The Great Commission in Matthew 28 is often used to encourage missions and evangelistic activities. Through the history of the church, we have seen a number of such examples from the first and second Great Awakenings, and the Billy Graham Crusades. They’ve continued more recently with a number of popular preachers whipping up large crowds in various parts of the world. In all of these, we find the urging to “be saved.” The statement of Jesus comes at the end of Matthew’s Gospel which is significant. Jesus has already sent his disciples in sets of two to tell the gospel, giving them specific instructions as to what to do in different locales based on the reception they receive. This sending in chapter 28 then isn’t something absolutely new. Too, both John and Jesus preached a gospel – the good news – of the kingdom of God and it’s immanent and imminent coming. What is interesting is that the lead-in to the Great Commission is Jesus’s statement that “all authority in Heaven and...
Ramblings and observations