Read: Matthew 28:16-20
Michael W. Smith: “Transformation in the world happens when people are healed and start investing in other people.”
For years, I’ve heard people make a lot of fuss about “Famous Last Words.” Somewhere along the line, we got this idea that the last words of an individual are somehow important, that the final words someone says right before they die have some kind of special meaning. Though part of me thinks it’s all a bunch of bunk, there are a few examples of some pretty profound “famous last words.” Some of my favorites include:
- G.K. Chesterton: “The issue is now clear. It is between light and darkness, and everyone must choose his side.”
- Daniel Webster: “I have struggled with many difficulties. Some I have been able to overcome and by some I have been overcome. I have made many mistakes but I love my country and have labored for the youth of my country, and I trust no precept of mine has taught any dear youth to sin.”
- Henry Ward Beecher: “Now comes the mystery.”
- Joan of Arc: “Hold the cross high so I may see it through the flames.”
- Mary, Queen of Scots: “Do not cry, I have prayed for you. In You, Lord, I have faith, and You shall protect me forever. Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”
Of all the “famous last words” ever recorded, Jesus undoubtedly had the most significant. Matthew 28 records Jesus’ final words to His followers. Interestingly, these words weren’t a new teaching or some deep motivational thought. No, Jesus’ final words to His disciples were a commission. Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus gave the disciples a task, a mission only they could fulfill.
“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.”
As if to make their task even more explicit, the book of Acts records an alternate version of this commission. While the details may be different, the message remains the same:
Acts 1:8: “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.”
Regardless of which passage you look at, I think you walk away with the same general idea. Jesus’ disciples were told to go out and make more disciples, to be Jesus’ witnesses to a lost and dying world. They were supposed to replicate themselves, investing the lives of others in the same way Jesus had invested in them. The disciples weren’t called to invest themselves in buildings or programs; they were called to invest themselves primarily in people.
Our task today is the same. We have been called to invest in the people around us. Jesus has commanded us to give ourselves to others in the same way He gave Himself for us. Jesus wants us to sacrifice—to give whatever we can—in order that others might know Him. Our mission, like the first disciples’, is to go out and radically alter this world for Christ and His Kingdom.
Interestingly, Jesus didn’t tell us this mission was optional. He didn’t give us a choice. You’ll notice the Great Commission doesn’t have a “pretty please,” or a “if you don’t mind…” attached to it anywhere. Jesus didn’t ask us to do these things. He commanded them. Investing our lives in others, therefore, isn’t simply a matter of evangelism; it’s a matter of obedience. Rick Warren said it like this:
“Your mission is a continuation of Jesus’ mission on earth. As His followers, we are to continue what Jesus started. Jesus calls us not only to come to Him, but to go for Him… This commission was given to every follower of Jesus, not to pastors and missionaries alone. This is your commission for Jesus, and it is not optional. These words of Jesus are not the Great Suggestion. If you are a part of God’s family, your mission is mandatory. To ignore it would be disobedience.”
As Jesus’ disciples today, we have the responsibility – the privilege, even – to go out and make more disciples. We’ve been called to go out into this world and invest in people. Even better, we’ve been commanded to go into this world and make an impact for Christ’s Kingdom. Inaction is not an option. If we want to be faithful to Jesus’ final command, we have to get out there and faithfully invest ourselves in others.
Questions to Consider:
What do you need to do to take the “Great Commission” more seriously? How does knowing it is not optional change your perspective?
Read Mark 16:15-16. What’s at stake here? Why is our mission so important?