The Great Commission: GO WITH JESUS

Matthew 28:18-20

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, baptizing 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

And _____ came and said to them, “All _____ in heaven and on earth has been given to me. _____ therefore and make _____ of all nations, _____ them in the _____ of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, _____ them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am _____ _____ always, to the end of the age.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Luke 9:23

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Dietrich BonhoefferWhen Christ bids a man, he bids him come and die.

Luke 9:24

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

BEHOLD - Look! See! Pay attention!

ALWAYS - All the days. And at all the times.

We can’t just look at the commission Jesus has given us. We must also look at Christ who goes with us!

The Great Commission is not just Go FOR Jesus.
The Great Commission is Go WITH Jesus.

Disciple with Jesus. Immerse with Jesus. Teach them with Jesus.

Luke 24:51

While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.

Luke 24:52

And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

John 14:16–18

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 16:7

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Although the Son and the Spirit are distinct Persons, it is through the Spirit, the risen Jesus is truly and personally present with His people.

Romans 8:9–10

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

For three years the disciples had known the presence of Jesus walking bodily beside them. Now, through the indwelling Spirit, they would know the presence of the risen Christ wherever the great commission took them. (Same is true for us!!)

The Great Commission is not the church continuing the ministry of Jesus in His absence. It is the risen Jesus continuing His ministry through His Spirit-indwelt church.

Let’s not forget there is an awareness and experience of Christ's promised presence that we often discover as we daily die to self and obey his command to go.