The Great Commission (part 2) Mark 16:14-20; Luke24:45-49

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come yon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NASB).

In last week’s article we addressed the event in which Jesus is sending His twelve disciples, the apostles, into the world to proclaim the message that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God; the Messiah that died on the cross to take away the sins of the world. We recognize that the account given to us by the writer of the Gospel of Matthew is commonly called “The Great Commission.” Our task in last week’s article was to give a brief explanation of the reasons that Matthew uses the words that he does to convey to us Jesus’ commands to the apostles. In this week’s article we will give a brief explanation of the reasons that the writers of the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke use the words that they do to convey to us the same instructions that Jesus gives to the twelve apostles. We believe that in Acts 1:8 Jesus confirms the Great Commission and sets the geographical pattern in which the Gospel is to begin and its spread throughout the entire world. We begin with the Gospel of Mark, then the Gospel of Luke.

These are the words of Jesus as recorded by Mark. “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed shall be saved; but he who disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mk. 16:15-16, NASB). In Luke’s account Jesus does not speak about His authority. The writer is not trying to establish Jesus’ authority in relationship to some other assumed authority. In Matthew the writer wants the reader to know that Jesus is given authority from the Father in heaven. His authority is above that of Moses, the Law and the prophets. He does not need approval from the religious leaders of his day; namely the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, elders of the people.

Mark begins his gospel writing “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk. 1:1, NASB). Mark does not give his audience a birth narrative of Jesus as Matthew and Luke does. Rather, he tells us the story of John the Baptist, his ministry, and his baptism of Jesus. Jesus is tempted by the devil in the wilderness, and John is cast into prison. Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee. “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mk. 1:14-15, NASB). In these two verses Mark gives us insight on his emphases in his gospel. First, Jesus comes with a message from God. Secondly, Jesus invites those that hear the gospel to enter into the kingdom of God. Thirdly, the gospel calls for us to believe the message and repent

In his Gospel Mark writes as one in a hurry to reach some destination. He frequently tells us about something that Jesus does and then uses the word “immediately” to introduce to us something else that Jesus does, or to show that the results of His actions have effects immediately (see 5:25-34). Jesus is shown as a man constantly on the move. He is a man of action. There are no long sermons or teaching discourses in Mark. Jesus works in one place and moves on. This pattern in the gospel helps us to understand the writer’s words used in his account of Jesus commissioning the apostles to take the gospel to the entire world.

Mark is concerned about the salvation of all people. In Matthew the writer wants to convince Jews that Jesus is God. Jews already believe in God, but they need to accept Jesus as the Messiah promised in the writings of Moses, the Law and the prophets. On the other hand, Mark is not in competition with the Jewish authorities both in their history and in their present life. Rather, Mark writes to a largely Gentile audience that is influenced by their practice of polytheism and various philosophies of the Greeks and the Romans. Moses, the Law, and the prophets have little meaning to them. Thus Mark’s competitors are the Roman-Greek pantheon of gods, and the philosophies that the people grapple with in their everyday lives. Mark writes to convince these people to repent.

Repent means that they will turn from their religious beliefs and practices. They will in turn to the one Son of God. When Jesus says “believe the gospel” He means that one believes in God and all that God calls them to do. That Mark is in a hurry to proclaim the gospel does not eliminate the need for new believers to become disciples. It is just the fact that a person must believe that God is God alone before she and he can become a disciple of Jesus. Jesus offers us a relationship with Himself because we believe that Jesus is the sufficient sacrifice that God requires in order for us to be forgiven of our sins.

The Gospel of Luke is written by a physician. Luke writes to both Jews and gentiles. He addresses his gospel to one named Theophilus (Lk. 1:3). Most scholars believe that Theophilus is the name of a Roman official. Some believe that the name Theophilus refers to the people of God. Luke is concerned about the poor and the sick. His work is to provide remedies that alleviate the worst found in the human condition. Luke wants his audience to know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. However, this God is unlike the gods that the people are familiar with; the gods that they hear about on a daily basis. These are people that are forever lost. They are forever cast out from the rest of society. They are considered unworthy to receive any good thing in life. Luke’s work as a physician brings him into daily contact with these rejects in society. In his work Luke discovers the human dignity in all people regardless to their life circumstances. It is by the providence of God that this physician meets Paul the apostle. As Luke travels with Paul he learns that the Jesus that Paul preaches makes no distinction between people based on their status in society. All people need only to believe.

How can God and Luke for that matter convince poor and uneducated people that there is a God that loves them and He wants to save them too from their sins? God desires to be their God also, and because he loves them He wants to see their circumstances changed for the better. Luke ministers to people that know little to nothing about the writings of Moses, the Law, and the prophets. How can they know that God loves them? Where will they get the resources to change their life circumstances? They have no strength; no might. They are conditioned to believe that they are stuck forever in the condition that they now live. They have no hope.

Luke writes about a God that confirms people by His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God gives a person with a victim mentality a changed mind that claims victory over present situations. It is the death of Jesus on the cross that saves a person from their sin. It is the Holy Spirit that confirms in the hearts of people that they have a relationship with God. This God is unlike any other god that they hear about and know about. This God sends His Spirit to give power to the weak. The Holy Spirit gives them the ability to do things that they cannot do by their own strength and abilities Luke discovers that God enables all people to do things that they cannot do of their own ability. Most importantly, God gives us the Holy Spirit so that we can live in relationship with God. As Luke travels with Paul he witnesses the power of the Holy Spirit. This helps to explain the words that Luke uses as he gives us an account of The Great Commission.

Luke writes: “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are My witness of these things. And behold I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you, but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk. 24:45-49, NASB). The Greek word for power used here and in Acts 1:8 means strength and ability. Jesus tells His apostles that they will meet opposition from people with authority as they spread the gospel. They will suffer physical abuse, suffer from natural disasters; and they will need strength to endure their own temptation to give in to their natural desires to be relieved of pain and suffering.

Luke is the writer of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. The Holy Spirit is emphasized in both because without the aid of the Holy Spirit human being cannot overcome their sinful desires. Thus, they cannot change their relationship to God. Because of these things people are held prisoner to their circumstances. People need a new relationship with God. People need a new mindset. People must repent and receive the Holy Spirit of God so that they can be changed in their present life and in their life to come. This is the essence of the words that Luke uses in his account of The Great Commission.