Standing but a step from His heavenly throne, Christ gave the commission to His disciples. "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth," He said. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations." "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15. Again and again the words were repeated, that the disciples might grasp their significance. Upon all the inhabitants of the earth, high and low, rich and poor, was the light of heaven to shine in clear, strong rays. The disciples were to be colaborers with their Redeemer in the work of saving the world.
The commission had been given to the twelve when Christ met with them in the upper chamber; but it was now to be given to a larger number. At the meeting on a mountain in Galilee, all the believers who could be called together were assembled. Of this meeting Christ Himself, before His death, had designated the time and place. The angel at the tomb reminded the disciples of His promise to meet them in Galilee. The promise was repeated to the believers who were gathered at Jerusalem during the Passover week, and through them it reached many lonely ones who were mourning the death of their Lord. With intense interest all looked forward to the interview. They made their way to the place of meeting by circuitous routes, coming in from every direction, to avoid exciting the suspicion of the jealous Jews. With wondering hearts they came, talking earnestly together of the news that had reached them concerning Christ.
At the time appointed, about
five hundred believers were collected in little knots on the mountainside,
eager to learn all that could be learned from those who had seen
Christ since His resurrection. From group to group the disciples
passed, telling all they had seen and heard of Jesus, and reasoning
from the Scriptures as He had done with them. Thomas recounted
the story of his unbelief, and told how his doubts had been swept
away. Suddenly Jesus stood among them. No one could tell whence
or how He came. Many who were present had never before seen Him;
but in His hands and feet they beheld the marks of the crucifixion;
His countenance was as the face of God, and when they saw Him,
they worshiped Him.
But some doubted. So it will always be. There are those who find it hard to exercise faith, and they place themselves on the doubting side. These lose much because of their unbelief.
This was the only interview that Jesus had with many of the believers after His resurrection. He came and spoke to them saying, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." The disciples had worshiped Him before He spoke, but His words, falling from lips that had been closed in death, thrilled them with peculiar power. He was now the risen Saviour. Many of them had seen Him exercise His power in healing the sick and controlling satanic agencies. They believed that He possessed power to set up His kingdom at Jerusalem, power to quell all opposition, power over the elements of nature. He had stilled the angry waters; He had walked upon the white-crested billows; He had raised the dead to life. Now He declared that "all power" was given to Him. His words carried the minds of His hearers above earthly and temporal things to the heavenly and eternal. They were lifted to the highest conception of His dignity and glory.
Christ's words on the mountainside were the announcement that His sacrifice in behalf of man was full and complete. The conditions of the atonement had been fulfilled; the work for which He came to this world had been accomplished. He was on His way to the throne of God, to be honored by angels, principalities, and powers. He had entered upon His mediatorial work. Clothed with boundless authority, He gave His commission to the disciples: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations," "baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:19, 20, R. V.
The Jewish people had been
made the depositaries of sacred truth; but Pharisaism had made
them the most exclusive, the most bigoted, of all the human race.
Everything about the priests and rulers--their dress, customs,
ceremonies, traditions--made them unfit to be the light of the
world. They looked upon themselves, the Jewish nation, as the
world. But Christ commissioned His disciples to proclaim a faith
and worship that would have in it nothing of caste or country,
a faith that would be adapted to all peoples, all nations, all
classes of men.
Before leaving His disciples, Christ plainly stated the nature of His kingdom. He called to their minds what He had previously told them concerning it. He declared that it was not His purpose to establish in this world a temporal, but a spiritual kingdom. He was not to reign as an earthly king on David's throne. Again He opened to them the Scriptures, showing that all He had passed through had been ordained in heaven, in the councils between the Father and Himself. All had been foretold by men inspired by the Holy Spirit. He said, You see that all I have revealed to you concerning My rejection as the Messiah has come to pass. All I have said in regard to the humiliation I should endure and the death I should die, has been verified. On the third day I rose again. Search the Scriptures more diligently, and you will see that in all these things the specifications of prophecy concerning Me have been fulfilled.
Christ commissioned His disciples to do the work He had left in their hands, beginning at Jerusalem. Jerusalem had been the scene of His amazing condescension for the human race. There He had suffered, been rejected and condemned. The land of Judea was His birthplace. There, clad in the garb of humanity, He had walked with men, and few had discerned how near heaven came to the earth when Jesus was among them. At Jerusalem the work of the disciples must begin.
In view of all that Christ had suffered there, and the unappreciated labor He had put forth, the disciples might have pleaded for a more promising field; but they made no such plea. The very ground where He had scattered the seed of truth was to be cultivated by the disciples, and the seed would spring up and yield an abundant harvest. In their work the disciples would have to meet persecution through the jealousy and hatred of the Jews; but this had been endured by their Master, and they were not to flee from it. The first offers of mercy must be made to the murderers of the Saviour.
And there were in Jerusalem
many who had secretly believed on Jesus, and many who had been
deceived by the priests and rulers. To these also the gospel was
to be presented. They were to be called to repentance. The wonderful
truth that through Christ alone could remission of sins be obtained
was to be made plain. While all Jerusalem was stirred by the thrilling
events of the past few weeks, the preaching of the gospel would
make the deepest impression.
But the work was not to stop here. It was to be extended to the earth's remotest bounds. To His disciples Christ said, You have been witnesses of My life of self-sacrifice in behalf of the world. You have witnessed My labors for Israel. Although they would not come unto Me that they might have life, although priests and rulers have done to Me as they listed, although they have rejected Me as the Scriptures foretold, they shall have still another opportunity of accepting the Son of God. You have seen that all who come to Me, confessing their sins, I freely receive. Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out. All who will, may be reconciled to God, and receive everlasting life. To you, My disciples, I commit this message of mercy. It is to be given to Israel first, and then to all nations, tongues, and peoples. It is to be given to Jews and Gentiles. All who believe are to be gathered into one church.
Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the disciples were to receive a marvelous power. Their testimony was to be confirmed by signs and wonders. Miracles would be wrought, not only by the apostles, but by those who received their message. Jesus said, "In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:17, 18.
At that time poisoning was often practiced. Unscrupulous men did not hesitate to remove by this means those who stood in the way of their ambition. Jesus knew that the life of His disciples would thus be imperiled. Many would think it doing God service to put His witnesses to death. He therefore promised them protection from this danger.
The disciples were to have
the same power which Jesus had to heal "all manner of sickness
and all manner of disease among the people." By healing in
His name the diseases of the body, they would testify to His power
for the healing of the soul. Matt. 4:23; 9:6. And a new endowment
was now promised. The disciples were to preach among other nations,
and they would receive power to speak other tongues. The apostles
and their associates were unlettered men, yet through the outpouring
of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, their speech, whether in
their own or a foreign language, became pure, simple, and accurate,
both in word and in accent.
Thus Christ gave His disciples
their commission. He made full provision for the prosecution of
the work, and took upon Himself the responsibility for its success.
So long as they obeyed His word, and worked in connection with
Him, they could not fail. Go to all nations, He bade them. Go
to the farthest part of the habitable globe, but know that My
presence will be there. Labor in faith and confidence, for the
time will never come when I will forsake you.
The Saviour's commission to the disciples included all the believers. It includes all believers in Christ to the end of time. It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the work of saving souls depends alone on the ordained minister. All to whom the heavenly inspiration has come are put in trust with the gospel. All who receive the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow men. For this work the church was established, and all who take upon themselves its sacred vows are thereby pledged to be co-workers with Christ.
"The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come." Rev. 22:17. Everyone who hears is to repeat the invitation. Whatever one's calling in life, his first interest should be to win souls for Christ. He may not be able to speak to congregations, but he can work for individuals. To them he can communicate the instruction received from his Lord. Ministry does not consist alone in preaching. Those minister who relieve the sick and suffering, helping the needy, speaking words of comfort to the desponding and those of little faith. Nigh and afar off are souls weighed down by a sense of guilt. It is not hardship, toil, or poverty that degrades humanity. It is guilt, wrongdoing. This brings unrest and dissatisfaction. Christ would have His servants minister to sin-sick souls.
The disciples were to begin
their work where they were. The hardest and most unpromising field
was not to be passed by. So every one of Christ's workers is to
begin where he is. In our own families may be souls hungry for
sympathy, starving for the bread of life. There may be children
to be trained for Christ. There are heathen at our very doors.
Let us do faithfully the work that is nearest. Then let our efforts
be extended as far as God's hand may lead the way. The work of
many may appear to be restricted by circumstances; but, wherever
it is, if performed with faith and diligence it will be felt to
the uttermost parts of the earth. Christ's work when upon earth
appeared to be confined to a narrow field, but multitudes from
all lands heard His message. God often uses the simplest means
to accomplish the greatest results. It is His plan that every
part of His work shall depend on every other part, as a wheel
within a wheel, all acting in harmony. The humblest worker, moved
by the Holy Spirit, will touch invisible chords, whose vibrations
will ring to the ends of the earth, and make melody through eternal
ages.
But the command, "Go ye into all the world," is not to be lost sight of. We are called upon to lift our eyes to the "regions beyond." Christ tears away the wall of partition, the dividing prejudice of nationality, and teaches a love for all the human family. He lifts men from the narrow circle which their selfishness prescribes; He abolishes all territorial lines and artificial distinctions of society. He makes no difference between neighbors and strangers, friends and enemies. He teaches us to look upon every needy soul as our brother, and the world as our field.
When the Saviour said, "Go, . . . teach all nations," He said also, "These signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." The promise is as far-reaching as the commission. Not that all the gifts are imparted to each believer. The Spirit divides "to every man severally as He will." 1 Cor. 12:11. But the gifts of the Spirit are promised to every believer according to his need for the Lord's work. The promise is just as strong and trustworthy now as in the days of the apostles. "These signs shall follow them that believe." This is the privilege of God's children, and faith should lay hold on all that it is possible to have as an indorsement of faith.
"They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." This world is a vast lazar house, but Christ came to heal the sick, to proclaim deliverance to the captives of Satan. He was in Himself health and strength. He imparted His life to the sick, the afflicted, those possessed of demons. He turned away none who came to receive His healing power. He knew that those who petitioned Him for help had brought disease upon themselves; yet He did not refuse to heal them. And when virtue from Christ entered into these poor souls, they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of their spiritual disease, as well as of their physical maladies. The gospel still possesses the same power, and why should we not today witness the same results?
Christ feels the woes of
every sufferer. When evil spirits rend a human frame, Christ feels
the curse. When fever is burning up the life current, He feels
the agony. And He is just as willing to heal the sick now as when
He was personally on earth. Christ's servants are His representatives,
the channels for His working. He desires through them to exercise
His healing power.
In the Saviour's manner of healing there were lessons for His disciples. On one occasion He anointed the eyes of a blind man with clay, and bade him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. . . . He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing." John 9:7. The cure could be wrought only by the power of the Great Healer, yet Christ made use of the simple agencies of nature. While He did not give countenance to drug medication, He sanctioned the use of simple and natural remedies.
To many of the afflicted ones who received healing, Christ said, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." John 5:14. Thus He taught that disease is the result of violating God's laws, both natural and spiritual. The great misery in the world would not exist did men but live in harmony with the Creator's plan.
Christ had been the guide and teacher of ancient Israel, and He taught them that health is the reward of obedience to the laws of God. The Great Physician who healed the sick in Palestine had spoken to His people from the pillar of cloud, telling them what they must do, and what God would do for them. "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God," He said, "and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee." Ex. 15:26. Christ gave to Israel definite instruction in regard to their habits of life, and He assured them, "The Lord will take away from thee all sickness." Deut. 7:15. When they fulfilled the conditions, the promise was verified to them. "There was not one feeble person among their tribes." Ps. 105:37.
These lessons are for us. There are conditions to be observed by all who would preserve health. All should learn what these conditions are. The Lord is not pleased with ignorance in regard to His laws, either natural or spiritual. We are to be workers together with God for the restoration of health to the body as well as to the soul.
And we should teach others
how to preserve and to recover health. For the sick we should
use the remedies which God has provided in nature, and we should
point them to Him who alone can restore. It is our work to present
the sick and suffering to Christ in the arms of our faith. We
should teach them to believe in the Great Healer. We should lay
hold on His promise, and pray for the manifestation of His power.
The very essence of the gospel is restoration, and the Saviour
would have us bid
the sick, the hopeless, and
the afflicted take hold upon His strength.
The power of love was in all Christ's healing, and only by partaking of that love, through faith, can we be instruments for His work. If we neglect to link ourselves in divine connection with Christ, the current of life-giving energy cannot flow in rich streams from us to the people. There were places where the Saviour Himself could not do many mighty works because of their unbelief. So now unbelief separates the church from her divine Helper. Her hold upon eternal realities is weak. By her lack of faith, God is disappointed, and robbed of His glory.
It is in doing Christ's work that the church has the promise of His presence. Go teach all nations, He said; "and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." To take His yoke is one of the first conditions of receiving His power. The very life of the church depends upon her faithfulness in fulfilling the Lord's commission. To neglect this work is surely to invite spiritual feebleness and decay. Where there is no active labor for others, love wanes, and faith grows dim.
Christ intends that His ministers shall be educators of the church in gospel work. They are to teach the people how to seek and save the lost. But is this the work they are doing? Alas, how many are toiling to fan the spark of life in a church that is ready to die! How many churches are tended like sick lambs by those who ought to be seeking for the lost sheep! And all the time millions upon millions without Christ are perishing.
Divine love has been stirred
to its unfathomable depths for the sake of men, and angels marvel
to behold in the recipients of so great love a mere surface gratitude.
Angels marvel at man's shallow appreciation of the love of God.
Heaven stands indignant at the neglect shown to the souls of men.
Would we know how Christ regards it? How would a father and mother
feel, did they know that their child, lost in the cold and the
snow, had been passed by, and left to perish, by those who might
have saved it? Would they not be terribly grieved, wildly indignant?
Would they not denounce those murderers with wrath hot as their
tears, intense as their love? The sufferings of every man are
the sufferings of God's child, and those who reach out no helping
hand to their perishing fellow beings provoke His righteous anger.
This is the wrath of the Lamb. To those who claim fellowship with
Christ, yet have been indifferent to the needs of their fellow
men, He will declare in the great Judgment day, "I know you
not whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity."
Luke 13:27.
In the commission to His disciples, Christ not only outlined their work, but gave them their message. Teach the people, He said, "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The disciples were to teach what Christ had taught. That which He had spoken, not only in person, but through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament, is here included. Human teaching is shut out. There is no place for tradition, for man's theories and conclusions, or for church legislation. No laws ordained by ecclesiastical authority are included in the commission. None of these are Christ's servants to teach. "The law and the prophets," with the record of His own words and deeds, are the treasure committed to the disciples to be given to the world. Christ's name is their watchword, their badge of distinction, their bond of union, the authority for their course of action, and the source of their success. Nothing that does not bear His superscription is to be recognized in His kingdom.
The gospel is to be presented, not as a lifeless theory, but as a living force to change the life. God desires that the receivers of His grace shall be witnesses to its power. Those whose course has been most offensive to Him He freely accepts; when they repent, He imparts to them His divine Spirit, places them in the highest positions of trust, and sends them forth into the camp of the disloyal to proclaim His boundless mercy. He would have His servants bear testimony to the fact that through His grace men may possess Christlikeness of character, and may rejoice in the assurance of His great love. He would have us bear testimony to the fact that He cannot be satisfied until the human race are reclaimed and reinstated in their holy privileges as His sons and daughters.
In Christ is the tenderness
of the shepherd, the affection of the parent, and the matchless
grace of the compassionate Saviour. His blessings He presents
in the most alluring terms. He is not content merely to announce
these blessings; He presents them in the most attractive way,
to excite a desire to possess them. So His servants are to present
the riches of the glory of the unspeakable Gift. The wonderful
love of Christ will melt and subdue hearts, when the mere reiteration
of doctrines would accomplish nothing. "Comfort ye, comfort
ye My people, saith your God." "O Zion, that bringest
good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem,
that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift
it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your
God! . . . He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather
the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom." Isa.
40:1, 9-11.
Tell the people of Him who
is "the Chiefest among ten thousand," and the One "altogether
lovely." The Song of Solomon 5:10, 16. Words alone cannot
tell it. Let it be reflected in the character and manifested in
the life. Christ is sitting for His portrait in every disciple.
Every one God has predestinated to be "conformed to the image
of His Son." Rom. 8:29. In every one Christ's long-suffering
love, His holiness, meekness, mercy, and truth are to be manifested
to the world.
The first disciples went forth preaching the word. They revealed Christ in their lives. And the Lord worked with them, "confirming the word with signs following." Mark 16:20. These disciples prepared themselves for their work. Before the day of Pentecost they met together, and put away all differences. They were of one accord. They believed Christ's promise that the blessing would be given, and they prayed in faith. They did not ask for a blessing for themselves merely; they were weighted with the burden for the salvation of souls. The gospel was to be carried to the uttermost parts of the earth, and they claimed the endowment of power that Christ had promised. Then it was that the Holy Spirit was poured out, and thousands were converted in a day.
So it may be now. Instead of man's speculations, let the word of God be preached. Let Christians put away their dissensions, and give themselves to God for the saving of the lost. Let them in faith ask for the blessing, and it will come. The outpouring of the Spirit in apostolic days was the "former rain," and glorious was the result. But the "latter rain" will be more abundant. Joel 2:23.
All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ they are complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence.
The Saviour longs to manifest
His grace and stamp His character on the whole world. It is His
purchased possession, and He desires to make men free, and pure,
and holy. Though Satan works to hinder this purpose, yet through
the blood shed for the world there are triumphs to be achieved
that will bring glory to God and the Lamb. Christ will not be
satisfied till the victory is complete, and "He shall see
of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." Isa.
53:11. All the nations of the earth shall hear the gospel of His
grace. Not all will receive His grace; but "a seed shall
serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation."
Ps. 22:30. "The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of
the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people
of the saints of the Most High," and "the earth shall
be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the
sea." "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from
the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun." Dan.
7:27; Isa. 11:9; 59:19.
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! . . . Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places: . . . for the Lord hath comforted His people. . . . The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Isa. 52:7-10.
