The Commencement
The Sufferings of Christ through the Eyes of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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Please turn in your Bible to Matthew 28:16-20.
Between my own education experiences and those of my family members, I have attended ten commencement ceremonies. We were supposed to attend one more on May 2nd of this year, but due to the times in which we live, that ceremony has not yet occured.
Commencements usually signal the ending of one phase of life, and the beginning of the rest of our life. And that is exactly what our passage for this morning signaled for the disciples of Jesus. The Lord’s earthly ministry had come to an end, and the disciples earthly ministries were just beginning.
As we bring our exposition of the Gospel of Matthew to a close we will be looking at what the entire account has been heading towards — commonly referred to as The Great Commission. As we do so, we will look at the Contrast, the Commissioner, the Commissioned, the Commission, and the Conclusion.
First, let’s read our text: Matthew 28:16-20
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Let’s begin by looking at
The Contrast
The Contrast
Look at verses 16-17 again.
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
The term “But” signifies a contrast. The contrast is in regards to the reception of the message of the empty tomb by two distinct groups: the religious establishment of Israel, and the disciples of Jesus.
When the religious establishment heard about the empty tomb their worst fears came seemingly came true. So they concocted a false narrative with the hope of hiding the truth of the resurrection of Jesus.
When the disciples heard the report from the women, they believed it and were obedient to the directive of Jesus to meet at a designated spot in Galilee.
Matthew doesn’t inform us of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus while the disciples were still in the Jerusalem area
He doesn’t mention the doubting Thomas episode
Each Gospel writer has a distinct reason for what episodes they choose to mention or choose to leave out, though that purpose may not always be clear to the reader
The designated spot was on a mountain in Galilee, which brings to mind many things that happened on a mountain in this gospel account:
One of the temptations of the devil — Matt 4.8
The Sermon on the Mount — chapters 5-7
Jesus’ private prayer time, after the feeding of the 5,000, which led to the walking on the water — Matt 14.23
The healing of the crowds prior to the feeding of the 4,000— Matt 15.29
The Mount of Transfiguration — Matt 17.1
The Olivet discourse — Matt 24.3
The journey to the Garden of Gethsemane — Matt 26.30
The contrast between the receptivity of the message of the gospel by divergent parties is the same contrast that exists today. On the one hand there will always be those who reject the gospel message. But there will also be those who receive it with open arms. Let’s turn our attention to
The Commissioner
The Commissioner
who is Jesus our Lord. Look at verse 18.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
All authority has been given to Christ
This is pictured in the vision of
“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
“And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
Christ’s authority is all encompassing — “all”
The only One whom Christ does not have authority over is the Father who gave authority to Christ
Christ’s authority is limitless
In heaven and on earth
It is this authority that gives Christ the prerogative of issuing the upcoming commission
Before we look at the commission itself, let’s look at
The Commissioned
The Commissioned
As we look at the commissioned we will back up to verses 16-17 to consider the recipients, their action, and hesitation.
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
The Recipients
The Recipients
The eleven disciples
Possibly the 500 that Paul mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:6
It is conceivable that some of those on this mountain had already seen the risen Savior up close, while others had not
By extension, this upcoming commission is for all who are disciples or followers of Jesus
The Action of the Recipients
The Action of the Recipients
They worshiped Christ
The Hesitation of the Recipients
The Hesitation of the Recipients
Some where doubtful
So far we have looked at the contrast between the religious establishment of Israel and the disciples in regards to their reception of the message of the empty tomb, the Commissioner, and the Commissioned. Let’s turn our attention now to
The Commission
The Commission
Look again at verses 19-20a
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;
As you go, make disciples
Making disciples has to do with reproduction
The idea of the text is to make Jesus’ disciples responsible for making disciples of others, who then make disciples of others, etc.
In the early stages it involves evangelism — sharing the message of the gospel in an understandable way
This takes time — most do not respond positively to the gospel message the first time it is presented
This takes loving persistence
The Parable of the sower and the seed — can poor soil be turned into good soil?
Disciples are to be made of all nations
This refers to gentiles — the gospel is not merely for Jews, but for gentiles too
It is significant that this statement was made in the area previously known as Galilee of the Gentiles
Throughout the Gospel of Matthew there has been a strong hint that the gospel was for the gentiles as well as the nation of Israel
The covenant with Abraham mentioned that in Christ — the promised seed of Abraham — all the nations of the world would be blessed
As you make disciples baptize them
Baptism is an identification with Christ
We probably don’t emphasize baptism enough
It is not a suggestion, but an expectation that the followers of Jesus be baptized by immersion
Baptism is in the name of the Holy Trinity
As you make disciples … teach them
to observe everything I have commanded you
This concerns a way of life — not just factual knowledge
Living in a manner pleasing to God
We are to teach all things and not just our favorite things
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
This might be a good time to pause and reflect on some of the significant things we have learned about Jesus as we’ve studied the Gospel of Matthew.
The purpose of the Eternal Son of God becoming man was to save His people from their sins
She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Jesus came to call some to repentance
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Jesus came to seek and save His lost sheep
For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
Jesus came to serve
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Jesus established the Lord’s Supper, which we will celebrate today, in remembrance of Him. As He was doing so He said of the cup: Matt 26.28
for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
Jesus, through His vicarious death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead, ransomed many from the power of death and hell. He transferred the many from the domain of Satan to the domain of His kingdom and rule. And we who have embraced this message of the gospel are counted among the many.
Perhaps now would be a good time to pause this message and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Hopefully you who are in attendance have taken one of the communion packets that are on the tables in the foyer. Understand that the Lord’s Supper, or Communion as we often refer to it, is for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior. So if you have not done so, I would ask that you refrain from partaking. Paul, referring to this celebration, wrote:
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Let’s eat this bread in remembrance of Jesus.
The Apostle went on to write:
In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Let’s drink this cup in remembrance of Jesus.
Let’s return to our passage now. So far we have looked at the contrast, the Commissioner, the commissioned, and the commission itself. Now let’s look at
The Conclusion
The Conclusion
Look at the last phrase of Matthew’s gospel:
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
And lo calls the reader or hearer to pay close attention. What Jesus is about to say is really important. I am with you always.
What a precious truth that is for disciples of Christ.
Jesus is with us when we are sorrowful.
Jesus is with us when we are in pain.
Jesus is with us when we are fearful.
Jesus is with us when we are anxious.
Jesus is with us when we rejoice.
Jesus is with us when we are triumphant.
Jesus is the very same God who told Joshua and so many others I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU!
It is significant that the Gospel of Matthew begins and ends with a statement about Jesus being with His people. God the Son promises to be with His people as they fulfill the great commission. In Matthew 1:23 it is similar as well. Quoting Isaiah, Matthew wrote:
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
Because Immanuel is with us we are empowered to go and tell the message of the cross and the empty tomb.
Everyone falls within the purview of this text. Either we are a disciple of Jesus or we need to become his disciple.
If we are a disciple then we need to be making disciples of others.
For those who are not presently disciples of Jesus you need to understand that He is the Lord of all. He is the Sovereign Creator of the world. He is the ruler of His creation. He is the God who became man so that He could die on the cross of suffering and absorb God’s coming wrath for all who place their faith in Jesus as their Savior. He is the Savior who was raised from the dead and is now ascended into heaven where He makes intercession on behalf of those who belong to Him. He came the first time in humility; He came meek as a lamb. But when He comes again it will be in power and great glory and He will come to judge the world, and rule it with a rod of iron.
Those who receive Him as a lamb, and receive His work on their behalf, they become children of God and inheritors of eternal life. All who reject Him will eventually see Him as judge, and be condemned to eternal torment. Will you embrace Him now as Savior, or will you meet Him in the future as judge? Jesus said:
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Either Christ will absorb God’s wrath for your sin, or else you will. Which will it be?
Let’s pray.
Closing Song: #318
I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary