Whereas the chief priests used bribe money to commission the soldiers to spread lies, the resurrected Jesus used the promise of His power and presence to commission His disciples to spread the gospel.1091This is the final address that Matthew recorded Jesus giving. As usual, he used a narrative to lead up to the address. In this case the narrative consisted of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore this address is the climax of these events in Matthew's structure of his Gospel. It is also climactic because of its position at the very end of the Gospel and because of its content. It recapitulates many of Matthew's themes.
". . . to demonstrate that Jesus, in enduring the humiliation of the cross, did not die as a false messiah but as the Son who did his Father's will (21:37-39), God vindicates Jesus by raising him from the dead (28:5-6). Consequently, when Jesus appears to the disciples on the mountain in Galilee (28:16-17), it is as the crucified Son of God whom God has vindicated through resurrection (28:5c-6). Although some disciples show, in doubting, that they are yet weak of faith (28:17; 14:32), they all see on the person of Jesus that crucifixion, or suffering sonship, was the essence of his ministry (21:42). Correlatively, they also grasp at last that servanthood is the essence of discipleship (16:24; 20:25-28). As ones, therefore, who comprehend, in line with God's evaluative point of view (17:5), not only who Jesus is but also what he was about and what it means to be his followers, the disciples receive from Jesus the Great Commission and embark on a mission to all the nations (28:18-20; chaps. 24-25)."1092
28:16 "But"(NASB) is too strong a contrast for the Greek word dethat occurs here and means "then"(NIV). However the action of the Eleven contrasts with the action of the guards (v. 15). We do not know the mountain to which Jesus had directed them and to which they went (cf. 26:32; 28:7, 10). Galilee, of course, was where Jesus began His ministry, and it had Gentile connotations because of the presence and proximity of many Gentiles. What Jesus would tell His disciples in Galilee would continue His ministry and teaching that they had already experienced.
28:17 Evidently those who doubted were not the Eleven but other followers of Jesus. The word "doubted"(Gr. edistasan) means "hesitated"(cf. 14:31).1093Apparently Jesus' resurrection did not immediately dispel all the questions that remained in the minds of those who where listening to Him. The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost removed the hesitation of many.
28:18 Jesus evidently preceded His disciples to Galilee. He went up the mountain to address them there.
Notice the repetition of "all"in verses 18-20: all authority, all nations, all things, and all the days. Matthew stressed the authority of Jesus throughout his Gospel (7:29; 10:1, 7-8; 11:27; 22:43-44; 24:35).
"Not merely power or might (dunamis), such as a great conqueror might claim, but authority' (exousia), as something which is His by right, conferred upon Him by One who has the right to bestow it (Rev. ii. 27)."1094
God restricted Jesus' authority before His resurrection because of His role as the Suffering Servant. Following His resurrection God broadened the sphere in which Jesus exercised authority. He became the One through whom God now mediates all authority (cf. Phil. 2:5-11). This was Jesus' great claim.
"By raising Jesus from the dead and investing him with all authority, God vindicates Jesus and thus decides the conflict in his favor (28:5-6, 18)."1095
28:19 Jesus' disciples should go and make disciples because Jesus now has universal authority. He gave them a new universal mission in keeping with His new universal authority. Previously He had limited their work to Israel (10:1-8; cf. 15:24). Now He sent them into all the world. They could go confidently knowing that Jesus has sovereign control over everything in heaven and on earth (cf. Rom. 8:28).1096
In the Greek text there is one imperative verb, "make disciples"(Gr. matheteusate), modified by three participles, "going,""baptizing,"and "teaching."1097This does not mean that we should make disciples wherever we may happen to go. The participle "going"is not just circumstantial, but it has some imperatival force.1098In other words, Jesus commanded His disciple to reach out to unreached people to make disciples, not just to make disciples among those with whom they happened to come in contact.
Making disciples involves bringing people into relationship with Jesus as pupils to teacher. It involves getting them to take His yoke of instruction upon themselves as authoritative (11:29), accepting His words as true, and submitting to His will as what is right. A good disciple is one who listens, understands, and obeys Jesus' instructions (12:46-50). Disciples of Jesus must duplicate themselves in others.
The "all nations"(Gr. panta ta ethne) in view are all tribes, nations, and peoples, including Israel (cf. Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18).1099The phrase does not mean Gentiles exclusive of Jews. Matthew hinted at the Gentiles' inclusion in God's plan to bless humanity throughout his Gospel (1:1; 2:1-12; 4:15-16; 8:5-13; 10:18; 13:38; 24:14; et al.). Jesus' disciples should make disciples among all people without distinction.
Baptizing and teaching are to characterize making disciples. Baptizing is to be into the name of the triune God (cf. 1 Cor. 12:4-6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 1:4-6). The "into"(Gr. eis) suggests coming into relationship with God as a disciple. Baptism indicates both coming into covenant relationship with God and pledging submission to His lordship.1100Obviously water baptism rather than Spirit baptism is in view (cf. 3:6, 11, 13-17).
This baptism differs from John the Baptist's baptism. This one is universal whereas John's baptism was for Israelites. This baptism rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ, but John's baptism prepared people for Jesus' person and work.1101
Jesus placed Himself on a level with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The early Christians evidently did not understand the words "in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit"as a baptismal formula that they needed to use whenever they baptized someone (cf. Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; Rom. 6:3). Jesus apparently meant that His disciples were to connect others with the triune God of the Bible in baptism. Jesus did not specify a mode of baptism, though immersion was common in Judaism and is consistent with the meaning of the Greek word baptizo, "to immerse or submerge."His command to baptize disciples seems to rule out baptism for infants and others who cannot consciously understand and agree with what baptism signifies.
28:20 Discipling also involves teaching followers everything Jesus commanded His disciples. Notice that the content is not the Old Testament law but Jesus' commands. This does not mean that the Old Testament is unimportant. Jesus validated the whole Old Testament during His ministry (5:17-20). However the focus now becomes Jesus as the source of revelation rather than secondary sources such as the Old Testament prophets (cf. Heb. 1:1-4). Likewise the revelation of the rest of the New Testament came through Jesus and is therefore also authoritative (Acts 1:1-2). All of this teaching remains authoritative forever (24:35).
Disciples must not just understand what Jesus has commanded, as foundational as that is. They must also obey it.
". . . Matthew uses this command to weave the final thread of his argument. The purpose of his Gospel was to prove to Israel that Jesus is the Messiah. The inquiring Jew would ask, If Jesus is our King, where is our kingdom?' Matthew has indicated that the kingdom was offered to Israel, rejected by them, and postponed by God. At the present time and until the end of the tribulation the kingdom is being offered to the Gentiles (Romans 11). Therefore, the disciples are to disciple all nations. At the end of the age the kingdom of Israel will be inaugurated by the return of Israel's King."1102
This Gospel ends not with a command but with a promise. Jesus will be with His disciples as they carry out His will. This is His great commitment. Immanuel is still God with us (1:23; cf. 18:20). The expression "to the end of the age"(Gr. pasas tes hemeras) literally means "the whole of every day."1103Jesus promised to be with us every day forever. It does not mean He will cease being with us when the present age ends and the messianic kingdom begins. Throughout the present age Jesus' disciples are to carry out His Great Commission.1104
Jesus began each of the preceding major sections of Matthew's Gospel with ministry and concluded each with teaching. However in this one He concluded with a command that His disciples continue His ministry and teaching. Thus the book closes with the sense that the ministry and teaching of Jesus are ongoing.
