Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

The Great Commission

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

The eleven remaining disciples sit quietly in a locked room, anxiously awaiting the return of the women who went to visit Jesus’ tomb. They hear shouting outside. James and John jump to their feet, thinking the Romans or religious leaders have come to stamp out the last remnants of Jesus’ movement. Peter raises a hand, signaling them to stay calm. He slowly walks to the door with his head cocked to the side, trying to make out the words. Suddenly, someone outside starts frantically banging on the door, shouting, “Open up! You’ll never believe what we saw!”

As the initial shock fades, Peter recognizes the voice of Mary Magdalene. He quickly opens the door, ushers her and the other women inside, and promptly closes and locks the door behind them. But before they even get fully inside, the women begin telling the story, talking over one another in excitement while struggling to catch their breath, having run until their lungs choked and their legs burned.

The disciples listen in awe. Some are hanging onto every word. Some are questioning if what they’re hearing could possibly be true. Didn’t we see Him dead? And don’t dead people stay dead? But they continue listening.

After the women finish sharing about the empty tomb, the angelic messenger, and the meeting with Jesus, the women pass on Jesus’ instruction:

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:10 NIV

Immediately, Peter flashes back to his first encounter with Jesus, when his life was forever changed on the edge of the Sea of Galilee.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18–20 NIV

For three years, they’ve been answering the call to come and follow Jesus, but the time has come for them to enter the next stage of their journey. Jesus is preparing to send them out to fish for people.

As we come to the end of this Bible Plan and the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel, we, like the disciples, are going back to the beginning.

From the very beginning, Jesus’ disciples understood that following Jesus is an all-of-life way of life. That’s why they were willing to give up everything to follow Him.

They heard what Jesus said, that He would send them out to fish for people. But fishing for people is very different from fishing for fish. They had a lot to learn along the way, but that’s what they signed up for. They knew that following Jesus will make you more like Jesus.

We become like the people we spend time with. And at its most basic level, following Jesus means being with Jesus. The disciples went where Jesus went. They stayed where Jesus stayed. For three years, from sunup to sundown, they were with Jesus. Learning who He is and what He came to do. Watching Him perform miracles and cast out demons. Listening to Him teach with an authority that no one had ever experienced before. And every step of the way, finding more and more reasons to devote themselves fully to Him.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. Matthew 28:16 NIV

And now, here at the end, they return to Galilee together, because following Jesus is not something you’re meant to do alone. During their travels and adventures, these eleven disciples—who started as strangers and acquaintances—became a family, drawn together by the calling of Jesus and bonded together by the mission of Jesus.

When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Matthew 28:17 NIV

Some things never change. Here at the end, some of the disciples respond with worship, as Peter, James, and John did at The Transfiguration. And some have their doubts, as they all did when Jesus was arrested, sentenced, and executed.

Some things never change. Jesus’ response to our doubt is one of those things. He is gentle and humble at heart. He meets our questions with a flood of compassion. He is secure enough in His identity to handle our skepticism, even from the people who have the most reasons to trust Him. Doubt does not disqualify us. It didn’t disqualify the disciples then, and it doesn’t disqualify you now.

Some worshiped and some doubted. But, all were called. And all have been commissioned. That includes you.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you …” Matthew 28:18–20 NIV

The Jesus way of life always starts with being called to come and follow Jesus. But that’s never where it stops. Jesus calls us to come and follow Him, and He commissions us to go and make disciples. He commands us to do for others what He has done for us—to do what He trained us to do: Fish for people.

These instructions from Jesus are known as the Great Commission—a final mandate given to His disciples then, and to us now, before He returned to heaven to be with the Father. He gave us His authority and entrusted us with His mission. A mission to reach the lost and disciple the found.

How? First, we tell them the good news of who Jesus is, what He’s done, and how that changes everything for them. If they accept that good news, then we invite them to publicly declare their allegiance to Him through the act of baptism. This part of the Great Commission is called evangelism. Then, we move on to the next phase, called discipleship, where we teach them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us. Discipleship doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that will continue for the rest of our lives. And while that may seem like an overwhelming task, there’s more good news: Jesus promises to be with us every step of the way.

… “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 NIV

These are the final words of Matthew’s Gospel. Words that also invite us back to the beginning.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:22–23 NIV

Some things never change. Jesus is always faithful. He can always be trusted. Everything He says is an expression of who He is. He is “God with us.” And He promises to always be with us. Rest in that promise. Trust in His character. Commit to follow Him with all that you have—because there is nothing more important and more meaningful than life with Him.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5–11 NIV

Application: Play your part in fulfilling the Great Commission. Commit to the Jesus way of life so that you can learn to obey everything Jesus has commanded you. Look for people you can invite to join you. For those in your life who aren’t Christians, share the good news of Jesus with them by telling them who Jesus is and showing them His love. For your neighbors who are Christians, demonstrate what it looks like to go where Jesus goes, do what Jesus does, trust what Jesus says, and love how Jesus loves. But don’t stop there. Make yourself available to help them learn what Jesus has commanded and put those commands into practice.

Finally, continue your discipleship journey by starting the Bible Plans Fully Devoted: An Introduction or Disciple-Making Disciples with friends today!