Commissioning

                                   Matthew 28: 16-20

 

 

          When we think of vacations or great escapes, we usually think of either the beach or the mountains. Maybe that’s because at either location, we stand in the presence of more natural beauty and raw power that we are used to seeing in more civilized areas.  The oceans and the mountains have an untamed taste to them that makes us more aware of our limitations, more attuned, perhaps, to the fact that there really is a big picture and that we are not completely in control of our destinies after all.

          Jesus had a thing for the beach and the mountains himself. They were two of his favorite venues for preaching, for praying, even for promising. He picked up several of his disciples on a stroll down the beach one day. Later, we see him doing everything from preaching in a boat to calming the sea in a tempest. After his resurrection, he even made breakfast on the beach for seven of the disciples.

          As for the mountains, there are at least five mountaintop appearances by Jesus, and one more that is promised. More about that one later. Jesus came up from the desert during his temptation and met Satan on a mountaintop where they could see for miles. He preached to the people on a mountaintop in Galilee. He met with Moses and Elijah on a high mountaintop for the Transfiguration. In Jerusalem he climbed a hill carrying a cross to a place called Mount Calvary. The last time was after the resurrection. Jesus directed his disciples to come to a mountain in Galilee. We know that event as the Great Commission, but that’s really only half the story. It could also be known as the Great Promise, for indeed our Savior gave us that in addition to a commissioning.

          To receive a commission is to be granted certain powers or maybe to authorize a group to undertake a certain task. For instance, I was commissioned as a U.S. Naval officer. My ship was as new as I was and it was commissioned a U.S. Naval vessel at a big ceremony. Even my current job operates through a commission. I am commissioned as the pastor of this church to do all those things that pastors do, but I am to do them only at this church because that’s the way my commission is defined. Jesus did that in Matthew 28. He called his disciples together and he defined their commission. They were to go, to make disciples, to baptize and to teach. They were to do so pursuant to the authority given them by Jesus. Their commission was not limited by geography, but it was limited in its application. They were to do these things in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit. They were not to create their own agenda, but rather to work within the scope of their commission.

          So the eleven disciples come to the mountain at Jesus’ invitation. By this time, Jesus has made at least two other post-resurrection appearances to them. When they see him again, they worship him. And yet, Matthew tells us that some doubted. Some who? Some of the eleven? Some of the other, unnamed disciples? Who is it that doubted him? Bible scholars will argue about who they were, but the text of Matthew is pretty plain. It says that the eleven disciples went to the mountain and some doubted. To me, this means that some of the eleven disciples doubted. This in spite of the fact that they had already seen the risen Christ! Now what’s that all about?  It could be a number of things. Maybe they doubted what good they could do now. The Jesus movement was apparently over.  There was to be no overthrow of the Roman government.  The Messiah was not going to save his people. Or maybe they just still doubted who or what they saw. Was it really Jesus? Was he really alive?  It was a lot to take in. Maybe they were just paralyzed by being in the presence of a supernatural, totally holy being. They still didn’t know what to do or even what Jesus wanted them to do.

          So he told them. I have the authority, he said. I have it in heaven and I have it here on earth, he said. Go, he said, meaning: don’t stay home. Instead, he meant get off this mountain. Leave the upper room and Go. Make disciples, he said.  Here, the mission of all followers of Jesus becomes clear. It is now a global commission. Jesus wants to make disciples of all nations. No more Jews or Greeks or Samaritans or hippies or strangers or any other man made classes.  Just Christians. Baptize, he said, referring not so much to the physical act as to the spiritual conversion of people to the gospel message. It is a baptism that clearly mentions the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, though the word itself is not used. Teach, he said, and he meant everyone. He wanted them to tell others of all his teachings, all his commands.

          Then there was the promise, and what a promise it was! Jesus said to his followers: “Ánd behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Look at Jesus’ promise. After he commissions us to do the work of evangelism, he gives us all the motivation…and all the support, we should ever need. Jesus, the risen Christ, the Son of God, will be with us. He will be at our side. No days off. He will be with us always. Always means all the time for all time. It was and is, the Great Promise from the Master. I’ve got your back…all the time.

          I mentioned earlier that the New Testament contains at least one more promised mountaintop appearance. In the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, the Lamb of God stands with a godly army on Mount Zion, God’s holy hill in heaven. God’s heavenly choir sings a new song. Only the redeemed can sing this new song. This is our promise as God’s people that one day, the Lamb of God will return from Mount Zion to claim those of us who have been redeemed. Just like the Great Promise in Matthew, we have this vision of God’s promise for the end of the age.

          It’s a great thing to be a disciple of Jesus. Being a disciple means first that we follow him. But it doesn’t stop there. He has led us, taught us, convicted us for a reason. We are his arms and legs, his hands and feet…yes, even his spokespersons. We are the church, the gathering of God’s people. As surely as we gather here for worship and fellowship, we must disperse to our homes and schools and neighborhoods and places of work as disciples commissioned to make disciples, to make known the Savior who has made himself known to us. Yes, we too may doubt. We may doubt our ability or our conviction or our readiness. When we do, we are in good company, for Matthew reminds us that even Jesus’ handpicked disciples shared such doubts. But we are armed…armed with the written Word of God, and with the Great Promise of Jesus himself. “And behold, I am with you always…”