The Great Commission
Matthew 28:16–20
Go . . . and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:19
Notice that the word all occurs four times in these verses.
1. Jesus possesses all authority. This is no weak authority, because the one who spoke it is no weak master. He is the risen Lord, and “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to him (v. 18).
He is not merely talking about an acknowledgment of his earthly authority in heaven. Rather, his authority is superior to and over all other authorities whether spiritual, demonic, or otherwise. Consequently, we do not fear Satan or anyone else while we are engaged in Jesus’s service.
Second, Jesus announces that he has authority over everything on earth. He has authority over us, his people, and over those who are not yet believers. That is, his authority extends to the people to whom he sends us with the gospel. No one is outside the sphere of his authority or is exempt from his call. This is also a statement of Jesus’s ability to bring fruit from our efforts, for it is through the exercise of his authority that men and women actually come to believe and follow him.
2. Jesus sends us to all nations. The Jewish disciples who had followed Jesus through the days of his ministry and who were being commissioned formally to his service were not to limit their operations to Judaism, but were to go to all the people of the world with this gospel. Whenever the church has done this, it has prospered. When it has failed to do this, it has stagnated and dried up. Why? Because discipleship demands evangelism; it is an aspect of our obedience as Christ’s followers, and Jesus blesses obedience. That evangelism, furthermore, is to lead converts to the point of baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” At some point a person’s commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord must become public and he must unite with the church, which is Christ’s visible body, both of which baptism effects.
3. We are to teach people all he has commanded (v. 20). Christ commanded us to teach converts “to observe all” (all things), which means that for all Christians a lifetime of learning must follow conversion and membership in Christ’s church.
4. As we do, we are to know that Jesus will be with us all the days, or always. The final universal of Matthew 28:18–20 is “al[l]-ways” or, as the Greek text literally says, “all the days, even to the consummation of the age.” This is a great, empowering promise, and it is wonderfully true. In the first chapter of Matthew, Jesus was introduced as “Immanuel”—which means “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). Here, in the last verse, that very same promise is repeated. Jesus will be with us as we go.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.