The Great Commission: Every Believer to Every People. Where is the Disconnect?

The go to passage for every pastor, missionary, evangelist, and Christian teacher when speaking about missions is the Great Commission, most commonly cited from Matthew 28: 18-20.

"18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

There is a reason why it is the most commonly cited passage when discussing missions. It is the last thing recorded by Matthew from Jesus to His disciples and appears to carry a significant amount of weight and authority. Jesus even cites the reality that He has been given all authority to commission us in such a way (vs. 18).

So, why then, does the North American church not appear to have an 'every people' mentality? It is safe to say that even a casual observer is not likely to see an emphasis on things like "Unreached People Groups" or "Gospel Access" in most of our churches today. There is far too little emphasis and even less understanding about these and other important realities among American believers today.

It would seem many of our churches have adopted the 'make disciples' piece of the equation, while failing to observe the, 'of all nations' piece. If I have heard it once, I have heard it 100 times: "Why should we focus our attention on people half way around the world when our friends, family members, and neighbors don't' know Jesus and are dying in their unbelief?" On the surface, this seems like a reasonable question, and I understand where it comes from. I do believe, however, there is a better question.

Allow me to propose a rhetorical question. The question is; Does the commission of Matthew 28 apply to all believers? The universally accepted answer to this question is a resounding YES. If this is the case, would we not agree also that the commission in it's entirety applies to all believers and not simply some of us? Again, the resounding answer would be YES!

If there is agreement on the answers to the questions above, it leaves little room for ambiguity related to the Great Commission of Jesus in Matthew 28. We cannot speak of 'making disciples' without also speaking of 'all nations' and it would seem this commission is for ALL followers of Jesus!

It then becomes important for us to examine the word translated 'nations'. This word in both the Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) is properly understood to be speaking not about 'nation states' as defined by borders and governments. It speaks of 'people groups', each with their own unique language, customs, and culture. With this understanding, we realize there can be 100's or even 1000's of people groups in one nation state as defined by governments and borders.

This is a significant shift in the way we read passages like the Great Commission. If we then plug this into Matthew 28 Jesus is calling all His disciples to go and make disciples of all people groups. He does not leave any of us out of this call. It is not a call to go only to the people and places closest to us, despite the fact that these needs seem to be the most pressing in our minds. We easily see the great needs staring us in the face every day, and I am not proposing we ignore these needs. I am simply suggesting we have failed to recognize the needs of 'all peoples' as Jesus references them in Matthew 28. That being said, let me help by painting a picture of the great need which continues to exist more than 2000 years after Jesus left us with this challenging commission.

Out of nearly 8 billion people worldwide, over 3 billion have little or no access to the good news of the gospel of Jesus! That is 42% of the worlds current population. What does this look like practically? If you or I were born into one of these people groups ('Unreached People Groups' or *UPG's*) we would be born, live their entire lives, and die without ever meeting a follower of Jesus, hearing His name, seeing or reading a Bible, or otherwise having any opportunity to know or understand the gospel. These are the 'all nations' for which all believers are commissioned by Jesus to 'go and make disciples'!

Does this mean we do not meet the spiritual needs that are all around us? Clearly it does not. The call and the commission is to make disciples of all nations (people groups). Are not those around us included in the 'all'? The obvious answer is YES!! So, yes God does call us to meet the spiritual needs that are staring us in the face, but the commission does not end there, it extends to all. In response to that age old and common question about the needs in my neighborhood I would reply: Yes, spiritual needs are everywhere, but Gospel Access is NOT! Therefore, my challenge to the North American church is to open our eyes. Recognize this reality and prayerfully begin to consider how God is calling us to make disciples of ALL PEOPLE GROUPS and not only those we see everyday! Every believer to EVERY PEOPLE!!

 [_The Holy Bible: English Standard Version_](https://ref.ly/logosres/esv?ref=BibleESV.Mt28.18&off=3&ctx=ut+some+doubted.+18%C2%A0~And+Jesus+came+and+s) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 28:18–20.