EVERYONE Going
Matthew 28:16-20
Rev. Brian Bill
May 20-21, 2023
Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishers. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were hungry. Week after week, month after month, and year after year those who called themselves fishers held meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. They carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be the primary task of fishers.
They continually searched for improved methods of fishing, and for new and better definitions of fishing. They loved slogans such as “Fishing is the task of every Fisher.” They sponsored special meetings called “Fisher’s Campaigns.” They held congresses to discuss fishing, to promote fishing and to hear about the new methods of fishing and whether any new bait had been discovered.
These fishers built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisher and every fisher should fish. However, there was one thing they didn’t do...and that was fish.
In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishers to other places where there were many fish. The board was formed by those who had the great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing in faraway streams and lakes where many fish of different colors lived. But one thing they didn’t do was...fish.
Large, elaborate, and expensive training centers were built to teach people how to fish. Over the years courses were offered on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology. But no matter how well they taught, one thing the good Dr. Fishers forgot was to...fish.
Now it’s true that many of the fishers sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. Some received the ridicule of people who made fun of their fishing clubs. So, imagine how hurt some of them were when, one day, someone suggested that those who didn’t catch fish were really not fishers – no matter how much they claimed to be. How can someone be a fisher if he isn’t fishing? (adapted from John Drescher).
We’re finishing up our EVERYONE series this weekend as we’ve been challenged to gather, grow, give, and go with the gospel, all for the glory of God. Here’s a summary of what we’ve learned.
• Gather: The church is God’s plan A. There is no plan B.
• Grow: Spiritual growth is intentional, not automatic.
• Give: No one can give everything, but everyone can give something.
Here’s our main idea for today: The last commission of Jesus must be the first mission of the church.
Our text today is Matthew 28:18-20 but before we get there, let’s set the context. After Jesus was raised from the dead, He appeared to several women and the disciples. Shortly after this, we read in verses 16-17: “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted.”
Even though the resurrection happened in Jerusalem, Jesus directed the disciples to meet Him on a mountain in Galilee, a journey of 90 miles to the north. This was predicted in Matthew 26:32: “But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.” Galilee is an appropriate setting for the Great Commission because it was also called, “Galilee of the Gentiles” in Matthew 4:15.
Don’t miss this. If the disciples wanted to see Jesus again, they had to go to Galilee. Because the disciples obeyed Jesus, they put themselves in position to hear Him make a monumental statement from the mountain. Listen. We’ll never know the person of Jesus and we won’t know His plans if we’re not obedient. If you want to maintain communion with Him, you must strive to obey His commands. Obedience is the key to fulfilling God’s plans for our lives.
The disciples had two different responses:
• Some worshiped. When the disciples saw Jesus, they hit the dirt in worship. The idea behind this word is they prostrated themselves in praise.
• Some waffled. The word for “doubt” means, “to be divided in half, uncertain, wavering in hesitation.” It was used of a person standing where two ways meet, resulting in hesitation or indecision.
I find it fascinating that Jesus didn’t rebuke them for their doubts, nor did He reject the worship of those who revered Him. While some found great delight in Him, others doubted Him. Most of them were focused and faithful but some were filled with fear. We’re a lot like that, aren’t we? Sometimes we’re devoted and other times we doubt. Write this down: Doubt doesn’t disqualify you from disciple-making. You don’t have to remove all doubt before Jesus will use you. One of my favorite verses in this regard is in Mark 9:24 when a father declared, “I believe; help my unbelief.”
The Great Commission
Before we consider the passage known as the Great Commission, I want to share the stunning results from a Barna study.
• When asked if churchgoers had “heard of the Great Commission,” 51% said they did not recognize this term.
• 25% said they heard of the “Great Commission” but don’t know what it means.
• Shockingly, 76% have no clue what the Great Commission is all about.
• Sadly, only 17% have heard of the Great Commission and know what it means.
To be clear, the Great Commission is found in all four gospels but for our purposes we’ll be in Matthew 28:18-20. Let’s stand and receive our marching orders: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
I see three parts of His commission that will propel us to participate in His mission.
1. Believe the claim of His authority. We see this in verse 18: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” Before giving the doubters an assignment, Jesus made sure they knew He had the authority to do so.
• Scope: The word “all” refers to “totality” and “authority” speaks of power. Jesus has the right and the might to do whatever He decides to do.
• Sphere: In “heaven and earth.”
• Sovereignty: “has been given to me.”
One Dutch theologian captured this well: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”
Have you’ve given Jesus first place in your life? Is He prominent or is He preeminent? Do you label Him as your Lord but live your life only according to what you like?
In his book, Multiply, Francis Chan writes (BTW, our Thursday morning men’s group has been studying this):
“Imagine Jesus walking up to the first disciples and saying something like this, ‘Hey, would you guys mind identifying yourselves with Me in some way? Don’t worry. I don’t actually care if you do anything I do or that you change your lifestyle at all. I’m just looking for people who are willing to say they believe in Me and call themselves Christians…the call to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is open to everyone, but we don’t get to write our own job description. If Jesus is Lord, then He sets the agenda.”
Jesus has all authority, He’s large and in charge, and He’s in control. The number one requirement in fulfilling the Great Commission is to make sure you are following Jesus as a devoted follower. Besides, if you’re not walking with Him, you’ll feel too guilty to be a witness for Him.
The last commission of Jesus must be the first mission of the church.
2. Obey the command assigned. Once we believe the claim of His authority, we’re ready to obey His assignment as found in verses 19-20a: “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
As Jesus hovers between heaven and earth, He has one last thing to say to His followers. This is not a suggestion or an option, though for many of us, we could call it the “Great Omission.” This is His purpose and plan for the church. Let’s look at this command phrase-by-phrase.
“Go…” This is an active verb which means, “to transport oneself; to go from one place to another” or “in your going.” In other words, we are to make disciples in the natural course of our lives, wherever we go. To go is an authoritative command that expects action – as we go, and we will go, this is what we should do. We must move and not stand still! We’re to be active, not inert.
Noah was told to go into the ark. Abram was to go to the land. Moses was to go and bring the Israelites out. This is reinforced in Matthew 28:7 when the angel told the women: “Go quickly…” and in verse 10 when Jesus urged them to: “Go and tell my brothers to go…” Interestingly, the first two letters of “Gospel” are “G-O.”
Here’s the process I go through when I’m seeking to have a gospel conversation with someone. Perhaps you’ll find it helpful.
• Be intentional and look for someone to talk to. Say a silent prayer and ask God to guide you.
• Take the initiative and start a conversation. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying hello and asking someone how their day is going.
• Expect some awkwardness. The person may be uncomfortable and that might make you feel awkward. Plus, the evil one will try to distract and disorient.
• Ask questions. Rebecca Pippert, in her book Out of the Saltshaker, says that good evangelism is 60% asking questions, 30% building intrigue, and 10% sharing. Here are four “go-to” questions I often use:
- Where would you say you are on your spiritual journey?
- If you were to die tonight, do you know for sure that you’d go to heaven?
- When you die and are standing before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ what would you say?
- How can I pray for you?
• Look for a bridge to the gospel.
• Follow the nudge of the Holy Spirit.
• Give them a gospel resource like Anchor for the Soul, Soul Satisfaction, or an Edgewood invite card.
Recently, I was at a Walgreen’s and asked the cashier how her day was going. She told me she was having a bad day. I told her I was sorry and asked if something had happened. She told me it started bad, and it only got worse at work. I told her I would pray for her when I left, and she quickly told me she prays all the time. To which I asked, “Oh, are you a Christ-follower?” After an awkward pause, she responded, “Well, I go to church…sometimes…but not that much. I’m not a holy roller. What about you?” I smiled and said, “Well, I go to church quite a bit…I’m a pastor.”
It’s been my practice for over a year to respond to the common question, “How are you?” with, “Better than I deserve.” This has opened up a number of gospel conversations, especially one time when someone asked what I deserved and I said, “Hell.” Try it out and see what happens.
An Edgewood member used this response when he was at the gym one day. Listen to how intentional he was: “I pray daily that the Lord will give me at least one person to whom I can talk to about Him…today it seemed like I wouldn’t get that opportunity. Then a man came into the locker room and after making eye contact, asked how I was doing. Instead of the canned response of ‘OK,’ I used, ‘Better than I deserve.’ That response launched a conversation about the Lord and church.” When I called this member to give him some props, he shared some profound insight: “The more open we are, the more opportunities come to us.” He told me he prays a simple prayer every day: “Lord, let me see everyone as somebody Christ died for and wants to spend eternity with.”
Another Edgewood member told me he was at Logomarcinos before Valentine’s Day to pick up some candy for his wife: “As the attendant reached for the heart-shaped boxes, they all came tumbling down! A fellow next to me said, ‘gravity’ to which I replied it is usually a good thing. He answered back that if it were off just a fraction we wouldn’t exist. I replied yes, and the same is true for the entire earth, which is perfectly designed. I added I believed God made the world. He said, ‘What church do you go to?’ I said, ‘Edgewood.’ He held out his hand and said, ‘I do, too!” I love how both of these guys were trying to witness to each other while buying chocolate for their wives!
Another Edgewood member passed along an article called, “Your Tribe, Your Mission” by Ron Hutchcraft: “People from a tribe are the key to reaching people in that tribe…I’m convinced that tribal rescue is the key to breaking through to countless people in every culture and every subculture. Moms listen to moms. Soccer players listen to soccer players. Hunters listen to hunters. Cancer survivors listen to cancer survivors…you’re in an occupational tribe, an educational tribe, a generational tribe, a neighborhood tribe…you’ve been positioned by God to represent Christ in your tribe as no one else could…you are a tribal ambassador to reach your tribe for Christ…just think what could happen in our country if every believer claimed their tribe for Christ.” In light of that, Beth and I are going to our block party Sunday afternoon. This is probably the 10th one we’ve had with our neighbors.
Because God is a going God, going also means crossing tribal boundaries – going across the street, going to have dinner with an unbeliever, going to the west end, going beyond one’s comfort zone, or going cross-culturally to another country.
“Make disciples…” A disciple is literally a “learner,” one who is being mentored by the Master. It also denotes “one who follows another’s teaching.” Thus, a disciple is a life-long learner who lives out what he or she is learning from the teacher. There is one main verb, one main command in this passage and that is to “make disciples.” This is our singular imperative.
“Of all nations…” When Jesus first sent out His disciples in Matthew 10:5-6, He told them to go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But now He inaugurates an explicitly worldwide mission. This was not only new and novel to many Jews, even though it was taught in the Old Testament; it had become abhorrent for them to think about going to pagan lands.
The task of making disciples must extend to the ends of the earth. The word “nations” is the Greek ethne, where we get the word ethnic and refers to “people groups,” not just the 195 countries in the world today.
Ponder this:
It is estimated that of the 8 billion people alive in the world today, 3.4 billion of them live in unreached people groups with little or no access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According to Joshua Project, there are approximately 17,428 unique people groups in the world with more than 7,400 of them considered unreached (over 42% of the world’s population!). The vast majority (85%) of these least reached groups exist in the 10/40 window and less than 10% of missionary work is done among these people.
We’re to make disciples of everyone, everywhere, at all times. This requires dedicated disciples who will go and others who will stand behind them with their prayers and pocketbooks. One pastor reminds us there are only three responses to the Great Commission: “Go, send, or disobey.”
One of our EVERYONE vision points is for everyone to engage with at least one Edgewood missionary. To make that easier, we’ve printed booklets containing the names and contact information for our Go Team partners. You can pick one up on a table in either lobby after the service.
I fear we as American Christians have lost sight of the fact that approximately 66,000 people worldwide die without Christ every day and wake up in the horrors of Hell. Sadly, for many today, Jesus is still unknown, unacknowledged, and unadored.
We have two young Edgewood members serving Christ in unreached countries right now.
Let’s pray for them now.
Here’s some good news from Revelation 5:9: “…and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Since there will be believers from every people group in heaven, we must go with the gospel and develop disciples to the ends of the earth.
“Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is a sign of separation from the world and identification with the triune God, where we pledge allegiance to the Almighty. What a joy to have six disciples get baptized this weekend!
“Teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.” We are not interested in just filling heads; we want filled up hearts and faithful hands and feet that obey. Information about Christ must lead to transformation by Christ. We’re to teach people to “observe” all that Jesus has commanded, meaning a lifetime of learning, and living out what the Lord teaches us. One Greek dictionary explains it as “persisting in obedience.”
Christ came near and they knew Him. Now He tells them to go far and make Him known. Now that we know, we must grow and go so we can make Him known to those who don’t know. We’re to be a going church for a coming Christ.
The last commission of Jesus must be the first mission of the church.
3. Embrace the comfort assured. Knowing it is a daunting task to make disciples of all nations, Jesus quickly promises His presence in the last part of verse 20: “And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.” The word “behold” means, “See, pay close attention.” The word “with” means, “remaining in the midst of.” And “always” means, “the whole of every day.” Notice He doesn’t say He will be with us, He says He is with us personally right now and forever.
Matthew began His gospel introducing Immanuel, God with us. Jesus is not only with us when we gather in His name, but when we go in His name. Because we have His assurance that He is with us, we can complete His authoritative assignment to go and make disciples. In that sense, we don’t go for Him, we go with Him.
Ray Pritchard puts it precisely: “You’ll never know if Jesus has the power to help you until you really need His help. You’ll never know if Jesus is with you until you decide to go somewhere in His name.”
Here we see His authority to send us and also His faithful assurance to be with us. The entire commission is bookended with Jesus’ sovereign power (“all authority) and His sweet presence (“I’ll be with you”). He is omnipotent and omnipresent.
According to a Lifeway study on evangelism, most Christians say they’re ready, willing, and praying to have conversations about their faith with others, but many admit they haven’t gotten around to actually having those conversations recently. John Sorenson, president of Evangelism Explosion, interpreted the results and made this observation: “Now, perhaps more than ever, people are open to conversations about faith, yet this study reveals few Christians actually take the opportunity to engage in personal evangelism.”
• 1 in 7 (14%) say they try to bring up faith in conversations with everyone.
• More than a quarter (28%) look for natural opportunities to bring up faith.
• 66% of those who are religiously unaffiliated say they are at least open to having a conversation about the Christian faith with a friend.
• More than 2 in 5 Christians (42%) say sharing the gospel with a non-believer is scary.
Earlier this month, I listened to an interview on VOM Radio with Brother Maksud from the Middle East. He was born into a Muslim family. When talking about his fears of evangelism, he said, “If you don’t overcome fear, you will never preach the gospel. You always hide yourself…you will always be uncomfortable with being a follower of Jesus. When I learned that to suffer for Jesus is an honor, my shame and fear disappeared.”
Every time you go with the gospel, every time you strive to live out the Great Commission, every time you have that awkward spiritual conversation, every time you seek to disciple someone, Jesus is there with you, and He’ll be with you until the end of the age. You can count on the promise of His presence! We are never closer to Jesus than when we’re doing what He commanded us to do.
Notice the word “all” is used four times in this passage.
• Jesus possesses “all” authority.
• He sends us to “all” nations.
• We’re to teach people to obey “all” He has commanded.
• When we make disciples, He is with us “always.”
Making disciples here and among the nations is not a “program” of Edgewood. Discipleship is the primary purpose for our existence. It’s not one of our many ministries; it is our ministry mandate. It’s for everyone, not just the pastors, and it must start in our hearts and then be fleshed out in our homes. Parents are called to make disciples of their children and grandparents are called to disciple grandchildren. While decisions for Christ are important, the true metric is how many disciples of Christ we are making. As we’ve said before, it’s not so much our seating capacity, but our sending capacity that is most important.
Our goal this year is for EVERYONE at Edgewood to reach one person for Christ. Who’s your one? Here are some other goals under our “Go” value.
• Art of Neighboring. We’re considering this for an elective later in the year.
• Easter Community Outreach. We did this with five other churches.
• Prayers for missionaries in each service. We’ve been doing this.
• Evangelism training. We’re hoping to get this scheduled.
• Anchor for the Soul weekend. We’re encouraging everyone to pick up at least one copy of Anchor in English or Spanish and give it away to someone between now and the end of June. We’ve also put some “Soul Satisfaction” pamphlets on the table. You might want to put one in your wallet or purse so you’re ready to give it to someone.
The last commission of Jesus must be the first mission of the church.
