Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:19-20
You can get a color overlay of the historical event called the Great Commission if you go to Mark 16:15-18 and Luke 24:44-48. John concludes his writings with a conversation between Jesus and Peter in John 21:15-17 with the challenge for Peter to feed the flock.
One common thread in Mark, Luke and John’s gospels is the commission to teach, preach, feed, and baptize, all of which they did in the book of Acts. Jesus loosed a group at Bethany, and about 120 gathered in Jerusalem where they caught fire. Just like Jesus said it would happen, beginning at Jerusalem, the spirit of God fell on everyone and all standing nearby heard the good news of the Gospel in his own tongue.
From this time forward, they taught, preached, and baptized everyone that was converted in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. By Acts chapter 4, about 20,000 had been added to the church.
People and pastors murmur and complain about what has happened, not just in the church, but also in everyday life. Have we failed to act on what has been given us the right to teach? Our minds have become so cluttered with propaganda and hoopla instead of training, teaching, and even preaching. We have danced to the piper, thinking they will dig us out.
Could it be that the world around us – in everything from church to work, from our marriage to our children, from the daycare to the school – would change if we would simply take seriously the commission Jesus imparted when He said go and teach?
Our prayer for you today: May you gain the courage to be what God intended for you to be, a teacher.