07/06/2026
The Great Commission
The Context.
The last chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.
The last section of the last chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.
Matthew is bringing his book to a close, a conclusion, a climax - and he is taking us up a mountain.
He has done so before. In fact, this is the seventh mountain associated with the Lord Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel.
John’s Gospel has seven miracles.
Matthew’s Gospel has seven mountains.
The Man on the Mountain.
The Master on the Mountain.
The Monarch on the Mountain.
Chapter 4: The Mountain of Temptation.
The Purity of the Impeccable Christ.
The holiness of the Christ who would not, could not, sin.
Chapter 5: The Mountain of Instruction.
The Sermon on the Mount.
The Precepts of the Imperial Christ.
He expounds those precepts and He enables those who follow Him to follow them.
Chapter 14: The Mountain of Intercession.
He is on the Mountain.
His disciples are on the sea.
More than that, His disciples are in the storm.
The strange thing is - He permitted that storm.
He did so for a reason.
A reason that was not immediately grasped by them - and so we can speak about:
The Purposes of the Inscrutable Christ.
Chapter 15: The Mountain of Compassion.
Great multitudes.
Great maladies.
And great miracles.
“He healed them.”
The Pity of the Inexhaustible Christ.
Chapter 17: The Mountain of Transfiguration.
The greatest of men join Christ - Moses and Elijah.
What illustrious companions Christ has.
But they appear, so they might disappear.
They come, so they might go.
That the disciples might see no man save Jesus only!
The Pre-eminence of the Incomparable Christ.
Chapter 24: The Mountain of Prediction.
Prophecies are given.
Some soon to be fulfilled.
Some still to be fulfilled.
But the Lord Jesus knows all that lies ahead.
The Perception of the Infallible Christ.
And now this mountain, here in Chapter 28.
The final mountain.
This seventh mountain.
The Mountain of Commission.
What we will see here is this:
The Presence of the Invincible Christ.
Note the Context.
Note the Contrast.
This last section consists of 5 verses.
The previous section consists of 5 verses.
The first section is set in Judaea.
The second section is set in Galilee.
In the first section, a meeting, a gathering, an assembling.
In the second section, a meeting, a gathering, an assembling.
The first section - against the background of His resurrection - and there is wickedness.
The second section - against the background of His resurrection - and there is worship.
In the first section, the gift of something very large.
They gave large money to the soldiers.
In the second section, the gift of something very large.
Christ says: “All power is given unto Me”.
In the first section, a company who did as they were taught.
In the second section, a company who were to do as they were taught.
The first section - a continuation of a pretence.
A saying that continues to be commonly repeated unto this day.
The second section - a continuation of His presence.
“With you always, even unto the end of the Age.”
The Company.
Verse 16 begins with a reference to the eleven disciples.
Just eleven. Not twelve.
That would remind us of the deception, the defection of Judas.
One has gone from the company, but others have, I think, been added to the company.
In verse 10, the Lord Jesus is speaking: “Go tell My brethren that they go into Galilee and there shall they see Me”.
Is it possible, in fact, is it probable that He was referring to His brethren according to the flesh? To James? To Jude? To Simon? To Joseph?
John 7 has that verse: “Neither did His brethren believe in Him”, but those years of unbelief are now over.
Eleven disciples and His brethren - and the women.
In verse 7, the angel is speaking to the women: “He goeth before you into Galilee. There shall ye see Him.”
So, eleven disciples and His brethren and the women - and maybe far, far more.
Some have suggested that this appearance was the appearance to over 500, referred to in 1 Corinthians 15.
This meeting was not accidental, but arranged.
The only pre-arranged post-resurrection appearance.
We see evidence of obedience here.
Obedience in coming to the person to follow Him.
Now obedience in coming to this place to find Him.
Obedience and obeisance.
“When they saw Him, they worshipped Him.”
Matthew refers to doubts - and that reference would emphasise the veracity of the comments.
All this account - fact not fiction.
Truth not falsehood.
The veracity of the comment - and the variety in the crowd.
For some, their first sight of the Risen Christ - and so He then comes near.
Significant, is it not, that in this section where the role, the responsibility of making disciples is given - that the disciples themselves are marked by obedience and obeisance?
They obey His Word.
They acknowledge His worth.
Then, in verse 18, His Claim.
“All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth.”
Power gives you the ability to do something.
But this is more than ability.
This is authority.
“All authority is given unto Me.”
Literally, “All authority was given unto Me”.
In Matthew 9, He had said, “The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins”.
In Matthew 11, He had said, “All things are delivered unto Me of My Father”.
But now, as the Risen, Triumphant, Victorious Christ, there is something greater.
“All authority in Heaven and in earth.”
Back in Chapter 4, something was offered to Him.
Said the devil: “All these things will I give Thee”.
He offered them as a recompense for His worship.
“All these things will I give Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
But, that was refused. It would have been sinful worship.
Now, something is offered to Him.
Offered as a recompense for His work.
His successful work - His death, His resurrection. His suffering, His sacrifice.
And this was received.
“All authority is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth.”
Heaven - earth.
Visible - invisible.
Men - demons.
Everything is subject unto Him.
The omnipotent Christ.
The authoritative Christ.
The sovereign Christ.
Note - the Claim.
And then, in verse 19 and into verse 20, The Commission.
“Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
What words are these!
What teaching, what truths, what treasures, they contain!
In this text:
A Connection for us to Consider.
An Assumption for us to Appreciate.
A Mission for us to Mark.
A Scope for us to See.
An Ordinance for us to Observe.
A Process for us to Ponder.
A Lesson for us to Learn.
Verse 19 begins: “Go ye therefore”. Therefore. Therefore.
That’s the connection for us to consider.
There is a definite link between verse 18 and verse 19.
The authority of Christ in verse 18 results in, leads to, produces, provokes, the activity of the Christians in verse 19.
His authority over the disciples.
It has been put like this: “The One who has the authority makes the appointment”.
Matthew 11. “All things are delivered unto Me” - and so He bids sinners to come to Him.
Matthew 28: “All authority was given unto Me” - and so He bids saints to go for Him.
Someone has said: “The Command has been given. We don’t need a commission to go. In fact, we need a permission to stay”.
And His authority over the nations.
Authority to cause the spiritually deaf to hear.
Authority to cause the spiritually blind to see.
Authority to cause the spiritually dead to live.
Because of His authority, the hardest of hearts can be softened.
Because of His authority, the most stubborn of wills can be broken.
Because of His authority, the vilest of offenders can be saved.
The disciples may be weak, but He is strong.
The disciples may be powerless, but He is powerful.
The disciples may be feeble, but He is mighty.
Here is Spurgeon:
“Since all authority on earth is lodged in Christ’s hands, He can clothe any and all of His servants with a sacred might by which their hands will be sufficient for them in their high calling.”
“All authority is given unto Me - Go ye therefore.”
On this basis.
With this confidence.
In this assurance.
“Go ye therefore.”
A Connection for us to Consider.
And then:
An Assumption for us to Appreciate.
We look at our verse 19, and we would say: 3 imperatives to be done.
Go. Teach. Baptise.
But, that first one could really, should really be rendered like this: “As ye go” or “Having gone”.
This is not so much an instruction as a description.
The command is: Teach.
For that command to be obeyed.
For that requirement to be met, the individuals will already have to have gone.
The assumption is that this will indeed be the case.
An Assumption for us to Appreciate.
And then in the word, “teach”, a Mission for us to Mark.
The word, “teach”, is found in verse 19.
The word, “teach”, is found again in verse 20, but they are two different words.
The second one simply means, “to instruct”. A very common word in the Greek New Testament.
The first one, by contrast, is very rare, and means, “to make a disciple”.
Found later in Acts 14. “When they - Paul and Barnabas - had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many.” Made many disciples.
Found earlier in Matthew 27.
Verse 57 refers to Joseph of Arimathea and records: “who also himself was Jesus’ disciple”.
But it’s not a noun. It’s a verb. It’s our verb.
“Who also himself was discipled to Jesus.”
He had been made a disciple.
Interesting to speculate - by whom?
So, this is the mission for us to mark: “Make disciples”.
It is to make disciples.
It is not to make converts.
We cannot make converts.
Salvation is of the Lord.
He calls.
He convicts.
He converts.
He cleansed.
That is what the Lord does.
This is what the sinner does: responds, repents, receives.
Take Him, Thank Him, Trust Him.
And this is what we have to do: declare and then disciple.
Mark 16: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel”.
Matthew 28: “Go ye therefore and make disciples”.
Our role is not to see people make decisions.
Our role is to see people be made disciples.
This is the Mission for us to Mark.
Then, the Scope for us to See.
“All nations.”
There’s an alteration of ministry here.
Back in Chapter 10, the disciples were sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
But now, what was previously national is now international.
What was previously local is now global.
“All nations.”
An alteration of ministry here - and the accomplishment of prophecy here.
Said the angel in Luke 2: good tidings, great joy, all people.
Said Simeon in Luke 2: “A light to lighten the Gentiles”.
Why was this particular place chosen by Christ to give this commission?
Why Galilee and not Judaea?
Here’s one reason - its space.
A second reason - its safety.
And a third reason - its significance.
Isaiah 9 verse 1: Galilee of the nations.
Matthew 4 verse 15: Galilee of the Gentiles.
The significance of the site.
All nations. All people. All tribes. All tongues.
None excluded.
All included.
As John Wesley put it: “The world is my parish!”
In Genesis 1, an instruction is given.
Worldwide in its scope.
Repeated in Genesis 9.
Replenish the earth.
Now, in Matthew 28, an instruction is given.
Worldwide in its scope.
Make disciples of all nations.
And then, an Ordinance for us to Observe.
Baptising them.
Who?
The disciples who have been made.
This verse would teach us that baptism does not make a disciple. It simply marks one who has already been made.
Baptism is not for babies. Baptism is for believers.
When?
Following their becoming a disciple.
Our practice is to regard baptism as something to be requested.
And it may take weeks, months, even years for the request to be made.
But no suggestion here of any request.
Rather, the indication here is for a requirement.
A requirement that rests on those who make disciples.
Who?
When?
How?
By dipping under water.
By immersion.
That’s the meaning of the word.
And what?
What is baptism?
Here are three answers.
Baptism is an act of submission to the Word of Christ.
He as my Lord says it.
I as His disciple do it.
In this realm, as in every realm, the advice of His mother, Mary, is so appropriate:
“Whatsoever He saith unto you - do it.”
Secondly, baptism is an act of identification with the work of Christ.
Christ died.
Christ was buried.
Christ was raised from the dead.
I come to appreciate that Christ’s death was for me.
“In my place, condemned He stood.”
His death was my death.
When He died, in a real sense, I died.
When He was buried, I was buried with Him.
When He rose, I rose with Him - and although I live, it’s a new life. Christ lives in me.
All that is portrayed, powerfully portrayed, visually presented, in baptism.
Baptism does not secure my salvation.
Baptism symbolises my salvation.
Symbolises the divine work of saving my soul.
In that divine work, Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all involved.
Says Peter: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”.
There was a selection in eternity.
Says Peter: “through sanctification of the Spirit”.
There was a setting apart in my history.
Says Peter: “unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”.
There was a sacrifice at Calvary.
Three divine persons.
One single name.
“The name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”
Involved in my salvation.
Invoked in my baptism.
Baptism is an act of identification with the work of Christ.
And, thirdly, baptism is an act of devotion to the worth of Christ.
When someone is being baptised, they are saying:
The world around me may reject Him, but I have received Him.
The world around me may despise Him, but I delight in Him.
The world around me may hate Him, but I love Him.
Baptism brings before us the word and the work and the worth of Christ.
An Ordinance to Observe.
And then, a Process for us to Ponder.
Teaching them!
The disciples are made.
The disciples are marked.
The disciples are moulded.
Says John MacArthur: “These words emphasise not the moment of salvation but the lifetime of sanctification that follows”.
“All things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
The need for consistent, consecutive, comprehensive teaching.
Then, finally, from our text, a Lesson for us to Learn.
Verse 20 does not say: “Teaching them to know all things whatsoever I have commended you.”
Verse 20 does say: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
Knowledge is good, but if it does not lead to compliance it actually leads to greater culpability.
Said the Saviour Himself, in the Upper Room in John 13: “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them”.
Verse 19 and the first half of verse 20.
The Commission - with its:
Connection to Consider
Assumption to Appreciate
Mission to Mark
Scope to See
Ordinance to Observe
Process to Ponder.
Lesson to Learn.
Then, in the second half of verse 20:
The Confirmation.
“Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
The responsibility entrusted to the followers of Christ to make disciples.
Left to ourselves, inconceivable, impossible, unachievable.
But, see how that framed around the human responsibility the divine resources.
His power - and now His presence.
His authority - and now His assurance.
Isaac and Jacob and Moses and Joshua and Gideon and Jeremiah and Paul were promised the presence of the Lord.
In Isaiah 43 and Haggai 1, the people were promised the presence of the Lord.
Think what that promise, that pledge meant to them.
Here, in Matthew 28, “I am with you”.
Grasp what that promise, that pledge means to us.
It could even be rendered like this:
“And lo I - with you - am.
We are surrounded by the presence of Christ.
JC Ryle wrote:
“It is impossible to conceive words more comforting, strengthening, cheering, and sanctifying than these. Though left alone, like orphan children in a cold, unkind world, the disciples were not to think they were deserted. Their Master would be ever ‘with them’ … Let all true Christians lay hold on these words and keep them in mind. Christ is ‘with us’ always … None have such a King, such a Priest, such a constant Companion, and such an unfailing Friend, as the true servants of Christ.”
His power - without any restriction. All power.
His presence - without any restriction - alway.
Every hour of the day.
Every step of the way.
And then the Lord Jesus adds: “even unto the end of the world”.
This could be understood in terms of geography. “With you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
This could be understood in terms of chronology. “With you alway, even unto the end of the Age.” And then we will forever be with Him.
David Livingstone wrote an entry in his Journal on 14th January 1856:
“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 to-morrow. 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 alway, even unto the end of the world." It is the word of a gentleman of the most strict and sacred honour, so there's an end of it! I will not cross furtively to-night as I intended. Should such a man as I flee? Nay, verily, I shall take observations for latitude and longitude to-night, though they may be the last. I feel quite calm now, thank God!'”
F W Boreham continues the story:
“The words of Christ are underlined in the journal, and they were underlined in his heart. Later in the same year, he pays his first visit to the Homeland. Honours are everywhere heaped upon him. The University of Glasgow confers upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. On such occasions the recipient of the honour is usually subjected to some banter at the hands of the students. But when Livingstone rises, bearing upon his person the marks of his struggles and sufferings in darkest Africa, he is received in reverential silence. He is gaunt and haggard as a result of his long exposure to the tropical sun. On nearly thirty occasions he has been laid low by the fevers that steam from the inland swamps, and these severe illnesses have left their mark. His left arm, crushed by the lion, hangs helplessly at his side. A hush falls upon the great assembly as he announces his resolve to return to the land for which he has already endured so much. 'But I return,' he says, 'without misgiving and with great gladness. For would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile among people whose language I could not understand, and whose attitude towards me was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world!" On those words I staked everything, and they never failed!'”
As Matthew commences his Gospel, “Emmanuel, God with us”.
As Matthew closes his Gospel, One who says, “I am with you alway”.
Matthew does not record the ascension. To do so would be out of place, for in a very, very real sense, Christ has remained with His people.
When Sinclair Ferguson was a theology student, the lecturers took church services and there was one particular Professor and whenever it was his turn to speak, he always preached from this section. Matthew 28.
At the time, the students thought it wearisome, but on reflection, Sinclair Ferguson came to this conclusion. It wasn’t that the Professor could not preach on anything else. Rather, he had come to this view that he should not preach on anything else. So magnificent the message contained within these verses.
We’ve thought about:
The Context
The Contrast
The Company
The Claim
The Commission
The Confirmation.
What about: The Challenge?
The challenge that comes to us today.
It has been said that this is not The Great Suggestion.
It is not even The Great Recommendation.
This is: The Great Commission.
But has it become The Great Omission?
Hudson Taylor said: “The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed”.
We need to ask: How many disciples have I ever made?
Is there any disciple that I have ever made?
An angel was given the responsibility of announcing the birth of Christ.
An angel was given the responsibility of announcing the resurrection of Christ.
But the responsibility of making disciples - a responsibility given by the Lord only to His people.
A costly responsibility - but what compensations!
Pleasure for the Lord and profit for those whom I can make into a disciple of Christ!
A work done on earth with consequences in Heaven.
A work done in time with consequences in eternity.
The Challenge!
May the Lord who spoke these words so long ago speak them afresh to us today.
And then may we say what Matthew says at the end of the section: Amen! So let it be!
Here are a few quotes:
“The Great Commission is so wonderfully freeing because it is big enough to fill the whole world and yet small enough for every single one of us to play a part.”
“Jesus didn’t just say, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel’. He said, ‘Go ye …”. We must personally engage in the Great Commission.”
JC Ryle:
“Let us never forget that this solemn injunction is still in full force. It is still the bounden duty of every disciple of Christ to do all he can in person, and by prayer, to make others acquainted with Jesus.”
Another quote:
“Our first concern should be His last command.”
It has been said that there are four calls that should compel us to share the gospel.
There is a call - from inside.
Paul said, “Woe is unto me, if preach not the gospel! 1 Corinthians 9:16.
There is a call - from outside.
Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging
him, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us”. Acts 16:9.
There is a call - from beneath.
The rich man said to Abraham “Send Lazarus to my father’s house” Luke 16:27.
And there is a call - from above.
“Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”
May every believer be found fulfilling the duty imposed upon them by the Great Commission.
