Memory Verse Day 18: It’s hard to GO

A lot has been made of the word "Go" in this passage.  Some people have argued that it doesn’t actually mean go (which kind of begs the question – why do Greek scholars keep translating it that way?!).  No, it means as you are going (they say).

In other words, don’t worry about going anywhere – that’s not the point.  Just share the Gospel wherever you happen to be.

However, this simply isn’t the case.  Now I’m no Greek scholar, but if you want an easy example, look at another place where this form is used – Matthew 2:13-14.  The angel tells Joseph to get up, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt.  No, the angel was not suggesting that, if Joseph happens to be getting up, or sometime someday when Joseph gets up – no, it’s a command!  Get up Joe!  Move it!  Get the Child and GET OUT OF HERE!

I wrote a little about this before here: Great Commission: What does GO mean?

No, this is a command – go, make disciples, and baptize.

Jesus of course reinforces this idea when He says all nations.  No, this was not just if you happened to bump into someone from Samaria (ouch!).

The Jewish disciples really needed extra encouragement that they needed to go – and in fact needed to go to all nations.  As we read about the early days of the Church, we can see God reinforcing this point again and again.  He commands them to go, He tells them how the Word would spread (Acts 1:8), He first sends the Gospel in many languages at a time when people from many nations came to Jerusalem (Acts 2:4-11), and He allowed persecution to move them on (Acts 8:1).

Going to all nations was (is?) not easy.  But again, the authority of Jesus was with them.

And Jesus is not being overly arrogant here to include Himself with the Spirit and the Father – here we have Jesus very clearly equating Himself with the other two.  This job of reaching the world comes from the Triune God – Father, Son and Spirit.