In Jesus’ parting command after his resurrection, we find him instructing his followers to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them in his name (Matthew 28:19–20).
When we see the word teaching, many of us think, Since I’m not a preacher or don’t have a gift for teaching God’s Word, this is not for me. And yes, the Bible does talk about gifts and callings related to teaching God’s Word, but that’s not the only way it speaks of passing on his Word to others.
Pass On God’s Word
In fact, God says to all of his people, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).
These instructions from God in the Old Testament lay the foundation for Jesus’ instructions in the New Testament. Jesus is telling each of us to pass God’s Word on to others in a way that helps them know and obey it.
This means that God’s Word is not intended to stop with us. It’s intended to spread through us. I have often asked followers of Jesus this question: Are you a receiver or a reproducer of God’s Word?
The Bible is a Gift
When you and I look at a Bible in our language, we see the labors of people who sacrificed their lives for it. At the center of it all, we see Jesus, who came as the Word made flesh (John 1:14) and shed his blood for our salvation. Then we see those who followed him, including many who also shed their blood so that we might have God’s Word.
We must never underestimate the treasure we possess in the Word of God. It is a tragedy that in countries that have had Bibles for many years—and countless people with multiple copies in their possession—so many Christians leave them to gather dust on shelves or serve as coasters on coffee tables. This is not the purpose for which our brothers and sisters in Christ before us died, and it’s certainly not the reason for which Jesus gave his life.
Fulfilling the Great Commission
There are over seven thousand languages in the world, but because the Bible has not yet been translated into many of these languages, millions upon millions of people are unable to read God’s Word. Multitudes of others have access to only parts of Scripture. This is a sobering reality, but here’s the good news: We have the opportunity in our generation to translate the Bible into every one of these remaining languages. Due to a variety of factors, including technological advancements and unprecedented cooperation and collaboration among Bible translation workers (for one example, visit illumiNations.bible), it is possible that almost every person on earth will have a copy of God’s Word in their own language within the next several decades.
Do you realize the time in which we are living? After two thousand years of Christian history, during which many people gave their lives for spreading God’s Word to different language groups, you and I could be the generation of God’s people to actually complete this task.
When I spent some time studying the Bible with a group of persecuted brothers and sisters in Sudan, I noticed that each of them was writing down all that we discussed. Why? As they told me afterward, “We are going to take everything we have learned, translate it into our languages, and share it with our tribes.” They were not just listening to receive; they were listening to reproduce.
What about you? Are you prone to stop at just receiving God’s Word? Do you ever find yourself stuck in a mindset that asks only, What can I get out of this? This is not uncommon! Yet Jesus’ command to “go” and to “teach” reminds us to approach his Word not just for our own needs but also to ask, How can I share what I learn with others?
Let us go and do just that!
David Platt
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back. David lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children. His latest book, How to Read the Bible: A Simple Guide to Deeper Intimacy with God, provides the step-by-step tools and insights you need to explore Scripture with greater clarity and purpose.
