When we think of Jesus' commission to His church, we generally think of the Great Commission, especially when we anticipate the devotional talk delivered by a missionary. The Great Commission is considered that because it is the last one Jesus gave before His ascension:
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV
Because of its timing, that commission rang out with such reverberating waves that it almost drowned out the previous commissions Jesus lived His life demonstrating. The truth is that the "Great" one is not the only commission.
"Commission" is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people." Let us take a look at a few other commissions of Christ. There are too many to list without copying all four Gospels, but a few are these: "follow me," the Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the Good Samaritan, the two by two missionary commission, and the Mandate given on Maundy Thursday.
Follow me
This doesn't sound like a commission, but a selection process. We might have heard it so many times in Bible stories that it became to us just a "once upon a time" preface to the "story" of Jesus. It is Holy Spirit who makes that commission personal. The Bible is clear that all of us who are anointed with the seal of the Holy Spirit were selected to receive the gift of salvation, of witness, and of bearing His fruits, not just the disciples Jesus picked from their fishing nets and tax booths.
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain…
John 15:16, NKJV
The commission of this statement of Jesus is to come after Him, to witness His behavior, hear His Word, and imitate His example. "Follow me" is not an invitation merely to come and see, but to come and do.
The Sermon on the Mount
Similar to the "Follow me" commission, many of us have heard the Sermon on the Mount so many times we might consider it an oratory for the ages, the greatest speech ever, or the spiritual shot heard 'round the world. The truth is there are several commissions in this one sermon. Let's review Matthew chapters 5 through 7.
The Beatitudes are a set of indirect commissions. At the opening of His first real address, Jesus chose to entice with reward rather than openly and directly command. In essence, He said that any one of us will be blessed if we are poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure, peacemaking, or persecuted for any of these. Sure, it was an attention-getting opening to the most profound talk in history, but it was also His first projected commission to all listening through the ages to be those very things.
The rest of the Sermon on the Mount was full of similar commissions:
- Be salt and light (Mt 5:13-16).
- Be genuinely righteous (Mt 5:17-20).
- Reconcile with one another and live in peace (Mt 5:21-26)
- Perfectly love others no matter what, accepting persecution, being generous and forgiving (Mt 5:38-48).
- Be discreet, generous, and sincere (Mt 6:1-8, 16-18)
- Always be forgiving (Mt 6:9-15).
- Be diligent about your Heavenly focus and try to ignore the distractions of earthly concerns (Mt 6:22-34).
- Be obedient, firmly grounded, and bear behavioral fruit (Mt 7:1-29).
In parables and by His example Jesus gave illustrations of what living His way would look like. The rest of the Gospels draw a full picture of the glorious example of Christ. This example would be merely entertainment if it had not come with the commissions we are talking about here. They are the forms by which we are to shape our own lives, not just on Sundays but always.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
The parable of the Good Samaritan is found in the 10th Chapter of Luke. It is so well known, even among non-believers, that most states in the USA have "Good Samaritan" laws to protect those who try to behave the way the Good Samaritan did in Jesus' parable. For our purposes, we will leave out the social implications of what a Samaritan was to a Jew and the comparison of his behavior to that of the priest or Levite. We will focus on the behavior of the one known only by his nationality. The Samaritan had compassion for the dying crime victim, took him to an inn, treated his wounds, paid for his accommodations, and committed himself to whatever further care was necessary. At the end of this story, Jesus commended His audience for correctly identifying proper behavior and simply said, "Go and do likewise" (Lk 10:37).
Here stands what may well be the simplest commission ever spoken by Jesus. "Go and do likewise." Go and do what? Find robbery victims in the ditch; serve as ambulance drivers, EMTs, paramedics, and nurses; pay people's hotel bills; anoint people with oil and wine? Certainly, there are those of us called to do some or all of those things, but the context of this commission was in answer to "Who is my neighbor?" prompted by the reaffirmation of the ancient two greatest commands:
27 "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[Deut. 6:5]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[Lev. 19:18]"
Luke 10:27, NKJV
The Samaritan would be considered "Good" for all of history, not because he knew how to use oil and wine or bandage wounds, but because he was devoted enough to the God of his understanding to show compassion and consideration for a human in need, even one who from an alien culture. He served in love without hesitation, prejudice, or limit. We are commissioned to love that way because Jesus commissioned us to "Go and do likewise."
The two by two missionary commission(s)
The fact that Jesus sent his closest disciples on one or more missionary journeys appears in Matthew 10, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 17. We beneficiaries of those Gospels are to receive this witness testimony for a purpose. That purpose is an extension of the "Follow me" commission. Jesus chose twelve to be His foremost representatives, He sent 72 others to do the same, and He chose us to be His witnesses in this generation. When we follow Him, we will follow what His first followers were instructed to do.
25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters.
Matthew 10:25, NKJV
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
John 17:18, 20-21, NKJV
So let us look at what Jesus commissioned his disciples, first the Twelve, the seventy-two, then us, to do when He sent us out as sheep among wolves. We note that He made the Kingdom focus the priority over the earthly concerns. The pioneer missionaries were told to go out without extra clothes or food, but to trust God to provide for them the hospitality they would need (Mt 10:9-10, Mk 6:8, Lk 9:3). This demonstrates the total dependence on God we are to mimic.
These pioneers we first commissioned for spiritual warfare, to take authority over demons, casting them out and healing the afflicted (Mt 10:1, Mk 6:7, Lk 9:1-2).
7 As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[skin disease] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
Matthew 10:7-8, NKJV
As Heaven's ambassadors to the world, we are called to endure persecution and bear witness by the Holy Spirit to any audience we are given, whether in prison, court or elsewhere.
17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Matthew 10:17-20, NKJV
We were commissioned for urgent evangelistic, spiritual, and physical ministry just as our predecessors.
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Mark 6:12-13, NKJV
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Luke 9:12-13, NKJV
The Maundy (Mandate) Thursday commission
Jesus' commission at the Last Supper ties in with every example He demonstrated throughout His ministry. John records this emphatic mandate for every disciple who would respond to Jesus' call to "follow me" including you and me.
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:34-35, NKJV
What kind of love did Jesus demonstrate? Paul describes it in detail in 1 Corinthians 13, but by His example in the Gospels, we can describe Jesus' love as:
- Compassionate
He waited days before going to revive Lazarus, though seeing him dead was painful, just to provide the object lesson for his followers. He "had compassion on" those he would heal of afflicting or possessing demons, leprosy, crippling deformations, disorder, and disease. Even in a pressing crowd, He stopped to find out who touched Him in faith and received His power in secret.
- Considerate
He met the Samaritan woman at the well and saw deeply into her life. He met the physical needs of those around him, feeding crowds, calming storms, washing feet, and healing broken souls and bodies.
- Gentle even in authority
He let the children pile on Him even when the grown-ups thought it was a distraction. He drove out the money changers with a whip, not a club or sword. He mended Malchus' ear even after He told his disciples to pick up their swords.
- Hospitable
He fed crowds of hungry people. He was not so set in His program that he could not be interrupted for special needs like Jairus or the centurion.
- Sacrificial
He gave up a profitable apprenticeship as a carpenter to go into full-time ministry. He had nowhere to lay His head, but He shared His providential resources with those who followed Him. He ultimately submitted to the will of the Father and gave His life so that you and I might be released from our bondage to sin and death.
- Forgiving
He prayed for His persecutors even on the cross. He loved us while we were yet sinners. He forgave the sins of everyone He met, even before He healed them.
The Great Commission
All the commissions of Christ can rightly be summed up in the Great Commission because of the phrase, "teaching them to do all I have commanded you." From the first, "Follow me," to the last, "Make disciples," Jesus confirms that we are to use the mold He fashioned by His living example to make likenesses of Him with which He will build His Kingdom. To love God and others is a simple summation. Jesus said, over and again that He did not come to change the Word, but to fulfill it. He taught, as the prophets did, to love God with all your resources and love your neighbors as yourself.
8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of youBut to do justly,To love mercy [Or lovingkindness],And to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8, NKJV
