The Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20)

Introduction

If you have your Bible, please turn it to Matthew 28:16-20.

You might remember, about a month ago, I briefly referred to this passage during a sermon concerning the purpose of baptism, but at the time, my primary emphasis was simply on Jesus’ command for us to baptize new believers.

The reality is, that the command to baptize new believers in Matthew 28 is only one part of the overarching command given by Jesus in this passage and I would like for us to take our time today to focus in on what the rest of the passage says because again, there’s more to this passage than a simple command to baptize new believers.

Before we jump in, let me take a few minutes to remind you of where we are in this text. Matthew 28 is the end of Matthew’s account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And in the chronology of Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection, we’re a few weeks after His resurrection and we’re just before His ascension; and we find ourselves in a situation when Jesus gathers his disciples together for what we now know as His great commission.

Let’s look at Matthew 28:16-20 together:

Matthew 28:16–20 ESV

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

As we study this passage together, we’re going to break it into two parts: (1) Jesus’ Authority (16-18) and (2) Jesus’ Command and Promise (19-20). Jesus gives His disciples one final commission that and in it, he sets the direction for the rest of the New Testament, the early church; and really, he sets the direction for the modern church as well. This morning’s sermon ought to convict, encourage, and motivate us to be about the Gospel’s spread to every nation.

Prayer for Illumination

Jesus’ Authority (16-18)

Our text starts by giving us a bit of context.

I already mentioned that this is shortly after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection; and it is just before Jesus’ ascension into heaven. What Matthew adds is who he’s with and where they’re at.

The Bible says that this event happened with Jesus and the eleven remaining disciples—Judas was no longer a disciple and Matthias hadn’t been chosen to replace him yet.

The Bible says that this event happened on a mountain in Galilee, which just means that the twelve of them are in a private setting and they’re in a setting that essentially pulls all their journeys full circle—they started in Galilee and now Jesus is giving them a final command in Galilee.

But before He gives them that command, there’s two sentences worth noting. The first is v. 17, “When they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.”

This is, of course, referring back to the eleven disciples who came back with Jesus—so, the fact that they worshiped Him probably isn’t too controversial to us. We would assume that his disciples would worship him.

The part that might seem unusual or controversial to us is that statement, “but some doubted.”

In our modern culture, in a local church we tend to think of doubt in terms of faith—meaning, if someone doubts today, we mean that they’re not strong on their belief in Jesus. They’re questioning whether they genuinely believe in Jesus.

But the term that’s translated as doubt in the Bible has an alternate gloss or translation and all it means is that they are wavering.

Now, that could still be talking about their faith, but isn’t it much more likely that they’re simply struggling to understand how Jesus, who they witnessed get beaten, torn open, nailed down, and hanged on a cross is standing in front of them?

It isn’t that they’re doubting their belief in Jesus, it’s that they’re confused about how Jesus is standing in front of them in His resurrected body.

They don’t know how to act and behave in the presence of Jesus—who is supernaturally manifested, who is exalted, and who is holy.

And I think we can all understand why they’re struggling with this—because each and every one of us would struggle with the very same thing.

It isn’t common to see something like this.

Thus, they’re confused.

The second sentence worth noting is in v. 18, “Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” It’s worth noting for two reasons: (1) it’s a little unusual and (2) it’s what gives Jesus the authority to say what He’s

First, it’s a little unusual and it’s unusual for one specific purpose. Jesus is God; Jesus already had all authority because He is God.

So, the question then is, what exactly does Jesus mean when He says “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me?”

And there are all sorts of guesses as to what this may mean—does it mean that Jesus didn’t have authority while He was on earth? Does it mean that He lost some of His authority while being crucified?

I think the most likely answer to these questions has to do with the crucifixion and it is in no means an implication that He lost any authority; but rather, it’s simply a reminder that He has all authority.

And it’s especially a reminder of His authority in light of how He was treated during His crucifixion—a time in which He was taunted, ridiculed, beaten, and torn apart.

A time in which people specifically told Him to take Himself off the cross if He actually had the power or authority to.

Jesus starts with this idea that He has all authority because He does have all authority.

Second, it’s what lays the foundation for what He’s about to say.

Why can He make the command that He’s about to make? It’s simple, it’s because He is in charge—He has all authority.

So, let’s look at the next two verses.

Jesus’ Command (19-20)

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Because Jesus has all authority, He makes a simple command that has vast and profound consequences. Because Jesus is in charge, He tells His disciples to do something in particular; and it’s this something that undergirds the rest of the command.

The something that His disciples are to do in particular, is to “go . . . and make disciples of all nations.”

The primary command that Jesus gives to His disciples is that they are to go and make disciples. And this command is undergirded by the statement that they are to do this because Jesus has all authority.

And of course, this ought to cause us to ask a few questions: (1) for instance, what is a disciple? And (2) why should they be made of all nations, and (3) how do we make a disciple?

So, let’s answer those three questions.

First off, what is a disciple? If you were to look in a secular dictionary for the term disciple, you would get an answer like this: a disciple is “one who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another,” or “a disciple is “an active adherent, as of a movement or philosophy.” (American Heritage Dictionary (2022), s.v. “disciple.”)

These are decent definitions for what a disciple is and I think we can add to them, that in the context of Matthew 28, we know that they are to make disciples of Jesus. Meaning, they are to point people to Jesus, help them embrace Jesus, and then work with them to continuing spreading the teachings of Jesus. Or, they are to help people become an active adherent to Jesus and what He taught.

It is a little vague though, and I think we can better the definition by looking at a Bible dictionary instead. Easton Bible’s Dictionary defines a disciple like this: “A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes [Jesus’] doctrine, (2) rests on [Jesus’] sacrifice, (3) imbibes [or drinks in] his spirit, and (4) imitates his example (Matt. 10:24; Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 6:69).” (M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893), “disciple.”)

So, what Jesus tells His disciples is that they are to go out and make new disciples—new people who believes what Jesus taught, who rest on Jesus’ sacrifice, who drinks in Jesus’ spirit and then imitates Jesus’ example.

The second question is, why should they be made of all nations—and unlike the previous definition-based answer, this answer is relatively simple.

Every person you ever meet is created in the image of God and every person that you ever meet that doesn’t know Jesus is utterly depraved in their sin.

These two statements are true regardless of if they’re black, white, yellow, brown, male, female, from the United States, or from Senegal.

Why do we make disciples of every nation? Because regardless of a person’s ethnicity, they are a sinner in need of a Savior and Jesus is that Savior.

The third question, how do we do this, is then answered in the remaining part of vv. 19-20, “baptize 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.”

So, a disciple is someone who believes in Jesus, believes His teachings, rests on His sacrifice for their sins, drinks in His spirit, and imitate His example, right? So, then to make someone a disciple of Jesus, we have to start with convincing them to believe in Jesus.

This is tied into the idea of baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Often, in the New Testament, when baptism is referred to, it isn’t just talking about that event in which we immerse someone in water.

In cases like Matthew 28, the idea of baptism not only includes the physical immersing under water, but it includes the initial belief in Jesus.

Meaning, baptism in the context of the New Testament includes genuine repentance, belief, and following Jesus. If you’re getting baptized it’s because you’re professing your genuine belief in Jesus.

So, making a disciple naturally assumes that the individual believes in Jesus and has made the public proclamation that they genuinely believe in Him.

Just as a side-note, what this means is that someone who doesn’t actually believe in Jesus cannot be a disciple of Jesus.

That might sound like common sense, but in our modern world—there are plenty of people who are pluralistic in their mindset.

Meaning, there are tons and tons of people who seem to think that Jesus is nothing more than one way to God and they would argue that all the various religious ideas represented in false religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, or Islam, or whatever else you want to throw in here are acceptable.

Thus, they don’t actually believe in Jesus because they don’t actually believe that Jesus is the one way to the Father, which is precisely what He says He is; and if they don’t actually believe that Jesus is the only way, then they don’t actually believe in the Jesus of the Bible.

So, even if they claim to believe in Jesus as a way to the Father or they believe in Him as only a great moral teacher or philosopher or whatever they want to call Him, they don’t actually believe in Him, they believe in their own made-up concept of Him.

Some examples of this twisting of who Jesus is is found in Ghandi, who loved the moral principles of Jesus but didn’t think He was actually God.

Or Hinduism, which considers Jesus to be one of many gods; or Islam, which considers Jesus to be a great prophet like Muhammad was a great prophet.

They can appreciate Jesus and they can appreciate what He taught, but until they actually believe in Jesus, they aren’t His disciples because He plainly and simply claimed to be God, Himself. Every person has to start by believing this simple truth about Jesus or they aren’t His disciple.

If you’re trying to make a disciple of Jesus, it has to start by pointing them at Jesus and helping them see why believing in Jesus is a legitimate response to the Truth of the Gospel.

To make a true disciple requires actually helping them see and understand who Jesus is and them pointing them in the direction of genuine repentance and belief in Him.

V. 20 then makes it abundantly clear that the initial belief, which includes repentance and results in baptism isn’t the final goal. Instead, it’s just the starting point because after the initial belief, Jesus tells the disciples to then teach the new believers to observe all that He has commanded them.

Meaning all that Jesus had taught throughout His life now needs to be taught through the disciples to new disciples.

I’d add, that this would also include all that had been taught throughout the Old Testament because, after all, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Or, in other words, all Scripture including what records Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; and all Scripture, including what’s written by the apostles who were sent by Jesus; and even all Scripture, including the Old Testament are Jesus’ teachings.

Now, that sounds like a significant amount of teaching, which is why part of the local church’s job is to teach and disciple, but what Jesus is saying in Matthew 28, is that the role of making disciples and teaching them isn’t limited to one person in the local church; it’s open to every disciple.

All disciples are to make more disciples by teaching them about Jesus, pointing them to faith in Jesus, and by teaching them everything that Jesus has taught.

Now, knowing that everything that Jesus has taught includes the Old Testament and the New Testament might make this sound like an impossible task—one that is daunting and too hard for any one person to do.

And that’s precisely the point. Every new disciple is discipled by more than one person; and every new disciple’s discipleship process is ultimately under the sovereign and providential control of Jesus Christ.

Or, in other words, the disciples can’t force the people around them to believe and mature spiritual. Likewise, you can’t make the people around you grow and mature spiritually. You can’t make your children or your grandchildren grow spiritually—that is a work of the Holy Spirit within them.

All they are supposed to do, is to proclaim Jesus and teach everything all that Jesus has taught them; and likewise, all you’re to do is proclaim Jesus and teach all the things that Jesus has taught you.

You do this in absolute Christian love for those around you with all consistency and regularity.

And you do this recognizing that making disciples is something that you can’t do by yourself, but it is something that Jesus enables you to participate in.

Now, you might ask “how can I possibly know that Jesus enables us to do this?” I have two answers for this:

The first is simple. I know that Jesus enables us to do it because He does commands us to do it.

Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that you can do it by your own power or your own might. Nor am I saying that you can do it by your own effort.

But the reality is that if Jesus tells us to do it, then He provides the enabling power to do it—or, put differently, if Jesus has all authority to tell us to do it, which He does; then He has all ability to enable us to do it.

Secondly, I know that He enables us to do it because He encourages and exhorts us to do it by reminding us of His presence at the end of v. 20, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

It is His presence that enables us to go and make new disciples. It is His presence that enables us to go and baptize new believers. It is His presence that enables us to teach new Christians everything that He has taught us.

Jesus’ presence within you is what enables you and really what compels you to then participate in the Great Commission. You go and make new disciples of every nation because He is with you.

Which leads me this morning, to our application; and I think you can already see what the application is and where I’m going with all this. Jesus’ command here is primarily to the disciples, but it’s clear throughout the New Testament that He intends for all believers to be disciple-making disciples. Meaning, the Great Commission isn’t just for the disciples in the first century nor is it just for professional pastors up front or teachers in Bible Colleges and Seminaries. The command to make disciples of every nation is given to every person who genuinely believes in Jesus.

Application

Jesus commands us to make more disciples and we do this by proclaiming Jesus and His death, burial, and resurrection. We do this by pointing people to Jesus and convincing them of the truth of the Gospel. We do this by teaching them all that He has taught us. It isn’t a question of whether Jesus wants us to do these things. The real question is are you doing these things? And that’s where our application comes in.

Jesus wants us to make disciples. Are you making disciples?

Are you actually proclaiming Jesus, trying to convince others of the Gospel, are you teaching other people everything that Jesus has taught you?

And note, I’m not saying that you’re absolutely successful in this every time you do it—I’m simply asking if you’re actually doing these things. Are you actually trying to make disciples or are you content not to?

Are you actually proclaiming Jesus and HIs death, burial, and resurrection or are you worried that might make things awkward?

Are you trying to teach other believers what Jesus has taught you or are you complacent and content with not even bothering to teach your faith to those around you?

Again, not that you’re going to be successful in every Gospel engagement of conversation that you might have, the question is whether you’re even trying.

Now, I understand that the task seems daunting—especially when you consider two key details:

First, all of Jesus’ teachings takes up both the Old and the New Testaments—that’s a lot for us to teach others.

Second, we’re talking about eternal souls and the eternal lives of those around us—we can feel completely inadequate for the task.

But those two key details helps inform us as to just how we ought to be making disciples.

We do this while recognizing that this is a high calling because peoples’ eternal lives are at stake.

And we do this while clinging to Jesus because we cannot possibly do this apart from Him.

The questions aren’t, “should I make disciples” or “should I proclaim Jesus” or “should I teach others about Him and what He has taught me.”

The real questions are, am I making disciples? Am I proclaiming Jesus? Am I teaching others everything that He has taught me?

The reality is that we have all been given a Great Commission to continue the spread of the Gospel.

Are you actually contributing to the spread of the Gospel or are to content with not even bothering?

Craig Blomberg, “Teaching obedience to all of Jesus’ commands forms the heart of disciple making. Evangelism must be holistic. If non-Christians are not hearing the gospel and not being challenged to make a decision for Christ, then the church has disobeyed one part of Jesus’ commission. If new converts are not faithfully and lovingly nurtured in the whole counsel of God’s revelation, then the church has disobeyed.” (Craig Blomberg, Matthew, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 432.)

The church has a mission; and if you believe in Jesus, you as a member of the universal church have a mission—to go and make disciples of every nation, to proclaim the Gospel, to teach everything that Jesus has taught you, and to do all this in absolute Christian love and consistency and regularity.

Go and make disciples of every nation.

Pastoral Prayer