Okay, today we're asking the question, Who's Great Commission?
We're talking about what's been labeled as the Great Commission.
Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20.
Most everyone's familiar with this.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Verse 20, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
A major problem is, well, a couple of problems, actually.
One, when many read their Bible, they just blow through the verses, not really grasping, not really taking in what they're reading.
That's a problem.
Problem number two is even worse.
Most professing Christians don't even read their Bible.
So you see what we're faced with today.
And the majority who do read the Bible don't rightly divide what they're reading.
One verse that tells us very plainly how to study the Bible, 2 Timothy 2:15, and hardly no one pays attention to it.
They don't rightly divide.
They cherry-pick.
Okay, Matthew 28:20.
Let's start here with, quote, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you.
For those of you who call yourself red-letter Christians, oh, you follow Jesus and what He said in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Yeah, you say that, but you don't live up to it.
You don't actually do it.
This is Jesus in the red letters.
And before I begin today, there's no way I'll be able to cover all of the things, the all things Jesus commanded them.
We won't be able to get to them all, but we really don't need to.
Anyone with even average cognitive activity should be able to see that the Matthew 28 commission ended.
Oh, we have a commission today, but it's not found in the Jewish book of Matthew.
Now, let me ask a simple question.
Do you forgive to be forgiven?
Without forgiveness, no one is going to heaven.
So this is a very serious question.
Do you think that if you don't forgive someone for doing something to you, for wronging you, that God will not forgive you?
Is this how you operate on a daily basis?
Are you living in conditional forgiveness, conditioned on a work that you do?
Because now listen, this would indeed, if you claim the great commission of Matthew chapter 28 is to us today and for us to follow, then this would indeed be one of those all things Jesus commanded them right there in the commission.
So surely you do believe in conditional forgiveness.
And if you don't, stop believing that the Matthew 28 commission is for us.
You can't have it both ways.
In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus said, for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you.
But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses.
About as plain as you can get.
We then scroll through a period of time through nine chapters of the book of Acts, and it's there we find that Jesus came back, appeared to a man named Saul, whose name was later changed to Paul, and he commissioned him to give us our gospel, the gospel of the uncircumcision, the gospel of the Gentiles.
And some of the instructions we're given through the apostle Paul are completely different from what was told to Israel prior.
And the forgiveness process is one of those many differences.
Before ascending to heaven and returning to call out the apostle Paul, Christ told Israel that for them to receive forgiveness, they had to first forgive others.
It was conditional.
It depended on something they did.
Our forgiveness depends on Christ and His doing, not on our doing.
Listen to the book.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32.
You see, something changed.
Something changed after the death of Christ, and He returned the risen, glorified Lord Jesus Christ returned to the apostle Paul to further give him instructions of a fulfillment that happened at Calvary that prior they had no idea of.
Do you see that?
You need to critically examine the evidence of this very serious subject, forgiveness.
Do we forgive to be forgiven or forgive because we are forgiven?
Those of Matthew 6 forgive to be forgiven.
That's not for us today.
Forgiving others to be forgiven was perfectly logical for Israel at that time, but for us to forgive others thinking that that's going to somehow bring forth forgiveness, only evidences our failure to acknowledge and appreciate the sacrifice the Lord made on our behalf.
It was a part of their do to get program.
Do to get.
Kind of like their ask to get program.
Many people today wrongly attempt to follow that as well.
You remember, what so ever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do.
Just ask it in my name and I'll do it.
John 14:13.
That's not your doctrine and you know it.
I've been around those that claim this is for today, and when it fails, what do they do?
Make excuses.
One after the other of why it didn't work.
It didn't work because it's not supposed to work for you.
You see, we could actually stop right here.
Stop right here, close the book, and know with confidence that the Matthew 28 commission could not be for us.
No way.
If it were, then we've already uncovered a Bible contradiction and we're only a few minutes into the program, and only six chapters into the book of Matthew, a book that has 28, so 22 more chapters to go to find the rest of the all things Jesus commanded them as a part of their commission.
This would be a good time just to believe our Bible.
God said one thing about forgiveness in Matthew 6, then He said another thing about it in Ephesians 4.
But God does not contradict Himself, and is why He tells us to rightly divide His word of truth.
Think about that for a moment.
Rightly divide His word of truth.
Forgive others because you need forgiveness, Matthew chapter 6.
That's truth.
Or forgive others because you have forgiveness, Ephesians 4.
Also truth.
Matthew 6 is where they needed forgiveness, Ephesians 4 is where we have forgiveness.
See that?
The key to understanding the Bible is to divide truth from truth.
Needed it was truth, have it is truth.
Dividing the truth is the answer to the confusion and all the apparent contradictions.
Now let's move on.
Another one of the all things Jesus commanded them is found in Matthew chapter 10.
Right after Jesus commissioned the 12 and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, in verse 8 He tells them to do something you can't do.
He says, Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils.
Is this happening at your church?
I bet your pastor can't do it, and neither can you.
Benny Hinn can't do it, Reinhard Bonnke can't do it, Jimmy Swagger can't, Todd White can't, neither Billy Graham or Oral Roberts ever done it, Robert Shuler, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo, Sid Roth, John Hagee, all these guys and many other celebrity preachers and most denominations say that the Matthew 28 commission is for us to follow today, yet they don't teach the quote, all things whatsoever I have commanded you, which is right there in the same passage.
Now that's some major cherry picking.
They preach the Matthew 28 commission is for us today, yet can't do what it says to do.
How hypocritical and dishonest is that?
And if they could do it, they should be at the hospitals laying hands on the sick and at the mortuaries laying hands on the dead.
Instead of on stage waiting to get their hands on the money.
They can't do these things because God never gave them the power to do so.
The Matthew 28 commission can't be for us today, and it's silly to think so.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, hello, this is a part of the all things whatsoever I commanded you that Jesus said to Israel, to the circumcision.
It's time to get up out of the mud, the MUD, mixed up doctrine, not rightly dividing the word of truth.
Baptist preacher, are you teaching your folks to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, church of God, assemblies of God, the so-called full gospel?
What about you guys?
When would you like to schedule a time for a camera crew to come see you raise a dead person?
Stop pretending the great commission was written for you to follow, because you don't.
It's hypocrisy.
And listen, we don't want stories, hearsay about devils being cast out and the dead being raised.
No, we want independent verification.
Something we can see on the six o'clock news.
Not something Sister Joanne testified to at Wednesday night prayer service.
Jesus sent them out to Jews only, and gave them the power to heal as proof.
Remember, Jews required a sign, 1 Corinthians 1:22.
But not us, we're the church of the body of Christ, and we walk by faith, not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7.
As thankful, saved individuals for us today, we're not to be sitting around waiting on a temporary healing when we've plainly been told that, and I quote, The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, Romans 8:18.
We're told that no matter what condition we're in, to be content, Philippians 4:11.
Not trying to find the next healing meeting to go to, no, remember godliness with contentment
is great gain, 1 Timothy 6:6.
Let's move on.
Here's another one of the all things Jesus commanded Israel.
Watch this.
Matthew 21:22.
Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
How's that working for you?
Oh, it would be nice if it worked, but it don't, and you know it.
Stop playing.
And the reason it doesn't is it wasn't meant to work for you.
Now turn to Mark chapter 16.
Mark 16 and verse 16.
Now here comes a problem for those who don't rightly divide the word of truth.
Verse 16, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Here's yet another one of the all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
So do you teach that water baptism is an absolute necessity for salvation?
That's what it says.
There was an order to salvation.
The order was first believe and second be baptized.
That's easy enough for a child to get.
They couldn't have one without the other.
Israel could not be baptized without first believing and couldn't believe without being baptized.
That's how they were saved.
And this is just more of the Matthew 28, all things whatsoever Jesus commanded them.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, no question about it, a command to be water baptized for salvation.
Just like the Church of Christ, Catholics, and Mormons, they all teach this.
Well they got this verse right, but they're in the wrong dispensation.
This so-called great commission isn't that great for you.
It don't belong to us.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, matches repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.
You can Greek it.
I don't care what you do.
At that time, water baptism was not optional.
It was mandatory.
And mandatory in 1 Peter 3:21 where it says, quote, Baptism doth also now save us.
Guess what?
It means just that.
No need for man's conjecture.
Mark 16:16 is clear.
Acts 2:38, clear.
1 Peter 3:21, clear.
These verses are not obscure.
Reminds me of a conversation we had with our daughter the other night, Sarah, about her volleyball coaches.
She's had coaches over the years who are clear in their instructions, and she's had coaches who were not so clear, some who were consistent in their teaching and some not so consistent.
And at the end of the year, the win-loss column is a direct reflection of that.
And that's a problem with Christianity today.
We're lacking clear teachers.
Many teach in an obscure manner, leaving it up to you to fill in the blanks.
Let's continue.
Verse 17, Mark 16, verse 17, which is actually a mic drop verse, one that makes it impossible for the commission to be ours.
And these signs, now watch this, and these signs shall follow them that believe.
In my name shall they cast out devils.
They shall speak with new tongues.
Just lost the Baptist right there.
Baptists teach a great commission, but leave this out.
Cherry-pick.
Can't do it.
Won't work.
God's not pleased with that.
You need to rightly divide the word of truth.
We could drop the mic right here, but let's read on.
Verse 18, 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.
Just more things we can't do today, and most don't even bother to think about these things because they're so prejudice against what the Bible actually says.
That's what happens when you've been spoon-fed by your denomination.
This commission was something God gave to the little flock of Jewish believers, those of the house of Israel, to take to other Jews the lost sheep of that same house.
The lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Lost sheep that had been scattered among the nations.
This kingdom gospel was still for the Jew first.
Remember there's no apostle Paul yet, and think about it.
Why Paul?
You ever ask yourself that question?
Why Paul?
Jesus already had twelve apostles.
Why don't He just send one of them, just one, send them out with the gospel of the Gentiles?
Because they were taught a different gospel, different gospel, different instructions, and as we're proving here today, a different commission.
They were not suited to carry out the mission the Lord gave Paul.
He needed someone fresh, someone new, someone who wouldn't have to unlearn a bunch of things.
Jesus sent Paul to the Gentiles because the twelve were sent to the Jews only.
Remember Matthew 10:5, these twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them saying, Go not,
don't miss it, Go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any city of the Samaritans, enter ye not.
There's the answer to the question, why Paul?
Because the twelve never went to the Gentile nations, never even wrote to Gentiles.
Had a listener tell me, oh yeah, Peter wrote to the Gentiles, and she pointed me to 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 1, Peter opens by saying, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
The word strangers was what was throwing her off.
Peter's recipients were strangers because they had been scattered throughout the Gentile nations.
They were scattered, and you can read about it in Acts 11.
And if you read it, it's verse 19, you'll see that those that were scattered preached the word to none but unto the Jews only.
Think about that.
Even when the Jews left Jerusalem and went into the Gentile nations, they ignored the Gentiles and preached to the Jews only.
So you've got to ask yourself, what great commission?
Matthew 28 can't be a great commission to you when we plainly read that as late as Acts 11, they were still preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
Peter tells those scattered Jews that they are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, 1 Peter 2:9.
We are none of those things.
We're not priests, we're not a chosen generation, and we're definitely not a holy nation.
Just use your common sense.
Your preacher's not going to do it for you.
It's up to you, my friend.
This should be a light bulb moment for anyone who has been wrongly teaching that the Matthew 28 commission was written for us to follow.
You should welcome this truth.
Better late than never.
Just swallow your pride, I had to, and take it like a man.
And notice how nicely Matthew 10:5 and Matthew 15:24 matches up with John 10 verses 11 and
15.
Here, Jesus said, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
As the father knoweth me, even so know I the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
The lost sheep of the house of Israel.
This is not you.
When you're reading the books of Matthew through John, you're not reading your mail.
Listen to the book.
For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many, Mark 10:45.
Now compare that with what the Son of Man later told Paul to tell us, 1 Timothy 2:6, who gave himself a ransom for all.
Did you hear that?
For all, not many, to be testified in due time.
Listen, you're not a part of the many.
You're a part of the all.
And it also fits nicely with John chapter 11.
Look there at verses 47 through 52.
And notice in verse 48 that the Jews wanted to kill Jesus.
Their fear was if they didn't kill him, he would save all men, and then the Romans would steal their nation from them.
But in verse 49, we see that, quote, Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all.
Then in verse 51, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation, and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
Don't miss that at this time, the good news for the kingdom was that Christ's death was only for the Jews, the Jews inside the nation Israel, and the Jews that had been scattered among the nations.
Hence the reason they're called the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Listen, at this time, when you're back here reading through the books of Matthew through John, at this time, you and I weren't even being thought of.
Oh no, we were Ephesians 2:12.
Read it for yourself.
At that time, we were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
The Matthew 28 Great Commission does not fit with Paul's gospel to us, and it's why we just read in John chapter 11 that at that time, Christ's death was only for the Jews.
Knowing this also clears up many seemingly conflicting contradictory statements made later by the apostle Paul.
When we rightly divide the word of truth, the confusion starts to vanish.
Those Gentiles, hey, it wasn't an option.
The only way to God was through the Jews, period.
It wasn't until the Lord revealed the mystery to Paul that things changed.
And now we know something we didn't know, something that wasn't known before.
God said about Israel that, quote, Through their fall, salvation has come unto the Gentiles.
Romans 11:11.
See that?
That explains a lot.
Before, salvation was of the Jews, but now things have changed.
So it's impossible to take the Matthew 28 Jewish Commission and apply it to anyone today.
Yes, we have a commission, but it's not this one.
And it's why we don't, Mark 16:16, teach baptism for salvation.
We don't cast out devils.
We don't speak in new tongues.
We don't take up serpents and drink poison.
Don't tiptoe through the verses and only cherry-pick one here and leave the rest.
How intellectually dishonest would that be?
If you're in the camp that says you can lay hands on the sick and they'll recover, then let's go to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
I'll meet you there.
I'm always amazed at why Benny Hinn and all of the fakers on TV that stand there on the stage instead of going room to room at the hospitals, healing the sick as they claim they can do, they just go on TV and stand on the stage.
But what do we expect?
The auditorium is filled with naïve, gullible people with checkbooks and ATM cards, while the hospitals are filled with dying children.
But this is what happens when most preachers wrongly divide the word of truth.
They have you clinging to promises that were made to Israel.
It's a confused mess.
Benny Hinn takes Mark 16, lay hands on the sick, and then the Baptists come along and they say, nope, don't like that one, but we'll take Matthew 28 and 19, go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them.
One cherry-picks his favorite verse and the other, he cherry-picks his.
And this does nothing but breed confusion and sow discord among the people.
And it's why we have denominations.
Refusing to realize that in the books of Matthew through John and the first part of Acts, the church, the body of Christ, were not in focus.
At that time, salvation was of the Jews.
John 4:22, Israel hadn't fallen yet.
It's not until Galatians 3:28 that Paul tells us NOW there's no longer a difference between the Jews and anyone else.
But here, in Matthew through John, there IS a difference.
A distinction is most definitely being made.
So for anyone to teach that Matthew 28 is our instructions for today, again I point you to the words of Jesus where He said, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
You've got to take the all things with it.
If you want that great commission there, take the rest.
He spent around three years with these men, and He taught them a lot.
In Matthew 23 verses 2 through 3, He said the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, all
therefore whatsoever they bid you, observe that observe and do.
That's the law.
Did you catch that?
This is clear.
Jesus taught them to observe and do the law of Moses.
So Baptist preacher, is that what you're telling your church?
Or is it here that you back up?
No, let's don't back up or shy away from the verses.
Let's learn how to meet them head on.
Rightly divide the word of truth.
That's the only answer.
You know, even if you've only done a cursory read of Paul's epistles, you know that he tells us that we're not under the law.
So with that knowledge, just how do you square that with Matthew 28?
How can it be for us if we're not under the law?
I hope you're capable of seeing the dichotomy here and have not been completely blinded by your tradition.
That'll do it for now.
Remember, you only get two educations, the one you're given, and the one you give yourself.
Add comment
Comments