Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Today's episode is about how Jesus' is calling us to share the Gospel with all we meet. This episode explains that this doesn't have to be a scary call. If we are reading scripture regularly then you will want to be sharing what you are learning with all you meet. When you are being kind to others, you are being the face of Jesus to others. You can share the gospel with your actions instead of your words. Both ways of spreading the word are answering this call. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Great Commission
Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
I wish I knew what just went through your mind when I read that verse to you. This verse is Jesus talking to his disciples and He is sending them into the world to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. I wonder what went through their mind when He told them to go out to the world and proclaim the gospel. When Jesus told his disciples to go out and proclaim the gospel it was after he had just risen from the dead. He had just been crucified on a cross for saying He was the son of God and now He wanted His disciples to go out and tell the world all about it. I wonder how that made them feel? I am sure they were excited to see Jesus. I am sure they were probably in shock as they saw Him crucified on a cross just days before this. Actually it says in Mark 16:14 that Jesus rebuked them for not believing the others when they said they had seen Him. However, in the very next line Jesus send them out to share the Gospel with the world.
I can imagine this was a crazy time for them. I feel like if I had been there I wouldn’t have wanted to leave Jesus’ side. I would have wanted to hold on to Him and never let go. I would have been afraid of losing Him again. I wonder if they felt this way too? I never really thought too much about the disciples and their feelings until I started watch The Chosen. This show gave life and personality to each one of the disciples. It gave me a face to think of when I hear their names mentioned in the Bible. It made them more personable and more human. It showed us how they might have felt the first time they were send out. There were a bit nervous as they didn’t know what to do or what to say. They had been walking with Jesus and they had watched what He did and heard what He said, but they had never done it themselves before.
This might be you too! You have heard the Bible stories at mass and yet you have never really shared them with others. Maybe you have read the Bible from cover to cover and yet you still don’t think you know enough. Maybe you are just new to the faith and you aren’t sure you know much of anything at all. Wherever you are on the spectrum of not really knowing much at all about the Gospel and knowing it like the back of your hand, Jesus was still talking to you when he gave this command. Each and every one of us is part of the great commission. Each and every one of us has been tasked with spreading the Gospel to the whole world. Well, the Church as a whole has been tasked with spreading the Gospel to the whole world, you could just start with you circle of influence. You can start with those around you.
I heard a cool story the other day when I was listening to a book by Mark Batterson called, “Chase the Lion.” Mark was talking about how he had gotten a word from God that said something about him reaching the nations. He didn’t understand what this meant. His church hand not started going on mission trips yet. He wasn’t someone who spoke all around the world. He had no idea how he was going to reach the nations. He kept this in the back of his mind and went about doing the work that he knew God wanted him to do. One day about 10 years later his friend gave him a call. His friend was traveling for work and was in a book store and saw Mark Batterson’s book on the bookshelf. His friend said, “Wow, I guess you are reaching the nations.” It finally hit Mark. He had no idea when he was given this word over 10 years ago that his books would be translated into many different languages. He was reaching the nations with his books and he didn’t even realize it.
I wonder how many of us are fulfilling this great commission without even realizing it? I wonder how many of you are thinking that you are just being kind and holding that door for a stranger and yet what you are really doing is being the face of Jesus to them. I wonder how many of you just think you are telling your grandchildren a bed time story and yet you are telling them about the hero’s in the Bible. How many of you think you are just calling to check in on a friend and yet you are showing them a kindness they have not seen before.
When Jesus came He did not talk about all the laws, He did not talk about religion. He came and demonstrated love first and foremost. He also did signs and wonders, which definitely helped spread the word faster. However, I believe he won them over first with love. What if we could offer that to all we meet? What if we could greet those around us with love? Not just our neighbor and our loved ones, but those we meet that aren’t easy to love. Jesus loved the sinners. He loved the tax collectors and the prostitutes. He showed love to all He met. What if we could do that? Would we be answering this call? I believe we would be because we would be showing the face of Christ to all those we meet.
Another way to spread the Gospel is to read scripture. You can’t spread the word if you don’t know the word. I don’t think you have to memorize scripture to be able to share it with others, just read it often and be familiar with it. I heard someone say that when we have good news, we can’t wait to share it. This is so true. When you get a new job or a new car, you can’t wait to tell people. When you find out you are having a baby you are so excited you want to tell everyone. The same is true about the good news in the Bible.
Once you become familiar with the stories, once you learn what the stories mean and how amazing God is, you want to tell everyone. It is as if you have information that is so important you want everyone to know it. This is how I feel. I used to dread hearing things like we are all called to share the Gospel. However, now I can’t help myself from talking about God or Jesus. I know when the change happened too. It happened when I started to read scripture more. I did a “Read the Bible in 90 Days” Study with a friend of mine and her husband about 10 years ago. Then in 2021 & 2022 I did the Bible in a year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz. I have also done several Bible Studies and listened to a podcast called “Exploring My Strange Bible,” where the pastor goes through several sections of the Bible and essentially does a Bible Study about each one. Once I really learned what God has done for us throughout the Bible I couldn’t help but want to share it. Once I learned what the Bible says about all the various topics such as love, forgiveness, repentance and so on, I wanted to share it with everyone.
This information was life changing for me and I wanted it to be able to change other’s lives as well. Suddenly when people would be talking about something, it would remind me of a Bible story and I would share it. When people talked about how hard it was to forgive I could tell them the things I learned and it helped them. Sharing the Bible doesn’t have to be daunting. It doesn’t have to be scary. It can be as simple as mentioning a story you heard, or repeating one of the parables you read that applies to the current situation. It could also be as simple as being the face of Jesus to all those you meet. I almost wrote as easy as being the face of Jesus, however, that is not easy.
Jesus showed love and kindness to all He met. He also showed mercy and forgiveness. These are not always things that are easy to do. Sometimes things can be simple and yet not very easy. I know that Jesus wants us to love and pray for our enemies and yet, what if our enemies really hurt us? He wants us to forgive, and yet, what if we can’t? What if what they did was so bad we can’t forgive? What if we feel called to love someone that doesn’t want our love and is very unkind to us? What then? This is why I say being the face of Jesus is a simple way to answer the call to the great commission and yet it is not an easy one. When Jesus sends us out, He is not sending us out alone. He is sending us out with the authority and power of the Holy Spirit. This means all we need to do is rely on that power and that strength and we can do all things, even those that feel impossible. What is one way you can answer this call to, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation?”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation, please show us how. Please give us the strength and courage to start with our families and friends. Give us a holy boldness to speak up to others when we feel your promptings. Please put on our hearts a deep desire to be in your Word and to learn what scripture says. We love you Lord, you are amazing and we ask all of this in accordance with your will an in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to Walk Boldly With Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow. Tomorrow I will have another witness for you. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day!