The Great Commission

The End is only the Beginning

We started the Gospel of Matthew in December of 2023. 74 weeks ago.

We took a couple of detours along the way, but more that 50 sermons have been preached and we have walked through the entire earthly life of the most influential figure in human history.

These last 4 verses are the final words of Jesus this side of eternity. And His last words are perhaps the most important words for us to hear as they define the mission of our lives.

There are a lot of things we live for, a lot of “missions” we give ourselves to in life.

Raising healthy kids that live fruitful lives is a good mission.

Working hard and providing for our families is a good mission.

Taking on hard things and accomplishing them is a good mission.

Learning, developing, and pouring into other is a good mission.

Building something, whether a business, a career, or something else is a good mission.

But what all those things have in common is the temporal nature.

Your kids and family will not last forever.

Your jobs and accomplishments will run their course.

Your knowledge and wisdom will one day fail.

It isn’t that we shouldn’t do these things, that we should care about our families, about working hard, about building things in this life.

It is that that just shouldn’t be our central, overwhelming purpose.

Everyone of us, as we have talked about, have an awareness that there is something bigger than us and something beyond this life we live.

We were created for eternity and we all desire to be a part of something, or give ourselves to something that will last forever, because we will live forever.

That is what this Great Commission is all about.

It is the mission that gives all the other missions we live for their significance and their direction.

Raising kids and providing for our families is a Great Commission mission.

Working hard and investing in our world has a Great Commission purpose.

Learning, growing, and investing in others is a Great Commission mission.

So today, I want to look at Jesus’s last words and challenge us, as we have said from the beginning.

We have, over the course of these 74 weeks, grown to KNOW Jesus more fully, been challenges to FOLLOW Jesus more closely, and today we will be challenges to SHARE Him more intentionally and passionately.

Matthew 28:16–20 CSB

16 The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

A Greater Mission for Life

1) Completely Unstoppable Mission

"All authority has been given to me..."

It had been at least a week (probably longer) since the resurrection and Jesus’s disciples are back in Galilee.

They had come to another mountain for one more teaching session with Jesus, but this one is quite different.

Rather than teaching, Jesus intends to pass the torch of His mission to His disciples, and ultimately to us, His Church.

The authenticity of this meeting is so cool.

As the disciples see Jesus, Matthew says they all worshipped Him, but he also says “some doubted.”

Even though they had witnessed Jesus die a horrible death on a cross, then 3 days later rise from the grave, and now had been with Him again for several days or weeks, some of them still struggled with doubt.

I think this is a great reminder to all of us that walking in faith is hard and there are moments and seasons where doubt is going to pop up.

So what are we going to do with that doubt when it comes?

You can let is fester in your mind and your heart where you grow cold to the things of the Lord.

Or you can lean into it and seek out some answers to your questions and be reminded of who Jesus is and what He has done.

Perhaps in response to the doubting, but more likely in introduction to His commission, Jesus makes a bold and powerful statement.

“All authority has been given to me...”

Couple of observations about this statement:

One, Jesus says ALL authority in Heaven and earth, meaning every aspect of the entirety of the physical and spiritual world is under the authority of Jesus.

This is no small claim. Rather it is the most enormous claim anyone could ever make.

He is saying every star in the sky, planet and galaxy in the universe, and every cell and atom that makes up your body is under His authority.

He is saying that every spiritual force, every angel and demon that exist in the unseen world is under His authority.

He is the king, the boss, the shot caller, the supreme...

And He also says that that authority “has bee given” to Him.

Now, as the Son of God, the second person of the trinity, Jesus has always had this authority as God.

But what He is pointing to here is the effects of His resurrection.

Something shifted when Jesus rose from the dead. What once was dominated by death and the devil has now been overthrown.

Those who used to be enslaved by the desires of the flesh and the schemes of the Evil one now have a chance at freedom through faith in the risen one.

Ephesians 2:1–5 CSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!

And this authority is the soil that Jesus’s mission is planted in.

It is the reason for the “therefore” in verse 19.

There is nothing that can stop the mission of Jesus from spreading to every nation.

For 2000 year we have seen this very reality played out.

Through lies, persecution, disease, famine, power struggles, and the shifts in culture, the name of Jesus has continued to spread.

No power of Hell, No scheme of man, no struggle with faith can stop the mission of God.

When Jesus told Peter that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church, it was this authority He was pointing to.

And it is this authority that should change the way we see your lives and the mission of our lives.

His authority is the reason we do not have to fear the things of this word.

But it is also the reason that we can’t continue to see our lives as just a pursuit of the American dream.

His authority calls us to a new a better way of seeing and living our lives.

2) Radically Simple Mission

"As you are going...Make disciples..."

"Go" is literally translated "as you are going," meaning this is a command/commission for everyone in every aspect of their lives.

Ordinary people like you and me, sent on the extraordinary mission of showing and telling the world about Jesus.

Each and every person who comes to faith in Jesus (is saved) is called by God for this mission.

It is a mission for the moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas.

It is a mission for the teachers, school administrators, nurses, farmers, factory workers, construction workers, union members, hospital staff, computer programmers, office workers, coaches, tradesmen, bankers, electrical coop workers, and any other occupations that I failed to mention.

And it isn't a mission you can retire from.

It is a mission for the baseball/softball parents, the soccer parents, the basketball parents, the football parents, the volleyball parents, and any other ball your kids might be a part of.

It is a mission to our neighbors, friends, family members, and even the people we encounter at stores, restaurants, banks, and barber shops.

We often think of missions as going somewhere far from home, but this call, though it is that, isn't JUST that.

We are called to be disciple makers everywhere we go.

The word disciple means “someone who follows another person.”

This mission of our lives is to help other people follow Jesus.

It isn’t a separate task we have to find time for in our already busy days.

It is something we do “as we are going”, as we are parenting, working, driving, shopping, fixing supper, doing yard work...

Our mission does stretch beyond Ohio county as we pray, send, and go ourselves to the world with the Good News of Jesus.

But it starts here.

3) Intentionally Purposeful Mission

"Baptize and teach"

The mission of making disciples is simplified to two things.

Baptized and teach.

When Jesus says we are to baptize, He isn’t saying we should just try to dunk as many people as we can.

Baptism represents the spiritual transformation that happens through faith.

Romans 6:1–4 CSB

1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.

Baptism puts on a display of the death and resurrection that happens in us spiritually when we give our lives to Jesus.

So Jesus is saying “Go, share the good news with everyone, and when they trust in me and are saved, baptize them.”

Show the world that they have died and rose to a new life.

But He doesn’t stop there. Baptism is only the beginning.

To make disciples we also must teach them to know and follow Jesus.

This isn’t a Sunday school class (though that can be a good place to learn).

It isn’t just a classroom, small group, or bible reading plan.

It is a intentional effort to help each other grow in knowledge, understanding, and obedience.

“As you are going...teach those who come to faith what it means to follow me.”

This doesn’t mean “bring them to church and let someone else teach them.” (though that is a good thing it isn’t the only thing, or even the primary thing).

Teaching means to walk with them, pray with them, read with them, encourage them, correct them, and challenge them as you are living life.

Jesus wants us to see everyone around us as someone who needs to hear more about Him and who can always learn more how to walk in His ways.

Intentional and purposeful mission.

4) Spiritually Empowered Mission

"I am with you until the end..."

Jesus is the best at anticipating the responses of those He is speaking to.

He anticipates His disciple’s responses when He speaks this the first time, and, 2000 years later, He anticipate our responses as we hear this missional call.

“I just don’t think I can do this Jesus.” “I don’t know enough.” “I am not very good with words and teaching people stuff.” “What if I mess it up?”

Matthew 28:20 CSB

20 And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Luke records His words in Acts a bit differently, but the same message.

Acts 1:8 CSB

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

Jesus doesn’t leave us to His mission alone.

He leaves us with His Spirit, the very presence God to empower us to walk in His ways AND to share Him with others.

Through the Spiritual fruit He produces in us as Paul lists in Galatians 5 and through the Spiritual gifts He works in us as Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12.

The Spirit of God gives us the power, ability, wisdom, and understanding to accomplish the mission of Jesus in our lives and in our world.

Though this might be the end of Matthews Gospel, it really is just the beginning.

The mission of Jesus isn’t at odds with the other missions of your life, it is actually the reason God has placed you in the positions you are in, around the people you are around, and in the families you are a part of.

He wants us to see His perfect plan, His divine design, and His magnificent mission for our lives.

He wants us all to embrace His mission as our mission in all aspects of our lives.

Will you Go?