‘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. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”’ – Matthew 28:18-20

Why The Gospel Matters: Wrath and Grace

To understand why Jesus commands us to go, we must first understand what is at stake. The greatest danger that humanity faces is not the threat of nuclear war or climate change, neither is it disease nor famine; it is the wrath of God. Scripture says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18). If God is angry, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

The greatest danger that mankind faces is the wrath of God.

And yet – this same God, “who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us” (Ephesians 2:4), instead of sending us all to eternity in hell, which our deeds deserve, “gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God sent Jesus to deliver us from the wrath of God. This he accomplished by his death on the cross and victory over death through his resurrection.

This rescue mission did not end at the cross; it began there. It is this good news, which cannot be kept, that Jesus commissioned his disciples to go into all the world and propagate. As this gospel is proclaimed, it gives its hearers something to believe as faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17).

God’s Provision for The Gospel

The command to go is not reckless; it is rooted in the total authority of Christ. Jesus declared that, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go…” The scope of the authority of Christ is heaven and earth. It covers not only the earthly realm but is comprehensive enough to include every sphere imaginable. No power in heaven or on earth is outside of his control. He confirmed this authority by his resurrection power; he overpowered death, and it could not hold him captive.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go

This all-encompassing power of Christ is the foundation for missions; it legitimizes our mission. Because Jesus has all power, his command to go and make disciples is backed by his limitless ability to support his work. The declaration and commandment in themselves are empowering.

The Promise of His Presence

Authority alone would not be enough if Christ were distant. But he is not. The Lord also promises his abiding presence through the work of missions. He said, “And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Those who step out in obedience to this command can rest assured that he is with them. He could have said “I will be with you,” and that would still be fine. That may, however, indicate a future presence that is not immediately available. “I will” doesn’t necessarily mean now. Jesus said, “I am”, indicating his presence in the work of missions from the very beginning to the end.

God has decided that we partner with Him in calling people to salvation.

His instruction to “make disciples of all nations” is the primary imperative in the Great Commission. ‘Going’, ‘baptizing’, and ‘teaching’ are the participles that tell how this disciple-making is to be accomplished. Those who believe as the good news is shared are to become lifelong followers and learners of Christ – his disciples.

We can conclude from the above that the main command in the Great Commission is to make disciples. It is not enough to make people converts to Christianity; they must be made into people who spend the rest of their lives following Jesus, learning of him, and becoming like him. It has always been God’s intention that those he foreknew would be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (Romans 8:29). Who gets this work done?

The Work of God

Salvation is the work of God – from start to finish. Paul said, “you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). A dead person is unable to save themselves; only the resurrection and the life can bring about resurrection. Paul also said, “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8). Peter concurs by saying, God, in his great mercy “has given us new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). No one comes to Christ except by the work of God; it is he who brings each person to salvation. “No one can come to me”, Jesus said, “unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

At this point, an important question presses itself upon us. If salvation is entirely the work of God — if the dead cannot raise themselves, if faith itself is a gift, if no one can come unless the Father draws them — then why must we go? If God alone saves, what role is left for us? Does divine sovereignty make human obedience unnecessary? This tension must be faced honestly before we can move forward.

The answer is this: Because someone will be saved doesn’t remove the need to go. God has ordained that our speaking is the means by which people will hear the gospel and come to faith. God has decided that we partner with him in the business of calling people to salvation in Jesus Christ.

Co-Workers With God

God’s chosen means: preaching, hearing, calling.

Paul was “an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness” (Titus 1:1). He said that when the appointed season came, God “brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me” (Titus 1:3). The believers were God’s elect but their coming to faith required the preaching that God entrusted to Paul. He also told the Thessalonian church that “God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). How did this choice of the Thessalonians by God for salvation come to fruition? Paul goes on to say that, “He called you to this through our gospel” (2 Thessalonians 2:14).

So, the elect are called to salvation as they hear the good news of the gospel from the mouths of those who obey the Great Commission. Faith, as was said earlier, comes by hearing. Jesus said, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:16, 27).

Who goes out to bring in this sheep, and whose voice do these sheep hear that they perceive and receive as that of Jesus calling them to the fold?

Going is taking this power [of the gospel] and unleashing it for the salvation of souls

It is that of the preacher. “For we are God’s fellow workers”, Paul said (1 Corinthians 3:9). The field in which this work is done is in this world as the unreached are reached and discipled.

The privilege of participation

When God showed Ezekiel the dry bones (Ezekiel 37), it was not to overwhelm him with an impossible situation but to provide the prophet with an opportunity to partner with God in bringing the dry bones back to life. His speaking/prophesying was him being God’s mouthpiece in calling the dead back to life. That is essentially what evangelism is. Isn’t it a priceless privilege that mere mortals like you and me would be granted the opportunity to call dead people to life in Christ? That this work will continue until they enter joyfully into the presence of God in the final salvation? O what power is released from mortal lips when they speak the good news.

Going is partnering with God, being co-workers with him, his mouthpiece, through which he calls the dead back to life. Why is this gospel able to bring people to life?

The Power of God

Many hesitate to go because they feel powerless. But the power does not reside in the messenger. Paul said the gospel “is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). The gospel is not just a powerful thing; it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes no matter their ethnicity. This means that the good news of Jesus Christ (His life, death, and resurrection) contains God’s divine ability to save people from sin. It offers forgiveness, transformation, and eternal life to all who believe.

The word of God is the vehicle of divine power, so when it is spoken, it conveys God’s power to bring about salvation. Paul said, “to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Those who are saved are saved even now, are kept through the trials of this life, and will be brought into a joyful eternity in God’s presence. That is no mean achievement, and the power to accomplish that has been vested by God in the good news of the gospel. Going is taking this power and unleashing it for the salvation of souls.

How Others Responded

How have others responded to God’s invitation to partner with him in advancing his kingdom through the propagation of the gospel?

When Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” he answered, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). He didn’t hear God calling and think that someone else should go while he went on with his business. Haven’t you heard of the Great Commission? How have you responded to it?

Paul said, “I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

Angels have not been given this assignment. Even when they appear, they say to send for a human. An angel appeared to Cornelius but didn’t preach the gospel to him; he told Cornelius to send for Peter (Acts 10).

History and Scripture show us how God’s servants responded. The question now is unavoidable.

Your Own Response

Once, David expressed his longing for a drink from the water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem. Without him commanding any of them, his three mighty men risked their lives to break through the Philistine camp and get the water for him (2 Samuel 23:15-17).

Disciples cannot be made unless someone has gone.

Isn’t Jesus worthy of more from you as he longs for the souls of those lost?

Don’t be like the older brother to the prodigal son, who did nothing about his father’s longing for his lost son. Instead of sharing his father’s concern, he was angry at grace. Jonah was similarly displeased at the grace of God extended to the people of Nineveh (Jonah 4:1-3).

Don’t also be like the son who, when told by his father to work in the vineyard, answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but never did (Matthew 21:28-31).

No Christian is given a pass on making disciples, and no church is exempt. It was David Platt who said, “Biblically, to be a disciple is to make disciples. Scripture knows nothing of disciples who aren’t making disciples.”

Enough of everything else but going. Just go.

Disciples cannot be made unless someone has gone. Enough of everything else but going. Just go! Will you go?

“Let none hear you idly saying,

There is nothing I can do.

While the lost of earth are dying,

And the Master calls for you;

Take the task He gives you gladly;

Let His work your pleasure be;

Answer quickly when He calls you,

Here am I, send me, send me.” – Daniel March (1868).