Matt 28:16-20

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."

The Big Idea: Make Disciples

How to make disciples:

1.       Go – literally: “As you are going”

2.       Baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

a.       Sharing the Gospel – Calling people to Christ

b.      Uniting them with the Church and with the Triune God

3.       Teaching them to observe [OBEY] all that I have commanded you

                                                   i.      What has Jesus commanded?

                                                 ii.      Not just the “red letters” but the entirety of Scripture.

                                                iii.      What did Jesus say that all of the Law and prophets depend on?

1.       Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV)
36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"
37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

Who:

Disciples

1.       Some worship some doubt

·         V.17 - “doubt” denotes not intellectual unbelief but the hesitation natural to those confronted by a unique and ‘impossible’ occurrence.

a.       They encountered the resurrected Jesus.

Jesus

2.       V.18 - "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

a.       Jesus has all authority; His authority is superior to all other authorities

b.      His resurrection proves His authority over any power that can be imagined.

c.       It is based on His authority they we are to make disciples

                                                   i.      V.19 “Therefore”

d.      Because Jesus has all authority disciple making is not an option or a suggestion.

e.      It is the calling of ALL believers.

f.        We are to point people to follow the King.

NOTES:

·         “doubted”  - it denotes not intellectual unbelief but the hesitation natural to those confronted by a unique and ‘impossible’ occurrence

·         “in the name of” - In the name of denotes the one to whom allegiance is pledged in baptism

·         His presence means power, because as we fulfill this great command, we work in His name.

·         His presence means peace, because it always reminds us that the church belongs to Jesus. It is His church, and His work. How then can we worry?