Make Disciples Matthew 28:16-20

Making disciples is the primary and most important role of every Christian and especially the Christian church. Regardless of what the church does, and regardless of its reputation in the world, the church fails to carry out its mandate from Jesus if what its ministries does not have making disciples for Jesus Christ as its goal. Today, I want to explore what scholars and theologians call The Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20. It is unknown who coined the term “The Great Commission.” It was used by the Dutch missionary Justinian von Welz around A. D. 1650 and popularized two hundred years later by Hudson Taylor. Before we begin let it be clear that the term does not exist in the Bible, yet many churches claim to be a “Great Commission” church. I attended “The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary” in Louisville, Kentucky, where I received the Master of Divinity Christian Education degree. The “Great Commission” was highlighted as the biblical reason for doing Christian Education. We were taught that this text emphasized teaching. It says in part “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt. 28:20). Because many of the students had teaching as the goal some of the theology professors made the observation that many students could write excellent lessons plans as far as methodology is concerned, but too often their plans did not properly exegete the text used in the lesson. The learner might learn a lot of things, but what they learned did not enhance their relationship to Jesus. Today, churches are more concerned about being relevant to today’s culture. They are in the business of making good church members, but too often too little emphasis is placed on being a disciple of Jesus Christ. However, teaching is not the goal of this text. The goal that Jesus had in mind when He made this statement to the eleven disciples was that they make disciples for Jesus Christ. We want to explore this text so that we get a sense of what the church is and its purpose in the world. As always we want to explore this text primarily in the context of the Gospel itself, and also in the context of all of the scriptures. The Gospel of Matthew is attributed to the disciple of Jesus whose name was Matthew. Matthew wrote to a Jewish audience. Thus, Matthew wrote to people who believed in Yahweh the God of the Israelites. They had been waiting for the Messiah to come to save them. Most Jews thought that their salvation meant freedom from the Gentiles, specifically the Romans, and restoration of the kingdom of Israel established by kings David and Solomon. Matthew writes to inform his Jewish audience that the Messiah has come. He came to not only free them from Roman domination, but also to free them from their sins that dominates the life of every human being. The message of the Christian church is that Christ died on the cross and the results is that God forgives sins and restores person to a right relationship with God to everyone who believes in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Matthew begins his gospel by telling us that Jesus begin to announce the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 4:17. He began to call disciples (vv. 18-22) He begin His ministry of making disciples by teaching and healing. (Matt. 4:23). People heard about Him and crowds followed Him (v. 25), but the crowds were not yet disciples. In chapters five through seven Jesus tells those who are following Him what the kingdom is like, including how they are to live in the kingdom of heaven. However, it is after the resurrection that Jesus gives the command to make disciples. This is because knowing about the kingdom and following along in the crowd for worldly benefits will not get you citizenship in the kingdom. It is only by receiving Christ on the basis of His death and resurrection that a person is saved. So, after the resurrection Jesus meets His disciples in Galilee on a mountain. Jesus is about to depart and return to the Father, but Matthew records no ascension story. He records that Jesus commissions the disciples and assures them that He will be present with them and those in the future who are carrying on the task of making disciples (v.20). When the disciples saw Jesus they worshiped Him, but some were doubtful. Matthew does not record how Jesus dealt with their doubts. He records: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I commanded you; an lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’” (vv. 18-20, NASB).Let us unpack what Jesus said to His disciples. First, Jesus delegates authority to His disciples. Jesus tells them that all authority belongs to Him in heaven and on the earth. They are to do as he commands them because of Jesus’ authority that He now gives to them. The authority that Jesus has comes from the Father and has been given to Him because of His obedience to death on the cross (see Phil. 2:8-11). The church can do a lot of things, even some good things, but it fails to reach its goal when it marches to the commands of governments, economic powers, and the opinions of the world. The church has one sole authority, and His name is Jesus. In this passage Jesus tells the disciples what they are to do with the authority that He gives to them. They are to “make disciples.” The Greek word matheeuo translated as “teach all nations” in the King James Version is better translated in the NASB as “make disciples.” It means not only to learn, but to become attached to one’s teacher and to become his follower in doctrine and conduct of life. Thus a disciple heeds the words of Jesus. Jesus said, ‘“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (7:24, NASB). It is in living a life according to the words of Jesus that a person experiences a change in their life and thereby becomes an effective witness for Christ. This is true because those on the outside see how Jesus changes lives in the present. This leads to their coming to faith in Christ and gives them the assurance of forgiveness of sin and hope of eternal life. The words “go,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are particles that tell the disciples “how” they are to reach their goal of making disciples. The word “go” means that wherever the Christian goes whether around the corner or in foreign lands he or she is to be ready to tell others about Jesus, His death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to God, and eternal life in God’s kingdom. Their lifestyle and behavior is to reflect the life of their master. The participle “baptizing” refers to an initiation rite of passage. It symbolizes purification. It is a public testimony that the person has been changed inwardly and he or she is now making known that their allegiance is now to Christ. This rite of passage is offered to all nations. The Greek word ethnos means that not only Jews are offered a place in the kingdom of heaven. Contrary to what most Jews believed, salvation is not offered to Jews alone. Instead, all Gentiles of every ethnic group are included among those who are to be made disciples. “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit refers to the oneness of God made known to humans as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is God’s kingdom that believers are given access in to. The participle “teaching” is translated from the Greek word didasko translated as “teaching” means to learn, to teach. In his Gospel Matthew records the misapplication of the Law of Moses by the religious rulers of Israel. For example Jesus corrects some of their doctrine in chapters 5-7. The Gentiles knew not the Law of God. It is a great concern of this writer that today Christians insist that non Christians live according to Christian principles before they have been made disciples and taught Christian principles. Of further concern is the lack of correct teaching of Jesus’ words in the churches. Too often, our churches act like Pharisees who use the scriptures to suit their own needs. Jesus commands us to teach correctly His words by imparting knowledge, and most importantly by living out Jesus’ words daily. Finally, the command to make disciples is concluded by Jesus’ words of assurance that He is present with them now and will be with all those who will come in the future. It is not an easy task, and they are of their own strength unable to overcome the obstacles that will confront them. They will be able to accomplish the mission because God is with them in the Word through the Holy Spirit.