Today we begin a new unit in Matthew, looking at the last recorded words of Jesus to His disciples. During the last several Sundays we have studied the “Essentials of Christianity” and hopefully gained a greater understanding of sin, humanity, the life of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Last week we looked at the promised return of Christ to claim His bride. Part of the lesson emphasized that we are to live with expectancy as His return could come at any time. With that in mind Jesus’ final directive in Matthew (and Mark) is His Great Commission for the disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” This Commission applies to us today as the Body of Christ which has been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18).
Matthew 28:18-20 – In verse 18 Jesus reminds the disciples that all the power (authority) of the kingdom of God was at His disposal. Even though He would not be physically present with them, His reign still was supreme over all others. Earlier Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit to come alongside them to empower them for the work they were given. The power of the Holy Spirit is available and resides within us as well.
I remember hearing at some point that the term “go” is best translated “as you are going…” make disciples. Unfortunately, our human nature then leads us to approach evangelism with the attitude that while I am about my business, if it comes up, I’ll consider mentioning Christ. As you are going, is better applied to mean our witness should be ever present in all that we do as follower of Christ. The process of disciple making is an assumed part of the believer’s life. Disciple making involves leading others to a relationship with Christ as Lord and Savior. Disciple making also refers to a lifelong process of learning and obedience to the teachings of Christ. The process of leading and teaching is a process that should repeat as knowledge is passed on from person to person. Paul charged Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” A necessary step of obedience in the discipleship process is baptism. Baptism is an outward symbol of the inward transformation that takes place when a person accepts Christ as their Savior. Believers then and now publicly identify themselves as followers of Christ and part of His church through the act of baptism. Baptists, citing Matthew 28:19, baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit recognizing the unified nature of the Trinity. Each person of the Trinity has a unique role in the process of salvation.
Verse 20, I’ve mentioned above that a large part of discipling is continual learning and teaching. We cannot truly teach others about something we ourselves are not students of. Mathetes, the Greek term for disciple is understood as a learner, a pupil, or an adherent to the teachings of an individual. This is an intentional systematic level of learning in order to apply those learned principles to life. This might seem to be a daunting task for us, but we have a promise of presence. Last week we studied about the trials and opposition we will face as we wait for Christ’s return. It may at times seem we have been left alone. No, that is not the case. Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us (Deut. 31:6, Hebrews 13:5) and nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 In previous verses, Paul reminds the reader that the “love of Christ constrains us” to fulfill our Christian duties. After conversion or “from now on” our perspective is forever changed. We ought to then view the world from an eternal and spiritual viewpoint, rather than a mere temporal viewpoint. Verse 17 speaks of the old and the new. We are new creations in Christ and the old way of life is forever in the past. Sometimes we go back to old habits and behaviors, but we are still a people who have undergone a life-changing experience. Paul wrote to the Ephesian church instructing them to take of their old sinful lifestyles and put on their new life in Christ. He used the imagery of removing nasty dirty clothes in order to put on fresh clean clothes (Eph 4:20-24).
Verse 18 tells us the work of reconciliation is completely the work of the Heavenly Father. He reconciled us to Himself. While we were once estranged from God, He through Jesus has done all that is necessary restore the relationship that was broken by our sin. This ministry has now been passed on to us. We tell others of this life change that has been brought about in our lives. As we have been brought into the family of God, we are called to invite others to join as well.
Verse 19 We have all “trespassed” against God. We have all placed our will ahead of God’s will. A trespass in this case is willful rebellion against or resistance to God’s authority. However, God does not hold those things against us. Christ has provided the means for us to return To Him with a repentant heart.
Verses 20-21 continue the thought from the previous verses. We who have received the benefits of reconciliation must now share that message with others. Paul writes that believers are “ambassadors for Christ.” Christians are citizens of heaven and not of this earth. In Peter we are referred to as aliens and strangers in this world (1 Peter 2:11). An ambassador has no message of his or her own. An ambassador’s work is to represent his homeland while residing in a foreign land. Ambassadors speak on behalf of their leaders conveying what needs to be communicated. Verse 21 summarizes the message of reconciliation. Salvation is the work of God in us. He sent the perfect sinless One as a substitute to pay the penalty for our sin debt. We were powerless to save ourselves. As a result of His work, we “become the righteousness of God.” The righteousness of Christ is what theologians say is “imputed” on our behalf. Gotquestions.org explains the concept this way: “By having the righteousness of Christ imputed, or attributed, to us, we can be seen as sinless, as Jesus is sinless. We are not righteous in ourselves; rather, we possess Christ’s righteousness applied to our account. It is not our perfection, but Christ’s that God sees when He brings us into fellowship with Himself. We are still sinners in practice, but the grace of God has declared us to have righteous standing before the law.”
The lesson truth is again – “God sends us to tell others about Jesus.” Whether in our own home or the end of the earth we have a story to tell. The Church has been given a great task that only it can do. The Church as a body and as individual members are the means to share the Good News.
I recall the 1866 hymn written way before Alan Jackson sang it “I Love to Tell the Story” - I pray that we could be free from fear and that we would be emboldened to tell others the story of what Christ has done for us.
