Good morning! Last week I spoke from John 6, and we went through the story of Jesus walking on water after the feeding of the 5000. We spoke about being aligned with God’s will, and the continual need that we have both as the church and as individuals to make sure that we are realigning ourselves with God whenever the potholes of life bump us off track.
So for the next two weeks, we are going to be looking at the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28. This is really important, because when we talk about aligning ourselves with God’s will, Matthew 28 is an actual command that Jesus gave his disciples to follow, until “the end of the age” according to the passage, so this is something that we definitely need to be concerned about as the church today as well.
Sometimes we forget that the cross wasn’t the end of Jesus’ time on earth. After Jesus rose from the grave, he visited a number of people and did a number of things, and eventually, when it was time for him to leave and go to heaven, he gave a command to his disciples, and this command is what drove the early followers of Jesus to share the good news with the world, to spread the love of Jesus and to allow Jesus to build his church through them. It is such an important command, both for the early church, and for the church today. So this is what we are going to look at for the next two weeks.
So let’s read these two verses, and if you have your bible with you, I am reading from Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So the first thing we need to do is look at the context of this Gospel, and I won’t spend too much time here. All four gospels were written for different purposes, and to different audiences. Understanding these factors for the gospel of Matthew will give us insight into the wording that is used here, how it was intended, and how it applies for us. So Matthew wrote his Gospel to the Greek speaking Jews of his day, and really what he was trying to do was make a case for them as to why Jesus IS the promised Messiah, and that he has fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. You have to remember that in the first century, there were many people claiming to be the messiah, and so to them, Jesus was just another person doing the same. So Matthew really works to build a case for the Jews of his day. This is why Matthew starts off with Jesus’ ancestry at the beginning of his book, to show that Jesus’ bloodlines go all the way back to King David. And this theme runs through Matthew, there is a lot of looking back at events and scripture that show Jesus fulfilling prophecy, which we will see a little bit today in our passage.
So going back to the passage, there is a key word in the great commission that is very important to recognize when studying ANY part of the bible. Usually, when reading the Great Commission, we focus on the GO aspect, make disciples, baptize them and teach them. However, we often don’t recognize that verse 19 started by saying, “Go therefore” in the original greek. There is a cute rhyme they teach in classes on exegetical study, “when you see the word therefore, you have to go back and see what it’s there for.” And the idea is that whatever comes BEFORE the word therefore in a passage, directly impacts and influences what comes after. You need to understand what comes first before you can understand what comes after. In this case, what comes first is the statement by Jesus, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” THEREFORE, GO. So next week we are going to focus on what comes after the word GO. But THIS week, I’m going to talk about The Authority of Jesus. Because of the word therefore, we must understand what this Authority of Jesus means before we can fully understand the Great Commission, the GO part of the passage. Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. But what does that mean, and what does it mean for us when it comes to the Great Commission, to go out into the world and make disciples as the church? To explore this and to understand it better, today we are going to look at three big ways that Jesus has expressed his authority, to help us fully understand and appreciate the Authority of which he speaks, the first of which is his Authority as Creator and Sustainer.
Something we don’t talk about often, is the fact that all Creation was made through Jesus Christ. John 1 says this, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Hebrews 1:10 says about Jesus, “You Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the Earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. And then In Colossians 1:16-17, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” So not only was Jesus active in creating all that has been created, He also holds everything together, like the glue of the universe. This is one very important part of the Authority of Jesus.
The second way he has expressed his authority is through his incarnation, his Authority Incarnate. As a man, Jesus expressed his divine authority in many, many ways. I won’t even try to cover all of them, but let’s see if I can hit a few. I won’t read the full stories because these are a bit longer. But first, He definitely demonstrated his Authority over Nature during his time among us. He calmed the sea of Galilee by rebuking the wind and the waves, in Matthew 8, which demonstrated his authority over weather and storms. In Mark 11, he came across a fig tree that had leaves, but no fruit. He cursed it, and it withered and died. This was an “object lesson” of sorts to describe Israel as a nation with lush green leaves, but that was fruitless. This demonstrated his Authority over plants and trees. You may also remember the story about Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. Also in Mark 11, Jesus tells two of his disciples to go get that donkey and bring it to him, and he specifically mentions that the donkey had not been broken, which means it was not tamed, nobody had ever sat on it or ridden it. This demonstrated his authority over animals as well. All of these things demonstrated his Authority over all Created nature.
He demonstrated Authority over Sickness and Death. There are so many accounts of Jesus healing people who were sick, and I will not even begin to go through them all, however, there is one story about a man who was healed that I have to mention. In Mark 2:1-10, Jesus was speaking in a home, and a man was brought to Jesus for healing, and he happened to be paralyzed. Jesus says to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven”. Some of the people watching were thinking to themselves, that's blasphemy, who can forgive sins but God? Jesus knows what they are thinking, and so he says, “Which is easier, to say to this guy that his sins are forgiven, or to say get up and walk?” And then he says this: “So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins - I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home”. And then this man is immediately healed. This demonstrates not ONLY his Authority over sickness, but also his divine right and authority to forgive sins.
There are three times (Not including his own resurrection) when Jesus raises people from the dead. The first is Matthew 9, Jairus’s daughter. She had just died, and Jesus raised her from the dead. The second is in Luke 7, the widow’s son, who is being taken out of the city, presumably to be buried. And the third is Jesus’ friend Lazarus, who had been dead for days. So even before Jesus himself died, he demonstrated MULTIPLE times that he has authority over death.
He also demonstrated authority over the Spiritual realm during his time here on earth, both angels and demons. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells his disciples that he will send forth HIS angels to gather the causes and snares of sin and destroy them in the end times. So this demonstrates Jesus has authority over Angels. In Mark 5, we see demons beg Jesus not to torture it. Jesus then casts the demons into a herd of pigs. Here we see that Jesus has absolute Authority over demons, and can make them do as he pleases.
So we can clearly see the extent of the Authority that Jesus has, as Creator and Sustainer of the world, and as the incarnate deity, after he came to earth as a man, as God in the flesh. But the Authority that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 28, the authority and power that has been GIVEN to him, is the Authority that he has been given because he rose from the dead, This is his Authority in Resurrection.
Because Jesus rose from the grave, he has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, that is what he says in Matthew 28:18, before he gives his commission to the church. This is displayed in more than a few places in scripture, but I think the best way that this is displayed is in Philippians 2:6-11, which says the following: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
So there is that THEREFORE again. And if you look at this passage, it is very easy to interpret the meaning. BECAUSE Jesus came to earth and did not cling to heaven, but instead he humbled himself and became a man, took on the nature of a servant, and allowed himself to be murdered in the most brutal way man could contrive. THEREFORE, BECAUSE he did this, he is now exalted. He is given the highest place, a name above all other names. At his name, every knee will bow and acknowledge his Lordship.
Now, I do think it is important to note that this does not mean that Jesus is above God the Father. This is to the GLORY of the father according to this passage. 1 Corinthians 15:27 touches on this, “For he (God the father) has put everything under his (Jesus’) feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself (God the father), who put everything under Christ.” So God the Father has put EVERYTHING under Christ Jesus, not including himself, but Jesus rules and has AUTHORITY over all. It is also important to remember the trinity at this point. Because they are separate, God the Father can exalt Jesus over all the universe, but because they are ONE, this still Exalts God the Father, because in a sense, he is exalting his own self? If that makes sense. The Trinity is tricky to wrap your head around, but the important thing to remember is that even in this, God the Father is still over all, even though Jesus has been given Authority over all.
We see this in Ephesians 1:19-22, “These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might, which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church”. Jesus is given rule and Authority over all, but he is still at the RIGHT hand of God in heaven. And this is all because of the resurrection.
Matthew 28:18 (The start of the great commission), is actually a an allusion by Jesus to Daniel 7, which says, “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
This is another prophecy that has been fulfilled in Jesus. It also has eschataelogical implications (eschatology is just a fancy word for the study of the end times). In Revelation 5, we see a scene where there is this scroll with seven seals, and nobody in heaven and on earth was able to open the scroll. But then there is this Lamb that represents Jesus, that looks like it has been slain. This Lamb is able to open the scroll, and these elders and creatures worship the lamb, and sing that He is worthy to open it, because He purchased for God men from every tribe and nation, and made them a kingdom and priests for God. Then everyone sings that he is worthy to receive power and wisdom and might and Honor and glory, and that his dominion should go on forever. In many ways it is a scene of the fulfillment of Daniel 7
So it is obvious through scripture that Jesus has been given absolute Authority through his resurrection. He creates and sustains the universe, yet he humbled himself and came to earth to pay for our sins with his own blood. Because of this, he is given All Authority and Power, because of his resurrection.
So with all of this in mind, let’s go all the way back to the beginning, back to Matthew 28:18. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, GO.”
So to wrap this all together in one package, and to bring this all to a conclusion: What does all of this mean for us? What does it mean in regards to the great commission, for his command for us to go and make disciples? Here are two things I want you to take away from this long ramble of scripture and theology:
Jesus has ABSOLUTE authority and power over heaven and earth, both because of who he is, and because of what he has done. He created and sustains the universe, He can calm storms, turn water into wine, walk on water, bring the dead back to life. He also can take your sins, pay for them with his own blood, and satisfy God's absolute holiness and justness, so that we can be in his presence.
It is on THIS Authority, HIS Authority, that we go into the world and make disciples. I think it is key that we understand that while this is a command, Jesus is not pulling rank when he cites his authority before commanding us to go, he is giving us a REASON to go, and the CONFIDENCE to go, and the reassurance that while the battle rages on, he is sending us out as messenger to tell the WORLD that the war has already been won. He has the AUTHORITY to defend us, to subdue enemies, to redeem his people, to gather a church through us, his disciples, who he has purchased with his own blood. They might call us crazy, they might laugh at us and mock us, they might beat and torture us, they might even kill us, but Jesus has already won and our hope is in him, and through HIM who has been given ALL AUTHORITY AND POWER, we have nothing to fear.
So now that we have really gotten a grasp on the Authority of Jesus, and of the implications of his Authority for us in the context of the Great Commission, we come to verses 19-20. Where do we go? What do we do when we go? Do we ALL go, or do SOME of us go? That is what we are going to talk about next week. For this week, it is my hope that we will all take some time this week just to ponder over who Jesus is and what he has done, the authority he has been given, and the confidence that we have in him BECAUSE of who he is and what he has done.
