Key Study: The Greatest Assignment

Pass out pens and copies of the Student Worksheet. Then use the Key Study to teach Matthew 28:16–20.

Introduction: Immediately before His ascension, Jesus gave His final instructions to His disciples for making new disciples throughout the world. He “commissioned” them, which means He sent them with a task: to “make disciples” who would follow Christ, who would then make disciples who would follow Christ and on and on.

1.  Jesus made it clear to His disciples that the gospel was to be put into motion.  

• The original Greek translation of “go” is literally translated “as you go.” The idea is that, wherever you are going and as you are going, make disciples.
• Jesus was saying, “Whatever you are doing, do this at the same time.”
• The motion of the gospel that began when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers at Pentecost has never stopped because Christ commanded all of His followers to continue making disciples until He returns again.

Illustration: The Energizer Bunny^®, a pink rabbit that pounds on a drum and keeps on going and going and going, had been used in a successful marketing campaign by Energizer that left everyone referring to that bunny as the one thing that kept “going and going and going” and never stopped. This is the kind of attitude that we must have when obeying Christ's command to make disciples of all nations; we keep going until He returns.

---

2.  The Great Commission has not expired. Those of us who know Christ still have a mission to perform.

• Jesus gave His disciples a very specific mission: to make disciples, those who were growing and maturing followers of Christ.
• Jesus expected His followers to be an instrument of bringing others to faith in Christ and discipling them into maturity through teaching them the Word of God.
• This task is a command to all followers of Christ, not just those who were physically present when Jesus commissioned them.

Illustration: The launch of the Space Shuttle or rocket is termed a mission. The crew has various experiments and responsibilities to complete during their time in space. While they are there, Mission Control, a huge room full of computers and monitors analyzing every aspect of the mission, deals with problems and provides the help necessary to keep the astronauts safe and functional. Jesus promised that His Holy Spirit would come and give His followers the power to do what He had commissioned them to do. The Holy Spirit is our “Mission Control.”

---

3.  While many of the world’s peoples have been reached, masses still have never heard the gospel.

• Jesus told His disciples to carry this message of discipleship to all the world. He specifically mentioned every nation, not just the ones where telling the gospel is convenient or easy.
• The Greek word for nation is ethne from which derives “ethnic group,” meaning every racial and language group on the Earth. All peoples need an opportunity to hear the message of Christ. Missionaries are still needed to share the gospel with these groups.

Conclusion: The Great Commission has never expired. Jesus gave this task of making disciples to His disciples, and they in turn entrusted the task to others. Nearly two thousand years ago Christ gave these instructions and ascended into heaven, but the task has not been completed. Until Christ returns, we must be obedient wherever we go and whatever we do to reach and teach others to follow His Word.