Last week, I asked a small group Bible Study if they knew what the Great Commission was. “Is that what a salesman can get from making a big sale?” one of the ladies responded.
I chuckled, but then soon realized that nobody else in the group was laughing.
They had never heard of the Great Commission.
In modern usage, a commission is the percentage of a sale that a salesman earns. The word “commission,” however, originally meant “an instruction, command, or duty given to an individual or group.” In our armed forces today, an officer is commissioned when they officially receive their first rank and assignment.
Coming from the Latin “committere,” the term originally meant, “to send out together” or “to send in a joint mission.” Our English word “committee” also comes from this same root.
That leads us back to the Great Commission. Weeks after his resurrection, not long before he ascended into heaven, Jesus met his disciples on a mountain in Galilee. “Go and make disciples of all nations,” Jesus told them, “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).
The Great Commission is our great co-mission. Jesus sends us to make disciples. A disciple is a follower of Jesus. A disciple is a believer.
And the way Jesus says to make disciples is to baptize and teach – the two tools God uses to plant and water the seed of faith. That is the co-mission of every believer. That is why the Church exists – to baptize and to teach.
And the Great Commission isn’t simply a call to go to foreign lands to do mission work. In the original Greek, Jesus literally said, “While you are going, make disciples.” The task of disciple- making is not only the job of a pastor or foreign missionary. This is our comission. While we are going, as we go about our daily lives, our Savior has called us to share the good news of his love with others, to talk about him, to invite and encourage others in their faith.
That is our co-mission as Christians. Jesus has commissioned you as an officer with an important and urgent task.
Sometimes we lose sight of the importance and urgency of the Great Commission because we forget one simple truth. Every person we know – every family member, friend, neighbor, and co-worker – is going to end up either in heaven or in hell. We all deserve to go to hell. Only those who believe in Jesus can end up in heaven.
Our co-mission is important. Time is short. Your granddaughter, your friend, your neighbor could die tomorrow. You could die on Friday. The world could end on Monday. Where will they go if they don’t believe in Jesus? How can they believe unless someone tells them – unless someone invites them?
This is important. This is urgent. This is our co-mission as Christians.
So, go. And while you are going, baptize and teach. Be witnesses. Tell everyone you can what Jesus has done for them.
Pastor Andrew Schroer has been a pastor for over 25 years and is currently serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Edna, Texas. You can find his latest books, “364 Days of Thanksgiving” and “364 Days of Devotion,” on Amazon.com.
