Matthew 28:16-20

“Disciple-makers”

The text this morning, from Matthew 28, is often called the “Great Commission.” These are the final words of the Lord Jesus Christ before his ascension. This is called the “Great Commission” because these final words are a command. This is Jesus final assignment, his last charge. This is the primary mission of the church. And to make sure we don’t miss the significance of this mission, all four Gospel writers record a similar commandment at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Mark 16:15 says this: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” In Acts 1:8, Luke writes, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And in John 20:21 Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” The Bible is absolutely clear about this fact, the ministry of Jesus did not stop when he ascended into heaven. We are called. No, we are commanded to continue His mission. But what is that mission? What is it that we are called to do?

As we ask those questions today, we need to be careful not to be too internally focused. This is a commission for us, but it is not about us. This commission is about Jesus Christ and His on-going mission. The great mission of the church begins, continues, and ends only through the power and presence of Jesus Christ. Ultimately this text is about being obedient followers of Jesus Christ. It is about worshiping Him, about following His example, and welcoming others into a life of worship and discipleship. Jesus and his authority, Jesus and His supreme lordship is at the center of the Great Commission.

This text begins by reminding us that Jesus is the true King of the Universe. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This account happens after Jesus’ resurrection, after he has risen from the grave. Here we have Jesus in His post resurrection glory. He has even overcome death. Nothing, not even death itself is more powerful than Christ. And so look at how the disciples respond when they see Jesus in verse 17. “When they saw him, they worshiped him.” When they encountered the risen Christ, they “worshiped.” They worshiped HIM! Now it is easy to just gloss over that portion of the text because we are so familiar with that word worship. In the church we have used that word so much that it has lost some of it’s meaning. We may listen to praise and worship music. We gathered together in a worship service. We sometimes call a church a “house of worship.” But what does it mean to worship? The Biblical concept of worship is much more than music, or gathering together, or a building with a steeple. The Biblical definition of worship is to express in attitude or in gesture complete dependence on or submission to an authority figure. I’ll say that again. The Biblical definition of worship is to express in attitude or in gesture complete dependence on or submission to an authority figure. Worship is an emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and physical reality. Worship involves surrender and submission. It means to rely on God and to obey Him. Worship means: to revere or respect or honor someone who is greater than you are. Often times the Bible describes worship through a physical action. So people often expressed worship by falling on their faces and kissing the feet of the object of worship, either a King or an idol. Now we don’t do that very often, but that is a wonderful physical representation of what it means to worship. To fall down on our face completely at the mercy of the one we worship. Probably the best definition of Christian worship is found in Romans 12:1. “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” Paul says, “offer your bodies as living sacrifices… this is your spiritual act of worship.” True worship involves complete surrender to God, body, mind, and spirit. The Great commission begins with worship. And when the disciples see Jesus, that’s what they do, the worship Him.

That is the proper response, because look what verse 18 says, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” Listen to that. “All authority has been given to me.” Not just some authority, not just a lot of authority, not just most of the authority, not even just the final authority. Jesus says, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. This is interesting because back in Matthew 4:8 when the Devil tempted Jesus, one of the temptations was about having a LOT of authority. Matthew 4:8, “The devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’” That’s a lot of authority, “all the kingdoms of this world.” But it was only the offer of worldly power. The risen Jesus has more. He has all authority on earth and in the heavenly realms. He is King of the Universe. Daniel prophesized about the all-powerful son of man hundreds of years before Jesus was born. In Daniel 7:13-14 this is what we read, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” That’s the kind of power Jesus has; all authority, all glory, all power. It is everlasting and it is indestructible. When we talk about Jesus as “Lord and Savior.” We don’t mean that he is only a personal Lord and savior. Now, it does mean that. This morning we heard in Ross’ profession of faith, that he has acknowledged Jesus as His Lord. But Jesus is Lord even over those who don’t acknowledge it. Jesus isn’t just Lord over me, or Lord over the United States, or even over the whole planet. Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the whole universe. The question is, “Do you recognize him as Lord?” “Do you acknowledge his lordship?” So the disciples were right to worship. In fact in the presence of Jesus, the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth, that is really the only reasonable response. Jesus is the King of the Universe. Those who are fulfilling the great commission acknowledge his Lordship, they worship Him, and they live for Him.

In verse 17 we see that there is a problem, “but some doubted.” Even though Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. Some people don’t believe it. They don’t recognize it. They don’t worship Him, but rebel against Him. Some people put their trust in themselves, or in their family, or in money, or in their influence, or even in another religion. And that is a problem. Because those people who don’t worship the King are living in a false reality. They are rebels in the kingdom. Now, Jesus has every right to destroy the rebels, and because he has all authority he has the power to do it too. The Lord Jesus would be completely justified if he wiped out everyone who failed to worship Him. But He doesn’t do that. No, He came to make disciples.

Jesus mission is to make disciples. He reveals himself to men, women, and children. He changes their hearts, transforms their allegiances, and makes them into disciples. He converts rebels into followers. Jesus made disciples, and that is our mission too. This passage tells us to continue the mission of Jesus. We are called to meet people, bless them, love them, and encourage them to become disciples of Jesus Christ. Now, many people read this text and they think the main point is to “go.” Verse 19 begins, “Therefore go…” But in the Greek there is only one command and that command is “Make disciples.” The other verbs, “go, baptize, and teach” are not imperatives. They are describing what we must do to make disciples. The mission is not simply to “go.” The mission is more than simply preaching the gospel. Neither is the mission to make converts, people who “change” their religion, or say a sinner’s prayer. The Great commission does not say, “Go and Make converts.” Our mission is much more difficult, we are called to “make disciples.” We are called to help people become life-long worshipers of the King of Kings. How do we do that? This passage tells us we do by going, baptizing and teaching. We make disciples as we are going – as we live our every day lives. We do it through baptism, through welcoming new members into the fellowship of the Church. And we do it through teaching – through training people to be faithful followers of the Lord of the Universe.

First the going: We make disciples as we are going. We don’t have to travel across the globe to make disciples, we are supposed to be doing it in our every day lives. In the Greek this passage might be better translated, “as you are going,” or “since you have been going.” Think of it like this, “as you are living your every-day-lives seek to make disciples.” Mothers and Fathers, your commission from Jesus is to make disciples. You obey this command when you encourage and train your Children to be faithful disciples of Jesus. Students, your commission from Jesus is to make disciples. You obey this command when you stand for the truth in Scripture, and faithfully witness to your friends. Workers, your commission from Jesus is to make disciples. You obey this command when you befriend your co-workers and help them to see what it is like to live a life submitted to Jesus Christ. The great commission is not just for foreign missionaries. Every Christian is called to be a Disciple-Maker. As we are going, as we live our daily lives, we are called to make disciples. Now, let’s not miss Jesus emphasis. The great commission does emphasize cross-cultural evangelism. It says, “make disciples of all nations.” And in verse 16 we see that Jesus issues this commission in “Galilee.” Galilee is a place made up largely of Non-Jewish Gentiles. So there is a special emphasis on cross-cultural disciple making. But this commission does not just mean going to different countries. Look at that word “nations” in verse 19. That word is not a geographic word. It is not about places, it is about people. That term, nations, refers to ethnic groups or people groups. So even in the Twin Cities we can do cross-cultural evangelism to the nations when we share the gospel with people who are from another culture or ethnic group. Sadly humans often view the world geographically and politically, but not Jesus. Jesus sees people. His world-view is people oriented, not country oriented. So as Revelation tells us, we are called to make disciples of people from every “tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.”

Second the baptizing. We make disciples through baptism in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Disciples should not be isolated. Just as the triune God is expressed in the community of Father, Son, and Spirit, true disciples are called to be part of the covenant community of believers. So we baptize the children of believers as a sign of that covenant community. And we baptize new believers as a sign of that covenant community. We make disciples by baptizing, by welcoming people into the covenant community of the church.

Third the teaching: We make disciples by teaching people “to obey everything that I have commanded you.” Being a disciple is not natural. People don’t learn to follow Jesus in an instant, so we must teach people to obey Jesus Christ. The text does not say, “teach them everything I have commanded you.” It says, “teaching them to OBEY everything I have commanded you.” The commission is more than just teaching disciples “about” Jesus. True disciples are followers. True disciples obey their leader, so we teach people to obey everything that Jesus has commanded. Rebels must learn to hear the commands of the king, and then must learn to obey those commands. Making disciples is difficult; it means that we must also obey everything Jesus commands as we teach others to obey everything that he commands.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the heart of the great commission. We are called to make disciples for Jesus because He is the King. We are called to worship the King and then to make disciples who will worship the king as well. The task is hard. It is long and difficult. But this commission is not about us, it is about Him, and we do not go about this alone. Look finally at the end of verse 20. “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We don’t serve a Lord who is far off; we serve our Lord who is involved in the process along side of us. He promises to be with us and help us in this task –even to the ends of the age.