Great Commission Series
The Lordship of Jesus
Matthew 28:18
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
That’s quite a statement. Think about it a minute. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The statement leaves no room for debate. It is not “I feel” or “I think.” It isn’t “most opinion polls say.” It isn’t “might be.” It is a straightforward statement.
Consider the scope of the claim. All authority! Not some or most! All! All authority in heaven and on earth! Not just heaven but heaven and earth. The expression means everything and every place. One writer puts it this way, “There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, “This is mine! This belongs to me!” (Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency, pp. 146-147)
He isn’t just claiming personal or private authority. All authority. Not just authority in church. Or just authority in religious matters. “All authority has been given to me in heaven and in earth.” Jesus claims to be the top dog, the boss, the one who has the right to call the shots! To use more traditional language, he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. That’s quite a claim. Either he is or he isn’t. He leaves no room for compromise.
I am reminded of the story that Max Lucado tells in one of his books. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. Patchy fog made for poor visibility. The captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities. Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." “Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out. The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain." That meant the ship was on a collision course with the other vessel.
The captain called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: ’We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.’" Moments later a signal came back, "Advise you to change course twenty degrees." The irritated the captain ordered, "Send: "I’m a captain, change course twenty degrees.’" Again a reply quickly came back, “I’m a seaman second-class. You better change course twenty degrees."
By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: ’I’m a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.’" Back came the flashing light, "I’m a lighthouse. You change course!" (Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 153.)
Lighthouses don’t move for battleships. One who has all the authority of heaven and earth need not compromise for the likes of us! Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
I like the little story that Mary Farwell of Green Castle, Missouri tells about her five-year old son Matthew. She was listening to him pay with his new Speak and Spell™ computer toy that he had received for Christmas. Little Matthew was hard at work pecking away on the keyboard. He would type a word and wait for the computer to say it back. He punched all the normal five-year old words—dog, cat, mom, and dad. Finally, he spelled out G-O-D. The computer churned for a minute and finally responded—“Word not found.” Matthew tried again. Same reply. Finally he stared at the computer in disgust and declared, “Jesus is not going to like this!”
If Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, what he likes does matter, doesn’t it?
Did you hear the one about the burglar that broke into house while the homeowners were gone? He moved from room to room gathering up all the valuables. As he entered the living room, he heard a strange voice. "Jesus is watching you!" He couldn’t see anybody or hear any movement in the house. He waited quietly for a moment and went on with what he was doing. Again he heard, "Jesus is watching you!" He turned on the flashlight, scanned the room, and finally saw a parrot.
"Did you say that?" asked the burglar. He knew the answer. To his surprise, the parrot answered back. "Yes," replied the parrot. He was both surprised and amused by the talking bird so he continued the conversation. "What’s your name?" the burglar inquired. "Moses," answered the parrot. "That’s a strange name for a parrot. Who’d name a parrot Moses?" "The same people who named their Doberman Jesus!"
Once we understand what this text claims saying we shouldn’t be surprised to hear the Bible say that a day is coming when every knee will bow at the name of Jesus (Phil 2:10-11).
From a human perspective this was a rather audacious claim. Jesus owned no property. He possessed no wealth. He didn’t even have a home to call his own. He never held a government office or organized a political party. He had no palace or throne. He commanded no army or navy. Here he stood in the middle of no where offering his parting words to a handful of followers. Only eleven men remained with him. Most had deserted. Yet he says all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
This is an important claim. If it is not true, if Jesus is not Lord and all authority doesn’t belong to him, then this is all just silliness. Much of the Bible couldn’t be true. Many of the hymns we sing would be total foolishness. The teachings we follow and the way of life that we promote are all just personal opinions or social custom. Everything is up for grabs. The Christian faith would become just another religion, a product of human imagination and wishful thinking.
On the other hand, if it is true everything is affected. It touches every area of life. It means Jesus’ authority is just as valid in the White House as the church house. His word is just as important when you are sitting in your living room as when you are sitting in this room. If it is true, then no one is exempt. No one in the world stands outside the authority of Jesus. The richest man in the world, the most powerful woman, the most popular rock star—all answer to the authority of Jesus. If this is true, then someday every one of us in this room and everyone in this world will be held accountable for how we have reacted to this claim! All authority, he said, has been given to me in heaven and on earth!
That’s quite a statement. You can agree or disagree with the claim. But you cannot tell me it doesn’t matter! This may well be the most important subject you have ever considered in your life. Why would anyone think this claim should be taken seriously? I offer two answers:
First, Jesus’ claim fits with what has happened since he said it. James Allan Francis put it well in these famous lines, “Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.” (Dr James Allan Francis in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons” © 1926 by the Judson Press of Philadelphia (pp 123-124 titled “Arise Sir Knight!”).
Every time you date a check, note the date of your birth date, or the turn the page of calendar, you give silent testimony to the fact that Jesus Christ changed the course of history. That makes sense if it is true that all authority, in heaven and on earth, belongs to him. That’s a reason to take his claim seriously.
Secondly, Jesus’ claim fits with what happened before. Those who knew Jesus best tell us that he demonstrated this authority in three ways.
First, He taught with authority. Even at the age of twelve, the young Jesus astounded the religious teachers with understanding. He amazed people with his teachings because they said he spoke as one who had authority and not as their other religious teachers. Common people flocked to hear his words. He astounded politicians and kings. He bewildered his opponents by the way he reflected their criticisms.
Jesus’ teachings demonstrated his authority. So did his deeds. He lived a life of goodness and mercy. Even the ruler who ordered his execution could find no wrong in him. He also healed the sick, made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. Lame men walked at his call. He stilled storms and raised the dead. The world, then and now, was filled with charlatans and magicians who claimed supernatural powers. Jesus didn’t just claim it. He did it. Even his enemies knew he was a force to be reckoned with. Jesus insisted that his miracles were more than a show of power. He said they were evidence of his authority and his ability to perform the greatest “miracle”—forgive sin and reconcile men to God.
So Jesus taught with authority and displayed it through miracles. He also openly claimed it. These final words were not the only time he had said something like this. He insisted he was the only begotten of God. He was equal with the Father. He taught that he existed before the saints of old. He warned that he would come again as the judge of the living and the dead.
Note how our text says “all authority has been given to me.” Who gave it to him? Where did it come from? The plain answer is from the Father. Did you catch the words about baptism in our text? In the name (singular) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I don’t want to get into a detailed discussion of the Trinity other than to say that the Bible consistently claims (and Jesus taught it over and over again) that the God of heaven was revealing himself in the form of man in the person of Jesus. Jesus was God on earth, heaven’s show and tell! No wonder he says, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
C. S. Lewis’ famous words in his classic book Mere Christianity make this point, “[No one can logically claim that Jesus was just a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept him as God.] That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any of that patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. Nor did he intend to." (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Macmillan, 1943, p. 55-56.)
***
All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. That’s quite a statement. It carries two big implications for us today. We are looking at this statement because it is the opening words of what Bible students call the Great Commission. These form Jesus’ parting words to his followers. These instructions answer once and for all the question—should the followers of Jesus Christ invest their time, talent, and treasure in spreading his message? “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go, make disciples of all nations.”
It is settled. Missionaries cross mountains and oceans and borders to tell people about Jesus because Jesus said to. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him.” That’s why churches give money to support colleges and seminaries to train evangelists, missionaries, and preachers. That’s why congregations give away thousands of dollars to support ministries to reach and teach others. Churches plant churches because Jesus is in charge. Believers who have been saved by the grace of God through what Jesus did for them pray for their friends, invite them to hear and learn about Christ, and look for opportunities to nudge them toward the Lord because Jesus said “all authority has been given to [him] therefore, he said, go make disciples.”
This is not an unimportant statement. Everything we do as a church stands or falls on the authority of Jesus.
But it is personally important as well. If this is true, if all authority belongs to Jesus, then the number one issue for every person who is old enough to make personal decisions is—am I going to acknowledge his authority and do my best to live by it or am I going to go through the rest of life resisting it? He said “no man can serve two masters.” Either he calls the shots or we do. It can’t be both!
If it is true, if all authority in heaven and on earth does belong to him, then we will have to deal with him sooner or later, in life or in death. He is either our Lord and Savior now or our Judge then.
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
