Searching for buried treasure has been the subject of many beautiful legends of the sea and pirates, regaling adventures. A valuable treasure is a powerful motivator. That’s why
Jesus taught the parable of the buried treasure. The gospel of Matthew 13:44-46, “the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy, over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field.” Despite this precious treasure, the average Christian doesn’t make the time to pursue this treasure, the glory of God. Perhaps we undervalue the treasure and its worth.
The foolishness of man grieves the Father’s heart. This is why before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave His followers one final command: The Great Commission.
Matthew 28:19-20, “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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
It is God’s desire that all of mankind join the greatest treasure hunt of all time. Most people think that the word “go” is the main emphasis of these verses. However, the phrase “make disciples” is the central command when reading the verse in the original Greek. With the emphasis on “making disciples,” we see a different viewpoint for our daily lives. Instead of focusing on “going,” we realize that we are to “make disciples” as we go through our average day with everyone we meet. This is more in line with the discipline example that Jesus set for his disciples and us.
This is important because the meaning of the three words: go, baptize, and teach, depends on the main verb of the phrase, “make disciples.” Jesus is telling us to: make disciples by going to the nations, baptizing, and teaching. So going, baptizing, and teaching becomes the means of making disciples, and making disciples is the focus of the verse, not going.
The Greek word for “go” is reuomai. This word carries a sense of ongoing or pursuing a journey you have already begun. All Christian Believers are sent, regardless of what they do for a living; we are all to be about God’s business of disciple-making. So as you go about your daily life, walking with Jesus, make disciples. The Greek word for baptize is baptizo. It means to dip or submerge and carries with it a meaning of completely identifying with Christ, being submerged. The whole self belongs to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, everything you are and do. The Greek word for teach is didasko, which means “to cause to learn.” It relates to communicating knowledge from one to another. Jesus is saying that to follow Him, you must be willing to be obedient to His commands, and you must be willing to teach others to be obedient as well.
As we think about The Great Commission and pray for God to send laborers into the harvest, remember that we also have an obligation. If we are serious about being disciples of Christ, we must “make disciples” as we go about our daily lives. This isn’t something that we just do when we go on a mission trip – it is a daily activity.
