Go and Make Disciples

I have always been intrigued by the Great Commission. I remember when I was over in England in 1990 and heard the theme: Committed to God, Commissioned by God. I thought that was a great banner to live by and be patterned by. It is a phrase that I believe needs to etched into our lives. We need to remain committed to God and remember that we are commissioned by him.

Recently, it seems that in many different circles, I have seen the great commission front and center. All of them dealt with the scripture in Matthew (Matt. 28:19,20).

All four gospels and Acts deal with the "great commission" in some way. I have not swayed and still think that it is very vital for us to listen to the message. In a recent book that I was re-reading and need to do a book review on, I came across his thoughts about the great commission and it struck me a little.

Here are the four passages that deals with Jesus sending His disciples into the world:

Matthew 28:19-20
New American Standard Bible

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Mark 16:15
New American Standard Bible

15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Luke 24:49
New American Standard Bible

49 "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

Acts 1:4-8
New American Standard Bible

4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;

5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"

7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

John 20:20-22
New American Standard Bible

20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

21 So Jesus said to them again, " Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

Is it okay to integrate these stories ?

If so, could it read something like this:

You can't keep the secret of the kingdom to yourselves. I am now sending you, as the Father sent me, to communicate the good news of the kingdom of God. Those who receive your message, you should form into learning communities of practing disciples so they learn to live according to my secret message, just as you are learning. You should not do this in your own power, but you must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. And you shouldn't stop at the borders of your own culture, language, or religion, but you must cross every border and boundary to share with all people everywhere the secret you've learned from me - the way, the truth, the life you've experienced walking with me.

What do you think ?
Does that work ?
Is that heretic speech ?

Inquiring Minds Want To Know