“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.”
Matthew 28:19
Those of us who have spent most of our lives in conservative evangelicalism have heard innumerable sermons about the Great Commission.
In the minds of many, this is the whole ball game. The Great Commission is our purpose and focus both as the Church and as individual Christians. It is the last commandment of Christ given to the disciples after the Resurrection and just before he ascended to heaven.
This is why evangelicals proselytize. This is why Baptists view baptism as a central part of a Christian’s calling and purpose.
It is an important part of our Christian calling.
Still, I couldn’t help but notice something two verses earlier that I had not previously noticed. “When [the disciples] saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted.” The simultaneous presence of worship and doubt, even while the disciples are in the presence of the Risen Christ, is intriguing. Just as intriguing is that Christ does not correct them or reprimand them.
Christ reassures them by reminding them of His authority and then commissions them. He accepts the coexistence of faith and doubt.
Jesus then calls them to make disciples. He tells the disciples to do what He has been doing with them over the previous three years. He directs them to live with others and teach them. These are not shallow proclamations or manipulated professions of faith. Jesus is asking them to pour their lives into others. And, notably, He isn’t asking them just to pour into other Jews. He explicitly calls them to live with and pour their lives into all nations.
The word ‘baptism’ here is generally seen as a call to perform a specific sacrament involving water. I think that is accurate. But let’s explore a different angle.
Baptism means immersion. ‘Name,’ in the Bible, often doesn’t just reference the name people call someone; it references the character of that person. So, while this verse likely does reference the sacrament of baptism. I believe Jesus is also telling His disciples to pour themselves into all types and ethnicities of people, immersing them in the character of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In the following verse, Jesus tells the disciples to teach their disciples to obey everything Jesus had commanded. This could also be translated as the disciples should teach their followers to fulfill all that He commanded. But remember that for Jesus, love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self are what fulfill the entirety of the law.
Maybe the Great Commission is not telling us, as Christians, to preach on the street, hold evangelistic campaigns, proclaim damnation, or do any of the many things we do to try to convince people to come to Christ.
Maybe the Great Commission is calling us to accept both our faith and our doubt. Maybe we should understand it as meaning we are to pour into the lives of others, both those like us and those very different from us, as we immerse them in the character of the triune God–a God of love. Perhaps, instead of knocking on doors and passing out tracts, we are called to teach others to live out the radical love for God, others, and self that Jesus modeled. Jesus said that we would be known by our love, not by our evangelistic fervor. Maybe love is the most effective evangelism.
A Quote to Consider
“Irritability is immaturity of character. If you are subject to being cross and unpleasant with others for no apparent reason, you need to come face-to-face with the fact that you are thinking too much of yourself. After all, your feelings are not the most important thing in this world.”
-Lawrence G. Lovasik
I believe my wife would verify that this isn’t normally me. I don’t tend to be irritable for no reason.
But I also know that my wife would affirm that this is sometimes me. On more than one occasion, my wife has cautioned me about becoming a grumpy old man.
The humbling truth is that when this quote describes me, it also properly diagnoses the problem. I am thinking too much about myself. I need to admit this, confess it, and confront it.
There are times when I treat my feelings as the most important thing in the world. It isn’t that they are unimportant, but they are not more important than the feelings of the person I am being irritable toward.
If I am to love others as myself, I must regard their feelings as seriously as I regard my own. If I am to model Christ and love sacrificially, there are times when I need to regard their feelings more than my own.
How silly and immature am I when I get grumpy over a minor slight, especially when compared to Christ praying that the Roman soldiers be forgiven as He hung on the cross.
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Meet us in both our faith and our doubt. Shape us by Your love, free us from selfishness, and help us pour grace into the lives of others.
Amen.
Image: Pamela Reynoso
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