The Lord’s Commission – Luke 9:1-2

Every current believer has benefitted from another believer being obedient to the Great Commission. Because someone shared the gospel with you, you believed and are saved. The Great Commission charges all of us to share the gospel and to make disciples. Sadly, in America, this primary command has been forgotten. Less than 10% of people in the American church know what the Great Commission is. The church has lost its priority.

James 2:26 warns that those who fail to obey Jesus’ commission (Matthew 28:19-20) do not have true faith. Our Lord commands us to be fishers of men by going out into the world to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Triune God, and teaching them His word.

In Luke 9:1-2 Jesus gives a similar commission directly to the twelve disciples. Their situation is both different and similar to ours. We must not take too much from these verses and understand the difference while also applying properly certain principles which are relevant to us.

Differences:

• We are not the twelve. Jesus specifically called these twelve for a specific purpose.
• Their purpose was specifically to deal with the apostasy that was happening in the nearby cities due to the false teaching of the Jewish religion.
• These apostles are the foundation of the New Testament church and this part of their training.
• Their signs and wonders were just like Jesus. Some so-called “miracle workers” try to replicate what the apostles did but they are nothing like what Jesus did. The miracles of the Bible were instant and completely effective. Also, as God’s word was continually being revealed in the New Testament age, the miracles were performed less and less.
• The disciples were the authors of the New Testament. So it was a special era of the church, where certain signs were given to prove that what the Apostles said and wrote was the truth of God

So in these ways, we cannot replicate what happened in Luke 9:1-6. But Luke does write about this so that we might know the truth and apply it to our lives. (Luke 1:3-4) So we look at the similarities and draw our application.

Similarities:

• The disciples were saved by faith through grace. They have the same salvation as we do (John 1:11-13)
• Their call to discipleship is the same (Matthew 16:24). We are called to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus
• We are messengers just like the Apostles. They were called to be fishers of men (Mark 1:17) We are called to preach the gospel (Romans 10:14). Everyone is called to be a messenger of God’s good news. Paul Snider labored tirelessly for 10 years in Korowai through countless hardships to preach the gospel and plant churches. May we all realize our calling as he did.

Obeying the Great Commission is not easy. When Jesus sent the disciples, it was a dangerous and unfavorable proposition. The people did not like Jesus or his message (Luke 4:29). It was a difficult time to send the disciples. Jesus was about to turn his attention from Galilee to Judea. He wanted the disciples to practice what He had been showing them for the past 18 months. Some of the disciples were married and had families and homes. Yet this was now the time for disciples to step out and experience ministry on their own.

The first thing we must note is that Jesus called them. Nothing will happen unless God first calls you. God does not call everyone. The unbeliever is never called. Also, God doesn’t call you based on your skills or powers (Deut 7:7-8). God calls according to His will. Without God’s call, no matter what you do, no one can be saved.

Another important point about being called is who does the calling. There are many who call us to obedience but none are Jesus. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Mt 16:15-16). He is God incarnate (Col 2:9). Jesus is perfect divinity in bodily form. He must be obeyed. Remember what happened in Luke 8:54-55 before Jesus called the disciples. He called Lazarus out of the tomb. Not even sin and death have the power to resist Jesus’ words. He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18, Dan 7:13-14).

Later on in Luke 10, Jesus will send 70 disciples. In Luke 9 Jesus only sends the twelve. From this, we can see that no one is exempt from the Great Commission. Jesus was the first to pursue and obey the Great Commission (Luke 4:43). Then the twelve, then the seventy. Finally, all Christians are called to proclaim the gospel. However, the modern church thinks that only the super Christians or those who have the title of Pastor or Missionary are called to make disciples. It is a gross misunderstanding that the average believer thinks that it is not their job. This is wrong. Everyone has been commissioned to make disciples wherever they are.

Another wrong understanding of the Great Commission is that it only applies to those who were alive and present during Jesus’ life. Some try to argue that Matthew 28:18 only applies to the people who were actually there. However, Apostle Paul was not part of the original twelve and was not a believer during Jesus’ earthly ministry. Yet he was filled with the Holy Spirit and began proclaiming the gospel to all parts of the known world ( Acts 9:11,19-20). Many, like Hudson Taylor, have understood the gospel and realized that he was called to go and share the very gospel by which he had been saved.

How do you know you are called by God? You have the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is better than being called by Jesus while he was on earth. Jesus could not physically be with all his disciples all over the world. Yet the Holy Spirit is with all of us in every place (John 14:18, 26). The Holy Spirit calls us (Acts 13:2) and leads up to Jesus Christ. So we must walk in the Holy Spirit and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The church is called by Jesus to fulfill the Great Commission. Remember you are called. Our calling is the source and power of obedience. It is our guarantee if we are called, then God will fulfill His purpose without fail. Therefore, those who are called spread the gospel through all the earth (Romans 10:18). Listen to the voice of your Shepherd and follow Him (John 10:27). We are not called to be rich or famous but we are called to be fishers of men. It truly is the greater honor and blessing.