Jesus said, Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptising 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. Matthew 28:19-20
I have become all things to all people, so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22
“That’s a big ask,” we sometimes say, when a job looks pretty daunting.
Well, the words which Jesus spoke to his disciples before he ascended into heaven certainly qualify for that description. In the last two verses of Matthew’s Gospel we find him telling them to “make disciples of all nations”. What a vision! Yes, Jesus saw the tiny community which he was bringing into being – the church – as a community that would stretch across the face of the whole earth and exist for all time.
Given that they numbered precisely eleven men I think it would be fair to describe that as a big ask! – even taking into account also the other followers of Jesus who, with them, were soon to be baptised in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).
A talk I heard recently, though, pointed out that along with the big ask came an equally big promise: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age…”
If the disciples felt alarmed and frightened by the enormity of the task Jesus was laying on their shoulders, they must surely also have been massively reassured by the sheer wonder of that promise – yes, the same Jesus who had taught them and showed them what the kingdom of God was like in little Palestine over those three years would always be with them, even if unseen.
There is a very obvious message here for us, the church of the twenty-first century. A two-fold message, in fact.
First, never lose sight of the big picture. God made the whole earth; it belongs to him; and it is his intention ultimately that it should acknowledge his lordship. These things will be!
So while, for most of us, our sphere of service is largely limited to our own locality, let’s keep in mind that we are just a tiny part of God’s intention to make himself known to the whole world, to every man, woman and child.
Second, never allow those words of Jesus – “surely I am with you always” – to be lost. We are not alone. We are accompanied, empowered and enabled by the very one who rose from the dead and who lives for evermore. We have within us the very energy and breath of almighty God – better known as the person of the Holy Spirit.
The message couldn’t be clearer: Christian, get a firm hold of both the big ask and the big promise.
But what was particularly striking about that talk I listened to wasn’t in fact either of those points. (Over my long Christian life I have, after all, heard many a sermon on “the great commission”, so while it was good to be reminded of these things, it wasn’t in principle anything new.)
No, what particularly struck me was what Jesus didn’t say: he didn’t give his disciples a set of detailed instructions. They are to “teach” and to “baptise” and so to “make disciples”, but there is nothing regarding the precise how of their ministry. True, they had had a three-year tutorial by simply being with Jesus during his earthly ministry and seeing him in action. But he left them no bulky instruction manual. “Just go and do it” seems to have been his word to them.
So – what?
The point to grasp is that, when it comes to serving God in our fallen world, there is no set formula for us to follow, no list of techniques or methods which we can or should apply in any and every situation.
We need this message, because it is very easy, both in our churches and in our personal lives, to get into a groove, to run, as it were, along tram lines.
And this where we need the example of Paul in the second passage I quoted (1 Corinthians 9:22). Ideally I would like to have quoted the whole section from verse 19, but that would have been too long.
But the essence of what Paul is saying is that he made himself infinitely adaptable in order to make the gospel message meaningful to whatever group of people he found himself among – “slaves”; “the Jews”; “people under the law”; people “not having the law”; “the weak”. The same message, of course, says Paul; but I turned myself into a different person, so to speak, in order to connect with whoever I was dealing with.
So… whether it’s formal preaching or informal chat; toddler club or messy church; Sunday school or quiz night; workplace discussion or neighbourhood door-knocking; street evangelism or traditional youth club; leafleting or street pastoring; or many other possibilities… just do it!
The seed of the gospel, faithfully sown, will bear fruit. And the day will come “when the earth will be filled with the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea”.
Father, as I seek to make the gospel known in this fallen world, help me to hold fast to the unchanging message of Jesus crucified and risen from the dead, while at the same time sitting loose to methods and techniques. And so may I, like Paul, “by all means save some”. Amen.
I have become all things to all people, so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22
“That’s a big ask,” we sometimes say, when a job looks pretty daunting.
Well, the words which Jesus spoke to his disciples before he ascended into heaven certainly qualify for that description. In the last two verses of Matthew’s Gospel we find him telling them to “make disciples of all nations”. What a vision! Yes, Jesus saw the tiny community which he was bringing into being – the church – as a community that would stretch across the face of the whole earth and exist for all time.
Given that they numbered precisely eleven men I think it would be fair to describe that as a big ask! – even taking into account also the other followers of Jesus who, with them, were soon to be baptised in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).
A talk I heard recently, though, pointed out that along with the big ask came an equally big promise: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age…”
If the disciples felt alarmed and frightened by the enormity of the task Jesus was laying on their shoulders, they must surely also have been massively reassured by the sheer wonder of that promise – yes, the same Jesus who had taught them and showed them what the kingdom of God was like in little Palestine over those three years would always be with them, even if unseen.
There is a very obvious message here for us, the church of the twenty-first century. A two-fold message, in fact.
First, never lose sight of the big picture. God made the whole earth; it belongs to him; and it is his intention ultimately that it should acknowledge his lordship. These things will be!
So while, for most of us, our sphere of service is largely limited to our own locality, let’s keep in mind that we are just a tiny part of God’s intention to make himself known to the whole world, to every man, woman and child.
Second, never allow those words of Jesus – “surely I am with you always” – to be lost. We are not alone. We are accompanied, empowered and enabled by the very one who rose from the dead and who lives for evermore. We have within us the very energy and breath of almighty God – better known as the person of the Holy Spirit.
The message couldn’t be clearer: Christian, get a firm hold of both the big ask and the big promise.
But what was particularly striking about that talk I listened to wasn’t in fact either of those points. (Over my long Christian life I have, after all, heard many a sermon on “the great commission”, so while it was good to be reminded of these things, it wasn’t in principle anything new.)
No, what particularly struck me was what Jesus didn’t say: he didn’t give his disciples a set of detailed instructions. They are to “teach” and to “baptise” and so to “make disciples”, but there is nothing regarding the precise how of their ministry. True, they had had a three-year tutorial by simply being with Jesus during his earthly ministry and seeing him in action. But he left them no bulky instruction manual. “Just go and do it” seems to have been his word to them.
So – what?
The point to grasp is that, when it comes to serving God in our fallen world, there is no set formula for us to follow, no list of techniques or methods which we can or should apply in any and every situation.
We need this message, because it is very easy, both in our churches and in our personal lives, to get into a groove, to run, as it were, along tram lines.
And this where we need the example of Paul in the second passage I quoted (1 Corinthians 9:22). Ideally I would like to have quoted the whole section from verse 19, but that would have been too long.
But the essence of what Paul is saying is that he made himself infinitely adaptable in order to make the gospel message meaningful to whatever group of people he found himself among – “slaves”; “the Jews”; “people under the law”; people “not having the law”; “the weak”. The same message, of course, says Paul; but I turned myself into a different person, so to speak, in order to connect with whoever I was dealing with.
So… whether it’s formal preaching or informal chat; toddler club or messy church; Sunday school or quiz night; workplace discussion or neighbourhood door-knocking; street evangelism or traditional youth club; leafleting or street pastoring; or many other possibilities… just do it!
The seed of the gospel, faithfully sown, will bear fruit. And the day will come “when the earth will be filled with the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea”.
Father, as I seek to make the gospel known in this fallen world, help me to hold fast to the unchanging message of Jesus crucified and risen from the dead, while at the same time sitting loose to methods and techniques. And so may I, like Paul, “by all means save some”. Amen.
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