The Commands of Christ, Part Thirty-Three

When I started working on this study, I did not know how may parts it was going to have, but I always knew this would be the last part (it is, after all, the end of the book of Matthew). While I would have preferred that everything pair off nicely in equal clusters to have daily studies for either an even month or maybe to be able to break it apart into weekly clusters of commands for review at the end of the week: I knew from the beginning that I couldn’t set my mind to writing this study “my way.” As I read through Matthew, chapter by chapter, I allowed God to highlight for me what I was to include for this study. It is my hope that I have been faithful in that command.

If you know anything of my testimony, you know how special Matthew 28:20 is to me. A young boy, not older than 12, perhaps misunderstood the tail of the verse, but in that misunderstanding, his entire life was changed. But that life could only be changed, because someone honored the spirit of the verse.

Twice in Matthew 28 Christ tells a group to “go.” The first time is after Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary” arrive at the tomb. Instead of having to beg guards to move the stone that sealed the tomb, they saw it rolled away and an angel sitting upon it. It’s a good thing the angel told them not be afraid. He didn’t say that to the guards and well they, “became like dead men” (verse 4). The angel tells them Christ is risen and that they need to go tell the disciples and Jesus has gone ahead of them. While doing as they were told, they came across Jesus and, in verse 10:

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go, bring word to My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

The faithful eleven knew what to do because Team Mary did as they were told. Then, in Matthew 28:19-20, the eleven are told:

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

I get chill bumps still from this verse. Let’s focus on the command first and my chill bumps later. Go is a simple command. The dictionary would define the verb as meaning to move, to travel, to proceed from one place to another. I encourage you to define it this way: to leave where you are in favor to do God’s work somewhere else.

Sometimes, the “Go” is physical. Sometimes it’s a mission trip to another country. Sometimes it’s a mission trip to your local community. It might be moving somewhere close or somewhere far, but it means stepping outside of the comfort of your home, outside the comfort of your chair or pew in the church building, and being out among those who need to see God’s hands at work and being His hands.

Sometimes, the “Go” is spiritual. God does not call us to have a stagnant faith. We are called to grow our faith, to pursue a deep, meaningful relationship with Him that surpasses all others in importance. It’s why one of the commands in this study is to seek Him first. Henry Blackaby wrote in his Experiencing God bible study that, “You can’t stay where you are and go with God.” I believe that to be true both physically and spiritually.

Let’s be honest with one another, though: going is scary. It’s scary to grow your faith because you don’t know where that’s going to take you. You don’t know what God will ask you to give up. You don’t know what hobbies or priorities in your life He is going to demand you put on the back seat so you can serve Him. Going spiritually means giving up on having your own goals so that you are free to pursue the goals God sets for you. It’s as difficult as it can be heartbreaking.

Going physically is equally scary. God may lead you into strange and uncomfortable places. Those places might be around the corner or around the world. There might be times you have to eat strange foods, use a bucket as a bathroom, or navigate being lost in a place where you don’t speak the language.

I could point out all the Christ did for you on the cross to convince you that you should follow his command to “Go” but that wouldn’t help at all with any of the fears that come along with obedience. As a child, when I first encountered Matthew 28:20, it wasn’t the “go” that got me. I had moved more times than I could count and given up friend after friend and I was desperate for just one friend that I would never have to give up. I was desperate for one friend that would always be there. And, in a small church in a small town in Georgia, Jesus spoke quietly in my ear and said:

I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Going has always been and will always be scary, but as followers of Christ, as children of God, we have a promise that we will never have to “go” alone.