One of the most important moments in a military officer’s life is their commission. It is the moment when they swear to defend their country against all enemies, foreign or domestic while upholding the rules governing their country. When officers finish their training they gather together in a public ceremony to sear their vow and receive their commission.
Both before and after the resurrection Jesus said He would meet His disciples in Galilee (see Matt. 26:32; 28:7, 10). He had called a great meeting of His followers for the purpose of commissioning them to reach the world in His name.
As a Christian do you feel that you have a personal commission or do you think that you belong to a group that does? The answer is tremendously important. With one, you see a personal responsibility to be instrumental in fulfilling a mandate. With the other, the responsibility is not felt personally and there is the belief that someone else will do the job. With this situation, the Great Commission has been taken as the Great Suggestion resulting in the Great Omission.
In the final message of Christ reported by Matthew, Jesus gives five explicit or implicit elements that are necessary for His followers to fulfill their Great commission, their supreme mission on earth-to reach the mountain peak of their calling, as it were. These essential elements may be summarized as 1) Availability, 2) Worship, 3) Submission, 4) Obedience, and 5) Power.
To fulfill our supreme mission, there must be:
1) AVAILABILITY: The Events on the Mountain: Matthew 28:16:
Matthew 28:16 [16]Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. (ESV)
The first three elements for effectively fulfilling the church’s mission are attitudes, the first of which is implied in the fact that the eleven disciples were where the Lord had told them to be.
• As someone astutely observed many years ago, as far as a believer’s service to God is concerned, the greatest ability is availability. The most talented and gifted Christian is useless to God if he is not available to be used.
Faithful discipleship always begins with simply being available to God, putting all reservations and preconceptions aside.
We are not told when or how the Lord specified the exact time and place in Galilee where they were to gather, but they were now at the particular mountain to which Jesus had directed them on some previous occasion.
• We are not told who was present when Jesus gave the Great Commission, but it seems probable that it was the group of more than five hundred that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthian 15:6.
• The fact that Matthew specifically mentions only the eleven disciples does not limit the gathering to them. As it shall become plain from this passage, the Great Commission applies to all of His church,
We are uncertain as to the exact location of this mountain. Based on Matthew 26:32, these eleven went to Galilee, for that is where Jesus has promised to meet them.
• Jesus commissioned them first from their neighborhoods. Don’t immediately put this event in the context of some far off sending. He started the commission and intended for it to start first where they were.
• Wherever exactly which mountain this was, it became a place of great sacredness, where more than five hundred of Jesus’ disciples came with their weaknesses, confusion, doubts, misgivings, and fears. They were not the most humanly capable people in the world, nor the most intelligent or powerful or influential. But they were where the Lord wanted them to be, and that obedience gave evidence of their willingness to be used in His service. Like Isaiah, in Isaiah 6:8, after his vision in the Temple:
Isaiah 6:8 [8]And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." (ESV)
• Before receiving this commission, God doesn’t want you to work everything out or think that you are now ready to go. Just like salvation, He wants you to realize that in and of yourself you are not ready. You too have questions, fears and problems.
o Don’t wait until summer is over, you get all your questions answered, or your problems are all solved before you obey this commission. He wants you right here to go right now.
Because the eleven disciples were there, they met Christ, Because they were there, they were commissioned. Because they were there, they received the Lord’s promise of His continual presence and power as they ministered to the world in His name. It all started with being available.
• Don’t think that this commission is fine for others, to fulfill. Maybe you think that this if for the corporate church to fulfill, or some other ministries, evangelists, missionaries or pastors. This is for all the disciples of Christ individually.
o The most effective way that Satan neutralizes individual Christians is to get them to believe that someone else will fulfill the commission.
To fulfill our supreme mission, there must be: 1) AVAILABILITY: Matthew 28:16, and secondly:
2) WORSHIP: The mixed reaction: Matthew 28:17-18
Matthew 28:17-18 [17]And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18]And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (ESV)
The second element implied here for effective fulfillment of the church’s mission is the attitude of genuine worship. When God is not truly worshiped, He cannot be truly served, no matter how talented, gifted, or well-intentioned His servants may be.
The moment Jesus appeared and the disciples saw Him, they worshiped Him, prostrating themselves in humble adoration before their divine Lord and Savior. When they saw the risen Jesus on the hillside, their confusion disappeared and their shattered dreams were restored. Their sorrow turned into unbelievable joy and their disillusionment into unwavering hope.
• You may have attempted to share the Gospel before and fallen flat on your face in fear, stumbling with words or distracted by other questions.
• Put your eyes back on Jesus, hear his words afresh and have faith in Him with what He is telling you to do today.
Yet, amazingly, some still doubted. As he portrayed Jesus in His divine perfection, he also portrayed Jesus’ followers, including himself, in their human imperfection.
• The word for doubt here (Distazô) refers more to hesitation than to unbelief (See esp. I. P. Ellis, “ ‘But Some Doubted,’ ” NTS 14 (1967–68): 574–80.) Perhaps, as elsewhere, something about Jesus’ appearance makes him hard to recognize at first. Perhaps they fear how he may respond to them. Perhaps their Jewish scruples are still questioning the propriety of full-fledged worship of anyone but Yahweh (Cf. L. G. Parkhurst, “Matthew 28:16–20 Reconsidered,” ExpTim 90 (1979): 179–80.) Or (most likely?) they may simply continue to exhibit an understandable confusion about how to behave in the presence of a supernaturally manifested, exalted, and holy being (Blomberg, C. (2001, c1992). Vol. 22: Matthew (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (430). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
• We approach Jesus in much the same way with this hesitation and doubt. Your relatives may doubt your abilities to evangelize, your spouse or friends, but don’t doubt what God has enabled you.
• The further we are from Jesus, the more the obstacles are. The closer we are to Jesus in knowing Him and serving out of a love for Him, the smaller our doubt becomes.
Now in:
Matthew [18]aAnd Jesus came and said to them,
As if to alleviate that doubt, Jesus graciously came and said to them. Whatever the doubt was and whoever the doubters were, as the Lord came nearer and as His familiar voice sounded in their ears once again, all uncertainty was erased.
• Bring your doubts and fears to Jesus. Pray earnestly for wisdom and courage.
• He will answer your sincere prayers, give you assurance and confidence that you have everything you need and that He will be with you in this task.
Please turn to Philippians 3
For the eleven disciples, nothing else now mattered. It made no difference where they lived, what their heritage was, what their economic or social position was, or what their nationality was. They were now in the presence of the living God.
Regardless of anything about you, one perspective enables you to receive and achieve this commission.
Philippians 3:8-16 [8]Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9]and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- [10]that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11]that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. [12]Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13]Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14]I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [15]Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. [16]Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (ESV)
• Don’t come to the mistaken idea that the unsaved will be beating down our door. If we extend a polite invitation or friendly event that should be enough.
• Look at the strength that it is called for. [11]that by any means possible, [12] press on, [13] straining forward. This is not casual ministry. It is life and death presented by radical love, with a radical call.
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 2
Some think that there are seekers out there wanting to worship God. Some wonder why people around us don’t want to worship with us.
1 Corinthians 2:12-16 [12]Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. [13]And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. [14]The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. [15]The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. [16]"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (ESV)
• The call for repentance and faith comes before worship. That is the essence and the aim of a biblical call in evangelism (Rom. 15:11).
To fulfill our supreme mission, there must be: 1) AVAILABILITY: Matthew 28:16, 2) WORSHIP: Matthew 28:17-18 and third:
3) SUBMISSION: The mandate: MATTHEW 28:18B
Matthew [18]b (And Jesus came and said to them), "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (ESV)
We saw the events on:
A. The mountain (28:16): B. The mixed reaction (28:17): Some worship him, while others still doubt. And in this final section, C. The mandate (28:18–20)
The third element for effective fulfillment of the church’s mission is another attitude, the implied attitude of submission. The focus of Jesus’ declaration here is on His sovereign lordship, but in context it also clearly relates to the believers response to His rule.
Before the Lord states the Great Commission, He establishes His divine authority to command it. It is because of His sovereign power that His followers are to have the attitude of complete, humble submission to His will.
Exousia (authority) refers to the freedom and right to speak and act as one pleases. In relation to God, that freedom and right are absolute and are only limited based on His character. The all is both reinforced and delineated by the phrase in heaven and on earth. Sovereign authority given to Jesus by His heavenly Father (see Matt. 11:27; John 3:35).
During His earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated His authority over disease and sickness (Matt. 4:23; 9:35), over demons (4:24; 8:32; 12:22), over sin (9:6), and over death (Mark 5:41–42; John 11:43–44). Jesus has authority to bring all men before the tribunal of God and to condemn them to eternal death or bring them to eternal life (John 5:27–29; 17:2). He had the authority to lay down His own life and to take it up again (John 10:18). He has the sovereign authority to rule both heaven and earth and to subjugate Satan and his demons to eternal torment in the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10). Jesus’ sovereign authority was given to Him by His Father, who “has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22), “made Him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36), and “bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10]so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11]and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).
Then, finally, in an act of adoring love and submission,
1 Corinthians 15:28 [28]When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (ESV)
Before giving the commission, Jesus first established His absolute, pervasive authority, because otherwise the command would have seemed hopelessly impossible for the disciples to fulfill, and they might have ignored it. Were it not for knowing they had the Lord’s sovereign demand as well as His resources to guide and empower them, those five hundred nondescript, powerless disciples would have been totally overwhelmed by the inconceivable task of making disciples for their Lord from among every nation on earth.
• This is where we often get stuck in evangelism. We think of our own resources, experiences and power. We see challenges that are beyond this. So far we only get this half right. We are indeed to see ourselves this way for this is the whole point of Salvation. If people came to faith because of our persuasion, charisma, charm or intelligence, then we deserve credit. But this is not salvation.
• Salvation is a sovereign act of God where he uses the base things of this word, us, with the perfection of His word, the scriptures, through the power of the Holy Spirit whereby God changes the heart of sinners to repent and believe. This is done so that Grace will be seen and praised whereby all the glory goes to God and Him alone.
In seeing our role in this part, it is in submission. Submission to the absolute sovereignty of Jesus Christ is not a believer’s option but is his supreme obligation. It is not negotiable or adjustable to one’s own particular inclinations and plans. It is rather the attitude that says with absolute sincerity, “Whatever the Lord commands, I will do.”
To fulfill our supreme mission, there must be: 1) AVAILABILITY: Matthew 28:16, 2) WORSHIP: Matthew 28:17-18, 3) SUBMISSION: MATTHEW 28:18B AND FOURTH:
4) OBEDIENCE: MATTHEW 28:19–20a
Matthew 28:19-20 [19]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, [20]teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.") (ESV)
We’ve seen: Jesus’ authority (28:18): And now: 2. Jesus’ assignment/our activity (28:19–20a):
The fourth element for effective fulfillment of the church’s mission is obedience to the Lord’s command, made possible only when the attitudes of availability, worship, and submission first characterize the believer’s life.
It was in light of His absolute, sovereign authority that Jesus commanded, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” “Because I am sovereign Lord of the universe,” Jesus was saying, “I have both the authority to command you to be My witnesses and the power to enable you to obey that command.”
• In relation to the directive to Go, “Jesus’ main focus remains on the task of all believers to duplicate themselves wherever they may be. (Blomberg, C. (2001, c1992). Vol. 22: Matthew (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (431). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
• In essence, the Greek puts it in the sense that “as you are going, make disciples”. As you are at work, shopping, exercising, going out, make disciples. Don’t think this as a call to drop everything and evangelize. That is how we unnecessarily delay the task. Christ is calling you to start where you are with what you are doing and make disciples. Don’t wait until a particular event happens, until you can clear your calendar or do something first. Right now, today, as you are doing what you are doing, make disciples. The imperative was “make disciples.” The “going” was assumed (Hughes, R. B., & Laney, J. C. (2001). Tyndale concise Bible commentary. Rev. ed. of: New Bible companion. 1990.; Includes index. The Tyndale reference library (422). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.)
• We should not try to get people to come to us corporately, by some event or action, but go to them to make disciples.
Quote: 5896 Keeping The Aquarium
Dr. Kermit Long said: “With all our education, our fine buildings, our image of the church, we are doing less to win people to Christ than our unschooled forefathers did. We’re no longer fishers of men, but keepers of the aquarium, and we spend most of our time swiping fish from each other’s bowl.” (Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.)
Therefore shows that the Great Commission rests on the authority of Christ.
o Whenever you see the word therefore, ask what it is there, for.
o This one word asks you to take all of Christ’s teaching and put it into practice. This one word is the application of the entirety of the Christian’s High Calling. Christ is in essence saying, “Because I have said….. put this into practice and disciple others to do so likewise.”
Please turn to Genesis 12
o We are to go therefore “because your Lord has do ordered; because he has promised to impart all the needed strength and because he is worthy of the homage, faith and obedience of all men”. (William Hendriksen: Matthew: New Testement Commentary: Baker Book House. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2004. p.999)
• While vv. 18–20 are commonly known as the Great Commission, they should not be thought of as the first call for world evangelism.
Genesis 12:1-3 [12:1]Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. [2]And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. [3]I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (ESV)
• Scripture from the earliest records, shows the plan of God to use His chosen people to spread His message of redemption and hope.
• The Great Commission central to all of scripture. It is not an optional ad-on for a professional few, but directed plural, to all Christians in general.
The root meaning of the term Mathçteuô (make disciples) refers to believing and learning. In this context it relates to those who place their trust in Jesus Christ and follow Him in lives of continual learning and obedience. “If you abide in My word,” Jesus said, “then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31). It should be noted that some disciples were not true (see John 6:66).
• This is not to just seek a verbal profession, walk an isle or sign a card to add someone to a role. It is to have someone to be a follower of Christ in mind, heart and will. This is someone who remains or abides in genuine faith or trust in Christ (Jn. 8:31).
• The verb “make disciples” also commands a kind of evangelism that does not stop after someone makes a profession of faith. The ministries of the church overall must reflect a healthy balance of “outreach” and “inreach.” Individuals who have differing gifts should be encouraged to expend most of their energies developing their strengths, whether evangelizing or nurturing, speaking or serving. Nevertheless, Jesus calls all Christians to be both witnesses and disciplers. (Blomberg, C. (2001, c1992). Vol. 22: Matthew (electronic ed.). Logos Library System ; The New American Commentary (431). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
• Apprentice might be an equivalent term. A disciple attached himself to a teacher, identified with him, learned from him, and lived with him. He learned, not simply by listening, but also by doing.
• When a person genuinely confesses Christ as Lord and Savior, he is immediately saved, immediately made a disciple, and immediately filled with the Holy Spirit.
Quote: Warren Wiersbe in commenting on the Church today said: “In many respects, we have departed from this pattern. In most churches, the congregation pays the pastor to preach, win the lost, and build up the saved—while the church members function as cheerleaders (if they are enthusiastic) or spectators. The “converts” are won, baptized, and given the right hand of fellowship, then they join the other spectators. How much faster our churches would grow, and how much stronger and happier our church members would be, if each one were discipling another believer. The only way a local church can “be fruitful and multiply” (instead of growing by “additions”) is with a systematic discipleship program. This is the responsibility of every believer, and not just a small group who have been “called to go.”.( Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire ’BE’ series"--Jkt. (Mt 28:16). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.)
The disciples were to see others become learners or followers of the Savior—from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue: that is the essence of the command to make disciples of all nations. It is not a focus on particular political states but various peoples in general (Lk. 2:31; Ps. 117:1).
• Notice the four “alls” connected with the Great Commission: all authority; all nations; all things; always. (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Mt 28:19). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
Quote: In putting things in perspective, one commentator noted:
“Coca-Cola has fulfilled their own version of the Great Commission many times over. They have virtually put a bottle of Coke in everyone’s hand. If they can do it with a soft drink, we can certainly do it with the gospel”. (Green, M. P. (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching : Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House)
The specific requirements Jesus gives for making disciples involve three participles: going (rendered here as go which we just looked at), baptizing, and teaching.
The second requirement for making disciples is that of baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. As we saw a few weeks ago, as instituted by Christ, baptism became an outward act of identification with Him through faith, a visible, public testimony that henceforth one belonged to Him.
• Just as we saw in the practice of the early Church in Acts 2, the worship of a genuine disciple is through Baptism and communion. The reason why Baptism is mentioned here before teaching is like the situation we saw in Acts 2 with communion, Baptism occurs once. Communion and teaching continues throughout this life.
• Baptism is to be made in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not giving a ritual formula. Those words are rather a rich and comprehensive statement of the wonderful union that believers have with the whole Godhead.
• In His statement here about baptism, Jesus again clearly placed Himself on an equal level with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit. He also emphasizes the unity of the Trinity by declaring that baptism should be done in Their one name (singular), not in Their separate names. As it does in many parts of Scripture, the phrase the name here embodies the fullness of a person, encompassing all that he is, has, and represents. When someone is baptized, the believer is identified with everything that God is, has, and represents.
The third requirement for making disciples of all nations is that of teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. The church’s mission is not simply to convert but to teach. The convert is called to a life of obedience to the Lord, and in order to obey Him it is obviously necessary to know what God requires. As already noted, a disciple is by definition a learner and follower. Therefore, studying, understanding, and obeying “the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27) is the lifelong task of every true disciple.
Thanking God for the salvation of believers in Rome, Paul said to them,
Romans 6:17 [17]But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, (ESV)
To fulfill our supreme mission, there must be: 1) AVAILABILITY: Matthew 28:16, 2) WORSHIP: Matthew 28:17-18, 3) SUBMISSION: MATTHEW 28:18B 4) OBEDIENCE: MATTHEW 28:19–20a and finally
5) POWER: Matthew 28:20b
Matthew 28:20b [20] (teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.) And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (ESV)
We’ve seen: 1. Jesus’ authority (28:18). 2. Jesus’ assignment (28:19–20a):. And now: 3. Jesus’ assurance (28:20b):
As crucial as are the first four elements for effective fulfillment of the church’s mission, they would be useless without the last, namely, the power that the Lord Jesus Christ offers through His continuing presence with those who belong to Him. Neither the attitudes of availability, worship, and submission, nor faithful obedience to God’s Word would be possible apart from Christ’s own power working in and through us.
Idou (behold/lo) is an interjection frequently used in the New Testament to call attention to something of special importance. Egô eimi (I am) this form was how God the Father identified Himself and Christ repeatedly did. He is identifying Himself with deity. He now promises that he will be with you always, to the end of the age.”
• He was now about to leave them; his bodily presence was now to be removed from them, and this grieved them; but he assures them of his spiritual presence, which was more expedient for them than his bodily presence could be; I am with you; In Matt. 1:23, He was called “Immanuel”—God with us, and here He reaffirms that name. He is with us through His Spirit, in His Word, by His providential care, and with His divine presence.( Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (101). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.)
Putting all this together, when Jesus explained in John 16:7 it was to His followers advantage for Him to bodily go away, so the Holy Spirit would come upon them, He explained:
Acts 1:8 [8]But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (ESV) (cf. Acts 4:33; 1 Cor. 2:4; 1 Thes. 1:5)
• In Human form Jesus was limited to being with one group at one time. Now, with them through the Godhead of the Holy Spirit, He would be able to be present with all the scattered groups of Christians all at the same time.
• Christ was declaring Himself to be a very present help,’’ Ps. 46:1. Christ was now sending them to set up his kingdom in the world, which was a great undertaking. And then doth he seasonably promise them his presence with them, [1.] To carry them on through the difficulties they were likely to meet with. "I am with you, to bear you up, to plead your cause; with you in all your services, in all your sufferings, to bring you through them with comfort and honor. In the pulpit, in the prison, lo, I am with you.’’ [2.] To succeed this great undertaking; "Lo, I am with you, to make your ministry effectual for the discipling of the nations, for the pulling down of the strong holds of Satan, and the setting up of stronger for the Lord Jesus.’’. (Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Mt 28:16). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
Please turn to Luke 24
• With Christ bodily leaving, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a great power and enabling is present for witnessing. Just like the summons to the mountain in their region, Jesus wanted them not to immediately leave for some far off region, but to be His witness first where they are. Show the life changing power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ first where you are.
Luke 24:46-48 [46]and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, [47]and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. [48]You are witnesses of these things. (ESV)
This indwelling presence is promised finally: Always literally for “all the days.” For the individual believer that means all the days of our life. But in its fullest meaning for the church at large it means to the end of the age, that is, until the Lord returns bodily to judge the world and to rule His earthly kingdom. (See Matt. 13:37–50, where Christ uses the phrase “end of the age” three times to designate His second coming.)
• Since this is a directive to the end of the age it does not just apply to the original hearers but to all future generations until Christ comes again.
Jesus will not visibly return to earth and display Himself before the whole world in His majestic glory and power until the end of the age. But until that time, throughout this present age, He will always be with those who belong to Him, leading them and empowering them to fulfill His Great Commission.
To help us put our calling into perspective, Christ made a comparison and an assurance:
Hebrews 13:5 [5]Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." [6]So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (ESV)
• Let us not be ensnared with the distractions or fears of life. Let us not fear what others may initially think. Nothing—no hardness of others, no ridicule, no hostility of government or ruling power— can limit the power of the Gospel or prevail against those who obey Christ’s command (Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (629). Wheaton: Victor Books.).
• We too often put our fears and doubts forward without realizing that God works before us in ways we often don’t realize. He often prepares a field before we come to plant. We have the authority and power of God for our task. This task is His task and He promised it will not fail. He promised as we saw in Matthew 16:18 That “He will build His Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it”.
Illustration: 2000 Lo! I Am With Thee
“David Livingstone had spent sixteen years in Africa. The white man was surrounded by hostile, angry natives in the heart of Africa. He was in danger of losing his life and contemplated fleeing in the night. But something happened that changed his mind and gave him peace in his perilous situation. He recorded it in his diary that January 14, 1856: and I quote: “Felt much turmoil of spirit in prospect of having all my plans for the welfare of this great region and this teeming population knocked on the head by savages tomorrow. But I read that Jesus said: “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” It is the word of a gentleman of the most strict and sacred honor, so there’s an end to it! I will not cross furtively tonight as I intended. Should such a man as I flee? Nay, verily, I shall take observations for latitude and longitude tonight, though they may be the last. I feel quite calm now, thank God!” (Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.)
(Format note: Outline and some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (1989). Matthew (328). Chicago: Moody Press.)
