Microstudy The Three Commissions
Following the resurrection of our Lord and before His ascension, He gave
three commissions to His eleven disciples (Judas was no longer a disciple, so
there were eleven).
The first commission is found in Luke 24:
45-49. This was given in Jerusalem on
the evening of the day of His resurrection.
The commission was the continuation of His own ministry and that of John
the Baptist (Matt. 22:1-10). They were
to proclaim "repentance and the remission of sins."
The second is found in Mark 16: 15-18 and
was given when our Lord appeared to the Eleven as they sat at meat; and it was
carried out by "them that heard Him" as foretold in Matt 22: 4-7 and
fulfilled in Mark 16:20 as confirmed in Heb 2:3-4. The Acts of the Apostles is the inspired history of the
fulfillment of this commission, so far as it is necessary for our
instruction. It was given for the
personal ministry of the Apostles, to be fulfilled by them before the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem.
The third, often called "the great
commission", is ongoing and found
in Matthew 28:19-20 and was given on a mountain in Galilee. It was the proclamation of the King, who had
left Jerusalem according to the parable (Luke 19:12). Our Lord instructed His followers to teach all things that He had
commanded. Such a list includes many
things that are truly "Mission Critical." Our Lord did NOT say, "please teach these things" or
"make sure you teach only things that are popular," but more like a
soldier of the cross would expect from his commander in chief; they (and we) were commanded to teach
particular things. In effect He was saying,
"That's an order."
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cha 4/8/2000