Matthew 28:19-20

So God's word says,

now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

So before I even begin, let's go back and take a look at what Jesus is actually doing in this passage. He's worshiped, He claims to have all authority. He mentions the one name of Father, Son, and Spirit, and He promises to be with His disciples always.

So if there's any doubt in your mind that Jesus is God, this passage is demanding that Jesus must be God. So with that, these are the first words of the son to his disciples in the gospel of Matthew after his death and resurrection. At this point, God's work of salvation is accomplished. It's done. Sin has been defeated and Christ has won. But Jesus makes it clear that there's still work to be done.

Here in Matthew 28, Jesus commands his followers to make disciples, inviting them to join in his earthly mission to save sinners. And this command isn't just for the 11 disciples there on the mountain in Galilee that day. This is a command for all believers at all times.

So tonight, I want to challenge you with this main idea. Join in the mission of our resurrected Lord who is with you. Join in the mission of our resurrected Lord who is with you. And as we meditate on Jesus's command, I hope to look at two parts of verse 19 and 20, Christ's mission and his promise.

Christ's mission for all believers

So to start, this is Christ's mission for all believers. Jesus's mission for all believers. And at the most basic level, Jesus's mission for us is to make disciples. This verb in the passage to make disciples is the driving force of the rest of the passage. Going, baptizing, and teaching are all passive verbs that center around the one task of making disciples. So, To put it plainly, as disciples of Jesus, our job is simply to make more disciples of Jesus.

On this very page in our Bibles, we see the cross, the torn curtain, and the empty tomb. This word testifies to us that Jesus has accomplished all that he has set out to do. And now he commissions us to go out and tell the world of what we've seen of his life and death and resurrection. He sends us out like messengers after the war, going from town to town and from nation to nation, shouting, the battle is over. Christ has won. The King lives and sits on his throne over all. So this is the work that's left to do. And this is how the God of our salvation brings us in to participate into his plan of salvation.

Now, immediately looking at this passage and everything that comes before it in Matthew's gospel, this one question pops out to me, and that's why us? Why us? If God could raise Jesus from the dead and defeat the power of sin, then why send 11 fishermen and tax collectors to proclaim the most important news of all time?

And to begin to answer that question, I wanna look back down at verse 19, particularly at the second part of the command to make disciples,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

So firstly, this is just a magnificently clear declaration of the Trinity, where we've seen three distinct persons acting throughout the past weeks, we now see those persons as one God taking on one single name. To quote the New City Catechism,

the Father, Son, and Spirit are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

And this becomes even more amazing if we look back to Matthew 3 at Jesus' baptism. There, all three persons are acting in distinct ways to declare the deity of Christ.

Just a few weeks ago, our brother Hoon helped us see from that passage that Jesus in being baptized is identifying with sinners. Jesus identifies with us as sinners to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law for us. And he stands in our place to take upon the wrath that we deserve for sin. And What I think is happening here in Matthew 28 is that we, the whole body of Christ, are identifying with the triune God. We, in baptism, are taking on, we're being baptized into the one name of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

And if you're here tonight and you're not a follower of Christ, I hope that you'll sit and meditate on this truth. Because Christ died for sinners and took the punishment of sin upon himself, we can now be united with the eternal God in his being and work. So to return to the original question, why us? God certainly doesn't need these 11 fishermen to make disciples of Christ. but in baptism, those fishermen and also ourselves, we are enrolled among the disciples of Christ and we are enlisted to serve the mission of Christ. So in our being joined with God, we bring glory and honor to him as we follow in obedience. Now then, how exactly do we go about obeying this great commission?

The intentional act of going

Up until my preparation for this devotional, I wanted to believe that making disciples was simply something that happened passively. I wanted the hungry souls and the lost sheep to approach me as I went about my everyday life. But I think Jesus is very clear here that making disciples takes the intentional act of going.

Jesus sends his disciples out from his presence to every nation. And looking back at Matthew nine, Jesus looks out at the crowds and sees that they are harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. In response, he charges his disciples to pray that laborers would be sent out into this harvest. And that's what I think is going on in Matthew 28. The Lord of the harvest is calling his disciples to go. So the gospel opportunities are there around the world, in our country, in our neighborhoods, even in our homes. People are like sheep without a shepherd, harassed by sin, pain, and sorrow, and helpless before death and condemnation.

So will you go? For some of you, going might actually mean going out to the nations to proclaim the good news. There is a real need for the gospel overseas. So if you have the desire and ability to do so, I'd encourage you to take time to consider this call. Pray about that desire. Reach out to members who know you well and can help you discern that decision. Even reach out to the missionaries that we support to ask questions about their work in ministry and take advantage of the short-term missions trips that we have going on throughout the year.

Also recognize that many of you in this room don't have the ability or the desire to go and serve overseas, and that's perfectly okay. Just as much as we need believers to be sent out, we also need believers who will do the sending. Believers who will pray for more to be sent out from our church and believers that will stand behind them as they go to the nations. But even while we are sending, we're still called to go out and proclaim Christ in one form or fashion.

You are only here in this room because someone in one way or another went out and proclaimed the good news of Christ to you. You only know the love of Christ because someone obeyed the command of Christ to make disciples. So make the first move to bring up spiritual conversations with your coworker or classmate. Get to know your next door neighbors and be a witness to them. And be faithful in preaching the gospel to your children and raising them up to know Christ.

And another way we can join this mission is by supporting the various outreach ministries of our church. Campus outreach and our college students are proclaiming the gospel in a place where people quite literally come from every nation to learn and study. Southwood and Way Truth Life proclaim the gospel in the midst of people with great spiritual and physical need.

So even if your support is as simple as joining an email list or group chat to receive regular updates from these ministries, your prayers and support are invaluable and they're not overlooked by the God who calls you to make disciples. Looking back down at verses 19 and 20, making disciples is not as simple as just baptizing them and leaving them on their own, or as simple as proclaiming the gospel and moving on to the next one. Leaving new believers without the blessings of gospel community and teaching is like leaving freshly planted seeds without water or nutrients.

So be faithful to teach them as well. This could look like formally meeting to study Christ's commands in God's word. It may look like introducing them to the everyday life and function of the church, or maybe it's teaching by example, living out the faithful Christian life to an onlooking follower of Christ. However you go about it, making disciples takes time. It takes intentional effort and energy to teach the commands of Christ. But in summary, Jesus's mission for all believers is to bring the gospel message of victory to a world that needs it.

This mission calls us to go out into a world where we are sheep amidst wolves. Even though it's exciting and joyful, this call is dangerous, frightening, and exhausting. If you heard everything I just said and are terrified by the insurmountable task that stands before you, then I think you're thinking on the right track. This is not a task that we can fulfill on our own. And that's why it's important that we look at what follows.

Christ's promise for all time

Christ's promise for all time. Jesus's promise for all time. Now, again, in our passage, Jesus recognizes that he's speaking to a group of nobodies from Galilee. He knows that his command is going out to generations and generations of disciples who are entirely unqualified for the work of making disciples. So it's important to notice how Jesus grounds and motivates his mission that he calls his followers to. Verse 19 begins by saying, go therefore, the therefore pointing us to look for a foundation or motivation for the command to make disciples. And the verse just above it seems to fully capture this motivation.

Jesus says,

all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

The Lord Jesus, who was crucified, died and was buried, now stands alive before his disciples. He holds authority not only as the eternal creator, but now as the victorious savior. And if this doesn't make you want to drop everything and go fulfill the great commission, then I hope that what follows is a great assurance and motivation for you.

Christ says later in verse 20,

and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

And at first glance, this may seem confusing. We know that Christ, after he ascended, sat down at the right hand of the father to make intercession for us for all time. So we have to hold this intention with the fact that he's in this passage promising to be with us always.

But I think the answer and the relief for that tension lies in the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the means by which Christ dwells in our hearts. As God, the Holy Spirit applies the salvation of Christ to us. He serves as the presence of Christ for us, and he empowers us to fulfill the mission of Christ.

So even though Jesus is physically seated at the right hand of the Father, He is more truly than ever before with us always. So I hope that we can take that in, that the God who declares that he has all authority in heaven and on earth is with you always. The Savior who overcame death itself promises to be with you to the end of the age.

So if you feel like you can't take on the mission of Christ, whether because you feel discouraged by your own inability or unworthy because of your own sin, let the promise of Christ to be with you, guide and strengthen your obedience to him. Jesus here is not calling the Christian superstars to the work of disciple making. He's calling the weak, fearful and failing. Even right in this passage, Jesus' disciples doubted when they saw him in verse 17. Yet, because Jesus has all authority and is with us always, The same disciples who doubt Christ are the ones who go and proclaim the gospel to thousands at Pentecost, who boldly defend Christ before councils and courts of law, and who stand firm in the face of persecution and death.

So when you are paralyzed by the fear of sharing the gospel with someone close to you, Christ is with you. When you're faced with persecution as the cost of following his command, Christ is with you. When you feel like you don't know enough or are at a loss for words, Christ is with you. And when you're discouraged by your evangelism, laboring for years and years and still not seeing a hint of progress or fruit, Christ is still with you.

When you leap out in faith to make disciples, Christ stands as an unfailing net beneath you when you fall. There is no limit to Christ's power and authority. And there is no limit to what he can and will do through you. So Jesus here invites you to join in the mission of God to save sinners. And through his spirit, he gives the comfort and ability to do so.

So I ask you, who will you teach to obey the commands of Christ? And who will you pray for to join in the number of his disciples? Let's pray. Father, we confess that we are weak and failing and need your help to obey the commands of Christ. Remind us of his promise to be with us always, and may your spirit seal and apply these truths to our lives. Please give us the grace and strength to make disciples of all nations, and we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.