The End and the Beginning (Matthew 28:16-20)
This famous passage is often called The Great Commission, which in some ways is an unusual title because Jesus also gave other commissions to his disciples during the period between his resurrection and ascension that run along similar lines. It is also obvious that Jesus is not speaking initially to all his followers here, but only to his eleven disciples who went into all the world with special authority from Jesus.
Matthew does not tell us when this event took place. It could not have been the day of his ascension because he ascended from a place in Judea and not from Galilee. Matthew does not mention the ascension of Jesus here, although elsewhere in his Gospel he refers to Jesus leaving his disciples, going to heaven, and returning from there. All that can be said is that at some stage during the forty days Jesus went to Galilee and that there his disciples met him.
It has often been pointed out that there are four ‘alls’ in this closing statement of Jesus. He has all authority, his disciples are to go into all the world, they are to teach all that he taught them, and he promised to be with them all the days.
This set of verses is both the conclusion and the climax of this book. It leads us to ask whether Matthew has fulfilled his intentions in what he wrote. What were his intentions? We have a clue in the way he describes Jesus in the first verse of his Gospel – Jesus is the son of David and Jesus is the son of Abraham. As the son of David, he is to have great power, and as the son of Abraham, he is to bring blessing to the world. We can see that Jesus claims not only to have great power, but all power, and that he sends his disciples on a mission that was to involve all nations. So we can see that Matthew concludes his Gospel with an awareness of climax. Jesus has achieved his goals as described by Matthew.
The surprising response
Matthew does not mention that the eleven disciples had already been with Jesus on a couple of occasions as described in the Gospel of John. Jesus had appeared to them in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the day of his resurrection, and he had appeared to them in the same place a week later. So their response is not connected to having not seen him since he had been arrested by the soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane.
We all know what it is like to have a situation spoiled by something. Frequently the cause of our disappointment is connected to something we have said or done. We may have been late for an event because we did not leave enough time to get there or we have forgotten to bring an item that we had intended to give to someone. At other times, the occasion can be spoiled by what someone else says or does.
The disciples had done what Jesus had commanded, which was to go to a mountain that he had mentioned. No doubt, they would have wondered what he was going to say or do. When they saw him, they expressed their conviction that he was divine because they would not have worshipped him if they thought he was only a man. Yet with regard to some of them, they doubted something about Jesus, and that doubt would stand out in their memories as they recalled this amazing occasion.
There are lessons that we can take from this response. One is that we never know where doubts are going to show themselves. Another is that doubts can accompany worship. And a third is that doubts do not disqualify someone from serving Jesus because Jesus gave this commission to the ones who did not doubt and the ones who did doubt.
What would they have doubted? Perhaps they doubted that he had really died or maybe they doubted that he had truly risen, but that was appearing like a man. We cannot know what they doubted, but we can surmise that an uninvited person influenced them and that was the devil. It could be that he fired some fiery arrows into their hearts even as they drew near to Jesus.
The amazing claim
The Saviour informed his disciples that he had universal power. We should note that he said this before he ascended to heaven. This means that he later ascended as One who knew that all power everywhere was his. Obviously this authority is a divine authority because only a divine person could consciously have power over everywhere all the time.
Yet we can also say that it is a delegated authority because its exercise is connected to God’s plan of salvation. Jesus has this degree of power because of the incredible task he has to perform, which is to bring salvation and justice to the world. This role is part of his work as the Mediator. He had been given the task of dealing with sin, which he did when he paid the penalty for the sins of his people when he suffered in their place on the cross. Now he has the task of bringing them to heaven through the gospel, and he was going to achieve this through the apostles and his people. He knew that shortly he would ascend to the heavenly throne and from there he would use his universal authority to bring blessings to multitudes of sinners.
The astonishing aim
Jesus did leave it the disciples to work out for themselves what they were to do. Nor did he suggest that Peter could do things his way, and John do them his way, and Matthew use a different way. All his servants have the same aim and use the same method, although within the method there will be different practices.
The aim that they shared was to make disciples of all nations. In describing this task, Jesus reveals his confidence of success because he does not tell his apostles to try and make disciples. Instead his words of instruction contain the promise that they will have people to disciple on behalf of Jesus.
We can also see in the instruction of Jesus his desire for worldwide success. He wanted to see eventually in heaven people from every nation. Surely our minds go to that wonderful description in Revelation 7 of the large crowd whom no-one can number, drawn from all over the world.
Again, we can also see in the instruction of Jesus his desire to create a worldwide community composed of sinners who had become his disciples. We talk about regional churches and national denominations, but they only exist as means to help our administration of the small section of the church that we have contact with. In reality, what is being created by Jesus through his servants is a new community to which all his people belong, and part of that community is in heaven and part is on earth, and part is not yet converted. One day, they will be seen together.
The appropriate method
We can see from the words of Jesus that there is a twofold method that he wanted the disciples to use as they commenced bringing this wonderful community into existence. It is important that we note that Jesus is referring to the external aspects of the life of the community. Of course, the inner life of the people in the community should match the external. But we cannot use the necessity of the internal as a reason to reduce focus on the external requirements of Jesus.
The first external requirement is baptism. It is through baptism that sinners enter into the new worldwide community, and once that is done they engage in the acts of discipleship that Jesus had taught to the apostles to do. They did them by following his example, and now others will do them by following the example of the apostles. And that method is what always happen. Those who join the community imitate those who are already in it.
Baptism means that the person baptised now belongs to God. The individual becomes identified with God, and that identification exists wherever the individual happens to be. He is not only a baptised person when he is in church or when he is with his fellow-disciples, but he is a baptised person wherever he is and whoever he is with. In all situations, he must behave as a baptised person should because there he represents the triune God.
We can also see that in baptism two communities meet. One of the communities is composed of divine persons and the other community is composed of human persons. The astonishing feature of this meeting is that while the members of the human community cannot all know each other each of them can know all the members of the divine community. Baptism is a promise that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit will work in the life of each person who serves him. And that is why we should be careful about what we encourage a baptised person to do.
What should we encourage them to do? The apostles were instructed to tell disciples everything that Jesus had taught them. This statement contradicts the idea we have that there are primary and secondary issues. We have no way of discovering what a secondary issue is for Jesus. When we meet other disciples, we may choose to differ about an issue, but we cannot call the issue secondary as if it is unimportant.
There was a Puritan pastor in Essex at the close of the sixteenth century called Richard Rogers. One day, he was speaking to one of the local gentry, who was teasing him for being so precise in his ways and who asked him why he was so precise. Rogers replied, ‘I serve a precise God.’
Often when we talk about baptism, we focus on whether or not children should be included. I accept that the New Testament evidence is clear that they should. Yet we should be careful that continual rehearsing of that debate does not blind us to the fact that baptism leads to practising the instructions of Jesus in fellowship with each of the divine Persons.
The wonderful assurance
Jesus concludes by informing the apostles that he would be with them every day, and he obviously goes beyond them when he says that his presence will be known by all his true disciples until he returns from heaven. He is not referring to his bodily presence, but he is saying that he would be with them through the work of the Spirit. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are never apart, and wherever the Spirit is, Jesus is there as well.
Sometimes, we see the verse as only saying that Jesus is with us to help us fulfil whatever activity we are engaged in. It may be the case that we should read the promise as us being with Jesus as he engages in the activity. He is not a silent partner, rather he is the active initiator and achiever. This is how discipleship can be effective and successful.