Missioned

Romans 8 begins with the declaration of ‘No Condemnation’ to those in Christ Jesus and progresses to verse 34 where we find the reason:

Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us ¹

The Gospels end with Jesus returning to the right hand of the Father but just before He returned, before they saw Him ascend, they had that last encounter with Him and His last reminder to them of their part in His Kingdom

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 
And Jesus came and said to them, 
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ²

For a little more than forty-three months He had been preparing them for the transfer of His ministry to their mission. They had been taught, modeled, nurtured, chided, enabled, discipled and now commissioned to carry on representing the Name of the LORD to all who would hear. They saw, heard, worshiped and doubted what their course was to be but He left no question as to the mission and the Way that was His for them. Just as His message had begun with a baptism of repentance, a counting the cost, a committing to His Way, the works of the Father through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, so theirs was to continue in His image. They were to teach all they had been taught and observe and practice all He had taught. He had not given them helpful hints but the precepts upon which their lives were to be fulfilled.
Then He concluded with the promise: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Then, with irony, He ascended to the right hand of the LORD to intercede for those entrusted with the mission. ‘With always but at the right hand of God.’

Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us ¹

While we call this moment The Great Commission, it is prelude to the next touch of the LORD upon His disciples—The Great Enabling. But that’s another Book.