Sermon Tone Analysis

We are going to look at, hear from, and delight in the words of the Lord that are at the end of the gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 28, verses 16 through 20.

You may know it as “The Great Commission”, the famous last words that Matthew records to complete his account of the good news of Jesus Christ.

If you have a Bible, please turn there now.

The verses are also available in the FBC app, in the “Worship” tab, in the cleverly named spot called “Sermon Notes”.

If you don’t have a Bible, we’d be delighted to give you one at the Welcome Desk, but for now you can use the one in the pew in front of you.

While you are turning there, I’d like to share with you a story that Charles Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher, liked to tell:

“Once upon a time there was a king who ruled over everything in a land.

One day there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot.

He took it to his king and said, “My lord, this is the greatest carrot I’ve ever grown or ever will grow; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.”

The king was touched and discerned the man’s heart, so as he turned to go, the king said, “Wait!

You are clearly a good steward of the earth.

I want to give a plot of land to you freely as a gift, so you can garden it all.”

The gardener was amazed and delighted and went home rejoicing.

But there was a nobleman at the king’s court who overheard all this, and he said, “My!

If that is what you get for a carrot, what if you gave the king something better?”

The next day the nobleman came before the king, and he was leading a handsome black stallion.

He bowed low and said, “My lord, I breed horses, and this is the greatest horse I’ve ever bred or ever will; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.”

But the king discerned his heart and said, “Thank you,” and took the horse and simply dismissed him.

The nobleman was perplexed, so the king said, “Let me explain.

That gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were giving yourself the horse.”

I think the reason for that story will become clear as we progress.

Now,

If you are able, please stand as we read together God’s word.

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.”

Let’s pray: Our Father, thank you for your grace and mercy in gathering us together today to sing your praises, to turn to you in prayer, and now as we hear your word proclaimed.

Your words are as true today as they were 2,000 years ago, and may we see that they are still advancing your kingdom.

Let our hearts sing with joy all authority and power are yours, and that your presence is with us even today.

I ask that my words decrease, and your word increases and is magnified…in the mighty and present name of Jesus I pray.

Let it be true.

Establishing context

Let’s set the stage for all that’s happening here.

Who

This passage takes place at least a week after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The “who” of this passage are the disciples - eleven of them, minus Judas, and of course Jesus himself.

And while with them he gives a command.

The command is:

When

This passage takes place at least a week after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Who

The “who” of this passage are the disciples - eleven of them, and of course Jesus himself.

When

Where:

They are in Galilee, at a mountain.

In Matthew’s account of Jesus life, “the mountain” is a place of revelation from, and communication with, God.

But Galilee is significant as well - in , Galilee is noted as a place where many Gentiles live.

Jesus took his diciples from Jerusalem of the Jews to Galilee of the Gentiles, echoing the pattern that gets explicitly laid out in Acts: to the Jew first, and then to all who are not Jews…all the world.

And while with them he gives a command.

The command is:

They are in Galilee, at a mountain.

In Matthew’s account of Jesus life, “the mountain” is a place of revelation from, and communication with, God.

But Galilee is significant as well - in , Galilee is noted as a place where many Gentiles live.

Jesus took his diciples from Jerusalem of the Jews to Galilee of the Gentiles, echoing the pattern that gets explicitly laid out in Acts: to the Jew first, and then to all who are not Jews…all the world.

What

Make disciples

Make disciples is the central command of this passage, was the main thing for the eleven, and it still is the main thing for us, today.

To the english reader it may appear there are four commands, but in the original Greek there is only one..the rest support that command.

Those three other command-like words are o, baptize, and teach.Taken in whole, go/baptize/teach is a life-long devotion to continual proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ to non-Christians and teaching Christians to follow Christ with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind, and all their strength.

That person is a disciple.

The command-like words that show us how we are to make disciples are this: Go, baptize, and teach.

(They will also be clearly seen if you look at your sermon outline)

So that is the commission of the Great Commission.

Which brings us to the point we often miss, as we so often hear this command and each one of us thinks of it exclusively as applying to us “How am I fulfilling the Great Commission?”

But while this is, of course, to be carried out by individuals, it’s important to note Jesus gave this to all eleven disciples to pass on to the church.

This is not a ‘you, alone’ command.

It is an “us, together” command.

Aware of that, Pastor Rob asked me to preach, giving examples by showing some of the ways we fulfill this commission here at FBC.

Which brings us to the point we often miss, as we so often hear this command and each one of us thinks of it exclusively as applying to us “How am I fulfilling the Great Commission?”

But while this is, of course, to be carried out by individuals, it’s important to note Jesus gave this to all eleven disciples to pass on to the church.

This is not a ‘you, alone’ command.

It is you, as part of a church.

Aware of that, Pastor Rob asked me to preach, giving examples by showing some of the ways we fulfill this commission here at FBC.

In Galilee, where this all began, at a mountain.

In Matthew’s account of Jesus life, “the mountain” is a place of revelation from, and communication with, God.

But Galilee is significant as well - in , Galilee is noted as a place where many Gentiles live.

Jesus took his diciples from Jerusalem to the Gentiles, echoing the pattern that gets explicitly laid out in Acts: to the Jew first, and then to all who are not Jews.

Our mission is “Pointing generations to Jesus.”

Jesus is the point, the aim, the purpose, the object and the objective of all we do.

We lose something vital if we each run out and only pursue making disciples on our own.

When we join together, our individual gifts combine together and make each of us more beautiful…like him.

So, to sum up: Jesus has risen!

Jesus gives a command, a command with 3 parts.

This is a command the the Church, not to just you.

So we are going to look at the command to “make disciples” based on how to fulfill it as a Church family.

As this Church family.

This is a command the the Church, not to just you.

So we are going to look at the command to “make disciples” based on how to fulfill it as a Church.

As this Church.