Matthew
28:16-20 Make Disciples of All WC McCarter
Introduction
In ancient times,
men who were chosen to have great authority in a king or queen’s house were
often made eunuchs, that is they were castrated. One of these men, who had
become the highest treasury official for the queen of Ethiopia , once traveled to Jerusalem Temple Ethiopia
This is a great
illustration of someone coming to the faith. One must hear the Gospel, repent
of his sins, believe that what Jesus Christ has done is enough to save him,
confess Him as Lord, be immersed in the waters of Christian baptism, and abide
in His Word. All of this begins, and in fact does not happen, unless someone
like you tells someone else the Good News of Christ Jesus. The reason that
Philip declared the Gospel message is because the Lord Jesus, on the day that
He ascended back to heaven, commanded that His disciples are to go out and make
more disciples. We are to multiply. That is the subject of our sermon today.
Our text is what has been famously called the Great Commission.
READ
Scripture- This is the Word of God
They Worshiped
Him vv16-17
After Jesus was
raised from the dead, the Jewish leaders began passing around a false story
that said that Jesus’ body had been stolen. Of course, we know that this could
not have happened considering the circumstances surrounding the tomb. Jesus had
been raised from the dead. Many had believed the false explanation, but the
eleven chose to trust Christ, and they obeyed His command to meet Him on the
mountain in Galilee . Remember, Matthew often
tells us that magnificent things happen on a mountain (sermon, healed great
multitudes and fed 4,000, transfiguration, and now ascension). We know that all
eleven disciples were obedient in that they went to the mountain, yet the group
reacts in two different ways. “Some of the disciples worship Jesus at once;
some were less sure how to react” (Blomberg, 430). Their doubt was hesitancy.
They did not know exactly how to respond to such miraculous and glorious
events.
All Authority
v18
Jesus dismisses
their hesitancy with His first sentence as He appears to them on the mountain.
He says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven
and on earth.” That should
set aside any doubt. That should cause someone to fall down and worship. This
is the climax of Matthew’s Gospel account. After all is said and done. After
Christ has ministered by preaching, teaching, and healing and after He has been
crucified for the sins of the world and resurrected – He now confirms that all
authority over the whole universe is His. Only God can have this full authority
and only God should be worshiped. Christ’s full divinity is put on display
here. Let me tell you something, “At the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and
of those under the earth, and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.” That is
authority. Blessed are those who in this present life gladly and willingly bow
the knee to and confess the lordship of Jesus Christ.
All the
Nations v19
Because of the
divine authority that the Lord Jesus maintains, He can commission His followers
with the following orders. He has universal authority and His mission of
redemption is universal. Therefore, He commands that His disciples “go.” They
were, and we are, to go because of
this authority and within this
authority. An important and often forgotten part of this “commission” is the
scope of the mission. The saving work of God has no limits. Maybe we often
forget this part because we want to ignore it. Maybe we want to hold back
because we want to box Jesus into a corner as if He is only mine or ours. No,
no, no! God loves the world. Christ died for the sins of the world. That
message is to go into the entire world. It is for ALL the nations without
distinction. Don’t you think that the Gospel is what the raging and violent Middle East needs? Don’t you think that the Gospel is
what the seemingly hopeless continent of Africa
needs? Don’t you think that the Gospel is what the poor of America
How do you make a
disciple? First of all, you baptize them. Yet, for someone to be baptized they
must first hear the Gospel message, believe it, repent of their sins, and
confess the lordship of Christ. The crusades were not carried out by true
Christians. We do not force someone to simply submit to being dunked in water.
No, we preach Christ and Him crucified. If someone believes, then they are
baptized. When Christ commands us to baptize new believers, He also means that
we are to take the Gospel with us.
All Things
that I have Commanded v20
Secondly, we are
to teach them to observe (notice the word) ALL things that Jesus commanded. The
eleven had received lots instruction and they were to then teach others to
follow the Lord the same way. You and I have learned lots of things in our
Christian lives that we are to share with others. We are to teach others about
the Lord and the Scriptures. We are to teach them to trust and obey Christ.
Now notice that
Jesus recorded words here do not end with a command, but with a promise. He
promises that He will be with His followers to the end of the age, “always” or
we could say “ALL the days.” God’s work and His story does not end with
Christ’s death; it continues. It does not end with the resurrection; it
continues. It does not end with the ascension, but continues into the future,
even until the end of the age as we continue going into the world making
disciples by baptizing and teaching them. And Jesus will be with us every step
of the way, in each and every day.
Conclusion
Notice how,
“‘All’ dominates vv. 18-20 and ties these verses together. . .” (Carson
*ALL authority belongs to the Lord
Jesus Christ.
*ALL the nations must hear the
Gospel.
*ALL the things Jesus commanded are
to be taught to new disciples.
*ALL the days is the length of time
Christ will be with His followers.
(1) Trust the One that has all
authority. There is no one more worthy of your trust. We are about to cast
votes for the man who will lead our country for the next four years. It is an
important decision to make, along with all the other offices for which we will
be voting. You need to think it through and pray about it, but let me tell you
something. No matter who you may think is the better choice and no matter who
is elected, you better not trust them with much of anything. The One you should
trust is the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth.
(2) The Gospel has the power to save
people from every nation, language, class, etc.
Do not let yourself limit God’s saving work because of your prejudices.
(3) The Christian life is about learning
of God, who He is and what He does.
First of all, take the time to learn
(sermons, Bible classes, devotions, reading).
Second, teach the
weaker Christians and the younger ones who are around you.