The Pastor’s Piece, Pastor Kevin Cernek, FCFI Chaplain

FCFI
August 3, 2025

The following column is part of a message by Ray Pritchard at Keep Believing Ministries, (Keepbeliving.com), from July 18, 2012.

“We Cannot Fail”
By Ray Pritchard

Lately I’ve been reading a fine book by Rodney Stark called, The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion. The opening paragraph gives the flavor of the whole:

“He (Jesus) was a teacher and miracle worker who spent nearly all of His brief ministry in the tiny and obscure province of Galilee, often preaching to outdoor gatherings. A few listeners took up His invitation to follow Him, and a dozen or so became His devoted followers, but when He was executed by the Romans, His followers probably numbered no more than several hundred. How was it possible for this obscure Jewish sect to become the largest religion in the world?”

The rest of his book attempts to answer that question. How do you get from a dozen devoted followers (minus the one who betrayed Him) to the world’s largest religion? It doesn’t seem very likely. But as I thought about this, my mind was drawn to the final verses of Matthew 28 where Jesus gives His disciples what we traditionally call the Great Commission. As I read that passage, I noticed something unusual in the preceding verses.

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted,” (vs. 16-17). So, having risen from the dead, Jesus now meets His disciples at “the mountain” in Galilee. These eleven men are the closest friends Jesus has on earth. They followed Him through thick and thin. Now Jesus is about to leave them.

“What’s your plan to reach the world?”
“I’ve got eleven men.”
“That’s all?”
“No, there are more, but these are the key men.”
“I thought you had twelve.”
“I did, but one of them betrayed me.”

And so it goes. Eleven men to reach the world. It doesn’t sound very hopeful on the face of it. But it gets worse. “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.” That’s verse 17. Not too encouraging to lose one of your top men to betrayal, but it’s worse when some of those left begin to doubt you. Hard to build a great movement on doubting men. But that’s the stark reality of what Jesus has as He comes to the end of His sojourn on the earth. But Jesus seemingly ignores the whole issue of “some doubted.” It’s almost as if He is saying, “We’ll go with what we have. Don’t worry about anything. Don’t even worry about your doubts. Go and make disciples, and in your going, your doubts will disappear.”

Verse 18 says: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” The Christian message would survive all the assaults against it because all power in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ. Then comes the part we call the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” (vs. 19-20). Exactly how are 11 men to disciple all nations, especially when some of them still doubted? Well, Jesus is not saying, “Okay, guys. It’s up to you,” because if that’s the meaning, then the whole Christian movement would have died within a few years. Here is the real meaning: “You’re not equal to this, but I am.” And in case they missed it, Jesus added something else: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” (v 20).

This is a blanket promise of the ongoing presence of the Son of God with His people, wherever they go, no matter how far they go, to the very end of the age. That’s huge. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there with you.”

In context this is what Matthew 28:16-20 looks like: 1. “I have all power.” 2. “Now go and make disciples.” 3. “I’m with you wherever you go.” We tend to focus on the going part. But the going part is totally impossible without 1 and 3. “Go, and I will go with you.” That’s the whole plan right there. And the plan still works after 2000 years. When Jesus gets involved, amazing things happen. And we get to be a part of it.