Essential Elements of the Great Commission
A. The Great Commission: Tells us what we are to do and whereTwo thousand years ago, Jesus told us to take the Gospel to the whole world. He was very definite about it. In fact, He gave us the same command five different times in the first five books of the New Testament.
1. Matthew 28:18–19 defines the depth of the Great Commission.
‘Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
2. Mark 16:15 emphasizes the breadth and quantity of the sowing.
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
3. Luke 24:46–47 shows the surety of the Great Commission.
“He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
4. John 20:21 shows Jesus as the model of the Great Commission.
“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
5. Acts 1:8 speaks of the extent of the Great Commission.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
‘Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
2. Mark 16:15 emphasizes the breadth and quantity of the sowing.
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
3. Luke 24:46–47 shows the surety of the Great Commission.
“He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
4. John 20:21 shows Jesus as the model of the Great Commission.
“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
5. Acts 1:8 speaks of the extent of the Great Commission.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second one was like it, “to love your neighbor as yourself.”
He also gave us clear commands as to the people we were to love:
-excerpt from Paul Eshleman’s, World Evangelization in the 21st Century:Prioritizing the Essential Elements of the Great Commission
http://gospelcentric.org/2011/01/22/essential-elements-of-the-great-commission/