Pastor Lazarus Muoka
Matt. 28:19-20 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Mrk. 16:15-16 says, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”
The passages above recorded in the gospel by Matthew and Mark are the final instruction by our Lord Jesus, while on earth to His disciples.
The message, which the verses portend, is so important as it was not only the last order but also because they explain what the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ are expected to be doing in the long
period between the end of His first and His second coming.
Our Lord Jesus knew that His second coming will take a long time, thus He gave to His disciples what to be occupied with till He comes. This last instruction is the marching order of all Christians.
It explains what Christians are expected to be doing during the long period between His first and second coming, and how they are to do it and what result they should expect from the work.
But more than two thousand years since Jesus made these statement in which He commissioned those that will follow after Him to go and preach the gospel to every creature, many are asking whether this commission is still obligatory in today’s context.
This is because some Christians are no longer considering this commission as relevant in their Christian life.
Thus, what we have today are pastors who are interested only in owning a few congregations and not spreading the gospel beyond their nose.
If this is the last instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and taking into consideration the fact that the final word of any man is what is uppermost in his mind, then this instruction must be taken serious.
If this is the rhythm in the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of His earthly ministry, then the commission is still relevant, for this is what our heart ought to be yearning for.
Every Christian must see this commission as the life wire of his faith, for in it he shall live, the church shall stand and the Kingdom of God will be populated. No wonder Apostle Paul said, ‘woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel’.
If you claim to be a Christian and preach not the gospel, you are deceiving yourself. If Christ is our Lord, our Captain and Superior, then we are therefore under command to obey His last order.
He has commanded that we make disciples of all nations. Not a one off exercise, but a continuous workout. We must, therefore, constantly be on the go in this assignment to conquer the world for the Master, carrying the glad tidings into all lands and to every ear, and must not deem this work ended till all nations shall have embraced the gospel and enrolled themselves as His disciples. The work is not done, when only members of your family are believers, but when the whole world is for Christ.
This is the greatest calling of our Master; therefore every other thing should be of lesser importance. Nothing should be as important as being obedient to your captain in this warfront called the world.
Source:
https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/ibru-ecumenical-centre/relevance-of-the-great-commission/
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