We are all familiar with "The Great Commission" which Jesus gave his disciples just before his Ascension back to heaven. We usually hear it in the context of missions conferences or exhortations to evangelize, focusing either on the parts where he says "Go into all the world" and/or "Preach the gospel." We may remember "Baptizing" is in there somewhere, and when we feel overwhelmed we might remember the "Lo I am with you always" part. In practice, too often, we envision it in terms of a Billy Graham crusade, and see the goal as one of making decisions (i.e., getting people to walk an aisle, come down front and pray to "get saved" as the culmination of the commission), rather than making disciples. Disciples aren't made overnight; it's a process over time, and it involves teaching, commands, and obedience. This, we're not so good at; but it's what Jesus commanded.
So, one of the things we're going to focus on in this class is looking at the commands that Jesus gave. Not that God didn't give other commands through Moses, David, Paul and others who wrote the books of the Bible, but if we're going to be disciples of Jesus, then focusing on what he commanded seems a logical place to start.
Being in the Anglican tradition, we have a Daily Lectionary (in the back of the Book of Common Prayer, or available online at various sites, including http://satucket.com/lectionary/ ) which includes a reading from one of the Gospels for each day. For the duration of this course, I am asking that we all read these Gospel lessons for each day of the week, and come prepared to discuss them. Our discussion will naturally involve determining what are direct commands, what are indirect commands, to whom each command is given, and if--and how--each command is to be obeyed by us as Jesus' disciples today.
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