John 20:21

Jesus repeated His benediction (John 20:19). He then commissioned His disciples for their mission from then on. [Note: See John E. Johnson, "The Old Testament Offices as Paradigm for Pastoral Identity," Bibliotheca Sacra 152:606 (April-June 1995):182-200.] He expressed this commission in terms of the relationships that John recorded Jesus teaching extensively in this Gospel. Jesus was sending His disciples on a mission just as His Father had sent Him on a mission (cf. John 17:18). The emphasis here is on the sending and the authoritative person doing the sending. Thus Jesus’ disciples became apostles (lit. sent ones) in a new sense. The New Testament writers used the term "apostle" in a technical and in a general sense. In the general sense, it refers to all Christians (cf. Acts 14:4; Acts 14:14; 2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25). In the technical sense, it refers to the original 12 apostles-Matthias took Judas Iscariot’s place (Acts 1:26)-plus Paul.

Each Gospel plus Acts records a different version of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8). Jesus apparently gave this commission on at least four separate occasions. The first recorded commission chronologically was evidently the one in John 20:21-23. The second was the one recorded in Mark 16:15-16. Matthew 28:19-20 appears to be another account of a later event. Likewise Luke 24:46-48 and Acts 1:8 seem to be two versions of one incident, the last giving of the commission. The reader of the Gospels can scarcely escape its crucial importance. Each Gospel closes with a commission from the risen Lord. It expresses God’s will for every believer in the present age.

Some Christians believe that Jesus intended this commission only for His original disciples. They point to the fact that the writers of the New Testament epistles never referred to it. However even though they did not refer to it explicitly they clearly presupposed its validity for the whole church. They simply cast it in different terminology (e.g., 2 Corinthians 5:20). The universal scope of the commission also argues for its continuation. Third, the repetition of this commission five times suggests that Jesus intended all of His disciples to carry it out. Finally, this was the last charge that Jesus gave His disciples before He returned to His Father (Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8). This fact also suggests that He intended it for all succeeding generations of disciples.

Clearly on this occasion Jesus was presenting His mission as a model for His disciples’ mission. Many Christians have concluded, therefore, that what characterized Jesus’ ministry must characterize the church’s ministry. They see this mission including healing the sick, casting out demons, and feeding the hungry. They believe that the church’s mission is much broader than just preaching the gospel, baptizing, teaching, and planting churches. I believe this understanding is correct.

However the emphasis on Jesus’ mission in John’s Gospel has been primarily that Jesus always carried out God’s will in perfect obedience (cf. John 5:19-30; John 8:29). Even before His crucifixion Jesus stressed the importance of the believer’s obedience as the fulfillment of this paradigm (John 15:9-10). The purpose of Jesus’ incarnation was the spiritual salvation of the world (John 1:29). That is also the believer’s primary, though not our exclusive, purpose (cf. Galatians 6:10). As Jesus always operated in dependence on the Father with the Spirit’s enablement, so should His disciples (cf. John 1:32; John 3:34; John 4:34; John 5:19; John 6:27; John 10:36; John 17:4). As He was a Son of God, so are His disciples sons of God (cf. John 1:12-13; John 3:3; John 3:5; John 20:17).

Since believers no longer belong to the world (John 15:19), it was necessary for Jesus to send His disciples back into the world. Our mission does not replace Jesus’ mission, however. He carries out His present mission through us. [Note: Westcott, The Gospel . . . Greek Text . . ., 2:349-50.] We must consider all the versions of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to understand our mission correctly, not just this one.

". . . what is central to the Son’s mission-that he came as the Father’s gift so that those who believe in him might not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16), experiencing new life as the children of God (John 1:12-13) and freedom from the slavery of sin because they have been set free by the Son of God (John 8:34-36)-must never be lost to view as the church defines her mission." [Note: Carson, The Gospel . . ., p. 649.]

Jesus and John reminded all disciples of these central issues in the verses that follow (cf. John 20:23; John 20:30-31).