This is Jesus’s civil mandate (Matt. 28:18-20:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This Scripture is often referred to as Jesus’s Great Commission. These verses are usually quoted for going to share the gospel to the world. There are verses that tell us to do that, but these verses do NOT say that. The “gospel” is nowhere mentioned in these verses.
Jesus’s Great Commission is actually Jesus’s Civil Mandate for us today!
Look closely at Jesus’s Great Commission:
* “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”
It’s interesting to note that when most Christians quote Jesus’s Great Commission they usually never quote the first sentence that Jesus says! But this is the premise for Jesus’s whole Great Commission.
Christians assume Jesus has all authority in heaven. But how many assume that Jesus has the same all authority here on earth right now? Therefore, this means - Jesus has all civil authority on earth - “of all nations.”
This means there is no legitimate civil authority on earth unless Jesus has delegated that authority to be legitimate based on what He Himself declares is legitimate (Rom. 13:3-4):
“For the [legitimate] authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong… Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good… They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.”
Moreover, Jesus’s civil authority is NOT just for the purpose of some future millennial reign. Jesus said, “it has been given to Me,” since that time. So Jesus has all civil authority now. Jesus is to be honored NOW having all civil authority. He is to be honored today in our nation as “KING of kings.”
Jesus told us to pray specifically for this as well when He told His disciples what to pray (Matt. 6:9-10):
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name… your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus’s prayer is also NOT just for some future millennial time but obviously for today. What Jesus told us to pray is revolutionary! In essence, Jesus is telling us that it is HIS WILL that He be Head of State in all nations, in our nation right today.
* “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.”
The words “make disciples” is one word in Greek, “mathēteuō,” more often translated as “teach,” – “Therefore go and teach all nations.” Since Jesus has all authority on earth, which certainly includes all civil authority, that is why Jesus said to go and disciple or teach all nations. But Jesus did NOT say:
* Go disciple or teach the church
* Go disciple or teach Christians
NO! Jesus said Go disciple and teach NATIONS i.e. governments. The definition for “nations” is NOT individuals or even a people-group of individuals. A nation by definition is - a people-group under a civil government via civil rulers with civil laws. Discipling people without teaching civil rulers to be under King Jesus and God’s civil Law - is NOT obeying Jesus’s national Great Commission!
Satan, who always tries to displace Jesus, knows very well what Jesus’s Great Commission is. Communists are zealous for working day and night to disciple nations – for cities and nations to be under Communist socialistic laws. Should Christians be any less zealous in obeying Jesus’s Great Commission to disciple nations to be under King Jesus and His civil Law?
* First, we must understand what Jesus’s Great Commission really is.
* Second, we must believe it can happen. Would Jesus ever command something today that we cannot do and that He would not expect us to do, especially with His help?
16th Century Christians correctly understood and believed they could and should obey Jesus’s Great Commission. 16th Century European Christian Reformers took over many cities and nations replacing man’s laws with God’s Law. Early Christian Americans did the same. They established every American colony and town as Christian towns, putting in place God’s Law as their civil law.
During the last century Marxist Communists started taking over many nations, putting in place Marxist socialistic laws. Over 40 years ago the Marxist’s Left began taking over cities in America replacing moral policies and laws with Marxist socialistic laws and even calling their cities, “Sanctuary Cities,” actual sanctuary for criminals.
The god of the Muslims also understand Jesus’s Great Commission. And they are working zealously to take over nations with their Sharia law, city by city. They have now taken control of Dearborn, Michigan, and are working hard to do the same in other cities in America. In England they have 60 districts they are now controlling with their godless Sharia law.
The god of the Mormons imitates Christianity and also understands Jesus’s Great Commission. The Mormons control Salt Lake City and most of Utah and are working towards controlling their neighboring States.
Muslims, Mormons, and Leftists are all taking over cities in America today. If they are able to do that with their gods - where are the Christian cities with our God of gods? Where is even ONE Christian city? Can’t Christians take over even one small little town for King Jesus and put God’s more Law in place? Does Satan empower his agents more than Jesus empowers Christians? I thought it was said:
“Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.”
Does any Christian think that Jesus is happy that Muslims, Mormons, and Communists are more dedicated to taking over cities for their “kingdom of darkness” than Christians are for the “Kingdom of God?” Really? Especially when Jesus said He has “all authority on earth,” which can also be translated “all power on earth!”
* “Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
The word “baptize” in Greek is “baptizō.” This word occurs 86 times in 65 verses in the New Testament. The Greek lexicon defines this word was used in different ways: “to immerse, to submerge, to cleanse, to wash, to clean, to bathe, to overwhelm.” Every translator decides which word they want to use.
But today in our society when we hear the English word “baptize,” Christians think of it as water baptism of new believers. But most of the time in the New Testament the word “baptize” was NEVER used in reference to believer’s baptism. Believer’s baptism was used only once in the thirteen different ways the word was used in the New Testament:
* Matt. 3:6 Pre-Pentecost baptism
* Matt. 3:11 Holy Spirit baptism
* Matt. 3:11 Fire baptism
* Matt. 20:22 Suffering baptism
* Matt. 28:19 Nation baptism
* Mark 7:4 Food baptism
* Luke 11:38 Hand’s baptism
* Acts 2:38 Believer’s baptism
* Rom. 6:3 Christ death baptism
* 1 Cor. 10:2 Moses’ cloud baptism
* 1 Cor. 12:13 One-body baptism
* 1 Cor. 15:29 For dead baptism
* Gal. 3:27 Into Christ baptism
Moreover, when new Believers were “water baptized” in the book of Acts, they were NEVER baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The following verses are ALL theverses in Acts that says what the name new Believers were only baptized in:
* Acts 2:38: “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”
* Acts 8:16: “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
* Acts 10:48: “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”
* Acts 19:5: “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
When the word “baptizing” is being used in the Great Commission it is NOT talking about water baptism but rather in the context of baptizing “nations,” just how baptizing is used in context in every other place in the New Testament. Moreover, “baptizing them” is NOT referring to baptizing disciples, since the Greek word “mathēteuō,” to “make disciples of all nations” or “teach all nations” is a verb. Therefore, the pronoun “baptizing them” refers to the only noun “nations” -- “baptizing [nations] in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
So we don’t obviously water baptize governments or nations, but as the Greek would also read, we can “cleanse all nations” or “overwhelm all nations in the name [authority / power] of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Moreover,Jesus proceeded to tell us exactly how to “baptize” the nations in His name (authority / power) -- teaching [nations] to obey everything Jesus commanded.
* “And teaching them [nations] to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Jesus did not say, “teaching them to know everything I commanded” A pastor might teach his congregation to know God’s Word. But when it comes to teaching a nation – civil rulers and God’s civil Law - we would be teaching the nation to obey.
Everything Jesus commanded He summarized from God’s Law (Matt. 22:37-40):
“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Jesus’s two commands here were taken straight from God’s Law (Deut. 6:5 & Lev. 19:18). In fact, everything Jesus commanded was from God’s Law (Matt. 5:17-19):
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s Law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Jesus followed these verses in saying HOW to keep God’s Law, NOT to displace God’s Law, as some wrongly teach today. Otherwise, Jesus would be contradicting Himself in His same sermon. In brief, what followed is Jesus explaining HOW to avoid disobeying His Law, it comes from the heart. Here are His first two examples:
* To avoid murder - don’t get angry and call someone a fool, rather go and get reconciled with them (Matt. 5:21-26).
* To avoid adultery - don’t look at a woman to lust after her (Matt. 5:27-30).
Jesus was not annulling the Law to replace it with what someone says or thinks. If that were the case it would be alright to murder, just don’t get angry or call them a bad name. Or, it would be alright to commit adultery, just don’t lust about it. Jesus never undermined the Law; He perfectly fulfilled it all. Jesus’s Great Commission is a civil mandate to teach nations to obey Him, as He perfectly obeyed in fulfilling God’s Law.
* “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This is the only place in all the gospels where Jesus said this. Why do you think He said it here? He just gave His Great Commission to literally “overwhelm” all nations! That can only be done in the authority of His Name and with His presence – “to the very end of the age.” This means that Jesus’s Great Commission can and must be done in our nation TODAY.
Jesus also said (Luke 18:27):
“What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Think how Moses felt when God told him alone -- go start a whole new nation with slaves, march them out from under the most powerful Empire in the world. Do you think Jesus’s Great Commission is any harder than God’s Great Commission to Moses (Ex. 3:10-12):
“So now, go… But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ And God said, ‘I will be with you!’”
God gave Moses no more promise than Jesus has given us – “I will be with you!” Moses did not know ahead of time all the miracles God was going to do for him to succeed. Moses would have never see the power of God had he not gone. We will never know or see all the miracles God will do for us if we don’t set out to disciple cities and nations – to teach civil rulers God’s Law.
No one will ever see the greatness of God until they GO. No one will ever walk on water like Peter until they get out of the boat. Only one got out of the boat.
Jesus said (Mark 5:36):
“Fear not, only believe.”
Jesus said (Matt. 17:20):
“You don’t have enough faith. I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
God said (Heb. 11:33):
“And by faith men conquered nations!”
Would God not be honored today if men by faith conquer a city or nation for King Jesus and His glory? The Christian Reformers conquered nations by faith for His glory. The early American Christians conquered land and established Christian towns by faith all over north America.
Jesus said (Luke 6:46):
“So why do you keep calling Me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?”
Jesus made it clear what we are to do at the beginning and end of Matthew (Matt. 6: 10, 33, 28:18-20):
“Pray Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
“Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.”
“All authority has been given unto Me … Therefore go and teach all nations!”
