Expanding God’s Kingdom Among the Nations
Let’s Go: Responding to the Call of Jesus
In just about every football game, you see it. A quarterback throws a touchdown pass. A linebacker makes a big stop. A kicker hits a long field goal. The camera zooms in tight and you see the player screaming at the top of his lungs, “LET’S GO!”
Those two words, you see players in every sport shout them in big moments. A basketball player hits a big shot. A golfer sinks a long putt. A baseball player hits a home run. Those two words fire up the team. They’re motivational. Inspirational.
But it isn’t just the players, it’s the fans. Whenever those of us who are sitting in the stands, or watching at home on our TVs see a big play, we’re high fiving each other and we’re screaming, “Let’s Go!” too!
You know who doesn’t scream, “Let’s Go!”? The people who never scream, “Let’s Go!” at the top of their lungs in the middle of the big game are the people who aren’t in the game! The people who genuinely don’t care.
My wife and daughters never scream, “Let’s Go!” when I’m watching a big game. Don’t get me wrong, I would love it if they did. But they’re just not into it like I am. And that’s ok. God still loves them. 🙂
The people who are excited, who are invested, who care, who are passionate, who understand what’s at stake, who know why it matters, who are involved, who are engaged, these are the people who are shouting, “Let’s Go!” and high fiving each other every time something amazing happens.
And while I’m pretty sure this isn’t the exact phrase Christians used in the first century, I am sure that this was the spirit they had as they went from Jerusalem after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus spreading the Good News about the great love of God revealed in Jesus.
Jesus had told them:
“Go and Make disciples,”
and they WENT where they were SENT carrying and sharing the Gospel with everyone they could! Jesus said, “Go!” and they said, “Let’s Go!”
Why is it that so many Christians don’t go?
Jesus explicitly told us, as His disciples, to Go and Make disciples. But instead, it seems like more often than not, many Christians today make excuses.
I would go but I can’t go because…
I don’t have time.
I don’t have the money.
Evangelism isn’t my spiritual gift.
I wouldn’t know what to do.
I wouldn’t know what to say.
I don’t know how to talk to someone about Jesus.
I don’t have answers to all the questions.
What if they ask me about this, or that, and I don’t know what to say?
Maybe missions and sharing the gospel is better left to trained missionaries and preachers.
Maybe I can help pray and support, but maybe someone else should go.
Jesus told us to go and make disciples, but many Christians have decided to go and make excuses instead. I want to challenge us to do what Jesus has called us to do.
The Great Commission in Matthew 28
Jesus gives His disciples the Great Commission after His resurrection. In the Gospel of Matthew, this is the first time the disciples have seen Jesus since before the cross where they fled when Jesus was arrested. They heard about the resurrection from Mary Magdalene and the other Mary who had gone to visit the tomb where Jesus had been buried (Matt 28:1). An angel of the Lord met them at the tomb and told the women that Jesus had risen. Then the angel told them to go tell the disciples about what had happened. While they were on the way, they saw Jesus, the resurrected Christ, and they worshiped Him. Then Jesus told them to go tell His disciples to meet Him in Galilee. And then, this happened…
Matthew 28:16-20 (NLT)
16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Walk in Obedience
Right here, Matthew teaches us something important about discipleship. At this point, there are eleven disciples. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, is gone. They will replace him soon. But these eleven disciples who, according to Matthew, had all fled at Jesus’ arrest, are now walking in obedience on the way to Galilee because that’s what Jesus had told them to do.
Did you know, you don’t have to be perfect to walk in obedience? Did you know, you might walk away from Jesus on one day but on the next, you can walk in obedience again. These disciples had abandoned Jesus in His darkest hour. They had gone their own way. But that wasn’t the end of their story. That was a part of their story, but that wasn’t the end of their story. And that certainly wasn’t the part of their story that defined them. Here we find them after a moment of failure walking in obedience again.
This is what disciples do. We are not perfect. We all go our own way from time to time. Let me be clear, I am not minimizing our sin. But I do want to acknowledge the reality that sometimes we fail. We all fail and fall short of the glory of God. But then, because of God’s grace and great compassion, we can walk in obedience again. God is always calling us into faith and into obedience!
These disciples are walking in obedience, going to the place Jesus told them to go. And then, they saw Him. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him.
Their response wasn’t shame because they had abandoned Him. It wasn’t curiosity about how He was alive. They didn’t pepper Him with twenty questions. No, their response was worship!
When you have an encounter with the risen Jesus, you worship. That’s the response!
You Can Have Questions and Still Walk in Obedience
But don’t miss the last phrase Matthew adds. He writes, but some of them doubted.
Scholars wrestle over how to translate that phrase. There are three common interpretations.
It could mean that there were others beside the eleven disciples, who were there who doubted while the disciples worshiped.
It could mean that some of the eleven worshiped while some of them doubted.
Or, it could mean that the same group who worshiped also doubted. I’ll let you decide, but I think it’s a powerful thought to consider, you can have doubt and still decide to worship. You can have questions and still walk in obedience.
After their worship, Jesus begins to speak. And again, keep in mind, these are the disciples who fled in the garden when He was arrested. What is Jesus going to say? Will He be angry? Will He reprimand them? Will He have questions for them? Where were you guys when I needed you most!?
This is what Jesus says to them…
A Kingdom Commission to Go and Make Disciples
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)
The risen Jesus comes to His disciples who are perhaps wavering in their faith and He doesn’t distance Himself from their doubts, instead, he commissions them!
He tells them, He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth!
We’ve been praying, Father may Your Kingdom come, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How does that happen? That can only happen in and through the resurrected Jesus who is the resurrected King! He has all authority on Heaven and on Earth! He is the King of the present and the coming Kingdom!
So this isn’t just a Great Commission, this is a Kingdom Commission.
Baptizing and Teaching Disciples
And the Kingdom Commission isn’t just to go and make believers, it’s to go and make disciples. We are saved from our sin by grace through faith! But this Kingdom Commission isn’t just about baptizing people in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s also about teaching them to obey all the commands that Jesus has given us.
And you may ask, how could we possibly do that?! It feels like there are so many commands. And to that question, I would suggest two things.
First, remember when Jesus was asked about the commands of God and what was most important. Jesus taught there were two commands that everything written in the law and the prophets hang on. One, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And two, love your neighbor as yourself. If we teach people these two, to love the Lord and to love their neighbor, we would do well.
But second, it is important that we keep in mind that part of discipling is teaching people the whole counsel of God, the whole Word of God. The Scriptures, the Bible, it is full of God’s truth, God’s story, God’s design and desire for our lives. It doesn’t matter how many theology degrees you have or how many years you’ve been a Christian and you’ve studied God’s Word, you never get to the end of it! There is always more to learn, more room to grow, more opportunity to grow in your love of God and your knowledge of God!
Sometimes we emphasize baptism and fail to emphasize teaching. We focus on Go and Make and Baptize and we forget about teaching them to obey all the things I have commanded you. Jesus wants believers, but more than that He wants disciples.
Both baptism and teaching are important. Both are part of what it means to Go and Make disciples. Both are how people enter into and participate in the Kingdom of Heaven where Christ is King.
The Great Commission Comes With the Great Companion
And here’s the Good News. Did you catch the last thing Jesus says here:
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20 (NLT)
The Great Commission comes with the Great Companion.
We are not called to go alone. Jesus, who has all authority to send us, also has the ability to go with us and to help us along the way.
Sharing the Story of the Loving, Dying One
Back in the 1700’s there was a missionary named Christian Henry Rauch who had traveled from a church in Bethlehem, PA into the country where he was hoping to share the gospel with Native Americans. One evening, Christian Henry walked back into the settlement, accompanied by an Indian man. Christian Henry introduced the Indian as Tschoop, and soon Tschoop was having a conversation with one of the missionaries and church leaders, a man named Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf.
“Christian Henry tells me that you are a believer in Christ.” Ludwig began. “Yes, I am,” Tschoop said, his eyes blazing with zeal. “Tell me, brother, how did that come to be?” Tschoop leaned back on his chair and folded his arms. “It is a simple story. I have been unChristian and grown old among the unChristian, and I know how the unChristian think.”
“Once a preacher came to our village to explain to us that there was a God.” He stopped and chuckled to himself before continuing. We asked him, “Do you think us so ignorant that we do not know that. Go back to where you came from.” And so he left us.
Then another white man came, and he said, “You must not steal. You must not lie. You must not get drunk.” And we said to him, “You fool! Don’t you think we know that already? Learn the lessons you preach yourself before you try to convince us with your teaching. For who are bigger thieves, or who lies more often, or who is more frequently drunk than your own white people?” And that preacher went away too.
But then, Christian Henry came to visit our village. “What was different about him?” Ludwig asked, leaning closer to Tschoop. He spoke as one who knew. “He told us of a mighty one, the Lord of Earth and Sky, who left his glory in the heavens to give his life for all men, he told us that this God loves poor Indian sinners, and longs to gain our love, and to be our savior, and take us to His Father’s home above.”
“So that is what convinced you,” Ludwig asked.
That and what he did next. He concluded his preaching by saying, “Friends, I am weary from my journey, and I want to lay down my head. So please excuse me.” And with that, he lay down beside our spears and arrows and immediately fell into a peaceful sleep.
We looked at each other, and I whispered, “This is new. Yes, we have heard glad tidings, and this sleeper here knows them to be true. Look, he knows he has a friend above. Or why else would he sleep here with men of war all around him, and the war whoop in his ear, we watched him all night, and in the morning we told him that he need not journey on, that we wanted him to stay and tell us more about the loving dying One, and that is how I heard of Jesus, and came to have fellowship with him.
How wonderful! Ludwig exclaimed. When our Savior’s love and suffering are preached, he will draw all men to himself. How many of you are Christians now? There are 31 that I know of, and I am sure many more will follow.
We have a wonderful story to tell. It’s the story of the LOVING DYING ONE.
And we are called to Go and share this story and Go and Make Disciples!
They Went Where They Were Sent
What’s amazing to me about these eleven disciples, and about the first Christians we read about in Acts, is that they believed what Jesus said and they went! They WENT where they were SENT! It started in Jerusalem, and then they WENT to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
They WENT to places where no one had ever heard the name Jesus. They WENT to places where they didn’t know anyone. They often WENT and suffered. But as they WENT, they shared the story of the Loving, Dying One. And they shared that the One who came, who loved, who died for us, also rose again! They Went where they were Sent. And they didn’t make excuses, they made disciples!
Will we Go and do the same?
I want to call us to GO!
Let’s Go, because Jesus is our King!
Let’s Go, because Jesus is with us!
Let’s Go, because people need to hear the Good News!
Let’s Go, across the street, across the city, and across the world sharing the Good News about Jesus!
Let’s Go, even when it’s hard!
Let’s Go, even when we feel unsure or uncertain.
Let’s Go, because when we go, we honor God and we live in obedience to His word.
Where Can You Go on Mission With Jesus?
I want to challenge you to ask yourself, not should I go, but where can I go this next year on mission with Jesus and for Jesus?
What if the unusual thing was not that someone went on a mission trip, but that someone never did?
Personally, I believe that nothing will have a greater impact on your spiritual life than going on a mission trip. The Great Commission isn’t just about going on a short-term mission trip. But, when you go, you get out of your comfort zone, you learn to depend on God, you experience the power of God at work in people’s lives, and your faith can’t help but grow. I’ve witnessed it over and over again. I’ve personally experienced it again and again.
And you don’t have to have perfect faith. You may have doubts and fears. But God can use you to do great things. Will you Go and Make disciples?
That’s a question only you can answer. Here’s what I believe. You can make a difference. I’ve been on mission trips with eight year olds and eighty year olds. You can make a difference.
Let’s Go!
Jesus came from Heaven to Earth because He loves the lost!
Jesus came to seek and save the lost!
Will you be willing to go and share the story of the loving, dying One with someone?
A Decision That Matters Beyond the Game
In an NFL game, two teams will compete and one will win.
A year from now, most of us won’t remember who won. Ten years from now, most of us won’t remember who played. A hundred years from now, nobody will care. A thousand years from now, it won’t even be a footnote in the history books.
What will matter a year from now, ten years from now, a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, is your decision to GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES. You never know what, or who, hangs in the balance of your decision to GO and share the Good News about the great love of God with someone.
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