Matthew 28:19-20 contains what we have come to call the Great Commission. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [HCSB]
Apparently, in the original Greek, the only direct command is to “make disciples.” The others are indirect commands. “Going,” Baptizing,” and “Teaching” are how we fulfill the command to “make disciples.”
The command to make disciples was given to those original disciples of Christ Jesus … and to all that would come after them. That command is still the essential command of Christianity. So how did we get so caught up in thinking other things are as or even more important?
My heart grows sad and my spirit weary when I see the church fussing over things that have no eternal value – things that have nothing to do with fulfilling the Great Commission.
When Jesus looked around, He saw an abundant harvest of souls. “When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” [Matthew 9:36-38 HCSB]
When we look around, what do we see? Things that have no eternal value, or an abundant harvest waiting for us to “make disciples?”
