The Great Commission
Scripture References: Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Kings 8:27, Hebrews 8:1-6, 2 Chronicles 36:19-20, 22-23, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Peter 2:4-5.
Introduction:
“Oh your grace so free, washes over me.
You have made me new, now life begins with you.” -Death was arrested
A fitting lyric for this week. There is nothing quite like a baptism service! Why is it so special? Because we celebrate new life…this is our commission:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” -Matthew 28:19 ESV
This is what it’s all about – the ‘great commission’, the job Jesus gave to His followers right before he ascended into Heaven. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve seen this commission in a new light. Our LIFE group is currently going through a series on the theology of the Temple. As I prepared for our study last week, I noticed a fascinating connection that speaks to what we are really doing when we follow the ‘great commission’…
Devotional:
The Temple in the Old Testament is the symbol and reality of God dwelling with His people. It is a representation of God’s original intent to dwell among His creation. When humanity rebels, God still makes a way to dwell among them. That is what the Tabernacle and the later Temple allows…it is a sacred space that allows for a Holy God to dwell among a sinful people.Yet even Solomon after building the Temple, in His prayer of dedication knew that the building itself could not possibly contain the God of the universe…
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! -1 Kings 8:27 ESV
The Temple and priestly rites are merely a microcosm…a picture of a greater reality, or as the book of Hebrews puts it – a “copy and shadow of heavenly things” (see Heb 8:1-6).
Given what the Temple represents, it was a devastating event when Israel is thrust into exile and the temple is destroyed (As a result of Israel’s unfaithfulness). 2 Chronicles 36 is one of the key passages which narrates this event:
“And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia” –2 Chronicles 36:19-20 ESV
When Israel’s captivity in Babylon is completed as prophesied and Persia takes over…we read an interesting commission from Cyrus King of Persia just a few verses later…
“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’” -2 Chronicles 36:22-23 ESV
What is Cyrus commissioning here? He is commissioning the people of Israel to return to their land…to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. There are many striking similarities from this commission to the commission we read in Matthew 28. Let’s look at that commission and compare the two…
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” –Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
Now let’s compare…
| Question | 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 | Matthew 28:18-20 |
|---|---|---|
| Who is making the proclamation? | Cyrus – King of Persia | Jesus |
| What does he possess? | “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth” | “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” |
| Who gives him this authority? | “The Lord, God of heaven…” | God the Father |
| Where are they coming from? Where are they sent? | From exile and captivity in a foreign land (the nations) to Jerusalem. | From Jerusalem, to all nations |
| What is he commissioning? | Go and build the temple | Go and make disciples |
Now, what are we actually doing when we ‘make disciples’…in short – we are temple builders!…
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? -1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. –2 Corinthians 6:16 ESV
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. –Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. –1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV
We are living stones, building each other up as a spiritual house. The temple of the Lord where His presence dwells with Jesus as the chief cornerstone…on whom the whole structure is built on.
So why was the physical temple in the Old Testament such a big deal? Because it points to a greater reality in which we are called to be active participants…
As ‘temple builders’ in this sense, we are building something much greater than a building…we are active participants in building the kingdom of God.
As we approach this baptism Sunday, may we embrace our commission to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. May we be relentless in our commission to build the temple of God with ‘living stones’ – filling the earth…
Who will be in that water next because of our witness?
Amen.
Sean Wagner