Matthew 28:16-20 The Call to Discipleship

Intro: Mission Possible

We started the book of Matthew on October 30, 2021

75 messages later we are completing the book

A little over a year and a half in the book

We finish with one of the most important themse in the whole book…the Great Commission

If you ask people what the purpose of the church is you will get a ton of different answers

Some people will tell you its about community

Others will tell you its about teaching the Word

Still others will tell you that we were created to Glorify God so worship is the most important

While those are vital to the church the primary purpose of the church is to go and make disciples

Today’s passage is about the Path to discipleship

Read Matthew 28:16-20

Transition

It has never been God’s will for any person “to perish but for all to come to repentance”

He “desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth”

God’s heart has always yearned to bring men back to Himself, to give them new, righteous, and eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Every time an unbeliever is saved by God’s grace, God is glorified

The great mission of the church is to call men and women to Jesus Christ

Jesus’ supreme purpose on earth was “to seek and to save that which was lost”

The last section of Matthew is to call the church to discipleship

The word for disciple here is Mathetes which means student

It’s not a classroom kind of student, but more like an apprentice

A disciple is someone who walks in the steps of a master

Be Available vs. 16

The first step in making disciples is to be available

At the resurrection, Jesus and the Angel told the women to tell the disciples to go to Galilee

As we get to these final verses in Matthew the disciples are in Galilee

They made the two-day trek from Jerusalem to a spot in Galilee

They listened to what they were told and made themselves available

For the great commission to be accomplished the church needs to be available

Notice there is no other qualification?

The disciples didn’t go to rabbi school

They didn’t have to pass a test

They just had to show up

The key to reaching the nations with the Gospel are people who are willing to be be available when God needs them

You are a sent missionary to your world

No one is better equipped to reach them than you

A Response to Our Worship vs. 17

Making disciples should always be a response to our worship

When the disciples saw Jesus they worshipped him

The natural reaction to encountering the risen Jesus is worship

Would you be excited if you encountered Jesus after the crucifixion?

The Greek word here is Proskuno which means to adore and kiss

There should be a joy in our heart for our salvation

We’ve been saved from our sins and given eternal life

Our heart should rejoice at that

We should want to tell other people about that

Don Francisco song of the 80’s

Doubt is Okay

There were some in this group who doubted

When Paul tell us in 1 Cor 15 that Jesus appeared to 500 after his resurrection many believe that many of them were here

It wasn’t just the disciples at this encounter

Thomas doubted but Jesus came to him in the upper room

So these are some other people

They worshiped Him; but some doubted:

even if some had to overcome uncertainty and hesitation – probably from feeling it was too good to be true, and lingering shame from having forsaken Jesus during His suffering.

David prayed in Psalm 51 restore to me the joy of my salvation

Rev 2 Jesus tells Ephesus to return to their first love

Go In Power vs. 18

The next step in making Disciples is to Go in power

Means permission, liberty, and power to do something

Making disciples done under our own power will end up with robots

Done in the power of the Holy Spirit will result in life transformation

Acts 4:31 ESV

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They were enabled to speak the Word with boldness

You don’t have to do this under your own power

You just need to be available and be led by the Spirit

That may sound vague and unplanned but it isn’t

Discipleship isn’t a class it is a journey

To disciple someone you need to walk through a stage of life

There is teaching and accountability, but it needs to be modeled for the disciple to see in action

Evangelize vs. 19a

In order to make disciples you need to evangelize

vs. 19 says Go therefore and make disciples

The Gospel of Mark elaborates

Mark 16:15 ESV

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

The Gospel needs to go into every part of our world

The great need in the church is for a spirit of evangelism, not just a spurt of evangelism.

John Blanchard

Evangelism is not a human enterprise; it is a divine operation.

A. Skevington Wood

Disciple All Nations vs. 19b

The whole world needs to be evangelized

This was revolutionary to the disciples

They were content with keeping the Gospel to Israel

Gentiles were considered dogs

Jesus had to speak to Peter thru a dream in Joppa and tell him 3x’s

God’s plan of redemption was to start with Israel and then move from there

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The outpouring of the Spirit and proclaiming of the Gospel would start in Jerusalem but then stretch to Judea and Samaria then the four corners of the world

In a very short period of time the Gospel spread throughout the Roman empire

Thousands of missionaries continue to take the Gospel to unreached people

God is opening doors into places like Saudi Arabia

Teach Them to Obey vs. 20

Once someone accepts Jesus it is time to teach them to obey the Word of God

Teach the Word

The early church exploded because the Holy spirit was moving and the Apostles were teaching the Word of God

Peter and John would go to Solomon’s porch in the temple in the afternoon and teach the growing church

Acts 2:42 ESV

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

They would combine the Wisdom of the Old Testament and Jesus’ teachings

Obedience is Key

The key was obedience

New Believers need to know that they are accountable to the Word of God

That is expressed through Obedience

Jesus is with you

The best part is knowing the Jesus is with us till our time on the earth is done