Introduction
We come this evening to the final part of Matthew’s gospel. Last week we read of the burial of the Lord; and of the securing of the tomb; and of the fear of the guards and the joy of the women. The guards were afraid, because of the angel, who appeared from heaven and rolled away the stone from the tomb; and the guards shook and became like dead men. And the women were joyful, because they had seen the Lord who had been raised alive from the dead.
Today’s passage could well be called, ‘The two commissions’, because in the first part of the passage, the guards are commissioned to spread lies about the resurrection; and in the second part of the passage, the disciples are commissioned to make disciples of all nations.
Verses 11 to 15
The first part begins with Matthew telling us that while the women were on their way to tell the disciples that the Saviour was alive and he wanted to see them in Galilee, the guards went back to Jerusalem to report to the chief priests everything that had happened. So, they’ve recovered from their fright which had paralysed them for a time. And they presumably reported to the chief priests, and not to Pilate, because the chief priests were the ones who posted them at the tomb. And now the guards had to tell them about the earthquake and the angel and about the empty tomb.
And after hearing their report, the chief priests met with the elders and they came up with a plan. That is to say, they came up with a plan to do a deal with the guards: they would give the guards a large sum of money and in return the guards must tell everyone that the disciples stole the Lord’s dead body while they were sleeping. So, don’t tell anyone about the earthquake; and don’t tell anyone about the angel. Instead, tell them that the disciples took the body away. And the chief priests and elders agreed that they would smooth things over with Pilate, so that they wouldn’t get into trouble for sleeping when they were meant to be on guard.
And the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And Matthew tells us that this story, which the chief priests and elders made up, has been widely circulated among the Jews right up to the time of writing. We don’t know exactly when Matthew wrote his gospel, but it may have been 20 or more years after the Lord’s resurrection and ascension. And so, for years and years, the story had been told that the reason the tomb was empty was because the disciples stole the Lord’s dead body and hid it somewhere. And since Matthew says it circulated widely among the Jews, then that tells us that many Jews believed it. So, as the apostles went from place to place, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, who died but was raised, it seems that many of the Jews did not believe because they had heard that the Lord did not really rise from the dead. And so, in order to combat this ‘fake news’, Matthew’s gospel makes clear that the chief priests and elders made the story up; and the only reason the guards said it was because they were paid to say it; and they were paid to say it by the men who had sentenced the Lord to death.
This then is the first of today’s two commissions. The chief priests and elders commissioned the guards to tell lies. And the truth is that the Lord Jesus, who died, was raised and he’s alive forevermore.
Verses 16 to 20
And so, we come to the second part of today’s passage, where the Lord commissioned the disciples.
Matthew tells us that the eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee as the Lord instructed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, just as the women had done. If the Lord was only a man or an angel, it would have been wrong for them to worship him, because we are commanded to worship God alone. But since the Lord Jesus is God — since the fullness of Deity dwells in him in bodily form, as Paul puts it in Colossians, so that he is both fully human and fully divine — then they are right to worship him.
Matthew adds, however, that some of them doubted. The word translated ‘doubted’ by the NIV can also mean something like ‘hesitated’. And so, while some of the disciples worshipped him without hesitation, some of them were not too sure whether it was the right thing to do or not. And no doubt it took a while for some of them to take it all in. However, before the Lord ascended to heaven, all of them were fully convinced that he is God incarnate and the only Saviour of the world.
And the Lord came to them and declared that he has all authority; and he told them to make disciples of all nations; and he promised he would be with them always. So, all authority; all nations; and always. By announcing that he has been given all authority, he shows himself to be the one like a son of man whom Daniel spoke about in Daniel 7. Daniel received a vision of heaven, where he saw the Ancient of Days, God Almighty, on his throne. And one like a son of man approached him and he was given authority and glory and sovereign power. In other words, God Almighty gave him the authority to rule over all. And Daniel says that all peoples worshipped him. In this vision, Daniel was allowed to see into the future and to the time after the Lord’s death and resurrection, when the days of his humiliation on earth were over. And what Daniel saw has now taken place. Because of the Lord’s faithful obedience — even to death on the cross — he has been given authority over heaven and earth. And therefore he has the authority or the right to call people to himself from every nation to belong to his kingdom, where there is forgiveness and peace and life forevermore.
As one of the commentators (Osborne) puts it, his universal authority makes possible his universal mission. If he had no authority, or if his authority did not extend very far, then his mission would not get very far, would it? Perhaps the disciples would have been able to gather together a few more disciples before it all petered out. But since his authority extends throughout the heavens and the earth, then his mission can be extended to all the nations. And since he has authority over all, then the success of his mission is guaranteed, because no one is able to thwart his plans or to prevent him from establishing his kingdom on the earth. His enemies on the earth cannot stop him and the Devil and all his demons cannot stop him, because he is the Great King over all.
The commmission is made up of one main command: make disciples of all nations. And the three other verbs — going, baptising and teaching — show us what making disciples consists in. So, what does it means to make disciples? What does the work consist in? Firstly, it means they have to go. Instead of remaining in Jerusalem or in the land of Judah, they must go into all the world. Secondly, it means they have to baptise those who are converted, because baptism is the sacrament for admitting new believers into the church. And so, the church is at the heart of the Lord’s commission; and a disciple is not a disciple unless he or she has been baptised and admitted to the church. And since baptism signifies for the new believer that their old life of sin and unbelief is dead and that they have been raised with Christ to live a new life of faith and obedience, then the third aspect of making disciples is teaching the Lord’s people to obey everything he has commanded. The Lord’s people are to be instructed to obey the Lord so that they will honour him in all they do and say in their daily lives.
Very often, when people think about the Lord’s commission, or when they preach on it, or write about it, or talk about it, they limit it. They restrict it to one thing only. So, when people think of the Lord’s commmission, very often the only thing they think about is evangelism: telling unbelievers the good news of Christ in the hope that they will believe. But while the commmission includes evangelism, it is far wider and broader and more comprehensive than evangelism. After all, the Lord did not command the disciples to make converts, but to make disciples: people who will follow the Lord Jesus and who will endeavour to walk in his ways and to do his will throughout the rest of their lives. The Lord’s people are always disciples-in-the-making, because the work to make us perfect will not end until we are glorified in God’s presence in the life to come.
And since making disciples involves more than evangelism, then there are lots of different ways for the Lord’s people to participate in the work. It’s important to say that, because — since we often limit the Lord’s commmission to evangelism — then we often say that everyone must be involved in evangelism. But since making disciples is more than evangelism, then there are many ways for God’s people to take part in the work, depending on the gifts and abilities and opportunities and callings we have received from the Lord. God did not make us all the same and therefore we’re able to serve him in different ways.
And so, one believer participates in the Lord’s mission to make disciples by answering a neighbour’s questions about the faith and explaining to them the way of salvation. Or, on Friday evening, I’ll be taking part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples by preaching the gospel to the people in Woodvale.
But then another believer participates in the Lord’s mission to make disciples by teaching the faith to her children at home. Another believer takes part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples by leading a Bible study for young people in church, or by encouraging fellow believers to persevere in the faith, or by providing financial support for some gospel work in the world; or by praying for missionaries at home and overseas. Remember how the Cochranes thanked us when they visited the PW for joining them in their work in Portugal? How do we join them in their work? By praying for them. And we take part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples by praying for believers to overcome temptation and to obey the Lord more and more. The elders take part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples when they visit their districts and read God’s word to his people and encourage them to remain faithful. The members of the caring team take part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples when they visit the sick and the elderly and encourage them to keep trusting in the Lord. We take part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples on Sundays, when we gather to hear God’s word and to learn what the Lord has commanded us to do. We take part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples when we baptise our children and the congregation promises to be faithful in prayer and in spiritual nurture and in Christian example and influence. And we take part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples on Wednesdays, when we gather to learn from God’s word and to pray for the extension of Christ’s kingdom throughout the world. And another person takes part in the Lord’s mission to make disciples by making sure the room is set up and supper is provided for a meeting that is taking place.
Making disciples involves evangelism, but it includes far more than evangelism; and there are many, many ways for the Lord’s people to participate in the Lord’s mission to make disciples. The Lord’s commission is for the church as a whole; and the members of the church fulfil his commission in lots of different ways, depending on the gifts and abilities and opportunities and callings we’ve received from the Lord. And so, the Lord uses his people in different ways all around the world to make disciples and to extend his kingdom.
And Matthew’s gospel ends, not with a command, but with a promise. The Lord Jesus promises to be with his people always, to the very end of the age. Right at the beginning of the gospel, Matthew said that Christ’s birth took place to fulfil what the Lord said through the prophet that the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, who will be called Immanuel, which means God with us. And Jesus Christ, who is God, has promised to be with us always to help us and to strengthen us and to protect us until the very end of the age, when he comes again to bring us into the new heavens and earth where we’ll be with him forever.
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