Jesus teaches us four GREAT truths as recorded in the gospel of Matthew, during His last few days in Jerusalem prior to the crucifixion. Two of these we are familiar with: the Great Commandments and the Great Commission. The other two GREAT truths are often overlooked: the Great Compassion and the Great Cost.

The Great Commandments:

“Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” ~ Matthew 22:35-40

Immediately following Judas’ fleeing from the Last Supper to betray our Savior, Jesus presented His followers with a new command. Really it was an old command (the second great commandment) wrapped in new meaning: “Love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:35). To love our neighbor as we love ourselves is one thing, but to love one another as Jesus has loved us…, that’s some radical love! In fact, our comprehension of the depths of such love was miniscule until Christ showed us its extent. “By this we know love, because He [Jesus] laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16).

The Great Compassion:

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” ~ Matthew 25:34-40

That last verse is shocking! When we help out those in need, our acts of love are being done to Jesus Himself. There is a famous picture of Jesus at a soup kitchen. Only, Jesus is not the one serving the food; He is in line with (and dressed as) the homeless receiving the generous meal.

I once heard someone comment that the most difficult passages in Scripture are often the ones that are easiest to understand. That’s how I feel about this passage. You do not need years of extensive biblical training to comprehend the Great Compassion. No one honestly says, “Hmm, perhaps if we study the cultural setting of the time when this was written we can then deduce some modern day applications from this ancient practice of giving a thirsty man a drink.” This passage is easy to understand! The challenge is to live it out.

Look again at the list Jesus gives us in this passage. Where are the miracles? Nowhere does it say, “For I was hungry and you turned two fish into enough food for an entire year” or “For I was sick and you healed me.” This is a list of practical ways each one of us can show love to those in need. All of us are able to give a drink to someone thirsty. Virtually all of us are capable of visiting someone who is sick. The true miracle in this passage is the great, radical love that motivates these small acts.

One last observation. Notice that Jesus did not say, “For I was hungry, and you wrote a check to Compassion International and they fed me.” Giving to charity is great, yet this is no justification for being exempt from personally carrying out the Great Compassion. Jesus taught, “For I was hungry, and YOU fed me; I was in prison, and YOU visited me.” Carrying out the Great Compassion involves personally interacting with those in need.

The Great Commission:

“And Jesus came and spoke to them [the disciples], saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” ~ Matthew 28:18-20

Unfortunately, when the New Testament was being written, the writers did not have a computer with a word processor. They could not write words in a bold or italicized font in order to emphasize its importance. If the biblical writers wanted to stress a certain point, they used repetition. Only a select few of Jesus’ teachings are mentioned in all four of the gospels. Hence, we begin to see how foundationally important the Great Commission is for Christians, when we realize that it is mentioned in all four gospels and even the book of Acts! In Acts, Luke records Jesus’ final words before His ascension as being a reiteration of the Great Commission: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Certainly Jesus thought long and hard about what His last words to His followers would be. He knew whatever He spoke would continue to ring in their ears as they watched Him ascend.

There is another truly exciting observation about the Great Commission as recorded in Matthew. When the Greek is translated most literally (I promise I’m not making this up!) there is only one command. And it’s not “Go!” The only command given is to “make disciples.” The going is assumed. Here is how it is worded: “Therefore, as you are going make disciples by teaching…and baptizing.” “As you are going.” This literal wording truly broadens our understanding of our mission as Christians. We are all called to make disciples as we go about our day. “As you are going” about your time in school, make disciples. “As you are going” about your work routine, make disciples.

How These Three Greats Are Connected:

Sadly, there is much debate amongst Christians as to how these three GREATs relate to each other. There are “Great Commission Christians” who pride themselves in their passion to verbally evangelize, yet they leave no room for loving acts of social justice. In their defense, most came to this extreme stance in response to its equally extreme opposite. The majority of Christians in our pluralistic society deviate off the narrow path in the other direction. They feel more comfortable just showing the love of God to people…at least at first. The problem is that most in this grouping never get past the “initial stage” of trust building; hence, they never verbally share the Good News.

Yet, Jesus was most passionate about evangelism AND social justice. He never neglected either. How did Jesus balance word and deed? Did one have precedence over the other? If we quickly take a second look at two of the passages mentioned during the Great Commandments section, I think we will begin to realize how the Great Commandments, Compassion, and Commission are related to each other.

In John 13:34 Jesus gave His new variation of the second great command. “Love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Jesus continues, “By this all will know that you are My disciples; if you have love for one another.” When this radical love is seen in action amongst Christians, the world is guaranteed to notice that we are following Jesus! The Great Commandments of love are evangelistic!

But what does this radical love look like? How did Jesus love? Let’s go back to 1 John 3:16 and read a little more. “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in Him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 Jn. 3:16-18). Let us love in deed and in truth! The Great Commandments of love lead to acts of Great Compassion (love in deed).

The passage also teaches us to “love in truth.” Jesus once commented, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The Great Commandments of love create a passion within Christians to carry out the Great Commission. But this is really just common sense. When a high school girl gets her first boyfriend, she is so giddy with excitement that she tells everyone about him. She doesn’t wait for her friends to ask about him. The same is true with evangelism. So many churches spend weeks trying to teach their congregations evangelism methods, yet the deeper challenge is motivating them to want to evangelize.

So how are these three GREATs related? The best analogy I can think of is that of a plant. The Great Commission and the Great Compassion stem from a life rooted in the Great Commandments. This is wholistic ministry’s aim. Either one, separated from the Great Commandments, may look impressive for a short season, but it is already in decline. Consider again the plant analogy. Bouquets are made from plant cuttings and they are often breathtaking. Yet those very bouquets are composed of living matter that is already in the process of dying. In a short time, what was once beautiful to behold will soon be discarded as dead and useless.

The Great Cost:

There is one more GREAT truth that Matthew reminds us of. The Greek phrase “pante te ethne” is translated “of all nations” or “of all ethnic groups.” Matthew uses this phrase in his wording of Jesus’ Great Commission (make disciples of all nations). He also records Jesus using this phrase one other time. In this passage, Jesus reminds us of the Great Cost involved for those who seek to follow His wholistic model:

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” ~ Matthew 24:9-14

John Piper refers to this passage as the dark side of missions. It is definitely a wake-up call. We often forget that the cross precedes the crown. If we pick up our cross and follow Jesus on this narrow path of radical, wholistic love, we will have trials and suffering. But longevity in ministry will come only from those who have a biblical theology of suffering, for they will see how God’s sovereign plan can even use the suffering of His saints to further His Kingdom and His renown. This truth enabled Paul, while imprisoned, to write “that the things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Phil. 1:12-14).

What empowers and sustains Christians, despite great costs, to spend themselves in loving others? Once again, the answer is hidden in the Great Commandments. “We love God because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). And “it is the awareness of being loved with God’s tender compassion that leads us to love ourselves and others” (Brennan Manning). In other words, we love others not because of their lovability, but because of the loving character of the One who loves us (Robertson McQuilkin).

In the final analysis, wholistic ministry is really just another name for Great Commandment ministry. As we love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, this love will overflow towards others. And it will be manifested in two ways: (1) Verbally telling others the good news of God’s incomprehensible love (the Great Commission), and (2) personally showing others great love through sometimes big, but more often, small acts (the Great Compassion).

[written by Jackson Portfield (name changed for security reasons)]

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