Matthew’s account of the resurrection & Jesus’ ministry afterwards is very terse and brief, only a few verses. He zeroes directly into the question “what is our mission in the light of the resurrection?”
In the last few verses of his gospel, Matthew tells us a few things. The disciples meet Jesus and worship him – but some doubted. This was not a purely emotional reaction of a bunch of credulous rubes, but an interaction with a true thing that took time to process and understand – and God has patience with us as we do that.
Then the story moves immediately to the Great Commission – but we should carefully consider the premise that Jesus begins with before we come to the instructions themselves. “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” What is there in existence that Jesus does not rule? Nothing. As Americans, we have difficulty with the concept of authority, but Jesus is clear about the situation here. And this authority is the context of the Great Commission – it’s not merely an idea or a suggestion, it is a command. It is a job description for the job of “Christian.”
But there is context at the end of the command as well – “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He is with us in this process.
Something to note, though, is the nature of this command. The instruction here is not to be a disciple, but to make disciples – the instructions here are being given to those who are disciples. We are disciples, and our task is to make more disciples. Too often, we see our purpose as Christians to be about our internal spiritual life or Bible reading our personal morality or our systematic belief structure. All of these things are good and important. But Jesus is clear here that the purpose of all of it is to make disciples.
Within that, there are three subordinate commands – go, baptize, teach. We are to “go.” We are not to live in a “holy huddle” but to live outward focused. We are to baptize – to preach the gospel and usher others into the saving relationship with Christ. And we are to teach the instruction of Christ to those who have been saved.
We can study the Bible all we want – we can even train others to study the Bible. But unless that study is turning us into people who represent Christ well, we are not doing what Christ instructs.
Studies show that all of us have 8-15 people in our lives we are uniquely qualified to minister to, some Christians and some not, but we all have someone.
We live in the era of the Resurrection, and in this era we have a mission to fulfill. How is your life designed to make disciples?
– Sermon Notes, Jeff Sickles, Snohomish Evangelical Free Church, Snohomish, WA, April 24, 2022