Bat On… Reflections on the Great Commission

Jesus Christ has given the church her marching orders and, while these orders were given specifically to the Apostles who were commissioned to lay the foundation of the church, they still have application today.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

The implications of this command are monumental, and so is the application. But the meaning is quite simple.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me…

Jesus said this without qualification. This is as plain as it comes. Jesus is not waiting to be granted all authority. It’s His now, and there is not a square inch of heaven or earth that is not under His complete authority. His dominion is absolute dominion.

Jesus is not a god among the gods. He is not one of the kings sitting on the mantle. He is King over all kings and Lord over all lord’s.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…

Jesus has commanded the church to drain the swamp. We are not looking for middle ground. We are not in a holding pattern until the Lord’s return. We are to disciple the nations.

But there are some who would argue that we live in a multicultural society, and we ought to respect that not everyone thinks like we do.

True, we live in a swamp.

And there are some who would say that we live in a sinful world and not everybody is going to believe or be expected to submit to the message we preach.

True, we live in a swamp.

There are also Christians who would argue that in a our swampy world we must accept a secular culture and that religion should have no place in government, or the work place, or anywhere else, save the privacy of our own hearts.

Again, no dispute there. Things are definitely swampy.

But the difficulty is not over whether we live in a swamp or not. To this point, most degree. The difficulty many Christians have is over the word, drain.

Jesus has commanded us to approach this fallen world, and all the nations of the Earth, and to teach them to follow Jesus. But many Christians would rather not do this, or upset the status quo. Many Christians would rather not lose their membership to the country club. We have refused to stand up or speak the truth against so many things that we are now at risk of not being able to withstand anything.

On that note, and as a brief aside, when I say, swamp, I am describing the world the way it looks. Not the way it actually is under the Lordship of Christ. Jesus Himself declared that we are living in a wheat field, not a swamp, but a wheat field over which He is Lord ( Matthew 13:36-38).

As Lord, Jesus has authority to command that we make disciples, and His command is backed by His authority, and His authority makes available to us His power to obey.

He has also instructed us on how to get the job done.

Baptising them…

A lot of Christian’s have diminished the meaning of baptism to little more than an optional dunking ritual. Albeit a happy one involving tea and scones. Quiche and lemonade.

On this front we are actually in the minority. Take a Muslim man in West Africa. He may say he follows Jesus and few will have a problem with that. After all, Jesus was a prophet. But if that same man gets baptised, there’s a very good chance he will face prison or otherwise disappear off the face of the earth.

He will “disappear” because those who oppose the gospel know perfectly well the significance of the sign and seal of baptism. It’s not only a public declaration of submission to Jesus as the ultimate authority over mankind, it’s a rejection of all other kingdoms and all other earthly lords in favour of Christ. “Thy Kingdom come”, means all other kingdoms must go. And the kings of this world are not so happy about that.

To be baptised into the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is to publicly declare your allegiance to Christ as your ruler. But baptism is not, in the first place, man speaking to man, or even man speaking to God. Baptism is first and foremost God speaking to man and declaring from heaven, “This is my beloved son”.

In baptism, God speaks, and those with any sense about them, tremble. Those without good sense foam at the mouth with threats.

But we have our wonderful marching orders and we dare not diminish them or set them aside for the sake of appeasing the unholy swamp. We like the thought of living in the street where, “Thou shalt not steal” is honoured and a kid can leave his bike out in the yard overnight and find it there the next morning.

When we call people to be baptised, we are calling them to publicly bend the knee to Christ above all princes, presidents and pop stars.

And teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…

Far from accommodating a secular world, far from encouraging us to make peace with ungodliness, Jesus commands us to teach (not harass, bully or screech at) those around us. To instruct our neighbour to obey all that Jesus has commanded. And one of those commandments is to come out of the swamp (2 Corinthians 6:17).

This is how we drain. Through baptism and teaching.

Baptism includes the definite call to repent and turn away from sin and look to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.  Teaching includes speaking the truth of God and living humble lives in a manner consistent with His teaching (Matthew 7:16).

You don’t need to apply for an ABN or register yourself with Caesar to start up a ministry. You don’t need to be an elder or a bishop. You don’t even need to be an evangelist like Philip.

Some of us will play our role in the Great Commission by becoming these things, but most of us will fulfil the call in our corner of the paddock by living humble gospel-centered lives in full public view. By declaring what is true in the face of lies. By sticking with our wife and children and serving them through productive labour. By saying gently and firmly, “No”, to any form of compromise with the gaseous abominations currently bubbling up from said swamp.

And by showing the supremacy and beauty of Christ in our law making, our child rearing, our labour and our love making.

Jesus is Lord. He’s not asking you to let Him be the Lord of your heart, your school, or your nation. He is not asking for your vote during intermission at a Christian rock concert.

He is commanding you to come, acknowledge his authority over all things and to feast with Him, at His table, on the mercies of God. And He has instructed you to so speak and so act, that you might convince your neighbour to enter in (Luke 14:23).

To this some will say, “Where’s the love bro. Why all this talk about authority and kings and lords and power and commandments?”

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

Sacrificial love is how God gets things done. And love does not leave people stranded at sea and heading for destruction. Love disciplines, or disciples, those it loves (Proverbs 13:24, Hebrews 12:5-6). Thoughtful, sincere and active obedience to the Great Commission is the demonstration of God’s love for sinners.

It is a declaration that God so loved the swamp that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Bat on.