Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 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 28:16-20 ESV)
I saw the Great Commission in a new way this morning. I saw it first as a whole made up of two parts.
The whole: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."
Part one: "...baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..."
Part two: "...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
These two parts have to be done in order to make disciples. We must first make converts and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. This is justification. Then we must teach the new converted people all that Jesus has commanded. This is sanctification.
If we only seek to make converts, we get people who "prayed the prayer" but bear no fruit. If we seek only to teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded, then we get legalistic "dead trees" with duct-taped fruit.
We have been sent on a mission not to make prayers of prayers or pharisees, but disciples. This is much harder work and most glorifying to God.
Help us, Jesus. He is with us always, "to the end of the age."
