9. The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Firstly, Jesus’ command was for us as His disciples to go and “make disciples of all the nations”. Why would He then give us crippling sickness and disease and prevent us from fulfilling His instructions? That doesn’t make sense.

Furthermore, He said that His disciples are to teach the new disciples to keep all of His commandments. What were His commandments? For one, Jesus said to do to others as you want them to do to you (Luke 6:31). If you were sick, you would want to be well. Therefore, as a disciple of Christ, when you see someone sick, minister healing to them in the name of Jesus.

When Jesus earlier sent out the twelve (Matthew 10:5-15) and then later the seventy (Luke 10:1-12), He instructed both groups to heal the sick.

Matthew 10:7-8

And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Luke 10:8-9

Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Jesus expects His disciples—born-again believers—to be able to minister healing to the oppressed. In Matthew 17:14-21, a father brought his son to Jesus after the disciples had failed to heal him. Jesus did not commend them for trying; instead, He was greatly displeased with their unbelief and failure to set the boy free. He expected them, and expects us, to be able to minister liberty and healing to those in need.

Matthew 17:15-18

“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless [unbelieving] and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

This account (Matthew 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-43) of Jesus healing this boy reveals something very important:

If we pray for someone to be healed and don’t see them recover, it does not mean that it’s God’s will for them to be sick. Jesus healed the boy after the disciples had failed to get him well. This shows clearly that it was God’s will for this boy to be healed.

Furthermore, it was not God Who purposefully delayed this boy’s healing until he could get to Jesus. This idea is clearly disproven by the fact that Jesus scolded His disciples for their failure to heal this boy. Jesus expected His disciples to heal him.

Through both word and deed (by the example He set) Jesus commanded His disciples to heal the sick. This is further clarified in Mark’s version of the Great Commission:

Mark 16:14-18

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Jesus’ words and commandments in the Great Commission align with what He said in John 14:12. Everything Jesus said was true. He would therefore have only begun this statement with the words, “Most assuredly”, if He knew that some people would struggle to believe what He was about to say.

John 14:12

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

Jesus commanded His disciples to go out and “make disciples of all the nations”, and that these new disciples were also to keep all His commandments. Among other things, these commandments included to make new disciples and to heal the sick. Therefore, right up until this present day, these commandments are still relevant and valid. Today, we as the disciples of Jesus, are to continue to keep His commandments, which include to make new disciples and heal the sick.