The Great Commission

As the year is coming to a close, I have been meditating on the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.  In the end times, God will use angels to proclaim His Gospel to people worldwide (Rev. 14:6).  But now, God has chosen to use you and me.  We may be imperfect, yet that is what God has ordained to use.  So many times, we are begging as Moses tried to beg off the call of God!   One cannot understand the depth of the Commission from just one passage.  It can be better understood when we take all the passages together.  

All four Gospel writers record the final words of Jesus Christ.  Luke again reiterates Jesus' words in the book of Acts too.  Mark 16:15 says, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel."  Luke says in Luke 24:47, "Preach repentance and remission of sins." John says in 20:21, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."  Matthew says in 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples, …. teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you."  The command of God recorded in Acts 1:8 is, "be witnesses to Me."    The Gospel was not to be preached in any particular geographical area but "to the end of the earth."   The Lord knew this was no easy task, which is why Jesus said we should receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us.  God has given us the same Holy Spirit that descended upon Jesus on the banks of the river Jordan at the beginning of Jesus' ministry.  God is sending us into this world with the power of the Holy Spirit, just as He sent Jesus, His only Son, our Lord!  God has not called us to preach prosperity or prophecies of our fellow humans.  We are to preach the Gospel.   The Gospel is the good news concerning Christ and the way to salvation through faith and repentance!  After the salvation experience, to become His Disciples,  the Scriptures have to be systematically taught them, and it is a life-long process.  Being a witness to Jesus is about our whole life being Christ-centered and reflecting Christ.

My friend, the Great Commission is a great challenge, and no one is exempt from it.  God has not left us alone but has empowered us with the Holy Spirit.  In this New Year, let us take this Great Commission seriously, for we may be the only Gospel many will encounter!  May we be His witnesses in this New Year.  I wish you all a blessed New Year!

---