Making Disciples - Matthew 28:18-20
SCRIPTURE:
Last Sunday we briefly looked at a passage of Scripture in regards to baptism. This morning I would like to look at it a little more in depth and what it has to say with regards to missions, since that is our focus this morning. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 28:18-20. Please follow along as I read these words of Jesus.
Matthew 28:18-20,
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18–20, NASB95)[1]
INTRODUCTION:
These words were spoken by Jesus to His disciples during the 40 days that He had with them after His resurrection. His disciples had witnessed His crucifixion, they had witnessed His resurrection and now He was with them for 40 days verifying to them that it was truly Him and giving them His final instructions before He returned to His Father in heaven so that He could send the Holy Spirit. In these verses Jesus commissions His disciples. A commission is the act of giving someone or more than one person authority to carry out certain tasks in the name of the person who is commissioning you. So, Jesus is giving the disciples the authority to carry out certain tasks in His name, and this commission is not just for the 12 disciples but extends to the church and is the commission of each person who is a follower or disciple of Jesus through faith in Him, believing that His death paid the penalty for your sin and that He was buried and rose from the dead on the third day proving that sin had been paid for and death had been conquered. I know that it is not just for the 12 disciples because Jesus said in verse 20 that He would be with us to the end of the age, which is when He will return for the church and we go to be with Him forever. This age that He is speaking of is the church age.
Jesus begins by telling His disciples, both the 12 and us that all authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth. His resurrection from the dead is God’s proof to us that Jesus Christ has all power, He is the sovereign Lord of all, He has authority over everything that He created. With this authority Jesus commissions the disciples and the church with the task of making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them.
MAKING DISCIPLES (Matthew 28:19a)
The first word in this commission is “go” but this is not an action word, this is not a command, in Greek it is passive which means that it is a foregone conclusion that you will go. It could even be translated, “having gone” or “while you are going.” The action in the first part of this verse, the command of Jesus is to “make disciples.” In other words, we are to share the Gospel while we are going along our way. We are to witness to people and tell them about Jesus Christ and tell them how they can have their sin forgiven and have eternal life through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We witness to them so that they become followers of Jesus, that is making disciples. This is what missionaries do, but this is what every Christian, every follower of Jesus, every disciple is supposed to be doing. Where is this happening? Jesus commanded that we make disciples of all the nations. This word translated “nations” is the Greek word ethnos from which we get our word “ethnic” which even more than nations refers to people groups of certain ethnicity, Jesus commands us to reach all people groups and make disciples from all people groups, to let them know that God, the Creator of all, loves them and sent His Son to take the punishment, to pay the penalty for their sin, so that they might be forgiven of their sins and become disciples of Jesus, children of God.
BAPTIZE THEM (Matthew 28:19b)
The next part of this commission is to baptize the new disciples, those who have agreed with God that they are sinners and believe that Jesus Christ died and shed His blood paying the penalty for their sin and that He was buried and on the third day rose from the dead proving His triumph over sin and death, Jesus commands us to baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This baptism is identification with Jesus Christ, it is an outward picture of an inward reality. It is telling the world that you have put your old life behind you, and that in Christ you are a new creation and you are going to live for Him. This was a big deal for the Jews because it meant turning their back on Judaism to follow Jesus, they risked being rejected by their family, being kicked out of the synagogue, and being ostracized by their family, their friends, their community. Baptism is your testimony that you have died with Christ in His death pictured by going down under the water and you are raised with Him in His resurrection life pictured by coming back up out of the water. Just remember baptism does not save you or cleanse you, it is the outward symbol of the inward reality of salvation that was immediately yours when you believed. (Wedding ring example)
TEACHING THEM (Matthew 28:20a)
The third part of this commission is very important, and I believe the church has failed in this area. Jesus told the 12 disciples and the church that when we have made disciples, and baptized them, then these new disciples need to be treated like disciples. The word “disciple” literally means a learner, so we need to take these new disciples and teach them about Jesus and all that He commanded. Jesus said, “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:20, NASB95)[2] This word “observe” means to obey or keep. A disciple of Jesus needs to learn about Jesus and imitate Jesus and he does this by being in God’s Word, reading it, studying it, learning about the Christian life and putting that into practice, we are to come alongside them and teach them how to do this.
Jesus says that this process is to go on to the end of the age, and during that time He will be with us always through His indwelling Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSION:
This is truly the heart of missions, this is why missionaries go to other nations is to carry out Jesus commission to the church: making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them so that they can then go and do the same. What is your part in this commission? As disciples of Jesus we should be making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them right where we are, in our community and among our people group. Maybe you feel the call of God to go to another people group like Kate, don’t ignore that call follow it through. If you have questions about going, please talk to me, as a church we would love to help you go. But what if God has not called you to go to another people group, do you have a responsibility to the other nations? I say that as Christians we do. I remember a dear Christian brother once saying that there are only two types of Christians, those who are called to go and those who send them. If you are not called to go are you supporting a missionary, are you being a partner with them in their ministry? Are you giving to them financially so that they can be in another part of the world being a witness, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them? If you are not you are missing out on a huge blessing. We are going to take a love offering for Kate, but Kate also needs people who will give to her needs monthly while she is in the Czech Republic. Will you become a partner with her on a monthly basis? This is above what you already give to the church. If you feel God speaking to your heart about this, talk to Kate after the service.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.