Commissioned

Even after everything that has happened the disciples continue to do what Jesus has commanded them to do. Last week were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, this time Jesus has told them to go to the mountain.

Jesus says go, they go - why? They’re disciples. Let’s keep reading.

Matthew 28:17 ESV

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

Some…doubted? Does that mean they didn’t worship him?

No. They worship him, but some are still doubting.

Some still are reeling from the experience of the death of their messiah, and then the resurrection. Why?

Their reeling from the death of their theology.

They were expecting:

a King as their Messiah - that somehow Rome would be removed from power over Israel

What they got is Jesus showing (in the words of Darrell Bock):

NT211 Introducing the Gospels and Acts: Their Background, Nature, and Purpose Jesus and Messianic Expectations

What Jesus does is to show that the battle is not a political battle with Rome but rather that the battle is a larger battle with Satan and with spiritual forces—with forces that oppress humanity, not in a social way so much, although it manifests itself sometimes socially, but ultimately from the human heart itself

“that the battle is not a political battle with Rome but rather that the battle is a larger battle with Satan and with spiritual forces—with forces that oppress humanity, not in a social way so much, although it manifests itself sometimes socially, but ultimately from the human heart itself.”

Bock, D. L. (2014). NT211 Introducing the Gospels and Acts: Their Background, Nature, and Purpose. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

All that is to say that they understood that Jesus was Lord, they understood that he was the Messiah, but they’re still learning, still gaining in their understanding of exactly what that means.

This is a great relief for us. It answers the question, “can I worship Jesus if I still have doubts?” and if you can worship Jesus, you certainly can follow Jesus. And here’s the truth:

We all live in a state of belief and unbelief.

Mark 9:24 ESV

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

I love the FACT that some of the disciples doubted. Still, they worshiped him.

Matthew 28:17 ESV

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

Matt 28:

Still, they worshiped him.

And Jesus, who knows all things, knows their thoughts and still he calls them to a higher call, and since we benefit from the ability to see what happens later in Scripture we know that these 11 were all used in the furthering of the Gospel:

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

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.”

ALL AUTHORITY - all of it, not a certain portion of it, but ALL of the authority.

GO - Notice that he is not say “those of you without doubt”, he addresses all of them.

MAKE DISCIPLES - what is a disciples? It’s one who follows JESUS.

BAPTIZING - this was an initial statement of faith, but is also highly symbolic of being washed/cleansed both inside and out.

TEACHING - this is the circular part of this command that is so often missed. The disciples are commanded to go an teach disciples to observe all that Jesus has commanded. What was the last thing Jesus commanded? (Hint, we’re studying it right now).

I’ve always found that interesting that we freak out about the idea of “sharing our faith” but Jesus is not calling us to make converts, he’s calling us to make disciples.

And he’s asking us to not just make disciples, but make disciples who can make disciples.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

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.”

Disciples of ALL NATIONS:

Baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

We are called to commit to Jesus as master and Lord - THIS IS OUR CALL! It’s more than flying in and getting people to make some sort of commitment and then flying out again. It’s why it’s important for the body of believers to give people opportunities to hear the Gospel and then continue to support those same people to learn all that the Gospel means. It’s why you and i need to build ourselves into other’s lives.

As Albert Edward Day wrote:

“We avoid as much as possible the unpleasant…We give our charities but we do not give ourselves. We build our charitable institutions but we do not build ourselves into other’s lives.”

It’s no secret that the verses we just read have been used about evangelism for centuries. It’s also no secret that for most of us when we think of sharing our faith, suddenly our knees go weak, our eyes glaze over, our thoughts become muddled and we want to object as Moses did “I’d rather not!”

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

What if...

I told you there will be no more evangelism, that as of this moment no more people can be saved, that Jesus’ forgiveness and grace has reached it’s limit and from this moment on anyone who is not already accepted the free gift of salvation is doomed, separated from God’s presence and banished to hell?

At first we might breathe a sigh of relief - the requirement of sharing our faith and telling people about Jesus is complete.

But then…we might begin to think about what heaven will be like. We might begin to think about the neighbor we love, or the family member that we never got up the courage to share our faith with, or that co-worker, boss, student…fill in the blank. Will they be in heaven?

One of my mentors used to pray, “Lord Jesus, come quickly, but not yet.”

Let’s take some pause and look at it again:

Matthew 19–20 ESV

Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away. And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Let’s Observe what’s happening here:

WHO: Who is Jesus speaking to? - The disciples

WHAT: What is Jesus asking them to do? - Make disciples

WHEN: It’s an imperative, present - now!

WHERE: Everywhere, Wherever

HOW: Baptizing - (making converts), Teaching - (Discipling)

WHY: That is a key question. This is perhaps the most important question for us to ask.

Make disciples - baptizing them, that is the conversion. Teaching them, to do what? To observe all that I have commanded. This is what makes them disciples - doing and following what Jesus asks them to do. Committing to Jesus as Master and LORD.

We are disciples…so if we’re not “observing all that Jesus commanded,” can we say he’s our master and LORD?

Discipleship is observing all that Jesus commands.

James 1:22–24 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

James 1:22 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

James 1:22–23 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.

James 1:22 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

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