workers? Neighbors? Folks I encounter in the grocery, barber shop, movie theater? I am learning that I need to have my eyes wide open and intentionally looking for those people who were nothing more than wallpaper before. Looking but not seeing.

Thankfully, Jesus doesn't consider any of us as background noise or invisible creatures.  He sees us all in a wonderful and bright light.  Actually He is the light. Moving through life as a Christ-follower I am called to be that same light for others. I am called to see them - everyone in my path - as someone so dearly loved by God.

Once I have those eyeglasses on, I begin to recognize someone who needs to know the love of God; someone who needs to know that they matter.  This is such an easy thing to do, just talk to them, smile at them, come alongside and invite them to get to know you. Nothing fancy, maybe a coffee date or a lunch break.

We are all starved for attention, for friends who can be counted on. Invite someone into your life; share some of your story as you get acquainted. The word 'go' in the verse at the top means, as you go, make disciples. As you move along through your day, find someone who has been in the peripheral of your vision and pull them in closer.

They just might become your new best friend. 

Matthew 28:16-20

Graduation Day

Matthew 28:16-20

These five verses are the cornerstone of every church that proclaims discipleship as part of its mission.  And in this season of graduation, the Great Commission feels like Jesus’ commencement speech – telling his students to go and used what they’ve learned to make the world a better place. How incredibly cool would it be to have Jesus as your graduation speaker?!?  I imagine the disciples listening intently to his every word, soaking up his wisdom before they're tossed into reality.

Let me jump back a bit to verse 17 which makes reference to some of the disciples doubting.  It’s no secret in my family that I’m a pessimist who can find the negative in any situation.  And these days it’s easier and easier to live in that place of negativity.  As I was reading the passage, I underlined the following words… all, everything and always.  Counselors are taught to be on the lookout for these words because people often say things like, “All of them hate me” or “Everything went wrong” or “I always screw things up.”  When used as generalities, these words can distort our view and trap us in negativity.

If I were present at the Great Commission - as cool as it would be - I’m pretty sure I’d be sitting there thinking to myself, “Oh no, he wants me to go out there and tell all nations to obey everything. How am I going to do that?  I can’t do that!  I’m not going to be any good at it.”  Panic would set in before the words even left his mouth.

But then his parting verse (v. 20) would hit my ears, “And surely I am with you ALWAYS, to the very end of the age.”  Here is my breathe moment.

“Hey, wait… maybe I CAN do this with HIS help.”  So each day when I’m tossed into reality I repeat to myself, “He is always with me. He is always with me.”  And I begin, along with my fellow disciples, to use what I've been taught to go and fulfill his great call.
       

Jesus Delegates, Jesus Supports

When I was perhaps 25, on the job less than a year, my boss went on vacation and made me his “delegate.” I was excited by the prospect.

 After two days, reality hit. I was really a “go-for”; instead of calling my boss for support, others in the organization were now calling me. It was my job to figure out what assistance was required and then to figure out who was best positioned to provide the help.

 Perhaps most important, since I had no real authority, I had to figure out what words to use to motivate my co-worker to follow up with the necessary assistance.

I soon realized being delegate in this case was not all it was cracked up to be.

Today’s reading is Matthew 28:16-20, the Great Commission.

 The Great Commission did not come from God the Son, but rather from God the Father. Jesus tells us that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” What Jesus is about to say is not what he wants, but rather what his Father wants!

 Jesus continues by delegating his most important responsibility to his disciples – his church – and that includes you and I. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

 Our job is to find and identify those who will be with Jesus for life eternal.

 Yet, there is more. We are to teach, “them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Not only do we find and identify Christians, but we are to teach them what it means to be a Christian.

 Unlike my delegate story above, being a part of Jesus’ delegate story is rewarding. In my story, I had no real authority, but Jesus clearly gives us his Father’s authority to find and train disciples.

 In my delegate story I often felt like I was on my own. As a member of his church, Jesus reminds us, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We are not on our own; Jesus is there with us.

 Jesus delegates to us; Jesus also empowers and supports us.