Knowing The Word in Matthew 28:16-20

The Great Commission

[The defeat of Golgotha is transformed into the triumph of Galilee]

16 Now the eleven disciples [Judas is dead] went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [The wider mission to the world is launched where Jesus’ initial mission was launched. This time on a mountain, giving out the command of the Great Commission as Moses gave the commandments from Mount Sinai.] 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted [denoting a state of uncertainty and hesitation rather than unbelief]. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [Jesus is the universal sovereign whom was first introduced as king of the Jews by the wise men in 2:1-11. His words come from Daniel 7:14. The prophecy that the Son of Man would be enthroned as ruler of the world is fulfilled in the resurrection. His universal lordship now demands a universal mission:] 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations [the kingdom of Daniel 7:14 requires disciples of all nations], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always [he is Emmanuel, God with us], to the end of the age.” [The Great Commission is the culmination of the theme we have noted throughout the Gospel, the calling of a people of God far wider than that of the OT, in which membership was based on race rather than a relationship with God through the Messiah. By making disciples, Jesus calls for personal allegiance to him. Baptizing and teaching are participles dependent on the “make” disciples. They specify what is involved in discipleship. While John’s baptism was a preparatory one, Jesus institutes one with fuller meaning. It is a commitment to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who were all at Jesus’ baptism. Jesus now takes his place along with the Father and Spirit as the object of worship. The experience of God in these three Persons is the essential basis of discipleship. At the same time the singular noun “name” underlines the unity of the three Persons. Up until this point, Jesus had been the teacher. Now the disciples take over his role of teaching. They are not to teach abstract ideas but what he has commanded them. To make disciples, then, is not complete unless it leads to a life-commitment of observing Jesus’ commandments.]