Matthew 28:16-20

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Introduction

The Great Commission

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.”

This week we reach the closing remarks of Matthew’s Gospel. In our last time together we looked at Jesus’ resurrection, but this week we look at his final words to his disciples. In Acts chapter 1, verse 3, we read, that Jesus,

presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

And while most of the other Gospel writers record many of those appearances and proofs over those 40 days, Matthew, here, is very brief. Aside from Jesus’ appearance to the women on that first day of the week, Matthew only includes these 5 verses. He says there in verses 16-17,

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.

Altogether, the NT records that Jesus appeared to his disciples on nearly a dozen different occasions before he ascended into heaven. He appeared to the women near the tomb, to two of his disciples along the road to Emmaus (a village 7 miles outside of Jerusalem), once alone to Peter, to the 11 disciples together on multiple occasions, at the Sea of Tiberius in Galilee, to more than 500 disciples together at one time, to his brother James, and finally to his disciples again in Jerusalem at his ascension; not to mention his appearances, later, to the Apostle Paul.
But, here, Matthew focuses on only one of those accounts, when Jesus appeared to his 11 disciples in Galilee, on the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And, if you’ll recall, this had been Jesus’ destination all along, that after his resurrection, he would meet his disciples in Galilee. Which Matthew pointed out to us earlier in this chapter when he recorded Jesus as telling the women, “Don’t be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Some doubted

And then, briefly, Matthew tell us, “but some doubted.” And indeed they did! In almost every account of Jesus’ appearances to his disciples, especially at the beginning, we’re told that they doubted. In Luke 24 we’re told that when Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them told the apostles that Jesus had risen, that their words seemed like an “idle tale” to them, and that they didn’t believe them. Mark says the wouldn’t believe them.
Then while two of the disciples were leaving Jerusalem, headed toward Emmaus, Jesus appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief, and he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” And even after the two disciples had returned to Jerusalem to tell the others what they had seen, Mark says that they didn’t believe them. And even after Jesus suddenly appeared to them that same evening we’re told that, “they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling,” and that Jesus asked them, “why are your troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” but “see my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
And finally, in his famous interaction with Thomas, who hadn’t seen Jesus yet, we’re told that Thomas wouldn’t believe until he saw and touched the marks on Jesus’ hands from the nails, and touched the wound on his side, that he would never believe until then. Then 8 days later Jesus appeared to his disciples again while Thomas was there, and after Thomas had touched his hands and side Jesus told him, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.” And Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

They worshiped him

So Matthew tells us here, that even after many of those appearances, and the doubt of the disciples repeatedly overturned, some hesitation persisted, whether that was with the 11 or with other disciples who were with them we don’t know for sure. But whatever hesitancy remained, when Jesus showed up they bowed down to worshiped him. And they had no reservations in doing so, like the women at the tomb who took hold of his feet and worshiped him, or like Thomas who cried out, “My Lod and my God!” the disciples worshiped him. This was the man who had healed the sick, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, possessed authority over the wind and the sea, and who now was before them, alive, back from the grave. This man was no mere mortal, and so they worshiped him, and it’s in texts like these that we see the deity of Christ confirmed over and over again.

All Authority in heaven & earth

Then we read beginning there in verse 18,

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.”

Now, I want you to consider verse 18, Jesus makes an incredible claim, that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him, not some authority, but all authority. He was far more than a great teacher, or even a prophet, instead he claimed that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him. And the evidence of his authority was demonstrated, supremely, in his resurrection from the dead, by overcoming death and the grave.

Daniel 7 fulfilled

And as I’ve often pointed out along the way, this moment in redemptive history is the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 7:13, when the prophet Daniel sees a vision of one he refers to as the Son of Man (that is, the future Messiah), one who would be given dominion and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages would serve him.
If you have your Bibles turn with me to Daniel chapter 7, starting in verse 13,

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

13 “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

14  And to him was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed.

You see, this vision depicts in apocalyptic language the coming of the Messiah, that when he came he would be like a son of man, receiving from God a kingdom, who’s given dominion, that all peoples, nations, and languages would serve him, and that his dominion would be an everlasting one that would not pass away, and one that would not be destroyed.
And it’s with this prophetic backdrop that we see Jesus coming to his disciples, after his resurrection, and declaring to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth have been given to me.” That Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection have ushered in the kingdom of heaven on earth, following the king of heaven, Jesus himself.
And it’s why Jesus said to his disciples, for instance, in Luke 10:18, that,

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

In other words, as the kingdom of God advances, so the kingdom of darkness retreats. This was the significance of Jesus and his disciples casting out demons, that as the kingdom of God moved in, the kingdom of darkness was pushed out. It’s why Jesus said in John 12:31,

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Or as the Apostle John described the undoing of Satan and his angels as the kingdom of God advanced at Christ’s coming in Revelation 12:7,

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

And so it’s with this same authority that Jesus comes to his disciples, the authority he possesses over the kingdom of darkness, the authority he possesses as the king of heaven, the authority he possess as a result of his conquering death, that he tells them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” This is the impact his words ought have upon us, these words ought to be fuel for the Christian life, they ought to compel us, that the supreme authority of Christ over sin, over the world, and over the devil would remind us that the kingdom of heaven is invincible, and to therefore go!

Go therefore!

To go therefore into all the world making 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 Christ has commanded us, that Christ is with us, even until the end of the age. That the gospel of the kingdom will prevail, that as the message of salvation advances, so does the kingdom of heaven.
Christ’s authority over heaven and earth is the grounds for our proclamation, it should compel us to go, and it should fill us with confidence as we do. Isaiah 55:11 famously says,

11  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

As it’s recorded in Mark’s Gospel, we’re commanded to “proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15) And while that proclamation will often fall on deaf ears and hard hearts, we also know that some of that seed will fall onto good soil, that our proclamation will be received by some, who hear the word, who understand it, and who will go on to bear fruit.
As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:14,

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

You may recall, that at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus called his first disciples that he told them that he would make them fishers of men. Then later he sent them out on a training exercise to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons. He was preparing them for this moment, to go into all the world and to make disciples. Then, later, at his ascension he told them in Acts 1:8 that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. So, to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom had been in view from the very beginning.

Make disciples

But also look closely at what Matthew says there in verse 19, “Go therefore and make disciples.” Now, discipleship assumes the proclamation of the Gospel, but it’s also far more than that. Discipleship involves teaching, it involves baptizing, it involves obeying and following. Notice what it says there at the outset of verse 20,

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Discipleship is more than merely seeking converts. It’s teaching others to observe (to obey) all that Jesus has commanded us. In other words, conversion is only the beginning, we’re commanded to make disciples.

Baptism

There are many professing Christians, for instance, who have never been baptized, but the Scriptures know nothing of such a category, there’s no such thing as an unbaptized Christian. Christians are sealed with the sign of baptism, it’s what marks out a Christian, and it’s the sign of the new covenant, that we have been washed of our sin, and buried and risen with Christ. This isn’t to say that baptism saves us, but it is certainly what Christians are commanded to do immediately upon conversion.

Planting churches

When the Apostle Paul took the Gospel to the Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire he didn’t merely seek converts, he planted churches, he established elders, because churches are centers for discipleship, they’re where the people regularly devote themselves to the Apostle’s teaching, it’s where they break bread together, baptize new believers, and gather for worship and fellowship. And it’s within the context of the local church that believers study the Bible together, that they have one another over for meals, that the older women instruct the younger women, that members submit themselves to the teaching of qualified elders, and so on. This is why their is no such thing as a churchless Christian.

Everyone called to make disciples

And we must also be careful not to imagine that making disciples is merely reserved for great preachers, or the elders of a church, or gifted evangelists and apologists. If you’re a mother or a father disciple your children, win them to Christ, teach them repentance, point them to the forgiveness that’s found in Christ. You might say, “but I don’t have children,” but I bet you know someone who does, so involve yourself in the lives of those children, or you might say “my children are already grown”, but you may have grandchildren, or know someone’s children who are not, so involve yourself in their lives. Older women, train the younger women how to love their husbands and their children, how to discipline their children, and how to train them up in the Lord. Older men, disciple the younger men how to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, and how to be spiritual leaders in their homes. The scope of discipleship vast, and it includes all of us, and we’ve all been planted in spheres of influence of which we’re called to.

I am with you

Now, while the command to make disciples is a tall task, and we will almost certainly encounter resistance, sometimes even persecution. Those first century disciples understood this better than anyone else. It seemed that everyone was against them, their Jewish brothers and eventually even the Roman Empire, but despite that resistance the kingdom of heaven advanced, in fact, it flourished. They realized as one evangelist in church history put it, “we are immortal until our work on earth is done.” This is because Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth.
This is also why Jesus says there in verse 20,

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

He knew they were weak, he knew they were frail like us, so he reminded them that though he must go, that he would be with them, even to the end of the age. That they would not be left as orphans.
Moreover, Jesus had promised them that he would send the Holy Spirit, and later in Acts 1:5 that they would be baptized with the Spirit not long after he ascended into heaven. His final words to them in Acts 1:8 were,

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

What Jesus was indicating was that the Holy Spirit would come upon them in such a way so as to empower them for this mission. Just like the time when Moses gathered 70 men of Israel to help him lead the people in the wilderness, we’re told in Numbers 11:17 that God put some of the Spirit on them that they should bear the burden of the people with Moses.
Often many of us feel inadequate to obey the command to go and make disciples, but Jesus assures us that he will be with us, and that he will empower us by his Spirit, despite our inadequacies. That Jesus has given us all that we need to do this.

Conclusion

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