Editorial April 27, 1918 Issue

The Great Commission

Annie M. Knott

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."

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