vv 18-19 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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,
I have an interesting document which I keep in a file about my life so far. It is dated 1957 and carries the signature of the Queen. It relates to my being commissioned as an Officer in the RAF. Various obligations are outlined, and it makes clear that such power as I would have to issue orders would be derived from the authority of the Queen as Head of State. I was under her authority and expected to act accordingly. That is what holding the Queen’s commission means.
Today’s reading is often called, The Great Commission. All authority is invested in Jesus and He commissions His people to go as His representatives and call people to become His disciples. We are all under orders; calling people to become disciples is not a matter of some personal whim or church obligation but because our Commander-in-Chief has planned things so that we should be outward looking and passing on the Good News to others. It is not the role of a few religious fanatics to spread the Gospel, it is what we are all commissioned to do – pass it on!