The Disciple’s Marching Orders: The Great Commission Part 1 Series

Yesterday we observed the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States. Our lives have not been the same nor as safe ever since. We just handed back (surrendered) Afghanistan to the Taliban who harbored and abetted Osama Bin Laden and his organization in this terrorist attack on America. Many do not realize it, but America just opened up ourselves to more terrorism than ever before by this show of weakness.

Now throw in the COVID-19 pandemic into the mix and the whole world has changed. The entire world is a hot spot, no one is safe from anything anywhere. So what are we as Christians, as Disciples of Jesus to do?

Our marching orders from Jesus has not changed. It has always been the same. Jesus commanded the Great Commission. You may say that the world, our country just needs new rule or laws, or even new politicians, but what we really need is Jesus, the life giving message of the Gospel.

The Great Commission is so important we’re taking several weeks to examine these few verses. In fact, the Great Commission defines who we are as a denomination. The SBC had voted to adopt the descriptor "Great Commission Baptists” as an alternate name for the SBC. But do we understand what it means?

However, here is the sad fact: According to a 2018 Barna Group survey only 17 percent of churchgoers had heard of “The Great Commission” and knows what the term means. The remainder of churchgoers largely had never heard of it (51%), with a quarter (25%) saying that they had heard of it but couldn’t recall the exact meaning. [1]

This is one reason why we are going to take our time with these verses which we call “The Great Commission.”

Matthew 28:18–20

Today we are going to look at what a commissioning is all about. Most of you know, I am a retired from the Air Force after almost twenty five years of active duty service. (No, I was not a military Chaplain, I was a fighter pilot.)

On April 7, 1981, was a special day for me. About 150 others and I stood in the middle of a very hot parade field at the Lackland AFB Officer Training School and took a solemn oath, our oath of office. I repeated the following oath:

"I, having been appointed a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God." [2]

As a newly commissioned Second Lieutenant in the USAF, I took my commission very seriously. It was a very proud and sober occasion. I retook that oath every time I was promoted. Lives offered. Lives taken. Lives changed. All on the strength of a commission. A commission inspired by a sense of duty to my country. This commission has impacted every day of my life from that day forward to this very day. (I still hold my commission as a retired regular officer in the USAF.) Commissions are like that when they are taken seriously.

Commissions are to be accepted. Commissions are to be obeyed. Commissions are to be fulfilled to the best of our ability.

Jesus was about to do some serious commissioning. His disciples were about to graduate from a school of their own. And the Lord of the universe pronounced an even more demanding commission upon those who would follow him. It would impact all of life, every day, for the rest of their lives and eternity. This was “The Great Commission” which we just read.

According to my USAF commissioning certificate, I was appointed by the President of the United States (President Ronald Reagan at the time), with the approval of Congress, and by the authority granted to him in the US Constitution. By what authority does Jesus commission us, His disciples?

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Our commission as Christians, was given to us by Jesus Christ, Lord, and Creator of the Universe, with all the authority and power in heaven and on earth (another way of saying in the entire universe). He was given this authority by God the Father. Now tell me which commission is more important, more life changing, more powerful, more impacting to our world, the commissioning of a military officer, or the commissioning the disciples of Jesus? Our concentration this morning will be on verse 18. We need to realize that Jesus had authority while on earth.