Matthew 28: Risen! (6)

Pray Psalm 22.23, 24.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.

Sing Psalm 22.23-25.
(Darwall: Rejoice, the Lord is King)
All you who fear the Lord, now praise His holy Name!
You children of His glorious Word, declare His fame!
We stand in awe of our eternal God, and on His mercy call.

For He has not despised the anguish of our King,
nor from Him hid His eyes, Who knew such suffering.
Let praise arise from all who love and serve the Ruler of the skies!

Read Matthew 28.1-20; meditate on verses 18-20.

Prepare.
1. What command did Jesus give His disciples?

2. What did Jesus promise them?

Meditate.
This very familiar passage – the Great Commission – is often understood as a charge for churches to support sending witnesses into distant fields. Let’s take a look at this, back to front.

We can assume that these words, spoken to His disciples prior to His ascension, are, through them, spoken to us as well. We begin with Jesus’ promise: He will be with us always, to the end of the age (v. 20). This is important for two reasons. First, because whatever Jesus commands us to do, He enables and empowers us to do by His Spirit, Who dwells within us (1 Thess. 5.23, 24). We need neither fear nor hesitate in going forward in whatever Jesus commands, because He is with us to enable us to accomplish whatever He calls us to do.

Second, Jesus is with us to oversee our obedience. He sees us at all times, searches hearts and minds, by His Spirit convicts us of disobedience, and prods, provokes, and urges us forward in all that He has commanded. We cannot ignore the command of Jesus and expect to know full and abundant life in Him. He gives us more of His salvation to the extent that we are daily faithful in whatever He commands. And since He is with us always, He knows how faithful – or unfaithful – we are at any moment.

Next, let’s look at the scope of this mandate: “make disciples of all nations” (v. 19). That involves leading people to confess Jesus and be baptized into the Christian community, and teaching them all that Jesus has taught His disciples (v. 20). This is where many interpreters find the missions component. But what good is it to send and support missionaries to faraway places if we aren’t making disciples of the nation where we live? Or the community in which our church is located? Are not these as much a part of “all nations” as those distant lands we pay others to evangelize? Perhaps we need to invest more time, effort, and prayer in reaching the “all nations” that are in our and our church’s Personal Mission Field.

Many people fail to realize that the command in this passage is not “Go” but “make disciples”. The word “Go” is actually, in the Greek, “as you are going.” This describes the context for making the nations disciples. Most of us won’t be going to someplace over the seas any time soon. But we will be going to our workplace or school. We’ll be off to the grocery store or the doctor’s office. We’ll walk through our neighborhood, or have a meal with our family. We’ll go to church. Are these not part of the “as you are going” of every person’s life? We are seldom apart from people, and the object of our energies must be to help people become disciples – those who know Jesus, to grow in Him, and those who don’t, to hear of and experience His love.

As you are going, wherever you are going, whatever you’re doing, whomever you’re with, one overarching objective must define your life: “make disciples”. It’s what Jesus did, and it’s what He is sending us to do (Jn. 20.21).

“Yes,” you may object, “but that seems even more impossible than my going to some distant land as a missionary.” Perhaps. But remember: Jesus is with you. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him (v. 18), and He uses that authority to call, direct, and empower you to carry out His command.

Matthew’s book ends where it began, with “the nations” in focus. We saw them in Jesus’ genealogy, when the magi came to visit, and when all the kingdoms of the earth were proffered Him by Satan. Jesus could decline that offer and send the devil packing then, because He knew the nations would all be His one day, once His great work of redemption was complete, and His disciples were assembled in Galilee to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom.

As you are going, live and declare the Good News of Jesus. Immanuel has come. Now is the day of salvation. We are the agents of grace to a dying world. Make disciples.

Reflect.
1. How would you explain the idea of “as you are going” to a new believer?

2. What’s involved in the work of making disciples?

3. What can you do to know and draw strength from the Presence of Jesus with you always?

He promised to be not only with these disciples but also with all who would subsequently believe after them. Jesus speaks to all believers as if to one body. Do not speak to me, he says, of the difficulties you will face, for “I am with you,” as the one who makes all things easy. John Chrysostom (344-407.), The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 90.2

Help me as I am going today, Lord, so that I…

Pray Psalm 22.26-28.
The Great Commission brings the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom to the world, beginning right where you are. Pray for each person in your Personal Mission Field, and ask the Lord to help you be more consistent in making disciples.

Sing Psalm 22.26-28.
Psalm 22.26-28 (Darwall: Rejoice, the Lord is King)
Then all the poor shall eat and praise with us the Lord.
Forever we His praise repeat and trust His Word.
Praise God above, all you who keep His vows and who His mercies love!

All nations shall repent and hasten to the Lord;
all those to whom His truth is sent shall praise His Word.
The Lord is King!  His sovereign rule on high now we His people sing!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).