Matthew 28:16-20, The Great Commission

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Matthew 28:16-20 (KJV)
16  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17  And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

2 April 2016

OUTLINE

  • Christ’s Authority – All Power (v16-18)
  • Christ’s Building Plan – All Nations and All Things (v19-20a)
  • Christ’s Company – All the Way (v20b)

 

INTRODUCTION

Matthew 29:16-20 – The Great Commission is the last sermon in the study of the Gospel According to Matthew. We have spent 2 years and three months to systematically understand the first book of the New Testament. This is our 90th sermon in this series. Thank God for helping us through in this study. Thank God for helping us in persevering to know the will of God for our lives as we allow God to speak to us the way He has the Bible written!

There is a good reason why the Holy Spirit places the gospel of Matthew as the first book of the New Testament. It leads the 4 gospels in declaring the life of Christ. I believe it best presents the continuation of the story of redemption from the Old Testament. It began with the Jews. To Israel was committed the secret to eternal life. The Saviour, the Messiah that was predicted to come in the Old Testament has come. What is the link? Matthew provided for us the link by giving the most comprehensive genealogical proof that Jesus is indeed the Christ.

  • The Jewish Seed – the link to the Old Testament back to Abraham (Matthew 1:1-5)
  • The Royal Seed – the link again to David the King who was given the promise that one will come out of his loins that will sit on his throne and rule forever (Matthew 1:6-11)
  • The Woman’s Seed – the link again to Genesis 3:15 how the seed of the woman (Jesus was virgin born – conceived of the Holy Ghost, the sinless Son of God) (Matthew 1:12-17)

God chose Abraham to begin the Jewish nation through his grandson Jacob as God’s witness to a dying world without God. And God chose David the man after God’s own heart to unite all Israel to serve the one living and true God. He will bring forth the foremost Son of Israel, who will rule the world at His Second Coming. And He chose Mary, the virgin girl to be the vessel, of the lineage of David through Nathan, not the prophet, but David’s own son, to bring forth the Saviour!

 Matthew recorded His birth, how there was a cosmic stir, God caused a star in the East to announce the birth of His son and the angels of heaven sing in an awesome sight witnessed by some shepherds in Bethlehem. Jesus grew up and was baptised by John the Baptiser before He began His ministry to attest that He is the Anointed One of Israel predicted in the Old Testament.

Jesus has power over the physical realm – He healed all sickness, calm the storm, stop the winds, raised the dead. He has power over the spirit realm – the demons were defeated and demon-possessed restored, remember Mary Magdalene which we spoke of at the Easter Sunrise Service who was possessed by seven devils. How she was gloriously healed.

He called the people to repentance to be reconciled to their Maker. He is the Means appointed by with the Father, the Mediator appointed for men to be reconciled to their God. He fulfilled all the law in His lifetime on our behalf.

And in the last nine months, we saw how He was persecuted, betrayed and led to be crucified on the cross to bear our sins. He is the Lamb of God that will take away the sins of the world. How His body was broken to take the punishment for our sins and His blood was shed to wash away our sins on the cross. And Jesus died to take the penalty of sin on our behalf.

How the earth was darkened, God timed it that we had our Good Friday message to mark the close of the study of this Gospel and on Easter Sunrise Service last week, we witnessed His resurrection.

 You recall how the women folk who loved Jesus were early at the tomb on that Sunday morning before daybreak. They were sad, afraid because the Master whom they have followed had died. But an extraordinary event took place – Jesus rose from the dead as He had predicted, as the Old Testament declared of the resurrection, Jesus was victorious over man’s greatest enemy – death, death has lost its sting! He had won heaven and eternal life for us by His resurrection from the dead. Because Jesus lives, we shall also live!

  • We saw the Heaven and Earth Shaking Report of the Resurrection (v1-7)
  • We saw the Eye-witnessed Truth of the Resurrection (v8-10)
  • We understood the opposition to the gospel – The Falsehood concerning the Resurrection (v11-15)

And in verse 10 Jesus passed a message to bring His brethren to go into Galilee.

Matthew 28:10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

And here we are on a mountain in Galilee for this final message of this Gospel. A practical one! Jesus will now give to His disciples His last words before His ascension to heaven. Next week, we shall see the scene of Christ’s ascension to heaven as we begin the study of the Acts of the Apostles.

A person’s last words are especially important because it conveys the essence of what the person has for his posterity. These are Jesus’ last words before He ascended to heaven. May we pay great attention!

 And we want us to see the message of Jesus by the indefinite pronoun “All” that is repeated through our text here to describe the sharp focus of all that we are to do! And action theme! The ABC of the Great Commission:

  • All Power – Christ’s Awesome Authority Undergirding You

“Jesus is saying I have all authority in heaven and in earth” a powerful statement of unlimited power Jesus declares alluding to Deity that He is the only living and true God – Christ’s Command (v16-18).

  •  Christ’s Building Plan – All Nations and All Things (v19-20a)

“Jesus gives the marching orders to all His disciples without exception to bringing the gospel to all nations and to make them disciples of them and identify them through baptism and to teach them all things teach them so that they become like you that they in turn may make others disciples – Not merely makers of disciples; we are makers of disciple-makers – Christ’s Commission.[1]

  • Christ’s Company – All the Way (v20b)

One pastor said well, “This command is preceded. It’s preceded by the promise of His power. It is followed by the promised of His presence. I have the power. “… all power is given unto me…” “You go, and lo, I am with you alway…”[2]

The word “alway” is not “always” but “alway” without the “s” meaning all the way.

His authority will be behind you. His Spirit will be within you as the task is before you, and you’re to go.

These are Jesus’ last words to you, practical action that we shall examine closely.

 

(1) Christ’s Authority – All Power (v16-18)

Matthew 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

The message was conveyed by the women folk, the disciples were excited, filled with great joy of the prospect of meeting their risen Master. They made their way verse 16 tells us to a mountain in Galilee. A mountain is a landmark. It was on a mountain that Jesus gave His first sermon – the Sermon on the Mount (v5-7). And it is on a mountain that He will give His last words. As He stood on the mountain, the Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to more than 500 at once, I believe this is the instance, there were many of Jesus’ disciples in the Galilee region and it makes sense this was a large gathering for to receive this Great Commission.

Those assembled are more than the eleven disciples minus Judas Iscariot who betrayed. And these 11 disciples were handpicked by their Master followed Him throughout His 3 ½ years of earthly ministry. They were entrusted with mandate to reach the world in His name.

As to the time frame: One commentator calculated, this scene occurred between 20 – 35 days after His resurrection. It would take them a week’s journey to travel from Jerusalem to Galilee and Jesus met Peter and John on the shore of Galilee to have breakfast with them and to personally restore and commission in John 21:1-17 about 15 days after the resurrection.

 We know that on the 40th day, Jesus would meet His disciples at the Mount of Olives as we shall see next week where He would ascend from there to heaven.

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

Jesus was worshipped for Who He is, the incarnate Son of God, God in human flesh. No mere man possess such power that Jesus demonstrated. They were convinced that He is the Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth. It is interesting that Matthew recorded some doubted. Only God can see the hearts and minds of men. Matthew was given divine insight into the hearts of those assembled there. We do not know who were those who doubted. The doubt was possibly whether indeed, He is the risen Christ.

But as He spoke to them, all doubts would have been cleared and disappeared.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

He says, “… all power is given unto me…”. Here is the Lord speaking. His power literally means His authority. Who He stands for the Lord of heaven and earth, the Maker of all things – without Him was not anything made that was made. The man with authority speaks and it is counted! It will come to pass. He has the power to carry His authority is the meaning of these words “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”. There is none in heaven and in earth that has a great authority than He has.

One pastor puts it well, “He is authority over all of the world, every creature. His gospel transcends every language, every culture, every nationality, every colour, every race, and every rank of people in all of the world. He is Lord of this world.”

He is also the God of heaven. He has all authority also in the spiritual realm – the angels and demons, all spiritual creatures are under His authority. You recall when Jesus confronts the demons how they cringe at His authority.

In other words, Jesus is saying to you that if God is for us, who can be against us? Jesus is in charge. He will fulfill His plan of redemption for mankind and carry it to its fruition.

You are under orders from the Maker Himself to receive this commission. Jesus is saying these words to every member of the local church. This is Jesus’ First Command to the Church. He is telling His church that God chose to glorify Himself through the redemption of sinful men and all who participate in this plan most glorify God.

This is the number one objective of this church – to save souls. This is the text giving Christ’s commission to you. It is an authoritative mandate. You have the backing of the All-Mighty God as you carry out this plan. It means there’s no power that can resist Him and stand against Him.

This is the first thought – Christ’s Authority – All Power (v16-18). The second thought is in verse 19 Christ’s Building Plan – All Nations and All Things (v19-20a)

(2) Christ’s Building Plan – All Nations and All Things (v19-20a)

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:…

You are to put the “go” on the gospel. Because you are under commission, you go with – My authority! Jesus says “Go Ye”. It is the plural pronoun meaning all of you, every member of the local church. No one is exempted or omitted from the commission. Now, I believe that probably He gave this Great Commission where He was being seen of 500 people. That’s spoken of in 1 Corinthians 15:6. But this is not a message for a select few. It is universal in scope, but it is personal in application.

Go and do what? Teach all nations – the word is an action word describing an on-going action to “make disciples of all nation.” It literally means to make disciples of all nations. There is no place on earth that is outside this commission. No one we are to neglect to give the gospel. Only Jesus Saves – He is the way, the truth and the life – the only way to heaven. Jesus cares for every soul that no soul ought not to be reached. Therefore, this is a mobilizing commission. It is a mandate for His church to move, to go out, to save souls with the gospel – which is the power of God unto salvation.

We see the scope of the mandate and the work involved. You are to influence them with the truth concerning the eternal well-being of their soul – heaven or hell, heaven and hell difference you would make to the lives of these that you will reach. In other words, Jesus says spare no effort. Go and win them for Christ, use your influence, your resources, your gifts to show them the truth that they may find salvation in Christ.

We are to disciple all nations and then we are to baptize all believers. “… baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

When Jesus began His public ministry? He was baptized. By being baptized, identifying Himself with us.

How did Jesus conclude His short public ministry? By commanding baptism right here! This is not some optional thing.

As one pastor puts it, “We are to make disciples, and then we are to mark disciples.” We are to baptize them, “… in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”[3]

We are to disciple all nations. We are to baptize all believers. And then we are to teach all commandments, all His commandments. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…”

Well, what did He command us to do? He commanded us to go and make disciples. What do we do when we get somebody that we have won to the Lord Jesus and we baptize them, what do we do?

We teach them to go and make disciples. Do you see the cycle? I win somebody to Jesus Christ, get him baptized. I’m not finished with him until I teach him how to win somebody to Jesus Christ and get him baptized. “I am commanding you to go into all the world. Now you teach them whatever I have commanded you.” So it is to go on and on and on and on. We’re not merely makers of disciples; we are to be makers of disciple makers.

Quoting the same pastor Adrian Rogers, “Not merely makers of disciples; we are makers of disciple makers.”[4] He tells us to go and make disciples and then He says, “You teach them to do all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” So, your evangelism is not complete when you get a person to assent to the fact that they trust Jesus. He didn’t tell us to make decisions; He told us to make disciples and get them baptized. We’re to make them. We’re to mark them. We’re to mature them. [5] We are to teach them to do what He taught us to do. And then, rather than growing by addition, we grow by multiplication. We grow experientially. And when we begin to do that, then the church is going to grow in an incredible way.

This is the secret of church growth. It is a collective effort of God’s people to go out there 6 days a week to reach out and on Sunday to bring them to church.

We saw the first thought – Christ’s Authority – All Power (v16-18). The second thought is in verse 19 Christ’s Building Plan – All Nations and All Things (v19-20a). Thirdly, Christ’s Company – All the Way (v20b)

(3) Christ’s Company – All the Way (v20b)

– and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

I want you to observe that the “lo” and the “go” are linked. You go and lo, I am with you. I will company you in your journey! This is the promise of His presence with you as you serve Him in reaching out to souls. He will enable you, He will empower. He will be with you. He will guide you by His spirit. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Chris indwelling every believer!

This command is preceded. It’s preceded by the promise of His power. It is followed by the promised of His presence. [6] I have the power. “… all power is given unto me…” “You go, and lo, I am with you always…” His authority will be behind you. His Spirit will be within you as the task is before you, and you’re to go.[2]

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

CONCLUSION

The ABC of the Great Commission:

  • Christ’s Authority – All Power (v16-18)
  • Christ’s Building Plan – All Nations and All Things (v19-20a)
  • Christ’s Company – All the Way (v20b) 

[1] Adrian Rogers, Collection of Sermons, Matthew’s Gospel.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.