The Great Commission ANNIE M. KNOTT, CSD          It is not possible to study the gospels without noting the emphasis laid by Christ Jesus upon the instructions given to his twelve disciples at the time when they were nominated by him for the service of God and humanity. This is often referred to as the great commission, and great it truly is. The men who were honored in being thus called were not themselves great; they were not chosen from among the ranks of the learned, for several of them were simple fishermen; but they must have had certain qualifications which the Master recognized and which were essential in the work of saving men from sin, disease, and death.          It is very easy for the Christian Scientist to see why the Master gave priority to the work of healing the ills of mankind, for in the light of Truth it is self-evident that healing as understood in Christian Science is of more vital importance to the race than aught else. The theology of this ministry might be said to be condensed into the opening words of the great commission, namely: "Preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." This declaration of divine Truth underlies all the teaching of Christian Science, and the Master's command which followed his announcement of the ever presence of the kingdom of God is inseparable from it. Mrs. Eddy has opened our eyes to the great fact that God has no sick or sinful children, that in His kingdom evil has no place; and so the work of the Christian student means the offering of the proof that this is true.          As we read in the tenth chapter of Matthew of the sending forth of these disciples, we at once become aware that mortal mind was ready to resist to the utmost the demands of Truth in that day even as at the present time. If the Master had not foreseen this resistance and this opposition, and had not prepared his disciples to meet it, they would probably have been grievously disappointed when their message of Truth and Love met with scorn and rejection; but he told them how to protect themselves against the asserted influence of the carnal mind when he said, respecting any house or city which refused to listen to the healing message of Truth, "When ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet." The statement which follows is unfortunately overlooked by many readers of the Bible who ought to see the tremendous importance given to it by the great Teacher, who said: "It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."          Very few, perhaps, outside the ranks of Christian Scientists consider how serious a thing it is to reject the Christ-healing or to deny that it was established by the Master for all time, — at least until the vision of the Apocalypse is fully realized, and sickness and sin, sorrow and death, have disappeared from the consciousness of humanity. On page 330 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy says: "Until the author of this book learned the vastness of Christian Science, the fixedness of mortal illusions, and the human hatred of Truth, she cherished sanguine hopes that Christian Science would meet with immediate and universal acceptance." The statement which follows will show why this revelation of divine Truth is beyond the grasp of materialistic thought and can be understood only when spiritual awakening comes. It reads: "God is infinite, the only Life, substance, Spirit, or Soul, the only intelligence of the universe, including man."          The student of Christian Science soon comes to see the reason for the resistance of mortal mind to this inspired statement, for it shows plainly that the carnal mind with its illusions of sin, disease, and death is necessarily ruled out of the kingdom of God. Many professed Christians are strangely indifferent on this question and quite fail to see that if the Christ-healing has been presented to them in Christian Science, and if they choose to reject it, they are bringing upon themselves the condemnation which fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah. In Jesus' teaching this characterization was a fearless arraignment of the self-righteous thought of his time which refused to see the signs that must ever accompany the declaration of spiritual law; and so in pressing home the demand of Truth upon the resisting thought he said, "The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you."          The Master's commission to his disciples surely makes it clear that no one can heedlessly dismiss, under any plea whatsoever, the idea of the Christ-healing which he presented; for it comes down through the centuries to witness against the belief that material things are as real as things spiritual and much more attractive to mankind than the things of God. When our Leader announced to the world her discovery of the divine Principle of Christian Science she saw clearly the stupendous task before her, but never once did she shrink from it, for she knew that the time was drawing on apace when the full content of Christianity as given by the Master must be proved, because of humanity's great and ever increasing needs. It therefore rests with the humblest follower of Christian Science to make good by his work and by pure spirituality, his right to the Master's strong assurance, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."   "The Great Commission" by Annie M. Knott, CSD Christian Science Sentinel, August 27, 1918

 

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