O4. Implementing the "Great Commission" Proclaimed by Yeshua. [Make a Comment]
We are to go to the whole world with the "Great Commission" proclaimed by Yeshua, in the power of the Holy Spirit - first to the Jew and then to the Gentile.
This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):
Key Scriptures
*Matthew 28:16-20
So the eleven talmidim went to the hill in the Galil where Yeshua had told
them to go. When they saw him, they prostrated themselves before him; but
some hesitated. Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, "All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make people
from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the
Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, and teaching them to obey everything
that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes,
even until the end of the age."
*Mark 16:14-18
Later, Yeshua appeared to the Eleven as they were eating, and he reproached
them for their lack of trust and their spiritual insensitivity in not having
believed those who had seen him after he had risen. Then he said to them,
"As you go throughout the world, proclaim the Good News to all creation.
Whoever trusts and is immersed will be saved; whoever does not trust will be
condemned.
Mark 16:20
And they went out and proclaimed everywhere, the Lord working with them and
confirming the message by the accompanying signs.
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh comes upon you; you will
be my witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all Y'hudah and Shomron,
indeed to the ends of the earth!"
Supportive Scriptures - To the Jew First
Matthew 10:1
Yeshua called his twelve talmidim and gave them authority to drive out
unclean spirits and to heal every kind of disease and weakness.
Matthew 10:5-8
These twelve Yeshua sent out with the following instructions: "Don't go
into the territory of the Goyim, and don't enter any town in Shomron,
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Isra'el. As you go,
proclaim, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is near,' heal the sick, raise
the dead, cleanse those afflicted with tzara'at, expel demons. You have
received without paying, so give without asking payment.
Mark 6:7
Yeshua summoned the Twelve and started sending them out in pairs, giving
them authority over the unclean spirits.
Luke 9:1-2
Calling together the Twelve, Yeshua gave them power and authority to expel
all the demons and to cure diseases; and he sent them out to proclaim the
Kingdom of God and to heal.
Luke 10:8-9
Whenever you come into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put
in front of you. Heal the sick there, and tell them, 'The Kingdom of
God is near you.'
Luke 10:18-19
Yeshua said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Remember,
I have given you authority; so you can trample down snakes and scorpions,
indeed, all the Enemy's forces; and you will remain completely
unharmed.
Acts 10:42
Then he [Yeshua] commanded us to proclaim and attest to the Jewish people
that this man has been appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it is God's powerful means
of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew
especially, but equally to the Gentile.
Romans 3:1-2
Then what advantage has the Jew? What is the value of being circumcised?
Much in every way! In the first place, the Jews were entrusted with the very
words of God.
Supportive Scriptures - Miscellaneous
Matthew 4:18-19
As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen -
Shim'on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew - throwing their net
into the lake. Yeshua said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you
fishers for men!"
(See also, Mark 1:16-18; Luke 5:8-10)
Matthew 24:14
And this Good News about the Kingdom will be announced throughout the whole
world as a witness to all the Goyim. It is then that the end will come.
Mark 13:9-10
But you, watch yourselves! They will hand you over to the local Sanhedrins,
you will be beaten up in synagogues, and on my account you will stand before
governors and kings as witnesses to them. Indeed, the Good News has to be
proclaimed first to all the Goyim.
Luke 10:1-9
After this, the Lord appointed seventy other talmidim and sent them on ahead
in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go. He said
to them, "To be sure, there is a large harvest. But there are few workers.
Therefore, plead with the Lord of the Harvest that he speed workers out to
gather in his harvest. Get going now, but pay attention! I am sending you
out like lambs among wolves. Don't carry a money-belt or a pack, and
don't stop to shmoose with people on the road. Whenever you enter a
house, first say, 'Shalom!' to the household. If a seeker of
shalom is there, your 'Shalom!' will find its rest with him; and
if there isn't, it will return to you. Stay in that same house, eating
and drinking what they offer, for a worker deserves his wages - don't
move about from house to house. Whenever you come into a town where they
make you welcome, eat what is put in front of you. Heal the sick there, and
tell them, 'The Kingdom of God is near you.'"
John 20:21
"Shalom aleikhem!" Yeshua repeated. "Just as the Father sent me, I myself am
also sending you."
Romans 1:14-15
I owe a debt to both civilized Greeks and uncivilized people, to both the
educated and the ignorant; therefore I am eager to proclaim the Good News
also to you who live in Rome.
1 Corinthians 9:16
For I can't boast merely because I proclaim the Good News - this I do
from inner compulsion: woe is me if I don't proclaim the Good News!
Galatians 3:8
Also the Tanakh, foreseeing that God would consider the Gentiles righteous
when they live by trusting and being faithful, told the Good News to Avraham
in advance by saying, "In connection with you, all the Goyim will be
blessed."
Ephesians 4:11
Furthermore, he gave some people as emissaries, some as prophets, some as
proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers.
Commentary
The term "Great Commission" does not appear in the text of the Bible. Its origin is unknown, but the term appears to have been popularized by Hudson Taylor (nineteenth century) to refer to Yeshua's instruction to his original disciples (all Jews), to go to all nations and make the people from them into new disciples. They were instructed to immerse these new disciples into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them obedience to the commandments of God as taught by Yeshua.
According to Matthew 28:16-20 and Mark 16:14-18, Yeshua's disciples were to preach to all the nations. Prior to that (Matthew 10:5-8), they were given similar instructions but to go only to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." This and several other Scriptures indicate that, whereas the "Good News" brought by Yeshua was (and is) meant for all peoples, it was (and is) exceptionally important that it be preached first to the Jews because they have the primary covenantal responsibility of reaching the Gentile world for God. This covenantal responsibility was first proclaimed to Abraham (Genesis 3:8-9, 26:4), and was later re-proclaimed through Moses (Exodus 19:5-6).
The Great Commission cannot be accomplished without the power of the Holy Spirit. We read in John 14:15-26 of how, when Yeshua left the earth to be with his Father in heaven, the Father would send back the Holy Spirit. And in Acts 1:8, we read that Yeshua's disciples had to wait for power from the Holy Spirit before they could effectively be Yeshua's witnesses. Finally (and consistent with that), we read in Matthew 10:5-8 and Mark 16:20 that the effectiveness of the disciples' witness to the non-believing world was largely due to supernatural signs of power that were provided by the Holy Spirit. It is just as true for those of us who are Yeshua's disciples today.
Classical Commentators
This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the classical commentators.
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