The Great Commission - Matthew 28:16-20

For roughly the last two years we have been working our way through Matthew’s gospel and looking at the life and ministry of Jesus through his eyes. We have looked at Jesus’ miracles, his teaching, his encounters with the teachers of religious law, and finally his death, burial, and resurrection. Through it all we have seen God’s great love for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Today we turn to the final verses of Matthew’s gospel, and as you would expect, Matthew’s closing words are incredibly important, because they are some of Jesus’ final words. Clearly Matthew thought this is what Jesus would want His followers to remember, so he concludes his gospel with what has commonly become known as the Great Commission. They are Jesus’ marching orders to the Church until He returns. This morning we are going to unpack what Jesus has commanded each of us to do, talk about how we actually do that, and then look at practical ways we can carry out Jesus’ Great Commission in our own lives.

Still Unsure

It is interesting how Matthew introduces this final section of his gospel, because he points to the fact that the people whom Jesus entrusted to carry out His work on earth were still frail, weak, and scared. They really aren’t much different than any of us.

16Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted! (Matthew 28:16-18, NLT)

Apparently, Jesus had told his disciples to go to a particular mountain where they should wait to meet him. When they saw him, they worshiped him, though some of them still doubted. It is tempting for us to wonder how these disciples could have doubted anything about Jesus at this point. After all they had watched him die before their eyes and now he was standing before them alive again!

But before we judge these disciples too harshly, put yourself in their position. What happened was something their minds said was impossible. They couldn’t explain how Jesus was back from the dead. It all seemed too good to be true. They surely kept thinking this was a dream and suddenly they would wake up only to discover that Jesus was actually still in the tomb.

Most of us struggle with doubt sometimes, and we’ve got way more information than these disciples did. Times of doubt may come, and when they do, don’t despair! Just keep rehearsing the things you know are true, and you will once again become convinced that this isn’t just a fairy tale, it isn’t just wishful thinking; as fantastic as it seems, Jesus really did die for you and me and then rise from the grave!

But I want to point out one other thing in these opening verses: the disciples worshiped Jesus. This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s actually quite significant. The only one who is worthy of worship is God himself. In the book of Revelation when John falls down to worship the angel who speaks to him, the angel rebukes him, because he is not worthy of worship. When Paul and Barnabas performed a miracle in Lystra the people bowed down to worship them, but Paul and Barnabas stopped them, saying they should worship God, not them. The disciples worshiped Jesus, and Jesus didn’t stop them! This means Jesus believed he was worthy of worship!

So the next time a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness or some other revisionist talks to you about how Jesus didn’t really believe himself to be God, bring them to this verse. If Jesus wasn’t God, then he was a blasphemer, because he accepted worship that rightly belonged to God alone. The disciples knew who Jesus was after the resurrection—He was God in the flesh.

The Commission

Now we can direct our attention to Jesus’ final words in this gospel and see what it is that He tells us, as His Church, to do until He returns.

18Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NLT)

These closing statements are incredibly rich, but let’s look at several important elements of what Jesus said.

First, he has been given all authority in heaven and earth. Once again, this is a claim of deity. Jesus did not have only some authority. He did not only have authority over heaven or earth. He had all authority in heaven and earth. In other words, Jesus was claiming to have absolute authority. He was claiming to be equal with God. The disciples surely did not miss this point. And this point serves as the basis for everything else he says.

Second, because he has all authority, he commands us to do a job. The final two verses of Matthew are comprised of three different commands to his disciples, which include us.

Make disciples of all the nations

His first command is to go and make disciples of all the nations. It is significant that Jesus says to go to all nations and make disciples, because He is saying the message of the gospel doesn’t apply only to the Jewish people, but to everyone. This would have been a revolutionary concept for this group of people who had been raised as Jews. They had been waiting for a Messiah who would ultimately make the nation of Israel great. They believed they were God’s chosen people, not the rest of the world. But here Jesus reminds us that his work on the cross is not just for a select few, it is for all people in all nations in all times.

Think about what that means for us today. It means that we have a responsibility to make disciples of people in Muslim nations where Christianity is illegal. We have a responsibility to make disciples of people who claim there is no God at all. We have a responsibility to make disciples of people who are at the opposite end of the political spectrum than we are. We have a responsibility to make disciples of people who make our blood boil. The gospel applies to all people in all situations. And our responsibility is to take that message to literally everyone.

The early disciples did exactly that. They left their homes and went out to the surrounding nations. As a result, in just a few hundred years, the gospel message had spread through a significant portion of the world. There were Christians all over the place. This is something we should continue to take seriously today. The Church should be an active supporter of sending missionaries to places where people need to hear the gospel message. Sometimes people argue that we should worry about the people in our own backyard before we spend resources on people in other places in the world. But here’s the rub—every one of us is called to reach out to the people around us. For some, that means going to the other side of the world to minister to complete strangers. For others, that means Jesus is calling you to reach out to your friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We are to make disciples both in our own backyard and on the other side of the world. We should not neglect either one.

But what does it mean to make a disciple? Step one is evangelism. It is impossible for people to follow Jesus until they know about Him. We have a responsibility to talk to people about who Jesus is, what He taught, and why that matters. It is not enough for us to debate politics or moral issues with people from a biblical perspective, we need to tell people the story of Jesus and why it all matters. That’s what true evangelism is. While it’s fun to debate with people about various issues relating to faith, we are only truly being faithful to Jesus’ command when we are telling people about Him. That needs to be our primary focus when talking to people.

But evangelism alone is not enough. Jesus does not call us to go and make converts of all nations. It is not enough to convince people of the truth of the gospel message. We are to encourage them to become disciples—which means to become disciplined followers of Jesus. Which is exactly what the next two parts of Jesus’ command entail.

Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Jesus tells us that not only do we need to tell people about Jesus, but once they believe, we are to baptize them.

Baptism is a controversial issue in the Church, and it has been for centuries. The reason it is contentious is because it is important. If Jesus told us we are to baptize people, then we want to make sure we are doing it right.

Here’s where I come down on the issue. If Jesus was really concerned about the mechanics of baptism, He would have given us very specific instructions about exactly to carry it out. He really only gave us one instruction: to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus doesn’t tell us how much water to use, how old people should be, where it should take place, or who should actually do the baptizing. Those are secondary issues. The bigger issue is one of obedience to Jesus’ commands. We are to baptize people because He said to.

Some people argue against being baptized because they say you don’t have to be baptized in order to go to heaven. And I suppose that is true. Baptism is not what saves us. It is faith in Jesus that saves us. But at the same time, if we are followers of Jesus we will seek to be obedient to Him. The person who claims to be a follower of Jesus but refuses to be baptized is at best a pretty disobedient follower. At worst, they are simply playing a game, and fooling only themselves. John MacArthur states it pretty clearly,

“the person who is unwilling to be baptized is at best a disobedient believer.… If he is unwilling to comply with the simple act of obedience in the presence of fellow believers, he will hardly be willing to stand for Christ before the unbelieving world.”[1]

Teach them to obey everything I’ve commanded

The final command Jesus gives his followers is to teach these disciples to obey everything He has commanded. This is what discipleship really is. We have a tendency to think that our job as Christians ends once we have gotten someone to trust in Christ, but that’s really just the beginning of a whole new job. We now have a responsibility to help those new believers to grow in their faith, to encourage them to follow everything that Jesus commanded.

Obviously in order to follow what Jesus commanded, we have to first know what he commanded. This is one of the reasons it is so important that we study the scriptures for ourselves. The only way to know what Jesus has told us to do is to actually study what He taught.

And if we are going to encourage others to follow Jesus’ commands, it stands to reason that we need to follow His commands as well. This means we are to follow not just the commands that are easy or comfortable or come naturally to us. Quite the contrary. Our focus should be on the commands we find difficult, the ones we don’t like, the ones that require a real step of faith.

For some of you it may be the command to love you neighbor, or to love your enemies. For others it may be the command to go the extra mile for people who really don’t deserve it. For still others it might be the command to forgive as you have been forgiven. Or maybe it is the command to go and make disciples that you find most difficult. Here’s what we need to see: a true disciple seeks to follow the commands of the One he follows. We are to first of all strive to be true disciples, and then help others to do the same.

This is why our church is committed to preaching through the Bible the way we do. Each week we start with the text of scripture and seek to explain what it means and how it applies to our lives. This in contrast to us starting with an idea of what we think you need to hear and finding Bible verses that support that. We let the Bible set the agenda. We study the Bible in order, which means sometimes we have to address difficult subjects, subjects we would rather not talk about. But we are committed to teaching the whole counsel of God’s Word, because that is the only way we can be true disciples.

Here’s the cool part of this process. If we make genuine disciples, if we teach people to obey everything Jesus has commanded, then the process will keep repeating itself! Real disciples make more disciples! This is what makes the Church grow, and what makes the Church survive. When we are obedient to Him, the Church will grow and thrive—and even more than that, God is glorified by our actions.

I am with you always

Jesus’ final words are words of encouragement. He tells the disciples that He is with them always, even until the end of the age. In other words, though this is a tall task, He does not call us to do it on our own. Jesus will enable us to do exactly what He has called us to do. We may fear that we are not up to the task of making disciples—that we don’t know enough, that we aren’t strong enough Christians, that we are going to look foolish, or that we may actually do more harm than good. But the beauty of what Jesus says in these closing words is that we are not dependent on our own strengths and abilities! He promises us that He will be with us in everything we do. So that means we simply need to be obedient to Him, and trust Him to do the rest—because He will.

There is a beautiful symmetry to these closing words of Matthew’s gospel. At the beginning of the gospel we are told that Mary would have a child and He would be called Immanuel, which means God with Us. And now in these closing words, Jesus reminds us that even as he leaves the earth, He is still Immanuel. Even today, He is still with us and will guide us and strengthen us as we seek to be obedient to Him and to teach others to do the same. It is a promise that should embolden and encourage us to carry out His Great Commission.

Conclusion

These closing words of Matthew’s gospel are some of the most challenging commands Jesus issues. And it’s because it’s such a tall order. How are we possibly going to reach the whole world? We know that it is a job that is too big for us to do in our own power. Fortunately Jesus doesn’t call us to do it in our own power. He tells us that we are to do it together, with Him and with each other.

So how do we actually go about carrying out the Great Commission? Let me give you some suggestions.

Work at studying God’s Word for yourself and applying it to your own life. The only way you can truly be a disciple is to know what God has said. That means we need to study His Word. But it’s not enough to simply know what He says…we have to actually put it into practice. So I would encourage you to read your Bible with a pen in hand and as you read look for something God tells you to do. Write it down and spend the next day, week, or month really focusing on putting that command into practice. Then move on to the next command. If we will do that, we will find ourselves growing, just as He told us to do.

Work at finding ways to talk to people about the message of the gospel. I know that for most of you this is really scary. Don’t feel bad. It was (and sometimes still is) for me too. I spent my whole life raised in the church but was still scared to death to talk to people about Jesus. It was only when people forced me to talk to people about Jesus that I began to experience the joy that comes from sharing the gospel with others. You can start small. Practice how you might tell the story of why Jesus is important to you in just 30 seconds. Rehearse it by yourself so that you feel comfortable saying it. Then look for opportunities to share your story. Don’t worry about whether people have questions that you can’t answer. Just tell them what you know. If they ask questions, tell them you’ll get back to them…then do! Come talk to us, check out a good, trustworthy resource, search the scriptures, find an answer and continue the conversation. You’d be amazed at what God will do through these simple acts of faith.

Look for ways to encourage one another in the faith. We are to help each other become better disciples. So share with one another what you’re learning. Share the lessons God is teaching you. And look for ways to encourage others as you see them growing in their faith. Take notice of people who are striving to be obedient and let them know you see their efforts. Encourage one another to keep moving forward. If we do that, we’ll find that we all grow together as disciples.

It seems only fitting that Jesus closes out his ministry by giving us a command that essentially tells us to continue His work. He has entrusted the work he began to you and to me. We need to be faithful in continuing to carry it out, because we are the means through which Jesus can change the world. I know that seems far-fetched, but it’s not. Jesus tells us He will help us to do what He’s called us to do. We just have to trust Him enough to actually do what He says.

[1] MacArthur, Matthew 24–28, p. 344.