23rd January, 2008

SIU FUNG WU

I am totally committed to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20.

I learned about it when I was a young Christian. For a long time I thought that it was about bringing people to Christ - both locally and overseas - and telling them how to “go to heaven”. Once they had been converted to Christianity, we would teach them how to be disciples, which meant doing a lot of “Christian things”. They included: Read the Bible; pray everyday; go to church every Sunday; participate in mid-week church activities; tithe; give money to overseas mission and the poor; and, above all, tell other people how to do all of the above!

A closer look

But at a closer look we find that these are not entirely right. First, Jesus didn’t really say that we are to tell people how to “go to heaven”. Yes, the Bible says that those who believe in Jesus will have eternal life. But it doesn’t say that after death there will be some kind of heavenly bliss. Instead, John tells us in Revelation that we will live in a new city, where God will dwell with us (21:2-3, 10). (Note that John says that the city will come down “out of” heaven.)

This means that the Christian life is not about a future blissful super-human out-of-body existence (something we try to experience here on earth through our lively contemporary worship services). Instead, it is about an amazing human existence with a resurrection body enjoying the presence of God and communal life with others - which will be fully realised in the age to come, but can also be experienced here on earth through the Spirit’s empowerment.

Second, while reading the Bible and prayer are absolutely important, “church attendance” and “financial giving” do not sum up essential
elements of discipleship. As is often noted, Jesus did not build a church institution, with all the rules and traditions we have today.

Rather, Jesus started a movement - a new community of followers who would give their total allegiance to Christ. They would seek to embody the values of God’s kingdom, which are often counterculture. They would give their whole life to Jesus, and financial giving is only a small component of that.

What on earth is the Great Commission?

So what on earth is the Great Commission, if it is not so much about “going to heaven” and if it goes far beyond church attendance and financial giving? What should we do if we are to fulfil the Great Commission? I don’t have all the answers, but here is my attempt to suggest a few things.

The Great Commission in Matthew 28 says that in making disciples we must teach them to obey everything that Jesus has commanded us. What are we to teach? In the context of Matthew’s Gospel, it is hard not to include the "Sermon on the Mount" in chapters five to seven - an indispensable part of Jesus’ overall teaching.

Of course, the Sermon on the Mount is about the kingdom of God. It starts with the Beatitudes, where the kingdom of heaven is a key theme (5:3, 10). And in the middle of the Sermon we find the Lord’s prayer, which says “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

But in case we think that God’s kingdom is all about a heavenly existence, note that Jesus says “on earth as it is in heaven”, and indeed in the Beatitudes He says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” A closer look at Jesus’ teaching will find that discipleship is about living out God’s kingdom values and obeying his teaching “here on earth”! This is how we can fulfil the Great Commission.

Radical living

This kingdom living has to go beyond personal holiness (issues such as sexual morality). Kingdom living has to be relational - a lifestyle and behavioural pattern that is other-centred (rather than self-centred) and flows from a relationship with God.

What does that mean in practice? Again the Sermon on the Mount is instructive. Glen Stassen, a scholar in Christian ethics and Biblical interpretation, finds striking parallels between the Beatitudes and Isaiah 61, which in turn is cited by Jesus in His mission statement (Luke 4:16-19; cf. Luke 6:17-26). These passages clearly point to God’s heart for the humble and powerless.

“The poor in spirit”, “those who mourn”, “the meek”, “those who are persecuted” and those who are “insulted” in the Beatitudes are the marginalised, the oppressed and the socially and economically poor. They are the powerless. It is these people who are “blessed”.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we, middle-class Christians in the West, cannot receive God’s blessings. The kingdom of God belongs to all who humble themselves before God. But it does mean that God’s heart goes out to the poor and needy.

The Beatitudes pose a profound challenge to us who enjoy economic prosperity. They suggest that those who find themselves living in humble circumstances can paradoxically enjoy and realise the richest blessings of God. If we want to fulfil the Great Commission, we need to teach people this profound truth and live it out in our own lives. It calls us to live simply rather than simply live. It demands us not to hoard material possessions. It summons us to make helping the poor a priority in life and ministry.

This may sound radical, but Jesus’ teaching on prayer, fasting and almsgiving is even more challenging. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asks his hearers to pray, fast and give in secret. He says, “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ in front of others, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (6:1)

Of course it doesn’t mean that we should not have prayer meetings or stop collecting offerings in church. But all too often our prayers and giving are for the most part result-orientated. In our worst moments we even use these to show the world how good and honourable we are. But God’s kingdom values focus on our relationship with God - whether we seek to please him and whether we really care for the needs of the poor. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving ultimately cannot be outcome-driven activities (although the outcome is important), but God-centred and people-centred acts of love.

Christ’s mission - our mission

Much more can be said about the Sermon on the Mount, but perhaps a good way to conclude is to look at Matthew 12.

In 12:9-14 Jesus healed on the Sabbath. For the Pharisees, Sabbath-keeping is an “act of righteousness”. But for Jesus it is the healing that is the righteous act. What we can easily miss as 21st-century Western Christians is the fact that most sick people in the ancient world were socio-economically poor. Thus the act of healing was an outward sign of the fulfilment of the Beatitudes. Blessed are the humble and poor!

In the next passage Matthew says that Jesus was the fulfilment of Isaiah 42:1-4. Jesus is the humble Servant of God whom Isaiah prophesied. He “will not quarrel or cry out” and “no one will hear his voice in the street.” He will “proclaim justice to the nations”, and “lead justice to victory”.

What is this “justice”? In the context of Matthew it is surely God’s restorative justice for the poor and oppressed. It is God’s justice and renewal for the humble and meek.

By identifying with the weak and powerless - which was demonstrated in his earthly life and ultimately on the cross - Jesus embodied the Sermon on the Mount and brought about deliverance to all who look to Him for forgiveness and in times of need.

It is by following Jesus’ self-giving life that we can make disciples – both locally in Australia and overseas. It is in our love for the poor and acts of justice that we can fully fulfil the Great Commission. It is in our “secret prayer” to the Father that we may know his heart for the world.

“What on earth” is the Great Commission? It is about embodying Christ’s teaching “here on earth” now, for it is the best way to reflect who God is and hence bear witness to the Gospel!

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