A possible inference of the designation, "The Great Commission," is that there was one which was not so great as this one. This inference is legitimate, for there was a limited, or restricted, one which the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples, and which they carried out in Israel during the last six months of the second full year of His ministry (Matt., chap. 10). The disciples toured Galilee and performed all kinds of miracles of attestation of their divine calling. They were to go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Thus that tour is called the restricted commission. They never completed going over the house of Israel; they went only in Galilee. It is clear that this commission is blended with that part of it which has not yet been fulfilled, but which will be carried out in the end of the age, as we see in Matthew 10:22,23. This will be resumed in the end time. But before it is completely fulfilled, the Lord Jesus will come in glory and power and take the affairs of the world into His own strong hands.

Our Lord Jesus appeared eleven times to various ones of His disciples after His resurrection. If we had Luke's account only to consider, we would think that the great commission, recorded by him in 24:44-49, was given at the time when Jesus appeared on the night of that memorable Easter to the disciples in Jerusalem. It is more likely that this was probably His tenth appearance and occurred just before His ascension. He began His quiet talk with them by saying: "These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all-things must needs he fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44). Jesus spoke of the Scriptures in the Old Testament in terms that were current in His day and time, and that are still current among the Jews today. The Hebrew Bible is divided into three sections: the Five Books of Moses, the Major and Minor Prophets, and the Sacred Writings, beginning with the Book of Psalms and ending with the Chronicles--according to the arrangement of the books in the Hebrew Old Testament. In dealing with our Jewish friends we must follow the example of our Lord. He began with the Writings of Moses. So must we. We must find every doctrine possible in the Five Books of Moses and trace the development of the scriptural teachings throughout the Prophets and into the Psalms.

Let us remember that the things that were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we might have hope through the Scriptures (Romans 15:4). Also let us, in this connection, read carefully II Timothy 3:16,17: "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work."

The "testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10). We should, therefore, study all the Scriptures, because they all pertain to, and point in the direction of, Christ. The Old Testament looks forward to His first coming and unfolds the entire redemptive career of Messiah, while the New Testament looks back to His first coming, explains the present dispensation, and points toward His second coming and the things of the future.

Verse 45 is most important for us: "Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures...." In this connection we should remember the fact that is stated in I Corinthians 2:13-16: "Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual words. 14 Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." As the Apostle asserted in this passage, the man who is unregenerated, unsaved, and in whose heart the Spirit of God does not dwell, cannot possibly understand the Scriptures. He may get a partial intellectual grasp of some facts that are stated there, but he cannot see the real spiritual significance of the message of the Scriptures. He can, however, see enough to let him know that he must come to God and be saved and have divine assistance for his life and understanding of the Word of God. Thus we are told that, at the time our Lord appeared to the Apostles on this occasion, He expounded the Scriptures to them. Of course, He expounded them as never man explained, with such clarity, force, and logic that it was impossible for them to misunderstand the main facts. But He also gave them spiritual discernment. He opened their eyes that they might take in the facts which He was stating to them.

The psalmist David prayed:
"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
Wondrous things out of thy law" (Ps. 119:18).

In any early Christian experience I could get something out of the Word, but very little. I got it because I was born again and was trusting Christ. But a new day dawned for me when my attention was called to this prayer of David's. I saw the significance of it and acted thereupon. David had the Word of the Lord. He was a man through whom God spoke His revelations. Yet David realized that he could not understand the full import of the revelation of God unless the Almighty, by His Spirit, opened his eyes and enabled him to see the truth.

When my attention was called to this great passage, I took God at His word and felt that, if David, a child of God, could pray thus, I could do likewise! Hence, I prayed for the Lord to open my eyes to see the wonderful things revealed in His Word. Then I opened my Bible and began to read. On this particular occasion my eyes fell upon Psalm 2. I had read it many times, but I had no idea of what it meant. I believed, however, that God would open my eyes to see the message therein. And I saw it as I had never observed it before! Never since have I had to change or modify the idea that I received then concerning this psalm. The picture has become clearer, and I have seen it more in detail; but at that time I received the proper, general idea of the teaching of Psalm 2. I know that God heard and answered my prayer for the light. What He did for me, He will do for anyone else who is a child of God, and who will pray for light, in order that he might walk in it and thus glorify the Lord.

The Lord showed that it was written in the Prophets that the Messiah should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day. It was clearly revealed by the Old Testament Scriptures that the Messiah should suffer as the Lamb of God, should be buried, and should rise the third day, which prophecies were literally fulfilled, as we have already seen in our study of the Book of Luke.

The great commission, as our Lord gave it on this occasion, is found in 24:47-49: "... that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 Ye are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high." The Apostle Paul preached repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is a mental, spiritual act. The word "repentance" in the Greek translated literally means "to change the thoughts, purposes, and intentions of the heart and mind." Sorrow before God leads men to make such a decision to turn from sin and to God and to trust Christ for salvation. Many receive the grace of God through faith. When they thus accept the Lord by faith, they receive remission of sins. The Spirit of God then regenerates the heart.

Preaching the gospel is such an important matter that the Lord would not allow the Apostles to depend upon their own strength and wisdom. He therefore commanded them to remain in the city of Jerusalem and to await the coming of the Spirit of God, who would bring to their remembrance all things whatsoever He had said to them and would make new revelations to them. This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God came, endowed them with all wisdom, guided them, and enabled them to speak the Word of God infallibly to the people. They were not only inspired to preach the oral Word, but to write the Scriptures of the New Testament. Thus we have an infallibly inspired record of the will of God. May we treasure it, and may we follow it conscientiously in all things!

One should always have clearly in mind the redemptive career of King Messiah as set forth in the Old Testament in order to understand fully the facts connected with His career. The work and ministry of the Messiah was foretold by the psalmist David in Psalm 110:1-3, as follows:

"1 Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand,
Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
2 Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion;
Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
3 Thy people offer themselves willingly
In the day of thy power, in holy array:
Out of the womb of the morning
Thou hast the dew of thy youth."

In this passage we see the entire redemptive career of King Messiah. He comes to earth and is rejected by His people at His first coming. When this is done, He is invited by the Father to leave earth and to ascend to heaven. He is to remain at the right hand of the throne of God during the period of His rejection by His beloved people. God, however, overrules and directs with His unseen, invisible hand the course of all history. Eventually He will bring it to pass that the nation of Israel will confess its national sin of rejection of Messiah--will repent of this in genuine contrition--and will plead for Him to return. When they do that, He will leave heaven, come back, take the world situation in hand, and establish a reign of righteousness upon the earth.

The Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ, came on scheduled time and in the manner that was foretold by the Prophets. He engaged in His ministry and accomplished the work that He was scheduled to do at His first coming. Finally, He was rejected by His people, was crucified and buried, but was raised from the dead, as we have seen in the records of the Four Gospels. At the time of His resurrection, God the Father invited Him to leave earth and to ascend into heaven, which thing He did. According to Luke 24:50-53 "... he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 and were continually in the temple, blessing God."

The Lord Jesus Christ went back to glory. But He had promised the disciples that He would not leave them desolate, and He had said: "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever" (John 14:16). He told them that "when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth...." (John 16:13). The promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (Acts, chap. 2).

When Stephen made his speech before the Sanhedrin (Acts, chap. 7), he had a vision of heaven, and "being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55,56). Jesus is there to appear in the presence of God for all who come to God by Him: "Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25).

Praise God for the crucified, risen, and glorified Saviour, who will come again at the proper time and receive us unto Himself!