18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28: 18- 20
Prologue
As we see many things happening around us for example, the outbreak of various diseases, wars and rumors of war, rebuilding of Temple in Jerusalem etc. We become excited, that the coming of the Lord is near. But while connecting all the end times links together, we miss a very crucial link, the spread of the Gospel. Jesus in very clear words said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24: 14. Unless the Gospel reaches all the ethnic groups of the earth, the end shall not come. Has it reached? The world as we know it seems to be quite familiar with Christianity, isn’t it? No. There are still billions of people and hundreds of ethnic groups that have zero knowledge of something known as Christianity, uncountable people have not yet seen a Christian in their entire life. You will be surprised to know that 2, 445 people groups in India have still not heard the Gospel despite the fact that Christianity has been here since 50 AD. So stop speculating the end time events and preach the Gospel. For more information follow the link https://joshuaproject.net/
Introduction
Imagine, the Prime Minister of India deems you to be his representative and spokesperson at the international level. How would you respond to that call? What kind of feelings and emotions would fill your heart? Would you decline and say no to the offer? Or will you accept it with great joy? The One who is above all powers and principalities, the authority which far much superior than any of the rulers of the nations of the earth has called us to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth! We are called to be not just the ambassadors of a particular political power. But, God in his sovereign grace deems us to be representatives of the King of kings and Lord of lords – he calls us to be royal ambassadors – ambassadors of Christ!
Authority of Jesus, the motivation for mission (V.18)
I assume that you will not turn down the Prime Minister’s offer for certain reasons. First, you will be in a dignified position which will come along with many other benefits, you will be known as someone close to the one in authority, enjoy several material benefits etc. But when we feel called for ministry and mission, we are engulfed by certain doubts anxiousness, because such a call does not seem to be very promising and requires sacrifice. The disciples of Jesus had followed Jesus leaving all things aside, expecting him to be the Messiah who would restore the kingdom of Israel, but then he was killed. But he also conquered death! And this resurrected Lord was now standing before them on the mountain in Galilee. Some believed and worshipped him, while some were still in doubt thinking if he truly is Jesus, the Christ. And so, Jesus addresses their doubts by declaring his all-encompassing authority , “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” Jesus possesses absolute authority over all that is, over all spheres of life, the authority of Jesus is not subject to political boundaries, and it is a cosmic authority. By making such an assertion he claims that he is above all the kings and rulers of the earth. The same thought is echoed in John 3: 35, where Jesus says that the Father loves him and has given all things into his hands.
But didn’t Jesus already have the authority? He was the One through whom and for whom all things were created, he had already revealed himself as the authoritative teacher of the Law, he had demonstrated his authority over demons that recognized him as the Son of the Most High, he had shown them that he had the authority to forgive sins and that he had the authority to even command the natural forces – the wind and sea, his authority was already a universal authority. Is he now claiming to have a new kind of authority? It is to be noted that when Jesus sent his disciples on a Mission earlier, he told them to only go to the lost sheep of Israel and not to go among the Gentiles or Samaritans. The scope of his mission now seems to have broadened and have become inclusive of even other nations. Because of his obedience to the point of death on the cross and laying down his life as a ransom for many, and rising again from the dead he now had a new mediatorial authority. Luke makes it more clear in his Gospel, Lk. 24: 46, “Thus it is written that Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed to all nations…” Proclamation of the Gospel to all the nations is made possible on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection, which destroyed the power of the devil who kept the nations deceived. He was now claiming to be that offspring of Abraham in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Christ now has that authority, and not just that but, as mentioned earlier, absolute authority over all reality and over all spheres of life. Authority over politics, arts, there is absolutely nothing which is outside his sovereign lordship. But this authority needs to be realized and acknowledged by all nations, hence these commands follow.
Making Disciples, the Goal of Mission (19- 20 a)
It is based on his absolute, universal authority that Jesus sends his disciples into all the nations, “therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” Most of our English Bibles contain two imperatives in this verse – “Go” and “make disciples.” But looking at the original Greek text we will find that there is only one major command given here, just one imperative – “make disciples,” rest all the verbs are in the participle forms, “going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching.” Our primary call is not to go to different places, or to simply win converts through baptism, but our primary call is to preach the Gospel and make disciples, mentor people to be committed believers of Lord Jesus Christ, deeply rooted in sound doctrine and the Word of God, therefore teaching all that the Lord has commanded is also associated with Mission. The act of going supplements the main task of making disciples, a better translation would be, “therefore going make disciples.” And if one one believes the Gospel, baptize him/ her in the name of the Triune God – Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, he then must devote himself to this God alone. Baptism admits one into the church, therefore baptizing people can also be taken as a command for planting a church – admitting people into the Kingdom of God.
It is to be noted that there is a contrast between the sending out of disciples in Matthew 10: 5 and Matthew 28: 18- 20. The former was limited to the lost sheep of Israel while the latter is global in its scope. Jesus is now moving beyond the exclusivism of the Jewish community that looked down upon other nations. In Jesus now all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Jerusalem would no longer be the center of the Worship of God, just as Jesus said in John 4, “the hour is coming when neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father… But the hour is coming and is now here when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” Paul in Ephesians 2 draws a beautiful pictures of the dwelling place of God, addressing the gentiles he says that they were once alienated from the commonwealth of Israel are now being joined together in Christ as a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Peter reverberate the same thought when he says that” you yourselves as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. And finally we find in the book of Revelation people of all nations, tribes and tongue, coming together as one ransomed people of God worshiping him with a new song! It is to labor for this majestic end that the disciples were commissioned and we are called too!
Now let us contrast the commissioning of Isaiah and the eleven apostles. It was the will of God to send Isaiah, yet he asks “who shall I send who will go for us?” But in the commissioning of the apostles, no such question is asked, they are not given any options, but just a straightforward command based on the authority of Jesus. If we truly consider ourselves to be the disciples of Jesus then we have no choice but to be missionaries and make disciples. Not everyone is called to be a full time minister or missionary, if you think that God has called you to be one than go ahead. But this task of mission is not unique to a specific group of missionaries, but it has been entrusted to all of church – those redeemed by the blood of Christ and those who belong to him. We all are called to be witnesses for Christ, wherever God has placed us. In our college campuses, in our work places we need to bear witness for Christ. We are not called to merely enjoy the blessings of the salvation of God within the closed boundaries of our churches and Christian homes, we are commanded to take this message of salvation out into the world. We, who were once gentiles, now know the one true living God and this is the fruit of mission. Abraham was blessed to be a blessing; we are blessed to be a blessing. We are the dwelling place of God building the dwelling place of God gathering the living stones of different ethnicities that we might become one people under Christ our Lord.
Presence of Jesus, the Strength for Mission (20 b)
In the beginning of the Gospel, Matthew presents Jesus as Emmanuel – God with us, and in the end he again informs us that Jesus is with us even till the end of this age. When we receive the call for Mission from God, the first reaction is that of anxiety and maybe fear. Maybe God has called us to be in a difficult remote place, or to go in the midst of the hostile people. Such a reaction is only natural because we are incapable. When Jesus commanded the apostles, perhaps similar thoughts would have come in their minds. But Jesus assures them that he will be with them. The One with all the authority in heaven and on earth was to be with them forever. When Jesus was leaving them physically, he told them that he would not leave them orphans, and that he would come to them. The same promise is for us. He is with us till the end of this age and he has given us the Holy Spirit to indwell us and be our Helper. This doesn’t mean that we will not face challenges and difficulties in our missionaries endeavors, we definitely will. Jesus made it very clear when he said that in this world we will face tribulation, but he again reassures us for the sake of his authority – “take heart; I have overcome the world” and it is in this triumphant and all authoritative Lord that we are to find peace and comfort (John 16: 33).
Application
Jesus sends us in his authoritative name, as his representatives and ambassadors, and not just that, he goes along with us. Mission is his work, he is the one doing it, we are just his subordinates. If our effort yield success, it is not our success, glory be to him, if we don’t see visible fruit, again it is his task, he calls and saves as many as he has appointed to eternal life (Acts 13: 48). All we need to know is that God is unfolding his great, global redemptive plan and he can do it without us, yet he makes us a part of it, and what a privilege it is to be a part of it! Let us share the Gospel with anyone and everyone that comes our way.
The Gospelpolitan 