Easter 2: Great Commission

It’s our final Sunday in the Gospel of Matthew. Way back in ADVENT, on December 11th, we cracked open this gospel and have been making our way through it since then.

In that very first sermon in this series, here’s what I told you about this gospel.

Matthew cares about continuity. He wants his readers to see connections.

Matthew is writing to people who are familiar with and steeped in the story of Israel.

He is showing his readers right from the start of his gospel that Jesus is the goal and climax of Israel’s history.

And now, here we are at the end. Jesus is about to issue his last words to his followers in this account.

We have traced the announcement of his coming, even through his genealogy, which links him to his adoptive father. We have heard him announced by his cousin John. And we have heard bits of Jesus teaching as we have made our way through this first gospel.

I wonder if there’s anything from the gospel of Matthew that has stood out to you this time. Maybe something you’d never noticed there before. Or something you needed to see again. It’s okay. We’ll keep giving the gospels lots of time in our Sunday gatherings, and I encourage you to keep giving the gospels lots of time in your personal reading - and in times of reading and study together in smaller gatherings.

But for now, as Gordon comes, will you stand to hear the final verses of the Gospel according to Matthew?

Matthew 28:16–20 CEB

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 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, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

Have you ever (been) evangelized?

Have you ever found a good thing. Or had a friend discover something amazing and try to share it with you?

CPAP evangelism - buying a mattress

When we know the sermon is on Matthew 28:16-20, people who have been in the church for any length of time might get nervous… should get nervous even. Because the pastor is likely to try to guilt them into “sharing their faith”… but the way we talk about evangelism is often far more like a telemarketer following a script in monotone and stilted reading than someone who has found something great and can’t help but let it enter conversation as you do life together…

So. Can we all take a breath?

I have NO interest in handing you a script and asking you to awkwardly read it or memorize it so that you can introduce [insert name of your friend or colleague or family member here] to Jesus.

I have immense interest in your friend or colleague or family member hearing about Jesus and being invited to investigate - to “come and see” … for themselves. And alongside you. Because our vision as a church is not about getting people “over the line” from not believing to believing, or from non-Christian to Christian, but about inviting them to see Jesus, to turn towards Him, and to take a step towards Him, even as we continue to do the same. As a community, we are defined by our relation to our Centre. Are you facing Jesus? Are you moving towards Him? Great. Us too. Let’s seek Him together! And let’s keep inviting others to join us as we go.

A small confession. I know that the Great Commission is at the end of the book of Matthew. I mean, it’s right there in Matthew 28.

But I had not thought UNTIL THIS WEEK about the fact that this is how Matthew’s gospel concludes.

I think, if I’m honest, the Great Commission has existed almost as it’s own little thing for me.

But this week, I realized that it’s embedded in Matthew’s gospel even if it is right there at the end. And it’s context matters greatly.

So there are three things I’d like us to explore this morning:

Jesus authority is universal.

The mission is ongoing.

And Jesus’ presence is a given. It can be counted on.

But before we dive into these three things, a note about who it is Jesus commissions in this text.

Did you notice it there? They worshipped Him, but some doubted.

You might have noticed it. You might have thought, those doubters. How could they? The risen Jesus right then in front of them and they still don’t get it? Don’t buy in completely?

Or, you might have thought, “ah, the doubters.” There I am in the text.

Or, you might not have noticed all - totally ok.

What I want you to see is this. Jesus doesn’t take the worshippers aside and leave the doubters over there while he commissions the worshipping faithful. Jesus turns to the group. The worshipping but also doubting and He commissions them.

He turns to the worshipping-but-doubting disciples because those are the only kind of disciples He has.

It’s the only kind Jesus had then. And I think if we were to go around the room today, we’d discover it’s the only kind He has now.

So, you worshipping-but-doubting folks… this is for you. You’re in on this. Jesus has a commission for us… So let’s take a look at these three things… Jesus authority is universal. The mission is ongoing.And Jesus’ presence is a given.

1. Jesus’ authority is universal. All nations!

“all nations” in Matthew 28 (and in Revelation 7:9)

Revelation 7:9 CEB

9 After this I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands.

is the bookend to the promise God made to Abraham way back in Genesis 12:3

Genesis 12:3 (CEB)

3b “...all the families of the earth

will be blessed because of you.”

Jesus has been given

2. The mission of Jesus is ongoing. Jesus sends his followers to evangelize and educate - to baptize or initiate and invite or teach the ways of Jesus. Hear this familiar verse as the First Nations Version translates it…

Matthew 28:19–20a (FNV)

19 “So now I am sending you into all nations to teach them how to walk the road with me. You will represent me as you perform the purification ceremony with them, initiating them into the life of beauty and harmony represented in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 20 You will then teach them all the ways that I have instructed you to walk in.”

“How to walk the road.” I love that.

One of the things I love about it is that it stands as a corrective to our sometimes obsession with getting people to BELIEVE a certain thing. Walking a road requires more than just giving mental assent to a principle or bit of doctrine. It requires thinking and action. It invites WHOLE people - body, mind, soul and strength - to enter into live in the kingdom when the Empire claims to be the only option.

Matthew - writing for and to a Jewish audience. Assuming we’ll pick up cues and connections. Also, Matthew is keen to expose the Empire of Rome and to point his readers toward an alternative - the Kingdom of Heaven. And Jesus will demonstrate what it looks like to live the Kingdom of Heaven even in the midst of the Empire of Rome.

And that got me thinking about the “teaching” the Matthew is referring to here. All these years, I’ve heard the Great Commission, as I mentioned earlier, I’ve never contemplated it as being the end of the gospel of Matthew in particular. What is it that Matthew has laid down for his readers? What has Jesus taught the disciples in the gospel of Matthew?

Well, going back, we see some really key things… Tim Mackie’s excellent work on the Bible Project - if you want a review of the entire gospel, watch the two-part video on the Bible Project website.

But here are a few highlights!

Matthew will, in fact, hold up Jesus as the new Moses. Even dividing up his gospel into five sections… which could be seen as pointing back to the “Five Books of Moses” or the Torah.

ch. 4-7 Announcing God’s KIngdom and then preaches what we call the Sermon on the Mount - here’s what life in God’s upside down kingdom is like - the poor in spirit are blessed! Those who mourn - blessed! An alternate to the ways of the Empire for sure

ch. 8-10 Jesus bringing the Kingdom into people’s lives and then sends the twelve

ch. 11-13 traces the responses people have to Jesus… positive (He is the Messiah!), neutral (Is he the Messiah?) and negative (He is NOT the Messiah) and then tells parables about the kingdom that contrast these responses (weeds and wheat!)

ch. 14-20 show us the different expectation about the Messiah and Jesus confounds his listeners by speaking about honouring by serving, about forgiveness instead of revenge, and about gaining true wealth by giving it away (again - upside down from the ways of the Empire)

ch. 21-25 reveals the Clash of Kingdoms … the Kingdom of Heaven challenges the Empire of Rome … and the Empire doesn’t just cede and submit, it “strikes back” - in fact, the powers of the Empire are so offended they finally decide that killing Him is their own option. The teaching in this section includes that passage we looked at a few weeks ago …

where Jesus called them to be faithful to do the work assigned to them.

The parable of the faithful & unfaithful servants.

To be prepared for a long wait.

The parable of the 10 bridesmaids.

To take risks to continue the work.

The parable of the wise & foolish investors.

To care for others - holding up that which we do to “the least of these” as being service we render to Jesus Himself.

This then, is the “Teaching” that Jesus is referring to in His great commission. This is the way in which we are to walk and are to invite others to walk with us. It’s not a statement of beliefs or doctrine to get everyone to sign off on. It’s a way of life. It’s a path that will continually call us “further up, further in.” There will always be MORE.

But there’s an initiation rite. There’s a marker of beginning our journey - or, perhaps better said, of publicly declaring that we’re on the journey and that we intend to stay on the journey for the rest of our days - it’s called Baptism.

And Jesus’ instructions here are simple and clear. Baptize people (dip them in water, quite literally) to mark them as belonging to the Triune God. And then teach them… invite them to join you in the learning that you’re still doing. Keep learning. And keep inviting others along.

I wonder whether this kind of “evangelism” sounds simpler, more accessible than the “Master a Gospel Presentation” and then try to corner someone and make them listen to you while you “present” the gospel. That might work for some people in some places. But I have found that I have very rarely had opportunity to do this kind of evangelizing. More often, I have a neighbour, a friend, who I get to share life with in some way. And we do that. And sometimes they’re curious about Jesus and the ways of His Kingdom. And sometimes, they don’t seem curious at all. And so it’s hard to know whether the invitations are making any impact. But when I listen to people’s stories of coming to faith, there are often “those who planted the seed, and those who watered, and those who had no idea that what they did made any impact at all.”

So perhaps staying committed to learning the ways of Jesus is the way. And then inviting others to sit at our kitchen tables. To wonder alongside us what living in this Kingdom would actually be like… what might happen then? What is happening as we seek to “live and love like Jesus” here at Southwest?

A review then… Jesus’ authority is universal. The mission is ongoing. And Jesus’ presence can be counted on.

Jesus’ has the authority to send these guys out… and us too.

And Jesus’ mission is to have them invite people to learn the way and walk in it - marking the beginning of that journey with a public declaration of faith made with water - baptism.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say, if you haven’t yet been baptized, what prevents you from doing so? Let’s chat about it, ok?

And then finally,

3. Jesus’ presence can be counted on.

The book of Matthew ends as it begins…

The last words? Matthew 28:20 - which, apparently, I first learned in the King James…

Matthew 28:20b (KJV 1900)

20b and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (or the age).

How is this a bookend?

Well, let’s go back to the beginning of the gospel.

After the genealogy, Matthew tells of how Joseph came to accept Jesus as his child. The dream in which he’s filled in on the strange happenings… and then Matthew tells us...

Matthew 1:22–23 NIV

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

And so the gospel of Matthew paints an alternate to the Empire of Rome… the Kingdom of Heaven. And Matthew wants us to see that this Kingdom’s king is one with universal authority. This Kingdom’s king has an entirely different way of living - and he not only invites us into it, but sends us out so that others might come in. And this Kingdom’s king is not far-off but is with us. God with us. Emmanuel.