Most Christians are very familiar with what is known as “The Great Commission.” This is the final charge of Jesus to His disciples. It is considered “the marching orders for the Church.” All the Gospel writers share a message of Jesus calling His followers to service in the world, in His name, as they close their Gospel accounts. Luke ends his narrative of the life of Jesus in the first chapter of Acts, his follow-up to his Gospel account, but all the Gospel writers include some “sending forth” for ministry by Jesus to His followers. Matthew’s Gospel has come to be associated most specifically with the term The Great Commission. The last three verses of that Gospel read:
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20
The great pretending
The Great Commission has been referred to as “The Great Omission,” because of our lack of faithfulness to the commission which Jesus has given to us, His Church. I think this concept is largely true, but I believe there is a better name for what these verses really are to many of those followers of Jesus today. That name is “The Great Pretension.”
These verses are well known. They are often the subject of sermons and Bible studies. Books have been written about them. We have not really omitted the Great Commission from the life of the Church, but we haven’t followed the dictates of it either.
I believe that what we do is pretend to live into the commission Jesus gave to us. The word pretension means “to lay claim to something. An alternate meaning is to pretend. I believe both meanings fit with our incorporation of the words of Jesus in Matthew 28: 18-20. We lay claim to these words, but we only pretend they matter to us.
Are you a “go-er?”
Generally speaking, we do not go, we do not evangelize, we do not make disciples, and we do not teach others what God has taught us. Instead, we accept the marching orders or lay claim to them. We know they are important, and we know they are the command of Jesus for those who would follow Him, but we only pretend that we are doing what He has said.
Maybe we should all ask ourselves some basic questions.
Am I a “go-er?” That is, do I proactively seek out ministry opportunities?
Do I evangelize? Baptism is for those who have been converted, so The Great Commission includes active engagement in evangelism. How often do we find ourselves sharing the Gospel and asking someone if they would like to surrender to Christ?
Am I a Disciple-Maker? Do I have ongoing relationships in which I seek to help younger believers grow to greater maturity in their relationship with Jesus?
Am I teaching others what God has taught me?
If we can answer “yes” to these questions, then Matthew 28:18-20 is truly The Great Commission which we, as followers of our Lord, are faithful to obey. If we answer “no” to any of these questions, we need to find ways to regularly be active in whatever ways we are not. If we respond “no” to them all, we are not living out The Great Commission at all but merely participating in The Great Pretension. Jesus deserves much better than that.
As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.