John 20:19-31 Moving Toward the Great Commission of God

John 20:19-31 Moving Toward the Great Commission of God

 The Great Mission of God has in many churches gone from the Great Commission to the Great Omission. What do I mean by this? We spend less time reaching out to people who need Jesus and we spend too much time playing church and doing our own thing.

What prevents me from moving to the Great Commission of God? Let’s first look at what the Great Commission is, and then we will look at the barriers which can prevent from “moving towards” the Great Commission of God. 

THE GREAT COMMISSION OF GOD

The Commission is stated in 20:21 (“As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.”) This Great Commission is listed five times in the Gospels and the Book of Acts. It is the single most important statement about our mission as Christians.

In Matthew, we have the purposes listed as functions of the church. This is the “how” of the Great 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, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:19–20, HCSB)

The main focus in this passage is to make disciples. The way we make disciples is by fulfilling the Great Commission. What are we to observe? We are to observe two commands which Jesus gave that summarize the “everything.”

“He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37–39, HCSB)

Commonly known as the Great Commission, this Scripture is the cornerstone of the Christian ethic concerning missions. Although the term mission or missions is never used in the Bible, it is apparent that was Jesus’ task assignment to the disciples.

Jesus’ ministry on earth was finished, and it was time for Him to ascend to heaven to be with the Father. With His work completed, Jesus took one last opportunity to remind the disciples that their primary job description was to “make disciples” of all nations. It is significant that Jesus emphasized this task. Jesus took this last chance to spell out His assignment to the disciples and left no room for doubt about their primary objective. Simple, no three–point sermon with seven objectives: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”¹

In Mark, we have the Great Commission listed with a supernatural description. This is the “who” of the Great Commission.

“Then He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes; if they should drink anything deadly, it will never harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.”” (Mark 16:15–18, HCSB)

This descriptions tells us two things. First, it tells us that we are called to go and preach to everyone. However, the “who” of the passage is depended not on my effort, but on the the work of God. Whoever believes will be baptized. This also says that whoever does not believe will be condemned. The Christian is only responsible for sharing the message. The receiver is responsible the response. That is why this is the “who” of the Great Commission. Just to make sure that you and I understand that we are not the one who change people, Mark describes the Great Commission as a supernatural work of God.

The emphasis here is on the power which will be displayed when we fulfill God’s purposes. In one sense, these verses were prophetic and descriptive. That means that they talked about other apostles (like Paul) who would have these signs. In another sense, signs still accompany people who trust in Jesus today. Changed lives still happen, if not in the exact same way as described in Mark.

In Luke, we have the Great Commission described as a message. This is the “what” of the Great Commission.

“and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And look, I am sending you what My Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.”” (Luke 24:47–49, HCSB)

In Luke, the Holy Spirit will bring about repentance and the forgiveness of sins. He is the One doing the changing work. We are called to be witnesses. We tell others about the change that has happened to us. To be a witness means you testify about what happened to you. You don’t worry about what happened to other guy. You don’t pressure the other people to change their ways. You talk about yourself and what God has done.

This is why I call this the “what” of the Great Commission. What is the content? How Jesus changed my life. How I repented or changed and received forgiveness when someone shared their faith story with me.

In Acts, we have a geographical description of the purposes of God. This is the “where” of the Great Commission:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” (Acts 1:8, HCSB)

In Acts, we have this roadmap. There is the physical roadmap, but it also implies a relational roadmap. I don’t just go from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the Earth. I don’t just go from Washburn, Seligman and Cassville and to the ends of the Earth. Instead, I move through this life and I build relationships with people around me. They may be in Washburn, but they may also be in Cassville where I work. They may also be in Bentonville where I work, or Rogers where I shop for groceries.

Then we have the Gospel of John. This is the “why” of the Great Commission.

“Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”” (John 20:21, HCSB)

In this Gospel, we see that the purposes of God are fulfilled by the people of God when they are a “sent” people. This is the missional description of the Great Commission of God. We are called to be on mission with God. God is a sending God. We are called to be a sending people. We are sent to do reveal God’s work. Just as God sent Jesus, you and I are sent on mission. Every single one of us is a missionary. Gerhardt Oncken, a German Baptist missionary who planted churches all over northern Germany once said:

“Every Baptist a missionary, every Baptist church a missionary sending station.”

In the same way the Father sent the Son, Jesus sends us, the church, on mission. Through the Great Commission, He invites us into a purpose that is bigger than ourselves. We have the opportunity to exist for something greater than our own dramas, our own wants, our own needs, and our own dreams. This fact should blow our minds: that with all our flimsy, fleshly, and cheesy humanity, the Creator would still ask us to share in what is most important to Him.

Being on mission is the paradigm shift of a lifetime. The greatest adventure is to hear the invitation and respond. The greatest tragedy is to ignore our calling and go on living life as usual.²

It seems that the Scriptures point to barriers which prevent us from moving to the purpose of God. This is God’s goal – that we fulfill the purposes He has given to His church.

BARRIERS TO FULFILLING THE GREAT COMMISSION OF GOD IN THE CHURCH

Barrier #1: Fear

“In the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because of their fear of the Jews. Then Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”” (John 20:19, HCSB)

Jesus tells us: “Peace to you.” In other words, “Fear not.” As Christians, we should not fear telling others about our Savior and Lord. But just like the first disciples we are scared of what other people will think. The disciples were fearful of the Jews, especially the religious Jews. So they were scared about the Jews out of the synagogue and in the synagogue. The Jews in the synagogue had tried to kill Jesus and they were getting ready to kill them.

The same is true today. We have people outside the church whom we should not fear. Many times, they are not hostile as much as they are indifferent. We also have people inside the church who have problems with sharing the message of Jesus Christ. They have problems and difficulties with “how we share the message,” “what group we are sharing the message,” “how the audience which we share the message looks.” We also have internal problems because we are scared of one another. We are jealous and scared of what other people have, or what they do.

We need to get to the point where we are in unity, and we are happy to share the message with others.

“Having said this, He showed them His hands and His side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:20, HCSB)

Notice that when they saw the Lord, they were happy. When I have my focus on you and you have your focus on others, especially when we are scared of others, we aren’t too happy. We’re miserable. However, when our focus is on the Risen Jesus and our community with Him, then the fear dies.

“Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”” (John 20:21, HCSB)

Again Jesus reminds us that we are sent. It is not a fearful thing to share the Gospel with other people. This should be happy thing. We should not be scared to share our story with others who need to hear it.

It was Tim Steller who said, “There are only two ways for us to respond to the truth about the supremacy of God in missions. We must either go out for the sake of His name, or we must send and support such people who do, and do so in a manner worthy of God.”³ Sending churches are those who either actively go out in missions as a active part of the churches missions strategy or those who also as part of their growth strategy, send out church planters and mission teams to launch new churches. They have as part of their DNA the call to plant new churches locally as well as globally.

“After saying this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22, HCSB)

How often the contemporary church finds itself behind closed doors, fearful and ineffectual, living on the wrong side of the resurrection. The problems are so vast and the enemy so overwhelming and all the talk about Jesus seems futile. What can be done but hide in the sanctuary discussing how desperate the situation is?⁴

But here Jesus breathes on them—reminiscent of Genesis 2:7, when God breathed life into Adam’s nostrils and he became a living soul.⁵

Barrier #2: Unforgiveness

“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”” (John 20:23, HCSB)

Jesus reminds us that forgiveness is a big part to sharing the Mission of God. Sharing my story gives God an open avenue to do His work. The forgiveness works both ways. I can prevent God from doing His Gospel work because I am not forgiving sins. I can let God work through the live of another person if I forgive them of sins committed against me.

Notice that Jesus addresses the believers, not the people who need forgiveness. What Jesus is saying here is that “if you…,” “if I…,” “if we…” spend time forgiving sins, we open the door for God to work. If we don’t forgive others of sins committed against us, if we “retain the sins of any” then we are telling God we are not wanting be on mission with Him. We don’t want people to come to Christ. We don’t want God to work in the lives of people who need Him.

Barrier #3: Absence

“But one of the Twelve, Thomas (called “Twin”), was not with them when Jesus came.” (John 20:24, HCSB)

I can’t do God’s work if I am absent from God’s people.

If I am absent from the presence of the community of God known as the local church, I will miss God showing up.

“not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25, HCSB)

Missing worship with other believers makes you miss out on the work of God around you.

Barrier #4: Stubbornness

“So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in His hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe!”” (John 20:25, HCSB)

The story of Thomas serves as a climax to the theme of John’s Gospel. He struggled with unbelief and doubt and insisted on the most unmistakable proofs. His phrase “I will not believe it” rightly shifts the issue of belief and unbelief from the intellect to the will. Yet when confronted by Jesus he recognized Him, fell on his knees and believed.

It’s not wrong for non-Christians to demand evidence for faith. But don’t expect proofs alone—whether from prophecy, miracles, testimony, or arguments showing the Bible to be the supernatural Word of God—to convince them. Believing is a matter of the will. All we can do is present Jesus to others as clearly as possible. When they recognize Him they will either choose to believe, or choose not to.⁶

Unbelief is a stubborn act of the will, not just thought in the mind.

Barrier #5: Unacceptance

We are going to run into more skeptics like Thomas. We are going to see people who look at Jesus and say: “prove it to me.” The problem we have as a church is that we don’t want to wait for them to see proof. We want them to accept how things are in the church. When we see a bit of doubt in their minds, or a different point that conflicts or even contradicts how we see the Gospel, we don’t have the patience for them to come around. We chalk it up to a younger generational problem and we tell them – “Get everything worked out before you join” or “go somewhere else”.

“After eight days His disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace to you!”” (John 20:26, HCSB)

“Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and observe My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer.”” (John 20:27, HCSB)

You know, I like that Jesus said to Thomas: “It is ok for you to check Me out.” Poke your fingers in the holes. Kick the tires. Check Me out before you commit to Me. Many times, the church gets it backwards. We say: Join and then commit. Jesus says: Commit first and then join in. What He means by that is the same thing He said elsewhere:

““For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28, HCSB)

“In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to all his possessions cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:33, HCSB)

Maybe Jesus is telling you today: Count the cost. Check Me out. How will you respond? Will you eventually respond like Thomas?

“Thomas responded to Him, “My Lord and my God!”” (John 20:28, HCSB)

Will you trust Jesus now in faith?

“Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Those who believe without seeing are blessed.”” (John 20:29, HCSB)

Jesus is doing many things around me, around you, around this group of believers, around this community. Things which are not written in the Gospel of John.

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book.” (John 20:30, HCSB)

The Great Call and the Great Commission is clear:

“But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31, HCSB)

The last verses in John 20 remind us here in summary that God is out doing His Great Mission. He wants us to join Him in what He is doing in the lives of other people. He wants us to be on mission so that we can see more people who do not yet believe (even though we have believed) come to follow Jesus Christ.