Proper evangelism, proper missionary work, proper Christian activity is to go out with the Gospel, win men and women to Christ, and bring them into the fellowship of the church where they are then taught the things that are found in the Scripture. Christianity is a full-orbed doctrine and approach to life which we grow into increasingly as we share and study Christ’s Word.

It’s easy to look back to the resurrection on Easter Sunday and say how marvelous it is that Jesus rose from the dead two thousand years ago, and then go home to your dinner and leave it at that. But if Jesus rose, and if He is the Lord that His resurrection declares Him to be, this is the Lord who tells you to go into the world and to tell others that He is risen from the dead. Furthermore, Jesus doesn’t make the Great Commission vague, because He tells us how to do it.

Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His authority transcends all other authority. Now there are other legitimate authorities as well and we’re instructed to recognize them. There is the authority of the state. There is the authority of parents. There is the authority of church officers. These are all legitimate authorities. But over all of these authorities is the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is on the basis of that authority over us as individuals within the church that He makes the Great Commission which follows.

Now as we look at this commission, we see three parts to it. First, there is an announcement of Christ’s authority, which we find in verse 18: “All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Second, we find a command: “Go ye therefore and teach [make disciples of] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (vv. 19-20). And then third, we have a great promise: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (v. 20).

In nearly every case where the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to someone after His resurrection, He gave them instructions to take the message to someone else. For instance, when He appeared to Mary Magdelene in the garden, Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first. But when He spoke her name, she recognized His voice, responded to Him, and then He gave her this word of instruction: “I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Now go quickly and tell my disciples.”

This leads me to the fourth and last point, which is the word “tell.” There’s a wonderful sequence to these four words. If we come, if we see that the tomb is empty, if we are commissioned to go, then it is inevitable that we must have a message to tell. Good news must be told. If we don’t tell it, we don’t really recognize how good it really is.

Now we’ve looked at two of the words of the angel’s message. We’ve looked at the invitation to come and the imperative to see. We’ve seen some of what that implies for us. The third word is “go” (v. 7). It’s a reminder that, blessed as it may be to stay near the tomb, nevertheless there is still work to do and we should not linger around the tomb.