Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 28:16
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
16, 17. Jesus appears to the Eleven in Galilee
Peculiar to St Matthew
16. a mountain ] Rather, the mountain. Perhaps the highland behind Tell Hum or Capernaum (see map), the scene of their earliest intercourse with Christ, and the very spot where the New Law was first proclaimed. There the brethren, possibly five hundred in number [see Mat 28:9-10 (8) (9)], besides the Eleven, awaited the coming of the Great Shepherd ( Mat 28:7). As the sacred form appeared on the familiar mountain side they threw themselves on the ground, doing homage to their Lord and God. But some doubted still. Then He drew more near and spake. And as the words sounded in their ears, we may believe they “knew His voice” and dismissed their doubts.
had appointed ] Rather, appointed.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then the eleven disciples – Judas was dead, leaving but eleven of the original number of the apostles.
Into a mountain where Jesus lead appointed them – This appointment is recorded in Mat 26:32. On what particular mountain this was is not known. It is probable that Jesus, when he made the appointment, specified the place, which has been omitted by the evangelists. Matthew has omitted many appearances which Jesus made to his disciples which have been recorded by Luke, John, and Paul. See the harmony of the resurrection at the end of the chapter.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee.
On the mountain
I. Is the worlds need any less now than it was then? The needs of the human soul are still unsupplied by any material satisfactions. The conscience of the world is still troubled with the old problem, How shall man be just with God. If the gospel be withheld from the knowledge of mankind the problem remains insoluble. The misery of man is great upon him still. Go ye therefore, etc. Tell men that God loves them. Such is the great commission.
1. Look at its universality.
2. Look at its intellectual character, Go teach all nations. The gospel is an appeal to human intelligence.
3. Consider its gentleness. The Divine condescension in act of bending down to reach men, disciple them.
II. Are the encouragements given to those who put themselves instantly in a way of obedience to this last command in any degree less than they were at first? The followers of Christ had heavenly power on their side then. Has it waned? Go, even if you doubt. Once before our Lord had seen the world and its kingdoms from a high mountain. The race shall enter into the kingdoms of the world. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. Then the eleven disciples went] When the women went and told them that they had seen the Lord, and that he had promised to meet them in Galilee. From the eleventh to the fifteenth verse inclusive, should be read in a parenthesis, as the sixteenth verse is the continuation of the subject mentioned in the tenth.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The other evangelists mention several other appearances of Christ, which we shall consider when we come to them. This was in Galilee, upon Christs appointment either before or after his resurrection, we cannot certainly say when, or how. Some think (upon what grounds I know not, but because the evangelists mention no more) that this was the famous appearance mentioned by the apostles, when he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, 1Co 15:6. The text speaks but of eleven that went into Galilee; it is possible more might meet him there, but we have no guidance of Scripture to conclude it. Some
worshipped him; but some doubted: Thomas we know did so, so might others: but some think that it had been better translated, some had doubted; I understand no sufficient reason for it, for it is not certain that this was after his other appearances mentioned by the other evangelists.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. Then the eleven disciples wentaway into Galileebut certainly not before the second weekafter the resurrection, and probably somewhat later.
into a mountain where Jesushad appointed themIt should have been rendered “themountain,” meaning some certain mountain which He had named tothemprobably the night before He suffered, when He said, “AfterI am risen, I will go before you into Galilee” (Mat 26:32;Mar 14:28). What it was can onlybe conjectured; but of the two between which opinions are dividedtheMount of the Beatitudes or Mount Taborthe former is much the moreprobable, from its nearness to the Sea of Tiberias, where last beforethis the Narrative tells us that He met and dined with seven of them.(Joh 21:1, c.). That theinterview here recorded was the same as that referred to in one placeonly 1Co 15:6 when “Hewas seen of above five hundred brethren at once of whom the greaterpart remained unto that day, though some were fallen asleep,” isnow the opinion of the ablest students of the evangelical history.Nothing can account for such a number as five hundred assembling atone spot but the expectation of some promised manifestation of theirrisen Lord: and the promise before His resurrection, twice repeatedafter it, best explains this immense gathering.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then the eleven disciples,…. For Judas was not only gone from them, but was dead; so that there were now but eleven of them: went
away into Galilee: not directly, as soon as the women had delivered their message; for Christ appeared to them the same day at Jerusalem; and so he did at the same place that week; see
Joh 20:19, but some time, after this they went together into Galilee, according to Christ’s direction both before and after his resurrection, Mt 26:32,
into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them; either before his death, or since he was risen; and very likely at one of the above interviews he had with them. This is generally thought to be Mount Tabor; but of this there is no proof, nor certainty: it might be the mountain near Capernaum, on which he taught, Mt 5:1, or that, if not the same with the other, near the sea of Galilee, where Christ fed four thousand with seven loaves, and a few fishes, Mt 15:29. A mountain was appointed for this meeting, both for solitariness and for sight; for here it was he was seen by above five hundred brethren at once, 1Co 15:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Apostolic Commission. |
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16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
This evangelist passes over several other appearances of Christ, recorded by Luke and John, and hastens to this, which was of all other the most solemn, as being promised and appointed again and again before his death, and after his resurrection. Observe,
I. How the disciples attended his appearance, according to the appointment (v. 16); They went into Galilee, a long journey to go for one sight of Christ, but it was worth while. They had seen him several times at Jerusalem, and yet they went into Galilee, to see him there.
1. Because he appointed them to do so. Though it seemed a needless thing to go into Galilee, to see him whom they might see at Jerusalem, especially when they must so soon come back again to Jerusalem, before his ascension, yet they had learned to obey Christ’s commands and not object against them. Note, Those who would maintain communion with Christ, must attend him there where he has appointed. Those who have met him in one ordinance, must attend him in another; those who have seen him at Jerusalem, must go to Galilee.
2. Because that was to be a public and general meeting. They had seen him themselves, and conversed with him in private, but that should not excuse their attendance in a solemn assembly, where many were to be gathered together to see him. Note, Our communion with God in secret must not supersede our attendance on public worship, as we have opportunity; for God loves the gates of Zion, and so must we. The place was a mountain in Galilee, probably the same mountain on which he was transfigured. There they met, for privacy, and perhaps to signify the exalted state into which he was entered, and his advances toward the upper world.
II. How they were affected with the appearance of Christ to them, v. 17. Now was the time that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, 1 Cor. xv. 6. Some think that they saw him, at first, at some distance, above in the air, ephthe epano—He was seen above, of five hundred brethren (so they read it); which gave occasion to some to doubt, till he came nearer (v. 18), and then they were satisfied. We are told,
1. That they worshipped him; many of them did so, nay, it should seem, they all did that, they gave divine honour to him, which was signified by some outward expressions of adoration. Note, All that see the Lord Jesus with an eye of faith are obliged to worship him.
2. But some doubted, some of those that were then present. Note, Even among those that worship there are some that doubt. The faith of those that are sincere, may yet be very weak and wavering. They doubted, edistasan—they hung in suspense, as the scales of the balance, when it is hard to say which preponderates. These doubts were afterward removed, and their faith grew up to a full assurance, and it tended much to the honour of Christ, that the disciples doubted before they believed; so that they cannot be said to be credulous, and willing to be imposed upon; for they first questioned, and proved all things, and then held fast that which was true, and which they found to be so.
III. What Jesus Christ said to them (v. 18-20); Jesus came, and spoke unto them. Though there were those that doubted, yet, he did not therefore reject them; for he will not break the bruised reed. He did not stand at a distance, but came near, and gave them such convincing proofs of his resurrection, as turned the wavering scale, and made their faith to triumph over their doubts. He came, and spoke familiarly to them, as one friend speaks to another, that they might be fully satisfied in the commission he was about to give them. He that drew near to God, to speak for us to him, draws near to us, to speak from him to us. Christ now delivered to his apostles the great charter of his kingdom in the world, was sending them out as his ambassadors, and here gives them their credentials.
In opening this great charter, we may observe two things.
1. The commission which our Lord Jesus received himself from the Father. Being about to authorize his apostles, if any ask by what authority he doeth it, and who gave him that authority, here he tells us, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth; a very great word, and which none but he could say. Hereby he asserts his universal dominion as Mediator, which is the great foundation of the Christian religion. He has all power. Observe, (1.) Whence he hath this power. He did not assume it, or usurp it, but it was given him, he was legally entitled to it, and invested in it, by a grant from him who is the Fountain of all being, and consequently of all power. God set him King (Ps. ii. 6), inaugurated and enthroned him, Luke i. 32. As God, equal with the Father, all power was originally and essentially his; but as Mediator, as God-man, all power was given him; partly in recompence of his work (because he humbled himself, therefore God thus exalted him), and partly in pursuance of his design; he had this power given him over all flesh, that he might give eternal life to as many as were given him (John xvii. 2), for the more effectual carrying on and completing our salvation. This power he was now more signally invested in, upon his resurrection, Acts xiii. 3. He had power before, power to forgive sins (ch. ix. 6); but now all power is given him. He is now going to receive for himself a kingdom (Luke xix. 12), to sit down at the right hand, Ps. cx. 1. Having purchased it, nothing remains but to take possession; it is his own for ever. (2.) Where he has this power; in heaven and earth, comprehending the universe. Christ is the sole universal Monarch, he is Lord of all, Acts x. 36. He has all power in heaven. He has power of dominion over the angels, they are all his humble servants, Eph 1:20; Eph 1:21. He has power of intercession with his Father, in the virtue of his satisfaction and atonement; he intercedes, not as a suppliant, but as a demandant; Father, I will. He has all power on earth too; having prevailed with God, by the sacrifice of atonement, he prevails with men, and deals with them as one having authority, by the ministry of reconciliation. He is indeed, in all causes and over all persons, supreme Moderator and Governor. By him kings reign. All souls are his, and to him every heart and knee must bow, and every tongue confess him to be the Lord. This our Lord Jesus tells them, not only to satisfy them of the authority he had to commission them, and to bring them out in the execution of their commission, but to take off the offence of the cross; they had no reason to be ashamed of Christ crucified, when they saw him thus glorified.
2. The commission he gives to those whom he sent forth; Go ye therefore. This commission is given, (1.) To the apostles primarily, the chief ministers of state in Christ’s kingdom, the architects that laid the foundation of the church. Now those that had followed Christ in the regeneration, were set on thrones (Luke xxii. 30); Go ye. It is not only a word of command, like that, Son, go work, but a word of encouragement, Go, and fear not, have I not sent you? Go, and make a business of this work. They must not take state, and issue out summons to the nations to attend upon them; but they must go, and bring the gospel to their doors, Go ye. They had doted on Christ’s bodily presence, and hung upon that, and built all their joys and hopes upon that; but now Christ discharges them from further attendance on his person, and sends them abroad about other work. As an eagle stirs up her nest, flutters over her young, to excite them to fly (Deut. xxxii. 11), so Christ stirs up his disciples, to disperse themselves over all the world. (2.) It is given to their successors, the ministers of the gospel, whose business it is to transmit the gospel from age to age, to the end of the world in time, as it was theirs to transmit it from nation to nation, to the end of the world in place, and no less necessary. The Old-Testament promise of a gospel ministry is made to a succession (Isa. lix. 21); and this must be so understood, otherwise how could Christ be with them always to the consummation of the world? Christ, at his ascension, gave not only apostles and prophets, but pastors and teachers, Eph. iv. 11. Now observe,
[1.] How far his commission is extended; to all nations. Go, and disciples all nations. Not that they must go all together into every place, but by consent disperse themselves in such manner as might best diffuse the light of the gospel. Now this plainly signifies it to be the will of Christ, First, That the covenant of peculiarity, made with the Jews, should now be cancelled and disannulled. This word broke down the middle wall of partition, which had so long excluded the Gentiles from a visible church-state; and whereas the apostles, when first sent out, were forbidden to go into the way of the Gentiles, now they were sent to all nations. Secondly, That salvation by Christ should be offered to all, and none excluded that did not by their unbelief and impenitence exclude themselves. The salvation they were to preach is a common salvation; whoever will, let him come, and take the benefit of the act of indemnity; for there is no difference of Jew or Greek in Christ Jesus. Thirdly, That Christianity should be twisted in with national constitutions, that the kingdoms of the world should become Christ’s kingdoms, and their kings the church’s nursing-fathers.
[2.] What is the principal intention of this commission; to disciple all nations. Matheteusate–“Admit them disciples; do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations;” not, “Go to the nations, and denounce the judgments of God against them, as Jonah against Nineveh, and as the other Old-Testament prophets” (though they had reason enough to expect it for their wickedness), “but go, and disciple them.” Christ the Mediator is setting up a kingdom in the world, bring the nations to be his subjects; setting up a school, bring the nations to be his scholars; raising an army for the carrying on of the war against the powers of darkness, enlist the nations of the earth under his banner. The work which the apostles had to do, was, to set up the Christian religion in all places, and it was honourable work; the achievements of the mighty heroes of the world were nothing to it. They conquered the nations for themselves, and made them miserable; the apostles conquered them for Christ, and made them happy.
[3.] Their instructions for executing this commission.
First, They must admit disciples by the sacred rite of baptism; “Go into all nations, preach the gospel to them, work miracles among them, and persuade them to come in themselves, and bring their children with them, into the church of Christ, and then admit them and theirs into the church, by washing them with water;” either dipping them in the water, or pouring or sprinkling water upon them, which seems the more proper, because the thing is most frequently expressed so, as Isa. xliv. 3, I will pour my Spirit on thy seed. And, Tit 3:5; Tit 3:6, Which he shed on us abundantly. And, Ezek. xxxvi. 25, I will sprinkle clean water upon you. And, Isa. lii. 15, So shall he sprinkle many nations; which seems a prophecy of this commission to baptize the nations.
Secondly, This baptism must be administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. That is, 1. By authority from heaven, and not of man; for his ministers act by authority from the three persons in the Godhead, who all concur, as to our creation, so to our redemption; they have their commission under the great seal of heaven, which puts an honour upon the ordinance, though to a carnal eye, like him that instituted it, it has no form or comeliness. 2. Calling upon the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Every thing is sanctified by prayer, and particularly the waters of baptism. The prayer of faith obtains the presence of God with the ordinance, which is its lustre and beauty, its life and efficacy. But, 3. It is into the name (eis to onoma) of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; this was intended as the summary of the first principles of the Christian religion, and of the new covenant, and according to it the ancient creeds were drawn up. By our being baptized, we solemnly profess, (1.) Our assent to the scripture-revelation concerning God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We confess our belief that there is a God, that there is but one God, that in the Godhead there is a Father that begets, a Son that is begotten, and a Holy Spirit of both. We are baptized, not into the names, but into the name, of Father, Son, and Spirit, which plainly intimates that these three are one, and their name one. The distinct mentioning of the three persons in the Trinity, both in the Christian baptism here, and in the Christian blessing (2 Cor. xiii. 14), as it is a full proof of the doctrine of the Trinity, so it has done much towards preserving it pure and entire through all ages of the church; for nothing is more great and awful in Christian assemblies than these two. (2.) Our consent to a covenant-relation to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Baptism is a sacrament, that is, it is an oath; super sacramentum dicere, is to say upon oath. It is an oath of abjuration, by which we renounce the world and the flesh, as rivals with God for the throne in our hearts; and an oath of allegiance, by which we resign and give up ourselves to God, to be his, our own selves, our whole selves, body, soul, and spirit, to be governed by his will, and made happy in his favour; we become his men, so the form of homage in our law runs. Therefore baptism is applied to the person, as livery and seisin is given of the premises, because it is the person that is dedicated to God. [1.] It is into the name of the Father, believing him to be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (for that is principally intended here), by eternal generation, and our Father, as our Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor, to whom therefore we resign ourselves, as our absolute owner and proprietor, to actuate us, and dispose of us; as our supreme rector and governor, to rule us, as free agents, by his law; and as our chief good, and highest end. [2.] It is into the name of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and correlate to the Father. Baptism was in a particular manner administered in the name of the Lord Jesus,Act 8:16; Act 19:5. In baptism we assent, as Peter did, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God (ch. xvi. 16), and consent, as Thomas did, My Lord, and my God, John xx. 28. We take Christ to be our Prophet, Priest, and King, and give up ourselves to be taught, and saved, and ruled, by him. [3.] It is into the name of the Holy Ghost. Believing the Godhead of the Holy Spirit, and his agency in carrying on our redemption, we give up ourselves to his conduct and operation, as our sanctifier, teacher, guide, and comforter.
Thirdly, Those that are thus baptized, and enrolled among the disciples of Christ, must be taught (v. 20); Teaching them to observe all thing, whatsoever I have commanded you. This denotes two things.
1. The duty of disciples, of all baptized Christians; they must observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded, and, in order to that, must submit to the teaching of those whom he sends. Our admission into the visible church is in order to something further; when Christ hath discipled us, he hath not done with us; he enlist soldiers that he may train them up for his service.
All that are baptized, are thereby obliged, (1.) To make the command of Christ their rule. There is a law of faith, and we are said to be under the law to Christ; we are by baptism bound, and must obey. (2.) To observe what Christ has commanded. Due obedience to the commands of Christ requires a diligent observation; we are in danger of missing, if we take not good heed: and in all our obedience, we must have an eye to the command, and do what we do as unto the Lord. (3.) To observe all things, that he has commanded, without exception; all the moral duties, and all the instituted ordinances. Our obedience to the laws of Christ is not sincere, if it be not universal; we must stand complete in his whole will. (4.) To confine themselves to the commands of Christ, and as not to diminish from them, so not to add to them. (5.) To learn their duty according to the law of Christ, from those whom he has appointed to be teachers in his school, for therefore we were entered into his school.
2. The duty of the apostles of Christ, and his ministers; and that is, to beach the commands of Christ, to expound them to his disciples, to press upon them the necessity of obedience, and to assist them in applying the general commands of Christ to particular cases. They must teach them, not their own inventions, but the institutions of Christ; to them they must religiously adhere, and in the knowledge of them Christians must be trained up. A standing ministry is hereby settled in the church, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the perfect man, Eph. iv. 11-13. The heirs of heaven, till they come to age, must be under tutors and governors.
3. Here is the assurance he gives them of his spiritual presence with them in the execution of this commission; And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. This exceeding great and precious promise is ushered in with a behold, to strengthen their faith, and engage their observation of it. “Take notice of this; it is what you may assure yourselves of and venture upon.” Observe,
(1.) The favour promised them; I am with you. Not, I will be with you, but I am—ego eimi. As God sent Moses, so Christ sent his apostles, by this name, I am; for he is God, to whom past, present, and to come, are the same. See Rev. i. 8. He was now about to leave them; his bodily presence was now to be removed from them, and this grieved them; but he assures them of his spiritual presence, which was more expedient for them than his bodily presence could be; I am with you; that is, “My Spirit is with you, the Comforter shall abide with you, John xvi. 7. I am with you, and not against you: with you to take your part, to be on your side, and to hold with you, as Michael our prince is said to do, Dan. x. 21. I am with you, and not absent from you, not at a distance; I am a very present help,” Ps. xlvi. 1. Christ was now sending them to set up his kingdom in the world, which was a great undertaking. And then doth he seasonably promise them his presence with them, [1.] To carry them on through the difficulties they were likely to meet with. “I am with you, to bear you up, to plead your cause; with you in all your services, in all your sufferings, to bring you through them with comfort and honour. When you go through the fire or water, I will be with you. In the pulpit, in the prison, lo, I am with you.” [2.] To succeed this great undertaking; “Lo, I am with you, to make your ministry effectual for the discipling of the nations, for the pulling down of the strong holds of Satan, and the setting up of stronger for the Lord Jesus.” It was an unlikely thing that they should unhinge national constitutions in religion, and turn the stream of so long a usage; that they should establish a doctrine so directly contrary to the genius of the age, and persuade people to become the disciples of a crucified Jesus; but lo, I am with you, and therefore you shall gain your point.
(2.) The continuance of the favour, always, even unto the end of the world.
[1.] They shall have his constant presence; Always, pasas tas hemeras—all days, every day. “I will be with you on sabbath days and week days, fair days and foul days, winter days and summer days.” There is no day, no hour of the day, in which our Lord Jesus is not present with his churches and with his ministers; if there were, that day, that hour, they were undone. Since his resurrection he had appeared to them now and then, once a week it may be, and scarcely that. But he assures them that they shall have his spiritual presence continued to them without intermission. Wherever we are the word of Christ is nigh us, even in our mouth, and the Spirit of Christ nigh us, even in our hearts. The God of Israel, the Saviour, is sometimes a God that hideth himself (Isa. xlv. 15), but never a God that absenteth himself; sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance.
[2.] They shall have his perpetual presence, even to the end of the world. There is a world before us, that will never have an end, but this is hastening towards its period; and even till then the Christian religion shall, in one part of the world or other, be kept up, and the presence of Christ continued with his ministers. I am with you to the end of the world, not with your persons, they died quickly, but, First, With you and your writings. There is a divine power going along with the scripture of the New Testament, not only preserving them in being, but producing strange effects by them, which will continue to the end of time. Secondly, With you and your successors; with you and all the ministers of the gospel in the several ages of the church; with all to whom this commission extends, with all who, being duly called and sent, thus baptize and thus teach. When the end of the world is come, and the kingdom delivered up to God, even the Father, there will then be no further need of ministers and their ministration; but till then they shall continue, and the great intentions of the institution shall be answered. This is an encouraging word to all the faithful ministers of Christ, that what was said to the apostles, was said to them all, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Two solemn farewells we find our Lord Jesus giving to his church, and his parting word at both of them is very encouraging; one was here, when he closed up his personal converse with them, and then his parting word was, “Lo, I am with you always; I leave you, and yet still I am with you;” the other was, when he closed up the canon of the scripture by the pen of his beloved disciple, and then his parting word was, “Surely, I come quickly. I leave you for awhile, but I will be with you again shortly,” Rev. xxii. 20. By this it appears that he did not part in anger, but in love, and that it is his will we should keep up both our communion with him and our expectation of him.
There is one word more remaining, which must not be overlooked, and that is Amen; which is not a cipher, intended only for a concluding word, like finis at the end of a book, but it has its significancy. 1. It bespeaks Christ’s confirmation of this promise, Lo, I am with you. It is his Amen, in whom all the promises are Yea and Amen, “Verily I am, and will be, with you; I the Amen, the faithful Witness, do assure you of it.” Or, 2. It bespeaks the church’s concurrence with it, in their desire, and prayer, and expectation. It is the evangelist’s Amen–So be it, blessed Lord. Our Amen to Christ’s promises turns them into prayers. Hath Christ promised to be present with his ministers, present in his word, present in the assemblies of his people, though but two or three are gathered together in his name, and this always, even to the end of the world? Let us heartily say Amen to it; believe that it shall be so, and pray that it may be so: Lord, Remember this word unto thy servants, upon which thou hast caused us to hope.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Mat 28:16
. And the eleven disciples went into Galilee. Matthew, passing by those occurrences which we have taken out of the other three Evangelists, mentions only in what place the eleven disciples were appointed to the apostolic office. For—as we have already had frequent opportunities of perceiving—it was not the intention of the Evangelists to embrace every part of the history; because the Holy Spirit, who guided their pen, has thought fit to compose such a summary as we see out of their united testimonies. Matthew has therefore selected what was of the greatest importance to us, namely, that when Christ appeared to the disciples, he likewise commissioned them to be apostles, to convey into every part of the world the message of eternal life.
To the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. Though the mountain is not mentioned any where else, yet we con-elude that this spot in Galilee was known to Mary. (323)
(323) “ Que Christ enseigna nommément ce lieu-là a Marie;” — “that Christ expressly informed Mary respecting that place.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
BibleSupport.com Note: At the end of Matthew (see end of Mat 28:15 comments), Riley states, For the study of Mat 28:16-20, see volume God Hath Spoken, published by the Worlds Christian Fundamentals Association.
Riley is referencing the book God Hath Spoken and specifically his own lecture, The Great Commission. This lecture is incorporated for reference below.
The publishing information for this book is:
Book Name: God Hath SpokenPublisher: Bible Conference CommitteeCopyright Date: 1919Chapter Excerpted: The Great Commission, pages 427-443
THE GREAT COMMISSION
WM. B. RILEY, D.D.
Premillennialists have been charged with neglecting the Great Commission. The men who bring this indictment are compelled, however, by the facts of history, to confess that we have not neglected its application; and even to admit that our outstanding men have been the most ardent advocates of missionary endeavor; our missionaries are often its most ablest exponents. The Commission itself, instead of involving difficulties of interpretation for the advocates of the blessed hope has ever been, and still remains, to each one of them, a marching order. Beyond all dispute, the vision of Christ was a world-vision; His plan for the church was a world-undertaking; His expectation for the kingdom was a world-conquest; and this is all signified by the Great CommissionGo ye, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you alway even unto the end (Mat 28:19-20.)
We quite agree with Dr. Snowden that The Bible speaks in world terms from Genesis to The Revelation. Jehovah is no tribal deity, but is the God of the whole earth. (Isa 54:5.) Redemption had in view no little select class or favored few, but God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life. The gospel was no bit of local news circulating around in Jewish villages, but is a world message. Jesus Christ was no parochial schoolmaster, but is the prophet of humanity. The kingdom of God, according to abundant and continuous testimony of Scripture, is to fill the world from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. (Zec 9:10.)
We approach the interpretation of this text with no trepidation. We do not care to pass over a single point contained in it; nor do we propose that brethren who deny the blessed hope shall be privileged to give it a partial treatment, and at the same time convey the impression that they, and they alone, accept the Great Commission in all its fulness.
What is the interpretation of this text? Unquestionably it has to do with the commission of the church; it has to do with the ceremonies of the church; and it has to do with the Christ of the church.
The Commission of the Church
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth, Go ye, therefore. (Mat 2:18-20.)
The command was from One of all authority and power. It was the man Christ Jesus, the very Son of God; from the One, and the only One who had a right to command. From the One whose right is recognized in heaven, from the One whose right is also recognized in hell, and whose authority covers all intervening space. When God was working special miracles by the hand of Paul, casting out evil spirits, and certain exorcists took upon them to name over them that had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure thee by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. * * * The man in whom the evil spirit was, answered, Paul I know and Christ I know, but whence are ye? And he leaped on them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
His authority is recognized in hell! When the man who had the legion of devils, was in His presence, they called out, Why hast thou come to torment us before our time? All authority and all power! It is His to command, for Christ is the Lord of both the dead and the living. (Rom 14:9.)
When God raised him from the dead and placed him at his right hand in heavenly places, far above all rule and authority, and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Eph 1:20-23.) If, therefore, I am a member of the churchHis bodyHe has as much right to command me as my brain has a right to command the action of my hand, the movement of my feet, or the utterance of my lips.
This commission was unto the men who knew Him best and loved Him most. Have we noted the phraseology of it? The eleven disciples went into Galilee unto the mount where Jesus had appointed, and whey they saw Him they worshipped Him, and Jesus came to them and spake unto them saying, * * * * There is a real reason for calling them disciples here, instead of apostles.
The theory of a verbal inspiration of the Book make the use of that name significant in the last degree. He commissioned disciples, not apostles only; and yet He gave that commission originally to the eleven who knew Him best, and to the eleven who loved Him most. With them He made His beginning and in them He rested His dependance, and it is an ensample of the Christ-method. He could never trust His ministry in the world to men and women who were not devoted to Him; and He could never expect the carrying of His gospel to the ends of the earth, over sea and land, in spite of all dangers and hardships and even death, of others than those who loved Him ardently, and who yielded themselves to be obedient to His will. In old Virginia, a lad sat in a meeting addressed in the interest of missions, and watched them take up an offering to send the knowledge of Christ to foreign lands. The box returned and the contents were counted. In the subscriptions they found a card written, I give myself. Inquiry was made as to who had signed it, and from the rear of the room a young man arose, with blushing face, and said, I did. It is all I have to give! It was John Lewis Shuck, who later went away to China, and who was so blessed of God that he laid the foundations of the Southern Baptist Convention work in foreign missions. That is the first offering God wantsthe offering of self.
It is only because our missionaries have been such devoted men and women that we have shot light into the heart of darkest Africa, into the heart of blinded India, into the heart of bigoted Japan, that we have seen the cannibals of the great islands converted into the worlds most ardent Christians. Think of Alexander Duff as an illustration. He had given his whole life to India, and as an old man he stood in Edinburgh and for two hours and a half he held his listeners spell-bound as he told the story of trials and hardships and conquests. Then he fainted and was carried from the hall. When he came to himself, he asked, Where am I? What was I doing? Oh, yes; Take me back and let me finish my speech! You will kill yourself if you do, exclaimed his friends. I shall die if I do not! And so they carried him back. The whole audience arose, men and women sobbing. He was unable to stand, but sat down, and said, Fathers of Scotland, have you any more sons to send to India? I have spent my life there, and my life has gone, but if there are no young men to go, I will go back myself and lay my bones there, and let the people know that there is one man in Christian Britain who is ready to die for India! Such have been the men unto whose hearts and hands Christ has committed His commission.
And yet, lest men should conclude that only great apostles had obligations in this matter, the Bible names the men who received the commission disciples and not apostles, and we agree with the eminent writer who said, As all the disciples of Christ are required to take a part in the propagation of His Gospel throughout the world, those who remain at home are bound to sustain and minister to those who go abroad, just as much as citizens in civil life are bound to support their fellow-countrymen who go forth as soldiers to fight their countrys battles. We confess to an increasing amazement that there are so many more Christian young men in the world who are willing to don the uniform of the soldier or sailor and go out for their country to battles of blood, than there are young men in the church willing to go out for the church of God, to wear the livery of heaven and conquer heathenism by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, loving not their lives unto the death.
Dr. Joseph Clark, from Africa, speaking of the Soudan, said, It is only a short time ago that there was a great massacre of the Christians there. A woman came by steamer out of that country, and on her way out passed the Electa, the largest man-of-war on the coast. It had aboard three hundred soldiers. They were going to the rescue of the Christians, and looked to the Christian woman like an angelic host. As the steamer passed in the narrows she noticed that every eye was upon her, and the soldiers took off their helmets and saluted and bowed. She wondered why she was paid such court. Yet, looking about her she saw that she was the only white woman in the midst of black faces, and the soldiers knew that they were looking into the face of one in whose defence they had come, and if need be they would die. And she said, Can it be possible that those three hundred boys are facing these perils simply for the sake of the salary and loyalty to the Queen? No wonder she added, Why are not more young men coming with loyalty to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to do battle, not with heathen nor Mohammedans, but with falsehood and sin, not that men might die in a pool of their own blood, but that they might taste the bread of heaven and be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb?
His commission was unto every nation under heaven. All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. To say that this was a commission to Jews alone is not only to strain the meaning of Scripture, but it is to destroy the meaning of speech, All the nations is a phrase which is always applicable to Gentiles; whereas, a nation the nation is the very language of the Word of God in description of Israel. When Isaiah says (Isa 1:4): Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, he means Israel; but when in Isa 2:2 he says: It shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountains of Jehovahs house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it, he sweeps the Gentile world into his vision and promise. When again he writes: Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah, thou art glorified; thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land, he speaks of Israel. But when he says, So shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion, he refers to the great Gentile world. Jeremiah distinguished with equal clearness between the nation and the nations. So do Ezekial, and Daniel, and, for that matter, every minor prophet from Hosea to Malachi. But, as if the New Testament meant on its own account, to put this matter past all possible dispute, read Marks report of the great commission itself (Mar 16:15). Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. The whole creation certainly compasses the entire world! To contend, therefore, that that thought never was in the commission is not only to contort the New, but to forget the Old Testament. Abraham was a missionary to the Canaan Gentiles; Joseph was a missionary to the Egyptian Gentiles; Jonah was a missionary to the Assyrian Gentiles. In truth, there has never been an hour since Abraham was called in which God has not made provision for the redemption of the Gentiles who might accept Jehovah, and yield themselves to walk according to His precepts.
The Lamb slain form the foundation of the world was slain for the Jew first; but also for the Gentile. Paul preached no new gospel as he himself declared, but preached unto them that which he had also received. And when Cephas came with those Jewish heresies Paul resisted him to his face for his Judaizing interpretation of the Word of God; and separated from Barnabas because he was carried away with their dissimulation. The earnest of all of this was in the ministry of Jesus Himself also. Have we forgotten how, when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying: The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people that sat in darkness saw a great light.
What was Christ doing there? Simply taking seizen of His belongings. We are told that when William the Conqueror first went ashore on the coast of England he stumbled and fell. This was thought by his followers to be an ill omen. But grappling both hands full of sand, he held them aloft and cried: I have taken seizen of my kingdom in England. We do not belong to that company who expect ever to see the kingdom brought about by missionary operations. Our understanding of this text is that we are to make disciples of (or out of) all nations, that such become the ecclesia or the called out company! With this agrees perfectly James great deliverance. Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God, at the first, did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written; After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen down, and I will build again the ruins thereof and I will set it up; that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called saith the Lord, who doeth all things. (Act 15:13-16.)
Our obligation is not to bring the kingdom in; God will set it up, but it is ours to carry the gospel out; out to every East Indian, out to every Chinaman, out to every African, out to every Japanese, out to every South Sea Islander. Livingstone said a remarkable thing, The end of discovery is the beginning of missions. He might have added, the end of discovery is also the territory of missions. As long as another continent or island can be found and another people sit in darkness, knowing not the truth, the obligation of the church remains, since to all creation is His commission. God give to those of us who feel it is the divine will that we should remain in this country, a worldwide view and implant in our breasts a passion for worldwide evangelism, that we may have within ourselves the proof of our discipleship; and be the company of those to whom the poet addressed the words:
Once the welcome light has broken,
Who shall say
What the unimagined glories
Of the day;
What the evil that shall perish
In its ray?
Men of thought and men of action,
Clear the way!
But from the Commission of the Church we pass to
The Ceremonies of the Church.
Go, ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
A disciples baptism is an essential ceremony. Paul tells us its meaning. In writing to the Romans (Rom 6:4-5) he says: We are buried therefore with Him through baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
The significance of this ceremony can never be so fully felt in the Christian world as it is in the heathen. Some time since we looked upon a stereopticon view of a missionary baptizing natives of the Congo Free State. Here were men who had been thieves and liars and murderers, guilty of all forms of fornication and adultery; and women who were their matches in sin, and boys and girls born and bred to the same; and now they were being baptized. What did it mean to them? Not an Easter performance merely; not an occasion of appearing in a white dress or any other uniform; not the celebration of a ceremony at such a time and place as to attract the attention of the public and excite favorable press comment. It meant cessation from the life of sin in its various and awful phases; it meant burial with the Man who went beneath the flood for our sakes; it meant resurrection to walk in newness of life with Him. And that meaning was further illustrated as we followed those converts from the pool to the daily practice of Christian precepts. Ah, beautiful ceremony! Ah, marvelous change! Ah, glorious prospect of clean, wholesome, consecrated lives! Beddome was contemplating this act when he wrote the lines:
Witness ye men and angels now,
Before the Lord we speak;
To Him we make our solemn vow,
A vow we dare not break.
That, long as life itself shall last,
Ourselves to Christ we yield;
Nor from His cause will we depart,
Or ever quit the field.
The Lords Supper was a second essential ceremony. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. He had commanded it! This do in remembrance of me! We have teachers among us now who tell us that it was a Judaizing rite, and was not intended to continue indefinitely. Perhaps not; but the Word of the Lord is plain as to how long it shall continue, As oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lords death, till He come. And so long shall it remaintill He come. We have little doubt that He will celebrate it in person with His own; and that the significance of it will be better understood when He again, with His pierced hand, shall break the bread and pass the cup, than it has ever been in all the ages. Do we not remember how on that night before Jesus was crucified, as they were eating, He took the bread and blest and brake it, and said, Eat, this is my body which was broken for you; and he took the cup likewise, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins. But I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it new with you in my Fathers kingdom. It is a significant suggestion. Till He come, and the saints shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. In that festal hour when bride and bridegroom shall know the communion of love, the table about which they will gather will not be a feast of the flesh, for our bodies will not be carnal, sold under sin, but spiritual bodies instead; and it will be a feast of affection when the Lords Supper shall once more, and perhaps finally be celebrated; and its full meaning shall then be understood, and voiced in the notes of those who Sing the Song of Moses and Lamb.
Think of the relationship that this ordinance sustains to foreign missions. Think of the meaning of the Lords Supper, as men and women, recently converted from besotting sins, sit, white-souled before the holy communion and remind themselves of the fact that they were purchased not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, symbolized in the cup, and they were redeemed not by the offering of a man, but by the broken body of the very Son of God. If such doctrines will not hold natives to their newly found faith, then salvation from sin can never be accomplished, and sanctification of spirit is an impossibility. But it does hold! And they who are washed with the very blood of the Son of God are careful not to stain themselves afresh; and they who are bought with the broken body of Christ are solicitous to keep themselves busy for Him till He come!
The Word of the Lord is a warrant for both. The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. It is vain, therefore, that men speak against them. Like the ointment brought by the woman for the anointing of Jesus, wherever this gospel shall be preached, it shall be a memorial; and the gospel of Jesus Christ without these memorials of salvation and surrender, would not be a complete gospel, nor a sufficient one! We deliver then, that which we have also received, how that Christ was baptized by John in Jordan, and therein has set us an example, that we should repent everyone and be baptized in His name, and how that He took bread and blessed and brake it, and gave it to His disciples, passing the cup after the same manner, saying, This do in remembrance of me, and till I come. Every celebration of the Lords Supper is a beautiful reminder of that blessed hope.
Ah, significant ceremonies they are; and a wonderful gospel it is, and the wonder of it all is not so much the commission given, and the ceremonies appointed, as it is in
The Christ of the Church.
Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, or, if you prefer, the consummation of the age. He is infinite in power. Aye, with Him is all authority and all power. The missionary can depend on Him. When a Congo missionary saw the savages coming to take his life he could depend upon this One of all power, whose breath was a storm upon the lake by which their vessels were driven on the beach and their endeavors baffled. When Stanley, in the heart of Africa, was starving, the God of all power could cause the fat bird to fall in the very midst of the little famished companyand He did! When in Turkey the Sultan decided every missionary must go, the missionary said: But the Sultan of the missionary can change this order. He knew the Christ of his marching order. Oh, it is good to know that He is back of the men and the women on the fields, and it is good to believe that when the young men and the young women of a church rise out of her midst to go to the regions beyond, this Christ of infinite power will surely go with them.
He was, and is, ubiquitous in person. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Lo, I am with you alway. And, by implication, everywhere, as well as at every time. He, like His Father, filleth all space. There is no whither we can go from His Spirit or flee from His presence! If we ascend up into heaven, He is there. If we make our bed in Sheol, behold He is there; if we take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there His hand shall lead us, and His right hand shall hold us; and if we come under the cover of darkness, even the darkness hideth not from Him; and the night, by His presence, is made to shine as the day. We are told that Nicholas Hermann, who is known as Brother Lawrence, practiced the presence of God. It ought not to be impossible, for Christ by His Spirit is everywhere present.
Creasy, in Decisive Battles, speaks of Waterloo and tells of the time in that awful struggle when the pressure on the British line was insufferably severe, particularly on Halketts brigade, in the right center, where were compressed the battalions of the sixty-ninth and seventy-third British regiments. An officer, writing of the experience, says: The glow which fires one upon entering into action had ceased. It was now to be seen which side had most bottom, and would stand killing longest. The duke visited us frequently at this momentous period; he was coolness personified. As he crossed the rear face of our square, a shell fell amongst our grenadiers, and he checked his horse to see its effect. Some men were blown to pieces by the explosion, and he merely stirred the rein of his charger, apparently as little concerned at their fate as at his own danger. No leader ever possessed so fully the confidence of his soldiery; wherever he appeared, a murmur of silence Stand to your front! Heres the Duke! was heard through the column, and then all was steady as on parade. His aides-de-camp, Colonels Canning and Gordon, fell near our square, and the former died within it. As he came near us late in the evening, Halkett rode out to him and represented our weak state, begging his Grace to afford us a little support. It is impossible, Halkett! said he. And our General replied, If so, you may depend upon this brigade to a man! For the Duke they were willing to die. His presence in their midst incited to any amount of courage and to any possible or conceivable sacrifice. So it should be with the soldier of the cross in the presence of Christ. It is ours to stand to our guns. God forbid that we should fail Him in the hour when the battle is heavy and the need is as sore as it is on every mission field at this minute.
He is never failing in presence. The exact language of the text is, Lo, I am with you alway, or, literally translated, all the days. All the days! All the dark days as surely as all the bright daysChrist is with the host who are executing His commission, even unto the consummation of the ageall the days. He was with Judson in the dark days before there came a convert out of India; He was with him in the dark nights when he languished in prison, in the hours when he walked in the valley of the shadow of death. He was with Henry Richards those long seven years in Banza Manteke when never a convert in answer to his gospel was seen. Men said He was not, but it was a lie! He was with him. It is within my lifetime, and within yours, if you are in middle life, that Richards stood there empty-handed and sorry-hearted and wondered what it meantGods commission ringing in his ears and Gods Word passing his lips, and no result. The night was black and the day itself was in deep cloud. And yet God was with him. Today on that same ground more than two thousand church members gather, their dark faces revealing white souls, because God was with Richards. He was with Clough when it did not appear, as well as when the first Telegu convert came. He was with Yates at Caifu when that great man of God found that he was smitten with an abscess that might cut off his life; and He was with him in all the dark days that followed. Such men we need, for with them is the Christ of eternity, always unto the consummation of the age, or until the millennium come, and He returns in person to preside over all. He was in that conference in America when Why continue this mission? was the question being debated. Ten years of work, and two Telegu converts, and the missionaries all at home, sick. But Mr. Day plead the promises of God and his own hearts pity, and so did Rev. Mr. Sutton. It was decided to put off the decision. In the meeting one had spoken of the Telegu station as The Lone Star Mission, and that night the great Dr. Smith, whose heart had been stirred and sympathies roused by the symbolism, went home and wrote the poem which he read next morning at the breakfast table.
Shine on, Lone Star! Thy radiance bright
Shall spread oer all the eastern sky;
Morn breaks apace from gloom and night;
Shine on, and bless the pilgrims eye.
Shine on, Lone Star! I would not dim
The light that gleams with dubious ray;
The lonely star of Bethlehem
Led on a bright and glorious day.
Shine on, Lone Star! in grief and tears,
And sad reverses oft baptized;
Shine on amid thy sister spheres;
Lone stars in heaven are not despised.
Shine on, Lone Star! Who lifts his hand
To dash to earth so bright a gem,
A new lost pleiad from the band
That sparkles in nights diadem?
Shine on, Lone Star! The day draws near
When none shall shine more fair than thou;
Thou, born and nursed in doubt and fear,
Wilt glitter on Immanuels brow.
Shine on, Lone Star! till earth redeemed,
In dust shall bid its idols fall;
And thousands, where thy radiance beamed,
Shall crown the Saviour Lord of all.
Now it is the most glorious station in the whole galaxy of missions; and the reason of it is that the Christ who said, Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the age, has made good His word there, as He was wherever missionaries have wrought and put their trust in Him. He who is keeping His promise of presence with the missionaries at work on heathen fields, will also keep his promise to millennialists who watch for His revelation from Heaven and work while they wait.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL NOTES
Mat. 28:16. Then.But (R.V.). Certainly not before the second week after the resurrection, and probably somewhat later (Brown). The eleven disciples.They come forward here as the representatives of the entire band of disciples, and not as the select apostolic college of the Twelve, which makes its first appearance after the selection of Matthias. This distinction is to be found in the remark that some doubted, which cannot apply to the Eleven. Reference is made to many witnesses in 1Co. 15:6 (Lange). A mountain.The (R.V.). As Galilee was the most convenient place for a large public gathering of disciples, so a mountain was the most convenient spot, not only because of its seclusion, but because it would give the best opportunity for all to see and hear. What mountain it was we can only conjecture (Gibson).
Mat. 28:17. Some doubted.Certainly, says Dr. Brown, none of the Eleven, after what took place at previous interviews in Jerusalem. But if the five hundred were now present, we may well believe this of some of them. See also Langes note above (Mat. 28:16). But Dr. Plumptres remarks are important: The narrative of Joh. 21:4 throws some light upon it. There was something mysterious and supernatural in the manifestation of the glorified bodyoutlines, at first indistinct and scarcely recognised, and then the whole form seen as it had been seen in life. The more devoted and loving disciples were probably, here as before, the first to recognise their Lord.
Mat. 28:18. Came.To them (R.V.). I.e., up to them, near to them.
Mat. 28:19. In the name.Into the name (R.V.). The difference is considerable. In the name might imply that baptism was to be administered by church ministers acting in the name of the Almighty. Into the name means that converts are pledged by baptism to a faith which has for its object the Being designated by that name, and which brings them into union with Him. The word name has a wide and deep meaning; it implies a living reality, a power, and in Scripture, when applied to God, is equivalent to the Godhead (F. C. Cook). Of the Father Holy Ghost.The twofold truth in the doctrine of the Trinity is thus distinctly stated
(1) Identity in essence. The Three have one Name; no Being, however glorious, not being God, could be included in one Name;
(2) The order is equally clear; first, He from Whom all proceeded; second, He through Whom all proceedeth; third, He by Whom all proceedeth. Co-ordination as to essence and name, subordination as to mutual relation and office (ibid.).
Mat. 28:20. To observe.Then our Lords precepts given in the Sermon on the Mount, and through the whole course of His ministry, were not simply to be admired, but to be kept. The end of the world.See R.V. marg. Amen.Omitted in the leading MSS. and in the R.V.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Mat. 28:16-20
An abiding work.The resurrection of Christ being now an established fact, what are, and what are to be, its effects? A brief summary of the answer to these questions is given us here. According to a promise of which we have heard before more than once (Mat. 28:7; Mat. 26:32), on a mountain in Galilee, which also appears (see R.V. the mountain) to have been previously specified by name, and in a manner, therefore, of special solemnity and significance, the risen Saviour here meets His (now) eleven disciples (Mat. 28:16). The Evangelists account of that meeting will be found very instructive on both the points named. It shows that the resurrection of Christ had already brought about a great change in Himself. It shows, also, that that change involved corresponding changes of great moment in His disciples.
I. In the Saviour Himself.In His appearance, to begin. Evidently, He is not quite now what He had been before. Evidently, all the same, He is not wholly different from what He had been before. Some recognise Him, if others do not. Even of these others, also, it is only said that they doubt (Mat. 28:17). They do not therefore deny. What they ask is, Can this really be He? Evidently, also, we can here trace the direction in which His appearance has been altered. It is in the direction of greater majestyof more visible glory, more outshining of light. Can this, they think, be that suffering Jesus with whom we were acquainted so long? Can this, yetso they seem to say afterwardsbe any one else? With all His present glory, is there not yet in His looks the same sympathy, the same tenderness, the same unparalleled love as before? Alike, therefore, by their knowledge and doubt, alike by their recollections and their experience, they are brought, as we read here, to His feet (Mat. 28:17 again; see also Mat. 28:9). On the one hand, there is so little change that they are drawn to Him in love. On the other, there is so much change that they come to Him in awe. It is a dazzlingly brighternot a differentsun. There is an equal change now, in the second place, in the position of the Saviour. Of this He now assures them Himself; both by His presence and speech (beginning of Mat. 28:18). He comes Himself and tells them of what is true now of Himself. Vast is the difference, in this respect, between the present and past. Before then, He had been with them, if not exactly in weakness (cf. Act. 10:38), yet in subjection and shame. As He had said Himself, and as all His history then had made plain, He had come not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and even to be subject to others so far as to give His life, a ransom for many (Mat. 20:28). But now that He has risen again from the dead, there is a perpetual end of that condition of things. That marvellous reversal of death has proved incontestably that the ransom for sin which He had offered by dying, had been accepted in full (1Co. 15:14-20, etc.). Now, therefore, He is not to stand as a servant, but as a crowned Ruler and Judge. This is the point which He wishes them now to understand to the full. Everything requisite for this truly commanding positioneverything, both above and below, has been laid now on His shoulder (Isa. 9:6; Isa. 22:22). All authority has been given unto Me in heaven and in earth. This is the resultthe natural resultof My rising again (cf. Rom. 1:4; Act. 17:31; Rev. 1:8; 1Pe. 3:21-22).
II. In the Saviours disciples.Great was the consequent change, in the first place, in their position. They are to be the messengers nowApostles indeedrather than the companions of Christ. Therefore it is that they are not now invited to comenot told only to waitbut commanded to go. Also, they are to do this and be thus because of the authority now vested in Him. Go ye, thereforebecause of this change in Myself (Mat. 28:19). So it is I now employ this my fuller authority. I solemnly send you out in My Name! There was to be a corresponding change, in the next place, in the character of their message. It was to be a message communicating much more than before. They are to tell now of His rising again (Act. 1:22); and of all that that means (Act. 4:33; Act. 5:30-32; Act. 13:34-39). It was to be a message, also, demanding much more than before. It was to claim men as His disciples, to bring them into His net (Mat. 4:19; Mat. 13:47)to do this among all men (Mat. 28:19), and to gather for Him in this way out of all the nations, a nation of His own (cf. Act. 15:14). Lastly, there was to be yet another change, a change in the character of their plans. What are the messengers sent forth in these new circumstances, to teach men to believe? The answer is equally simple and deep, and corresponds accurately, if somewhat mysteriously, with the new position of the Sender. They are to baptize men in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. In other words, only those are to be enrolled as disciples who accept the truths enshrined in these words (end of Mat. 28:19). That is the epitome of their faith. What are these messengers, in the next place, to teach men to observe? The answer, again, accords admirably with the new position of Christ. Teach men to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. In other words, the disciples of Christ are to rule themselves by the precepts of Christ. That is the compendium of their duty. Lastly, what are these, thus engaged in making disciples of others, to expect for those others and for themselves? In the exceedingly arduous and, not impossibly, exceeding protracted endeavour before them, it is clear, on the one hand, that they cannot reckon on the visible presence of Christ. That very word go, before adverted to, implies this of itself. Yet, for all this, they may expect His effectual presence to be with them throughout. To be with them, in fact, till His glorious visible presence shall be with them again. So He expressly declares. Lo, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age. That is the summary of their hopes.
1. How fit a close this is, therefore, on the one hand, to the earthly story of Christ!All that we have read about Him beforeabout the circumstances and mystery and significance of His birth; about His solemn call to His work; about the authority and power, the wisdom and mercy, the forbearance and faithfulness which marked His course as a Teacher; and about the final mystery of His awful passion and deathare here, as it were, brought to a point. Now we see fully, in this re-appearance of Jesus, what they all of them meant. Now, in consequence, we see Him at last as He is shown to us herethe perfected Saviour, the abounding Life (Joh. 10:10), the supreme Ruler of all. Finis coronet opus. Never was that true saying visibly truer than here!
2. How fit a prelude this is, on the other hand, to the earthly history of His church!What those listening eleven were commissioned to do; what they began to do in person not very long after; what has been done since by the successive generations of disciples who have risen up through their labours and in their stead;how in this way there has been perpetually gathered out and kept together a people to His name, and how this has been evidently effected among and by them, with their many failures and drawbacks, by the continual and never withdrawn presence among them of greater Help than their own, is here shown us, as it were, as the prophetic foreshortening of this farewell decree. It is, in short, but a fulfilment of that of which He had Himself spoken before. When the nobleman of the Parable of the Pounds is going away, he is described by the Saviour Himself as saying to those whom he leaves, Occupy till I come (Luk. 19:13). Just so it is that the risen Jesus here says in effect, Occupy till I come. Do this for Me while I am away from you, and yet with you as well. Do this for Me until I return to you in even greater glory than now. What a charge! What a privilege! What a prospect!
HOMILIES ON THE VERSES
Mat. 28:16-17. Christ meeting His disciples.
1. Let the Lord show Himself to us as He pleaseth, it is our duty to attend and keep what means and meetings He hath appointed.
2. Christ loveth the assembly of His saints, and doth not disappoint the expectation of those that wait upon Him in the appointed means.
3. The faith of believers is not always alike vigorous and active, neither in comparison one of another, nor in comparison of a man with himself at divers times.
4. As faith is clear and vigorous, so doth it see Christ to be God, and bringeth the soul down before Him to worship.David Dickson.
Mat. 28:17. Early doubters.As there were honest doubters then, so it is now. It is right that we should try to meet such difficulties as these. The first step, doubtless, towards meeting them is to show how irrefragable is the literary proof that His disciples believed in Christs resurrection; and how ample were the opportunities they had of judging of the reality of that resurrection; and how cautious some at least were in accepting the evidence offered to them! I propose to go a step farther and to consider some of the difficulties inherent in the narrative itself, as it has come down to us.
I. The manifestations were fragmentary and partial.We are tempted to ask, How was it that Christ did not show more of Himself after that Easter day? If for the forty days which elapsed between the resurrection and ascension Christ had manifested Himself openly, would not the proof of His divinity have been placed beyond doubt? Yet how different was the course Christ actually pursued! His intercourse was not of the old familiar kind; the time He stayed was brief; the words He spoke were few; and it was only in private places like the upper room with its closed doors, or in lonely spots like the Galilean mountains or the lake side, that He appeared at all. We need not be surprised if a consideration of these facts has caused perplexity to many. And yet, a little further thought will remove much of this perplexity. If the facts of the resurrection are contrary to what one would naturally have expected, that is only in keeping with the rest of revelation. The first advent of Christ took place in a manner quite contrary to all previous expectation, though that expectation was based on authentic prophecies. The redemption of man, again, through Christs death on the cross, took place in a manner which man could never have conceived or dreamt of as possible. Nor is it as certain as it seems at first that belief, even intellectual belief, would have followed Christs public appearance in the streets of Jerusalem after His resurrection. Do not let us forget that some had already been restored from the dead. There was Jairus daughter, the widows son at Nain, and Lazarus. Yet the great majority of the people remained unbelieving. But even suppose Christs enemies had believed that Christ had died and risen again, what would such belief have been worth? It would have produced on them a shock of surprise and wonder, and there it would have ended, and it would have had no more moral significance than would a shock of galvanism. Of course God could have forced upon them overwhelming evidence, and so have compelled an intellectual faith. But, in the first place, God never does, and never will, force faith on any man; and, secondly, we cannot too often remind ourselves that a mere intellectual faith is absolutely valuelessthe devils believe and tremble. Remember, these men had had every opportunity of hearing the truth. If the teaching of Christ, which appealed to their moral nature, did not move them, His resurrection certainly would not.
II. Christs appearances were vague and mysterious.It was the same Christ, and yet not the same. Before we decide that this does introduce an element of doubt, let us pause and think what shape our own hopes of the life beyond the grave are accustomed to take. If we do this we shall find how exquisitely these recorded appearances of our Lord fit in with all our aspirations and longings. Man hopes for two things beyond the grave which are humanly incompatible and irreconcilable. First, he hopes to preserve his human identity and personality; he wishes to believe in the resurrection of the body, he wishes to believe that he will be able in the future state to identify those whom he has loved and lost on earth; he trusts that the conditions of the world to come will not be so utterly changed as to render useless all the training and experience so painfully acquired in this life. And yet, on the other hand, he feels with St. Paul that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; he feels that it is necessary to throw off the limitations of this life; he feels that it would be an intolerable burden to be shackled again with the weaknesses, and pains, and disfigurements which form part of our mortal body on earth. How are these two sets of desires to be reconciled? We see them reconciled in the body of the risen Christ.
In conclusion, note how Christ dealt with these doubters. Some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, etc. Yes, that is the way to solve all difficulties: let us put our hands to some work for Christ, and doubts will soon melt away, like mists before the sun. If any man will do the works, he shall know of the doctrine.A. M. Mackay, B.A.
Scepticism.There are three kinds of scepticism:
I. The scepticism of indolence.Thousands of men say they doubt, who have never thought. Their doubt is but a mental yawn.
II. The scepticism of perversity.They dislike religious subjects so far as they know them, and they wish them to be untrue.
III. The scepticism of inquiry.This scepticism is wholesome; it is the condition of all true progress.Homilist.
But some doubted.These words
1. Illustrate the scrupulous truthfulness of the writers of the Holy Scriptures.
2. Prove that the earlier witnesses to Christianity were not men of great credulity, but men who were really slow of heart to believe.
3. Illustrate our Lords tenderness, compassion, and long-suffering towards doubting souls.
4. Remind us that the most honest doubts as to the truth of Christianity are unwarranted, and should not be encouraged.
5. Should lead us to reduce Christianity to the test of personal experience and consciousness (Joh. 7:17; 1Jn. 5:10).J. Stock, LL.D.
Mat. 28:18-20. Our Lords glorious commission.This glorious commission embraces two primary departments, the Missionary and the Pastoral, with two sublime and comprehensive encouragements to undertake and go through with them.
I. The missionary department.Go, make disciples of all nations. In the corresponding passage of Mark (Mar. 16:15), it is Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The only difference is, that in this passage the sphere, in its worldwide compass and its universality of objects, is more fully and definitely expressed; while in the former the great aim and certain result is delightfully expressed in the command to make disciples of all nations.
II. The pastoral department.Teach them to observe all things, etc. What must have been the feelings which such a commission awakened! We conquer the world for Thee, Lord, who have scarce conquered our own misgivingswe, fishermen of Galilee, with no letters, no means, no influence over the humblest creature? Nay, Lord, do not mock us.
III. The encouragements to undertake and go through with this work.These are two: one in the van, the other in the rear of the commission itself.
1. All power in heaventhe whole power of Heavens love and wisdom and strength, and all power in earthpower over all persons, all passions, all principles, all movementsto bend them to this one high object, the evangelisation of the world: all this is given unto Me, as the risen Lord of all, to be by Me placed at your command. Go ye therefore.
2. And lo! I am with you all the daysnot only to perpetuity, but without one days interruption, even to the end of the world.D. Brown, D.D.
Mat. 28:18. Christs universal claim.Consider:
I. The universal claim of Christ.It includes
1. Authority over all the forces of nature as well as over all spiritual powers.
2. All power of Revelation 3. The power of absolutely forgiving sin when repented of.
4. Power over death.
5. All power of judgment.
6. Power over things be yond the natural sphere.
II. Let us try and ascertain how far the claim has been verified.
1. See what Christ has accomplished in the world.
2. Think of the many good institutions and useful works which have had their beginnings in love of Him who was the Good Samaritan of our race.
3. The stimulus given to human thinkings by the advent of Christianity.
4. The great inventions which have been subordinated to the spread of Christs truth and power.
5. See how the operations and events intended to check the spread or subvert the power of Christs kingdom have been made to tell on its advance and establishment.
6. In the present power of Christianity.
7. A great future opens out for Christs truth.Tertius.
Authority in heaven.
I. Here is the mystery of the mediatorial kingdom.Christ, the God-man, Lord of heaven and earth, to the glory of the Father. All power is given unto Him in heaven.
II. Jesus has all power in heaven, in order that the church on earth should constantly and steadfastly look away from all that is human and temporal, and know of no other mediation, strength, guidance, and comfort, but the power and love, the wisdom and faithfulness of her one only Master and Head.
III. Behold Him, the Son of man, seated at the right hand of the Father, and in His majestic rest and peaceful dignity behold the perfect assurance of our acceptance and of our blessedness.
IV. Behold Jesus in heaven, and remember that in Him Divine omnipotence is united with the tender sympathy of perfect humanity.
V. Behold Jesus in heaven, to bless His people.The Father Himself loveth us, but it is in and through Christ that the love of the Father rests on believers.
VI. Behold Jesus in heaven, and seek the things which are above.From Him descend all healthful influences, all spiritual gifts, all quickening and renewing power, all true and ever lasting consolation.
VII. Behold Jesus in heaven, and be of good comfort.He presents unto the Father all the petitions and thanksgivings, all the labours and sufferings, all the words and works of His people, and they are accepted and well-pleasing in His sight.A. Saphir, D.D.
Mat. 28:19. Missions.
I. Heathen nations need the gospel of Christ.
1. In all heathen lands dreadful sins prevail.
2. In many heathen countries cruelty to children is very common.
3. Wars are common.
4. Slavery in many places.
5. Ignorance, hopelessness in death, and unsoothed sorrow, prevail.
II. It is possible to send the gospel to all nations.
1. Thousands of men and women are waiting to go.
2. In a few weeks the most distant countries can be reached by steamerIndia, Africa, China, Japan, South Sea Islands, etc.
3. Only 2,000,000 per year is spent on missions, though 12,000,000 is spent on amusements, 11,000,000 on tobacco smoking, and 140,000,000 on strong drink, in Great Britain alone.
III. We ought to send the gospel to all nations.
1. Christ commands it.
2. It belongs to them.
3. They are ready to listen to it.
4. We shall be condemned if we keep it back from them.R. Brewin.
Heathenism.I. With regard to the times of ignorance, there are three elements which modify the dense darkness which covers the earth.
1. There is the reminiscence of the primeval Revelation 2. There are the unwritten laws of Heaven in the hearts of men, which are not of to-day or yesterday, whose birth-tide is not known to any man (Sophocles).
3. God, by the Holy Spirit, who bloweth where He listeth, had His work among the Gentile nations (Melchizedek, Job, the men of Nineveh).
II. We must not regard the judgments that are denounced in Scripture against heathenism and the nations that forget God as unjust and hard.Nothing in the Bible is harsh and severe. The light in which heathenism is revealed in Scripture, although it is truthful, is also affectionate. Whatever there is pure, and lovely, and ideal among the heathen nations, think not that it is our interest, or that it is the spirit of Christianity and Scripture, to ignore it or make little of it. God is the God of all, and there is nothing good or beautiful but it has its origin in Gods Spirit.
III. When we think of heathenism we are overwhelmed and appalled.
1. Think of its antiquity.
2. Think of the extent of its territory.
3. Think of the wonderful minds which have been captivated and enslaved by heathenism.
4. Think of the evil of idolatry.
5. Think of the wretchedness and misery of the heathen. It is a very superficial view of antiquity when people talk of the bright days of sunshine and joy in ancient Hellas. There were brightness and beauty; that people were gifted with a marvellous sense of the beautiful; but those who are well acquainted with antiquity know the deep-seated melancholy, the gloom, the cloud of darkness, which was only temporarily and superficially dispersed.
IV. Let us remember the only antidote of idolatry; it is to know God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent.A. Saphir, D.D.
The trinal unity of the Godhead.Consider:
I. The doctrine of the Trinity as it appears to have been part of the earliest revelations which were given to the world.Though not revealed distinctly and dogmatically, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is conveyed in the Old Testament by implication and inference. Thus, the very first sentence in the Book of Genesis runs, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. That which is implied, though it cannot be shown in the translation, is that while the Agent is plural in this passage, the verb with which it is connected is in the singular number. And this strange form of expression is used by Moses about five hundred times, when speaking of God, and it is so used by none else. And Jewish writers confess that this frequently recurring phrase is indicative of some mystery in the Divine Being, though they do not attempt to define its nature. But the Jews are not our only witnesses to the fact of this great doctrine being a part of Gods earliest communications to the human family. The truth, in some disguised and distorted form, will be found to have entered into almost all the fabulous theologies of the world, and this the more distinctly the more remote their antiquity.
II. The doctrine of the Trinity forms the subject of controversy in the earliest ages of the Christian church.
III. To the humble Christian this doctrine is embraced for the peace and salvation of his so ul.In all its searchless mystery the doctrine of Three Persons sharing equally and alike the attributes of underived and inherent Godhead, and yet these Three all One in nature, One in essence, One in purpose and mind and will, is the only doctrine which meets the necessities of our lapsed race, or provides for our being brought back to a state of innocence and peace.D. Moore, M.A.
Mat. 28:20.The new obedience.
I. There is a twofold element in the law.Condemnation and the promise, type and instalment of redemption. Both elements were given in love; in both the purpose was one of mercy. But when the primary object of the law had failed, when men remained proud, self-satisfied, cherishing and excusing sin without humility and repentance, men failed also to see and enjoy the comfort of this promise, the meaning and substance of the type. Thus they who walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless were the very Israelites who waited for the redemption in Jerusalem; they honoured the law, and therefore longed for the gospel.
II. Christ is come, and now, instead of condemnation behold grace.Instead of shadow and type, behold perfection and fulfilment, that is, truth.
1. Let us remember that in Christ only the law of God found its realisation and fulfilment. It had hitherto been only an idea seeking embodiment, a problem awaiting its solution, an outline looking for substance and life.
2. All men are under the law, till through the death of Christ they are freed from it. Love is the fulfilment of the law. And as the law could not attain it, so the love which our Lord gives us is something higher and deeper than the law demanded or foreshadowed.
3. The commandments of Christ may be summed up according to the various aspects of the inner and outer life. If we look at the heart, the source and root of life and action, all Christs commandments are contained in His most touching appeal, Abide in Me. If we look, again, at the manifestations of life, all Christs commandments are summed up in His simple words, Follow Me. If we look at our relation to God, prayer, meditation, and communion, Jesus commandments may be summed up in one wordin secret. Enter into thy closet, and shut the door. If we consider our relation to the world, the commandments of Christ are summed up in one wordmission. If we look, again, at the aim and purpose of our energies and lives, it is summed up in one wordheaven. Set your affection on things that are above.A. Saphir, D.D.
The friendship of the living Christ
I. Can mature the inner life of the soul.
II. Can Christianise every action of mans life.
III. Can hallow the discipline of trouble.
IV. Unites the present with the future world.E. L. Hull, B.A.
The real presence.I. Jesus is with us as individuals.Here is our strength. Jesus is with us:
1. In the days of prosperity and joy.
2. In our affliction.
3. When the soul feels deserted.
4. When we are slow of heart and cannot believe that He is risen, and when we walk in sadness. If Jesus is with us, then
(1) We have all things;
(2) We can do all things;
(3) This is the secret of our influence;
(4) Heaven itself is begun, for to be with the Lord is eternal life and blessedness. Jesus shall throughout all eternity be our All.
II. The words of the Lord refer also and primarily to the whole church.A. Saphir, D.D.
Mat. 28:16-20. The evidential value of the incident.The words of the Lord on this last occasion are worthy of all that has gone before. Let all doubters ponder well the significance of this. Suppose for a moment that the story of the resurrection had been only the passion of a hallucinated woman, as Renan puts it, and then consider the position. No one, of course, denies that, up to the moment of death, there was a veritable Jesus, whose sayings and doings supplied the material for the history; but, now that the Hero is dead and gone, where are the materials? The fishermen and publicans are on their own resources now. They have to make everything out of nothing. Surely, therefore, there must be now a swift descent; no more of those noble utterances to which we have been accustomed hithertoonly inventions of the poor publican now. No more breadth of viewonly Jewish narrowness now. It was about this very time that the disciples asked, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Suppose, then, these men obliged themselves to invent a Great Commission, how narrow and provincial will it be! Is there, then, such a swift descent? Are not the reported words of the risen Lordnot in this Gospel merely, but in all the Gospelsas noble, as impressive, as Divine, as any that have been preserved to us from the years of His life in the flesh? Search through this Gospel, and say if there can be found anywhere an utterance that has more of the King in it, that is more absolutely free from all Jewish narrowness and from all human feebleness, than this great commission which forms its magnificent close. It is very plain that these simple artists have their subject still before them. Manifestly they are not drawing from imagination, but telling what they heard and saw.J. M. Gibson, D.D.
Why no record of the Ascension?Why is it that St. Matthew gives no record of the ascension, and does not even hint what became of the risen Christ after this last recorded interview with His disciples? It seems to us that a sufficient reason is found in the object which St. Matthew had in view, which was to set forth the establishment of the kingdom of Christ upon earth as foretold by the prophets and expected by the saints of old; and inasmuch as it is Christs kingdom on earth which he has mainly in view, he does not call special attention to His return to heaven, but rather to that earthly fact which was the glorious result of it, viz., His abiding presence with His people on the earth. Had he finished his Gospel with the ascension, the last impression left on the readers mind would have been of Christ in heaven at the right hand of Goda glorious thought, indeed, but not the one it was his special aim and object to convey. But, concluding as he does, the last impression on the readers mind is of Christ abiding on the earth, and with all His people, even to the end of the worlda most cheering, comforting, and stimulating thought. To the devout reader of this Gospel, it is as if his Lord had never left the earth at all, but had suddenly clothed Himself with omnipresence, so that, however far apart His disciples might be scattered in His service, each one of them might at any moment see His face, hear His voice of cheer, feel His touch of sympathy, and draw on His reserve of power. Thus was it made quite plain, how they could keep in closest touch with Him to whom was given all authority in heaven and on earth.Ibid.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
SECTION 78
JESUS COMMISSIONS HIS DISCIPLES TO WORLD EVANGELISM
TEXT: 28:1620
16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying. All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS
a.
When so many appearances of Jesus occurred in the Jerusalem area, why is this appearance in Galilee so important as to deserve such special notice to the seeming exclusion of all those others?
b.
Why was it so important for Jesus to order the disciples to return to Galilee and go to a specific mountain?
c.
If Jesus had already appeared a number of times, how do you explain the fact that when they saw Him . . . some doubted even yet? Who do you think worshipped Him and who doubted?
d.
Do you not think that Matthew is risking the loss of credibility to insert this compromising phrase, but some doubted? Give just one good reason why anyone may believe Matthew, precisely because he included it, and for which one could doubt his integrity, had he not done so.
e.
Why do you think Matthew reported so few appearances of Jesus risen from the dead? Was he unaware of, or critical of, other reported appearances?
f.
Why do you think it was important for Jesus to claim universal authority before ordering His disciples to disciple all the nations?
g.
Do you see any evidence here to sustain the common assertion that we are ordered to win the world to Christ?
h.
As opposed to a thousand other worthy goals or responsibilities, how does the order to make disciples indicate the true mission of the Church?
i.
This commission is addressed to the eleven disciples present on the mountain in Galilee. Nevertheless, what evidence does Jesus give here that this commission was not limited to them, but is valid for the entire Church in all ages of its existence and is so fundamental that any congregation of the Church may judge its true success and importance to God by the degree to which it is fulfilling this order?
j.
What does baptism have to do with discipleship?
k.
What do you think Jesus intended to reveal to us by requiring baptism in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? What concept(s) is involved in this formulation? Some affirm that He did not intend to dictate a baptismal formula. What do you think about this, and why?
l.
What does it mean to teach them all things I have commanded you?
m.
How does the solemn affirmation, that Jesus is now with us until the end of the world, express the true, fitting, final climax to the fundamental message of Matthews Gospel?
n.
What does this assurance of Jesus presence with us until the end of the world, intend to contribute (1) to the life of the church taken as a whole, and (2) to the encouragement of the individual Christian?
o.
What changes do you envision necessary in the life of your church to realize the full impact of Jesus promise to be with us all?
p.
What personal steps do you see essential in your personal life to act on the promise Jesus made to be with you? Or does this promise mean little to you personally? What could you do, if you really believed it?
q.
How does Jesus being with us until times end reinforce His expectation that we baptize and be baptized? What connection, if any, is there between our baptism and His promised presence?
r.
If the Apostles were going to die before the end of the first century, in what real sense could Jesus be with them until the end of the Christian age? In what sense would His promise not refer to them alone?
s.
In what sense is it true that this Great Commission is actually a foregone conclusion for anyone who has been reading Matthews Gospel carefully?
t.
Even though the Church would take up the torch also, Matthew especially mentioned the Eleven as the particular, primary early recipients of this great commission? What impact on your soul does it make to realize that Jesus defied the whole, hell-bent world with a few humble Galileans, and won, and just keeps right on winning?
v.
Do you think the modern Church is carrying out the Great Commission? What parts are we doing? What needs reinforcement?
PARAPHRASE
Now the eleven disciples set out for Galilee.
[Perhaps here is to be placed Johns report of Jesus appearance to the seven disciples fishing on Lake Galilee (Joh. 21:1-23).]
They went to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him. However, some hesitated. As Jesus came up to them, He addressed them, My Father has committed full authority in heaven and on earth to me. So, go make all nations my disciples, immersing the disciples into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to put into practice everything I have commanded you. Remember, I myself am with you every dayright down to the end of time!
SUMMARY
Matthew chose to conclude his Gospel with the appearance of Jesus on a Galilean mountain. Jesus appearance produced two opposite results: worship or doubt. Nevertheless, He claimed universal authority from God, and so ordered the disciples to evangelize the world, baptize the believers and teach them obedience to the whole message of Jesus. He promised participation in this task down to the last day of the world.
NOTES
Rendezvous in Galilee
Mat. 28:16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. The Twelve have now become the eleven. (Cf. Act. 1:25.) Notwithstanding the faithlessness of Judas, Gods program marches on. (Cf. Rom. 3:3.)
Just when the eleven disciples went into Galilee is not indicated. However, it may be assumed that they observed what remained of the Feast of Unleavened Bread before returning home in Galilee. This would allow time for the appearance in Jerusalem (Joh. 20:19; Joh. 20:26). Until this point Matthew left unrecorded the designation of the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. Calling it the mountain (t ros) does not prove it was a familiar spot, because Matthew designates other hills across the Jordan the same way (Mat. 14:23; Mat. 15:29). The fact that Jesus appointed them (etxato, order, fix, determine, arrange) implies that the disciples really needed very express directions to go there, in the same way they required more than one reminder even to leave for Galilee (Mat. 28:7; Mat. 28:10). It is likely that He indicated His choice during those appearances, a probability that presupposes that the appearances which Luke and John record truly occurred. In this case, we have another incidental confirmation of the Gospel narratives.
Because it was apparently Jesus purpose not to show Himself alive to all men, but to witnesses chosen before by God (Act. 10:40 f.), He could not set His appointment with them in some city of Galilee where hundreds of unbelievers could witness this appearance. Rather He must name some remoter location, distant from human habitation where this appearance could occur in privacy. Open fields on the plains would still be watched. Therefore, the strenuous effort to ascend a mountain would thin out the idly curious and furnish the desired privacy. Also, if only disciples knew the identity of the mountain where Jesus had appointed them and not improbably also the day and hour, then only disciples would converge on the spot.
Jesus knew that from the elevation of a mountain the disciples could gaze over Galilee where their first dreams of the Kingdom of God had been formed. There, in His discipleship, their fledgling efforts in His service had been expended. Now He must challenge them to world conquest. This material vantage point offers the psychological advantage of reminding them of what was known, tested and proven in their own personal evangelistic experience, and aids their perception of their own part in world evangelism in the regions beyond. (See notes on Mat. 28:7; Mat. 28:10.)
Historys Greatest Watershed Issue
Mat. 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Although many of these people had already seen Jesus alive before, this appearance produced a powerful effect. This is not common, oriental obeisance, but a new reverence for Jesus as God, To worship the risen Lord is the natural, appropriate reaction of the believer. (Cf. Mat. 28:9.) How much more so now as the disciples, filled with awe and joy, are reunited once again with their victorious Lord in Galilee, just as He promised.
That some doubted would appear to question the validity of the evidence given that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. Or it could suggest that His previous appearances were finally unconvincing for some of the very eye-witnesses themselves. Despite the seeming adequacy of the proof of Jesus victory over death given earlier, apparently competent people who were present and therefore able to give valid testimony, hesitated at the insufficiency of the so-called evidences that convinced other less critical (= more gullible) people. It would appear, therefore, that Matthew made an unfortunate misstep by including this damning admission on this critical, last page of his work.
One might conclude, therefore, that this phrase is to be dismissed as an ignorant blunder on Matthews part. No sectarian apologist in his right mind, who intends to establish a conclusion regardless of the evidence, could afford to make the embarrassing admission that Matthew calmly sets down for posterity in precisely this setting where its effect would be devastating.
On the other hand, if it could be shown that we must judge our author at least normally intelligent, hence aware of, and responsible for, the long-term consequences of this phrase: and some doubted, then he is innocent of an inexplicable gaffe that spoils the efficacy of his argument, and with it that of his book. Conceivably, what at first glance seemed to be the most compromising remark of Matthews entire Gospel, surprisingly supports his entire message with uncommon power. McGarvey (Evidences, II, 155f.) argued:
The very admission of this doubt is an indubitable mark of naturalness and truthfulness in the narrative; for it could certainly not have been thought of had it not been true; and even though true, it would have been omitted if the author had been more anxious to make the case a strong one than to tell it as it was.
Our only alternative at this point, then, is to judge Matthew so sure of the adequacy of the evidence that Jesus really arose, that no argument to the contrary based on this phrase could ever be raised. His case is so solid that inclusion of this phrase could never even disturb it.
John confidently dared to admit that, as late as six months before the Last Week, some of the people closest to Jesus did not believe in Him (Joh. 7:5). He boldly documented Thomas refusal to believe (Joh. 20:25). Mark and Luke admitted that the disciples did not believe the womens eyewitness testimony (Mar. 16:11; Luk. 24:11). Luke reported that the disciples, locked in a room with the risen Christ and, staring right at Him, still disbelieved for joy and wondered (Luk. 24:41)!
Rather than doubt the evidence of the other writers, Matthew is so certain of his position, that he can afford to include even less evidence than other Gospel writers. This coincides with his style of apologetic begun with his account of the crucifixion. Just as he cited no Messianic prophecy to support the Messianic claims of Jesus, so now here, to support the truth of the resurrection, he cites only two appearances interspersed with the enemys frantic efforts to nullify the powerful eloquence of the Empty Tomb. His technique again is Not too little, not too much.
Granted the appropriateness of mentioning that some doubted, we must now ask how it was possible that people who, presumably, were already disciples, would or could continue to doubt at this critical moment, with which Matthew is going to close his book. Worse, how could they doubt, when they saw him? The demands of empirical evidences assume that seeing is believing, but these see and continue to doubt!
1.
Some consider it completely absurd that any of the eleven could doubt, after the convincing appearances in Jerusalem (Luk. 24:33 ff., Joh. 20:19 ff., Joh. 20:26 ff.). There is hardly room for some who doubted in the small group of the Eleven. Therefore, those who doubted, even when they saw him, are held to be other people whose presence on this occasion was simply not mentioned. This event is held to be the appearance to the five hundred of which Paul speaks (Cf. 1Co. 15:6, a suggestion highly probable for these reasons:
a.
Jesus insisted that messages be sent to His followers to meet Him in Galilee (Mat. 26:32; Mat. 28:7; Mat. 28:10). So, the reminders of this Galilean gathering were known not merely by the Eleven, but by the women who told them and potentially by many other disciples as well. (Cf. tell my brothers to go to Galilee. Mat. 28:10; Luk. 24:9 : all the rest as distinguished from the eleven.)
b.
Since the appearance was apparently the only one prearranged by Jesus appointment, it facilitated the convocation of many more than the Eleven.
c.
Because after the ascension only 120 disciples gather in Jerusalem, it may be assumed that the larger group of 500 of whom Paul wrote, met Him earlier in Galilee.
d.
Even at Jerusalem, when the disciples are mentioned as key witnesses of His appearance, others besides the Apostles were present. (Cf. Joh. 20:18-26; Luk. 24:33.) If Jesus set the appointment during those appearances, these could know about it.
So in Galilee, it is possible that He approached and spoke to some disciples who had not yet seen Him (Mat. 28:18). Even so, Matthew did not mention the 500, but centers all attention on the Eleven.
2.
Some see this doubt as the psychological self-protection of men who now truly wanted to believe, but distrusted their own emotions power to compromise their objectivity. So they continued to oppose the resurrection hypothesis until the overwhelming evidence of the facts so powerfully asserted itself that denial became not merely more unreasonable than belief, but unsustainable unless they would deny their own rationality. (Cf. Bruce, Training, 494f.) Such doubt expresses mingled conflicting feelings of reverent recognition and hesitation as to the identity of the person played their part (Bruce, Exp. Gr. T., I, 339). These men would take nothing for granted. Rather, motivated by a holy seriousness, they questioned whether this unusual experience might not have some other explanation. Lenski (Matthew, 1170) is undoubtedly right that the psychological and intellectual makeup of the apostolic group was heterogeneous: the eleven were of different dispositions. Some were receptive, some slow to apprehend, of little faith, easily discouraged and troubled, unable to let go their old notions and to rise to the new spiritual heights. No wonder, then, that they doubted!
3.
A fallacy lies in thinking that they saw Him and continued to remain unconvinced during the entire discourse and even after this event. Matthews text does not so affirm. Rather, after the phrase in question, Matthew reports that, Jesus came to them and spake unto them. From this McGarvey (Evidences, II, 155) concludes that this
shows that at the moment of the doubt he was not very near to them and had not yet spoken to them. There is no difference, then, between the doubt on this occasion and on the first, when they thought for a time that he was a ghost.
Even so, Matthew does not record their transformation into believers.
4.
Another solution is to see that what they doubted was not whether Jesus were risen at all, but the identity of the One whom they now see. Awed, they had reason to doubt whether what they were seeing at first were really Jesus and not something or someone else. They could perhaps sense an alteration in His appearance: greater majesty, more evident glory. For whatever reason, some people had not recognized Him at first (Joh. 20:14; Luk. 24:16; Mar. 16:12). He could appear and disappear at will, transcending physical limitations (Luk. 24:31; Luk. 24:36; Joh. 20:19; Joh. 20:26). Even though He manifested miraculous power during His earthly ministry, that surpassed the laws to which ordinary humans are subject, they could rightly wonder whether this Personage were the same humble, suffering Galilean with whom they had been so long acquainted.
Although Matthew wrote: they doubted, he did NOT say, they disbelieved. The former questions; the latter affirms. Thus, it is possible to conclude that, by approaching and addressing them. Jesus gave them infallible evidence that dissipated their initial hesitation as to His identity and reality. The Apostles naturally would recognize Jesus instantly from their previous encounters with the risen Lord, and worshipped Him. The others, not being rushed even by the good example of others, wanted to verify their facts.
The unbelievable patience and justified confidence of Jesus led Him to address His Great Commission to those who doubted just as much as to those who believed. He knew that whatever questions remained would have answers in the grand days that followed: the Holy Spirit would come, they would experience His power in its fulness. So, He treated them even now with the same friendly courtesy, as future believers, believed the best of them, and made believers of them! What a lesson for us who demand that everyone have every doctrine straight before we treat them with courteous brotherliness!
Thus, as to the empirical reality of the fact, the hesitation of those who were slow to be persuaded is as precious as the worship of those already convinced. Their extreme prudence and refusal to be convinced except by the validity of the proof and their resultant, unshaken certainty after their doubts were resolved by evidence, all prove conclusively that their proclamation of the risen Lord was not the result of self-deception, but because the concrete fact that Christ arose could not reasonably be disbelieved. (Cf. Luk. 24:11; Luk. 24:22 f., Luk. 24:36 f.; Joh. 20:8 f., Joh. 20:24-31.) Their doubt is recorded so that we might not have a doubt (Bruce, Training, 479, 482).
The Universal Lordship of Jesus Christ
Mat. 28:18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. The formal introduction of what follows is reminiscent of the formulations that introduced great discourses like the Sermon on the Mount. (Cf. Mat. 5:1 f; Mat. 10:1; Mat. 10:5; Mat. 13:3; Mat. 18:2 f; Mat. 23:1 f.) Rather than treat the reader to an extended sermon as in the former cases, the equally satisfying summary Matthew includes is a marvel of brevity and completeness, a fitting conclusion to Jesus life and ministry on earth, a summary of His doctrine and of His program of world conquest. Even though the content is nothing less than the solemn outline of their duty, His manner is friendly and informal, (ellesen autois), he talked with them.)
Matthews Gospel opened with the claim that Jesus was Davids Son, hence truly Messianic King (Mat. 1:1). Now it concludes with His far more glorious claim of unlimited sovereignty as King of the universe. The one leads inevitably to the other. Without formally citing Dan. 7:14, Jesus, the Son of man par excellence, majestically claims this cosmic authority with a naturalness that is appropriate only for One whose right it unquestionably is. Without yielding once to Satans offers of world dominion (cf. Mat. 4:8 ff.), He overcame and was rewarded with His own, rightful, true sovereignty. (Cf. Act. 10:36; Rom. 10:12; Rom. 14:9; Eph. 1:20 ff.; Php. 2:9 ff.; Col. 1:18; Col. 2:10; Heb. 1:6; 1Pe. 3:22; Revelation 5.)
Hath been given points to the Father as the source of His authority. (Cf. Mat. 11:27; 1Pe. 1:21; Rev. 2:27.) As the Word of God, He was equal with God (Joh. 1:1; Joh. 17:5; Php. 2:5). However, during His period of self-humiliation as a servant of God, as man, Jesus qualified Himself to receive the authority and responsibilities entrusted to Him. Thus the original plan of God for man shall be realized (Psalms 2; cf. Heb. 2:5-18; see notes on Mat. 21:16).
The Kingdom of God shall be given those uncompromising saints who, like their Lord, really defeat Satans offers of all the kingdoms of this world (Daniel 7). We can only do this in the measure we really acknowledge the transforming power and cosmic sovereignty of the risen Christ over our lives and problems. Little will be done to make believers, until disciples believe in that awesome authority and power whereby He is able to subject everything to His control. As long as our Omnipotent Christ is in control, we can never think our task impossible.
The Universal Mission of the Church
Mat. 28:19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, i.e. on the basis of the unlimited power and awe-inspiring, universal authority of Jesus Lordship, we may do anything He tells us because of His might to strengthen, defend and lead us in triumph (Php. 4:13). Despite the staggering odds against us and although our lives and ministry be severely limited by the greatest obstacles and gravest dangers or even cut short by martyrdom, we may be confident that He shall make His gigantic undertaking to triumph and we shall reign with Him anyway. A universe under His boundless control cannot be out of orderno matter what happens.
Go ye: the Church must involve herself in aggressive warfare that ignores earths national or cultural boundaries or else be fundamentally disobedient to a Lord who aims at ultimate, total control of the earth. Earlier, Israels light in the world was less aggressive. Gods people received men if they approached Israel. Now, however, this positive going to them to take Christs message is a new element.
Merely because expressed as a participle, Go ye (poreuthntes) is no less a command. Since it is subordinate to a principal verb in the imperative mood (mathtesate), this renders it n less a command than that verb itself. (Cf. e.g. Mat. 28:7, [= 10]; Luk. 19:5 in Greek.) Had Jesus desired to say, as you go, preach, He could have expressed Himself differently, (poreumenoi krssete, Mat. 10:7). The ASV is correct in rendering this participle and its main verb, Go ye, and make disciples. Often those who argue that the Greek means, Having gone, as if it were not imperative, are not consistent in using the same logic or grammar with the other two participles in this commission: baptizing (baptzontes) and teaching (didskontes). Although these actions are admitted on all hands to be absolutely essential, the going is no less imperative than either of these. So, the main point of this commission is to bring the message of life in Christ Jesus to all, not to wait to do so if and when we happen to go.
The early Christians did not automatically or naturally grasp the universality of the Gospel (Act. 10:18; Act. 11:19). Because of their nationalistic prejudices, they took their time about evangelizing a different ethnic group or, establishing the first racially integrated congregation (Acts 8-11). So, His command, Go ye, is not simply appropriate but imperative. Further, that this order was not limited exclusively to the Apostles is clear:
1.
The early Christians understood it as applicable to the whole Church. (Cf. Act. 8:2; Act. 8:4; Act. 11:20.) This understanding may arise from the fact that many non-Apostles were present when Jesus gave this great mission. (Cf. Mar. 16:13 ff.; Luk. 24:13; Luk. 24:33 ff., Luk. 24:44-49 with Joh. 20:19-21.) Since Jesus did not apply it exclusively to the Apostles, they could consider themselves responsible to carry out this commission within the limits of their gifts and opportunities.
2.
It is implied in teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. What Jesus commanded the Apostles they loyally committed to faithful men who would be able to teach others also. (Cf. 2Ti. 2:2.) The Apostles told the Church what Jesus had told them: Go ye and make disciples of all the nations. And so the irrepressibly joyful song is taken up by new voices in new languages.
3.
The Lords vineyard and harvestfields are still plentiful (Mat. 9:37 f.) The field is still the world (Mat. 13:38). All church members are nonprofessional missionaries who live in an area of the world that needs the gospel as truly as someone a thousand miles distant. The efforts of missionaries in other areas do not exclude, but rather require, those of Christians in the areas whence the former were sent forth.
For the final time, Matthew briefly highlights one of the sublimest themes of his book, expressed in the grand words of Jesus. Anyone who has been reading this Gospel closely could well suspect that, sooner or later, He whom Matthew presented as the truly Jewish Messiah interested in the salvation and blessing of Gentiles; not merely of Hebrews, would arrive at this point. (Mat. 24:14; Mat. 26:13; cf. Special Study: Gentiles at close of this volume.) Consequently, the Great Commission is no new revelation but the well-prepared, foregone conclusion of everything Matthew has included to describe the purpose and direction of Jesus life and ministry on earth.
Even so, this is neither the first time nor the last that Jesus would direct His followers to evangelize the earth (Joh. 20:21 ff.; Luk. 24:48 ff.; Mar. 16:15 ff.; Act. 1:4-8). It is highly significant that the Evangelists note on how many different occasions the risen Lord revealed His deepest concern by concentrating so much of His post-resurrection instruction on the disciples aggressive campaign of witness before the world (Act. 1:1-9).
This King of the universe orders His subjects, not to conquer all the nations, but to make disciples of them. The goal of the Gospel is not to develop great philosophers, pious religionists, holy mystics or theological lawyers, but disciples who learn from Jesus, let Him teach them and submit to His Lordship. Because disciples are to be the product of the Churchs efforts, Matthew has deliberately chosen to utilize this word, disciples, rather than apostles throughout his Gospel, to furnish the paradigms whereby the reader may grasp what discipleship implies. Even though the Twelve disciples became Apostles, no one must misunderstand that these great men whom we have come to respect highly for their works sake were once common disciples with problems, ignorance, prejudices, conceit, frustrations and sins. But they were in love with Jesus, submitted to His leadership, committed to His Kingdom. Although they sometimes failed to understand Him, their unshakable commitment to Him and willingness to learn from Him brought them unerringly back on course. All of them risked flunking out of His school, but all of them but one let Him be the Teacher! This alone made the difference between the Pharisees and genuine students of Jesus, between sectarians and Christians, between camp followers and real learners, between the multitudes and these who fought back their fears, crying, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and come to know, that you are the Holy One of God (Joh. 6:68)! We are to make people believe that Jesus has all the truth and long with all their hearts to submit to the truth and remain in it (Joh. 14:6; Joh. 8:31).
There are no exceptions: His gospel is directed not just to Israel, but to all the nations. Israels exclusive privilege has ended (Mat. 21:43). They are now but one of the nations. Consequently, Jesus early restriction of the Apostles ministry (Mat. 10:5)is now completely countermanded. From this time on the Christians preached to every creature, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, (Act. 13:46; Rom. 1:16; Rom. 2:9 f.). But the Jews are to be admitted to the Kingdom, not because of physical sonship to Abraham or by adherence to their cultural heritage, but by sincere discipleship to Jesus and salvation by faith in His grace (Acts 15; Gal. 2:11-21).
All the nations means Jesus demolished such divisive boundaries as culture, class, race, sex or wealth which formerly structured mankind (Gal. 3:28). There can be no untouchables or unlovables unworthy of an equal place in His Kingdom. Now the decisive question is: Is my neighbor a disciple? If not, he is a prospect for the Gospel. If so, he is mine to love as a brother in Christ, a subject of the heavenly King, a member of a new race being formed from every kindred and tribe (Tolbert, Good News From Matthew, 247). This is the spirit of Gods intention for Abrahams grand family, that in you and in your children shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 22:18). The Churchs mission, therefore, is relevantly rooted in Gods faithfulness in keeping His promise to Abraham!
The Formal, Definitive Induction into the Kingdom
Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus command to make disciples requires that the only appropriate candidates among the nations for baptism be disciples of Jesus. They are not undiscipled peoples who have never enrolled in the school of Christ to learn from Him (Mat. 11:28 f.). Nor are they babes who cannot acknowledge His Lordship by believing (Mar. 16:16; Act. 16:31) or by repentance (Act. 2:38). To suppose that infants can be inducted into the Kingdom by baptism has historically introduced into the Kingdom generations of people who were never made disciples. Similarly, formally correct baptism of unconverted adults continues to swell churches with pagans uncommitted to the Lordship of Jesus. The early Christians rightly thought that making disciples was the way people must be saved, and equivalent to conversion, the new birth, becoming Christians (Act. 14:21 f.).
That literal immersion in water is the rite intended must be concluded from the consideration that His disciples were thoroughly familiar with Johns literal baptizing in water (Mat. 3:1 ff.; Joh. 3:22 f.) and practiced it themselves (Joh. 4:1 ff.). When they heard Him order them to baptize, they would be immediately reminded of that immersion in water with which they were already accustomed, especially since He did not qualify His words otherwise. That they thus understood His meaning, the uniform practice of the apostolic Church is convincing confirmation. (Cf. Act. 8:36-39.) That a baptism in the Spirit is not meant is proven by the consideration that when Jesus summarized the glorious mission His Church must undertake, it is most unlikely that He would insert a command expressed in language symbolic of something else when all else He said is to be understood literally. His command implies that His disciples administer the baptism in question, whereas Jesus Himself would be the administrator of baptism in the Holy Spirit (Mat. 3:11; Joh. 1:33; Act. 2:33).
Does Jesus hereby make baptizing essential to salvation (Tit. 3:5; 1Pe. 3:21)? No more nor less than the belief and repentance that precede it (Act. 2:38). No more nor less than the discipleship requisite to it. No more nor less than His own death with which baptism identifies the penitent believer (Romans 6 : Col. 2:12). And no more nor less than the growth to maturity Jesus requires after baptism (Mat. 20:20). But by ordering baptism, Jesus tests every mans discipleship as concretely as if He had ordered him to sacrifice his firstborn son or to build an ark or paint lambs blood on the doorposts of his house. Even so, Staton (The Servants Call, 50f.) warned that to emphasize baptism to the neglect of making disciples is to disobey the Great Commission. We are to baptize only repentant believers. If a person is quite content to run his own life, he has not acknowledged the Lordship of Jesus. He does not accept the meaning of belief and repentance.
For the Jewish reader, quite noticeable in this command required of all nations is the complete silence about circumcision or anything else belonging peculiarly to Judaism. This point was lost on too many Christians during the first two decades of the Churchs life (Acts 15. Jerusalem council around 50 A.D.).
Into the name: God is one and His Name one (Zec. 14:9). He is not merely the God of Jews only but also of Gentiles (Rom. 3:29 f; Rom. 10:12). Immersion into the name is more than a formulary repetition of the divine Name over the candidates for entrance into the Kingdom. It is more than our acting as agents on His authority, in the Name of the Almighty. Rather, baptizing them into the name objectively initiates them into a new relationship with the one God whose Name it is, a relationship of Owner and owned. Baptism becomes the moment when the believer is invested with the Name of his new Master to whom and into whose service he is now formally dedicated. If God promised to meet with His people where His Name is named (cf. Exo. 20:24; Mat. 18:20), then it is no marvel that the Divine Name should be placed on every single believer (Rev. 3:12; Rev. 14:1; Rev. 22:4) and on the body of believers thus constituted to grow up into a holy temple in the Lord (1Co. 3:16 f; 1Co. 6:19 f.; Eph. 2:20 ff.; 1Pe. 2:5; Rev. 21:3). Without officially naming the Trinity, Jesus implied the doctrine by placing each of the three Persons in a unified relationship into which the believer is baptized. Omitting all other beings, angels or men, He unites just these three. (Cf. other examples of this phenomenon: 1Co. 12:4-6; 2Co. 13:14; Eph. 1:3; Eph. 1:10; Eph. 1:13; Eph. 2:18-22; Eph. 3:14-17; Eph. 4:4-6; Eph. 5:19 f.; 2Th. 2:13 f.; Heb. 6:4-6; 1Pe. 1:2; 1Jn. 3:23 f; 1Jn. 4:2; Jud. 1:20 f.; Rev. 1:4 f.) In so doing, He implied the essential deity and equality of each Person mentioned, hence also the high significance of the new relationship the believer sustains to each one. Expressions such as baptized in the name of Jesus Christ or baptized into Christ (Act. 2:38; Act. 8:16; Act. 10:48; Act. 19:5; Gal. 3:27) do not deny the Trinitarian formula, because Luke and Paul may not have intended to express the exact form of the baptismal formula used on those occasions. Rather, they affirm the believers confession that, of all earths spiritual leaders, only Jesus has Messianic authority to admit us into living fellowship with the Triune God (Mat. 11:27; Joh. 14:6).
The Daily, Unfinished Task of the Church
Mat. 28:20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. If the former commands express the evangelistic efforts of the Church whereby people are brought into the Kingdom, this latter expresses the edification of the saints whereby they are kept there. The believers, as disciples, must receive further instruction, not merely to recognize orthodox doctrine or adhere to a few formalities, but to practice everything I commanded you. (Cf. 1Ti. 1:5; Jas. 1:22 f; Jas. 2:8-26.) With the Lord, there can be no genuine Christianity that stops at mere mental mastery of material and does not also lead to lives transformed into the image of Christ, making us partakers of the divine nature (Eph. 4:11-15; 2Pe. 1:3-11). The test of discipleship is how much of Christs word bears fruit in us (Joh. 15:1-17), which is evidenced by our obedience (Joh. 15:10; Joh. 15:14). Our rule of faith and practice must be:
1.
everything, i.e., nothing omitted by convenience or neglect. (Cf. Act. 20:20; Act. 20:27)
2.
I commanded, clearly revealed truth, not human opinions or inferences (2Pe. 3:2; 1Co. 14:37).
3.
you, my witnesses, empowered by the Holy Spirit (Joh. 15:26-27; Act. 1:8; Act. 10:41-42), i.e. the Apostles doctrine (Act. 2:42; 2Ti. 2:2; 1Co. 15:1 ff.), not false revelations purporting to be inspired (2Th. 2:2). Lest the Apostles forget something, He furnished them the divine Spirit to teach them all things and remind them of everything He had said to them (Joh. 14:26).
What does it mean to teach them everything I commanded you?
1.
His own centrality in all of Gods revelations in the Hebrew Scriptures, His own universal authority expressed here.
2.
His specific lessons that inform our minds.
a.
Self-denial, cross-bearing.
b.
The Kingdom, its goals, methods, values, future.
c.
The disciples relationship to others, humility, forgiving spirit, helpfulness.
d.
The dangers of hypocrisy, pride, ambition, self-deception.
e.
His emphases on the spiritual, as opposed to the material and political nature of His rule and Kingdom.
3.
His great, precious promises to motivate us to become sharers in His divine nature.
4.
His own marvelous example that shows us what righteousness means and how it is achieved. His entire life and ministry, death and resurrection are full of information about the mind of God and how human conduct can reflect it.
5.
His commands that render specific His moral imperatives, His graciousness to make clear what it is He expects us to do.
6.
His unequivocal confidence in the authority and validity of the Old Testament as well as the Christians new relationship to its standards, examples, types, predictions, theological concepts, etc.
7.
His validation of the authority of the Apostles and their ministry.
8.
His driving sense of world mission to seek and save that which is lost.
This is but a poor, short summary. The mind of Christ is broader than this. But if we observe all that He commanded, we shall not simply have more of the Spirit of Christ, but more appropriately and significantly, the Lord shall have more of us! The clearest lesson here is that selection of a few pet doctrines cannot substitute for loving absorption of the total mind, ministry, manners and morals of Christ.
God with Us Forever
And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. This heart-thrilling assurance aims to encourage His people to believe that they have power equal to their task in the age-long mission on which He sends them and that He personally and concretely guarantees this power with His presence. (Cf. Exo. 33:14 f.; Jos. 1:5.) This heartening word to weak mortals burdened with the responsibility of discipling a lost world is but another way of saying, I send you heavenly power, the Holy Spirit my Father promised, (Luk. 24:49). Since these disciples had already labored in Galilee in Christs absence (Mat. 10:1 ff.; Cf. Luk. 9:6; Luk. 9:10; Luk. 10:17 ff.), they knew that the power He delivered to them was invincible. The visible presence of Christ was not to be expected because not absolutely essential to the victorious completion of their mission.
Matthew omits all mention of the ascension. Three considerations argue that his silence cannot be interpreted as a denial of Lukes clear affirmations that it occurred:
1.
Even before promising them His presence with them, His command to go had already implied His absence during their efforts, unless somehow He could accompany each one personally. His incarnation had limited Him to be one Man in one place.
2.
Unless He were to overcome the previous, self-imposed, spatial limits on His physical, even if glorious, body, how could He personally remain with all the believers in all the world until the judgment? But by dispensing with these limitations, He could be everywhere with all His people all the time. Although the ascension means so much more, it is nonetheless a highly feasible, appropriate way to facilitate this.
3.
Matthews special purpose was to picture Jesus as the Christ, ruling the Kingdom of God among His people. While His return to heaven could still accomplish this, Matthew desired that the last impression of the reader should be that of the heavenly Messianic King, Jesus Christ ruling on earth, living among His people. Matthew has created a magnificent effect by not reporting the ascension. The reader is left with the impression that life in the Kingdom of God continues as if the Lord never departed. Rather, in the person of the Holy Spirit, Jesus would somehow take on omnipresence, so that each disciple, however far across the face of the earth he may go, might know Jesus love and sympathy and bank on His vast reserves of heavenly might. Thus, any disciple may maintain the closest contact with His heavenly King.
So, even if it would be His eternal Spirit to accomplish this uninterrupted omnipresence, Matthews report of His promise, by its nature, presupposes His absence and leaves room for the ascension, reported by his colleagues.
The grand significance of His Name, Emmanuel (Mat. 1:23), with which Matthews Gospel began and now ends, shall be realized: God is with us in the person and presence of the Spirit of Christ. Now it becomes clear how His presence could bless even the smallest possible gathering of the Church anywhere in the world in any age (Mat. 18:20). Already the language of this cosmic Sovereign reflects the confidence of the eternal point of view where all tomorrows resolve into one endless now: I am. (Cf. Joh. 8:58.)
Always, even unto the end of the world: the time-barrier has been broken. Jesus is Lord of the Christians, singularly and collectively, in every epoch until He pleases to call a halt to this age and start eternity rolling for us. Thus, the modern Christian, rather than lament his misfortune not to live in that great golden age when Jesus walked the dusty roads of Palestine, may rise to the challenge of the early Church who saw her risen Lord ascend into heaven, leaving them the power of His Spirit, rather than His physical presence. The early Christians adored Him, not as an admirable historical figure, but as their Eternal Contemporary who led them always, everywhere in triumph (2Co. 2:14 ff.).
Although the Apostles would not live unto the end of the world, because they would die before that moment arrived, yet His being with them promised them support, not only in their personal ministry but, especially by means of the Holy Spirit. He would give power and authority to their words, so that their words, whether oral or written, would become the touchstone by which all of the Churchs future life would be judged. (See notes on Mat. 10:40; Mat. 19:28.)
Even though He gladdens our hearts by the warmth of His presence, the time-span between His departure and His return appears to lengthen as He guarantees His presence down to the end of an era that must seem unthinkably long for those whose Messianic expectations looked for a rapid conclusion of the age. (Cf. Joh. 21:22 f.) Contrary to the misunderstandings of those who read this notion into Scripture, the concept of a distant Parousia was already taught (Mat. 24:48; Mat. 25:5; Mat. 25:19; Luk. 19:11).
After this, the disciples would return to Jerusalem for the Ascension in anticipation of the arrival of the Holy Spirit (Luk. 24:48-52; Act. 1:4 to Act. 2:4). Matthew closes his Gospel before these latter events, not to diminish their importance or, worse, because he supposedly knew nothing about them, but to leave in the readers mind the ringing challenge of world-wide evangelism in the Name and power of the Risen Lord, Jesus the Messiah. As he has done in so many episodes before. Matthew now terminates his entire book without relating what the people did when they first heard Jesus divine mandate. The conscience of the reader is left to ponder, Were I in this situation what must I do about Jesus? Matthews brilliant conclusion implies: Jesus has completed His mission expressed through His incarnation. Now He grants us the fellowship of His omnipresent Spirit, in order that we might successfully and joyfully fulfil ours.
For further study, see Wilson, Learning From Jesus, 531541.
FACT QUESTIONS
1.
In relation to the appearances in Jerusalem, when did the appearance in Galilee recorded by Matthew occur?
2.
To whom did Jesus appear on this occasion?
3.
Explain why some of these could worship Him.
4.
Explain why others doubted.
5.
How many appearances of Jesus does Matthew report?
6.
What may we learn about Jesus from His self-revelation in this section?
7.
Quote the pre-amble to the Great Commission.
8.
Explain why this introduction to the Great Commission was necessary.
9.
List every evidence in the Gospel of Matthew that conclusively established that Jesus really possessed all authority.
10.
What does it mean to baptize into the name of someone?
11.
In what sense would Jesus say, I am with you?
12.
How could His presence with His people last until the end of the world?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(16) Then the eleven disciples.The writer passes over, for some reason which we cannot now discover, all the intermediate appearances, and passes on at once to that which connected itself with the mission and work of the Apostles, and through them of the universal Church.
Into a mountain.Better, to the mountain. The words imply some more definite announcement than that of Mat. 28:7; Mat. 28:10, and therefore, probably, some intermediate meeting. We may think of the mountain as being one that had been the scene of former meetings between the Master and His disciples. They had seen Him there before, in the body of His humiliation. They were now to see Him in the body of His glory. (Comp. Php. 3:21.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
APPEARANCE OF CHRIST TO THE DISCIPLES IN GALILEE, Mat 28:16-20.
Matthew, omitting all the other accounts of the appearance of Jesus after the resurrection, hastens to the fulfilment of the Lord’s promise to go before them into Galilee. There the Saviour, in the plenitude of his power in his new kingdom, gives them authority as apostles to spread his kingdom through the world.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16. The eleven One alone, the “son of perdition,” is not among them. He has fallen like a star from heaven, and left his place vacant.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.’
In accordance with Jesus instructions the eleven Apostles finally went into Galilee to find new truth, in total contrast with the soldiers who had gone to the Chief Priests to be taught lies. And there they went to the mountain that Jesus ‘had appointed them’. This would suggest that prior to His death He had already tried to make arrangements for them to go to Galilee as soon as He was dead, and had given them details about where they would see Him once they did so (although the arrangement might have been made during His resurrection appearances in Jerusalem). Compare Mat 26:32. But until they had heard what the women had to say it is clear that this had slipped into the background of their memories. But now that they knew that Jesus was indeed risen they obeyed His words. This appearance in Galilee, and the giving of Jesus’ commission there, were important. They indicate that Jesus’ work in Galilee and the surrounding area must go on, and that what is to go forward is based on that. Was this the mountain on which He proclaimed the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, or the mountain on which He fed the five thousand? (Mat 5:1; Mat 15:29). Or did He have in mind the elders who had gone into the mountain with Moses and Aaron, to enjoy the presence of God? (Exo 24:1-2). We just do not know. But we do know that He was fond of teaching in mountains because it meant getting away from the general crowds.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus Appears To His Disciples In Bodily Form And Reveals That He Has Been Crowned As Lord Of All. He Sends His Disciples Out To Proclaim The Good News To All Nations And To Call On Them To Observe All His Commandments (28:16-20).
Jesus now appears and reveals His new heavenly Kingship, and calls on His disciples to go out in His name in order to make disciples of people from all nations, giving them the assurance that He will go with them and be with them wherever they go, and however long it takes. Note the deliberate contrast with the previous passage. While the soldiers were declaring that the body had been stolen Jesus, in His transformed body, was appearing to His disciples.
a But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him. But some doubted (Mat 28:16-17).
b And Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Mat 28:18).
c “Go you therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mat 28:19).
b “Teaching them to observe all things whatever I commanded you” (Mat 28:20 a).
a “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world (or ‘age’)” (Mat 28:20 b)
Note that in ‘a’ they come to the mountain and see the risen Jesus, and in the parallel He promises that He will from now on continue to be with them as they go out and fulfil His command. In ‘b’ they learn of His coronation in Heaven where He has been given all authority in Heaven and on earth, and in the parallel they are to teach men to observe all His commandments as King (first on earth and then in Heaven). Central in ‘c’ is their great commission to go to all nations taking to them the triune God, and drenching them with the Holy Spirit in His Name.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Great Commission ( Mar 16:14-18 , Luk 24:36-49 , Joh 20:19-23 , Act 1:6-8 ) Mat 28:16-20 is commonly referred to as the Great Commission.
Matthew’s Version of the Great Commission Compared to the Other Gospels Mat 28:18-20 is generally referred to by scholars as the Great Commission. However, we find that each of the Evangelists ends his Gospel with a commission. A careful study reveals that each commission is based upon the structural theme of its particular Gospel. The theme of Matthew is the coming of the King to establish the Kingdom of Heaven and lay down the doctrine of the Kingdom. Jesus does this in Matthew’s Gospel by delivering five major discourses, which provides the structure of this Gospel. As a result, Jesus commissions His disciples to go and teach, or disciple, all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe His commandments, or doctrines, laid down in Matthew’s Gospel. Discipleship is accomplished by following the example Jesus gave in Matthew’s Gospel of both demonstrating the Christian life in the narrative material, and teaching others how to do the same in the discourse that follows the narrative. This commission best reflects the office and ministry of the teacher in the five-fold ministry.
In contrast, the commission that closes Mark’s Gospel emphasizes the preaching of the Gospel with signs following. This is because Mark is structured around the proclamation of the Gospel with miracles accompanying it. Jesus tells His disciples in Mark to preach the Gospel with the promise that signs and miracles would accompany their preaching. This commission best reflects the office and ministry of the evangelist in the five-fold ministry.
The structural theme of Luke’s Gospel is the collection of verifiable eyewitness accounts as to the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, Jesus commands His disciples to be witnesses of these events by preaching the Gospel to all nations beginning at Jerusalem (Luk 24:47), and to tarry in Jerusalem unto they be endued with power on high (Luk 24:49). He is making a clear reference to the contents of the book of Acts and establishes its structural theme. Since the Gospel of Luke does not reach this goal of spreading the Gospel, (this is why Luke’s commission seems incomplete) we must rely upon an additional volume to fulfill our Lord’s commission. The book of Acts opens with the fulfillment of power coming from on high and closes with the fulfillment of the spread of the Gospel to Greco-Roman world. Thus, Luke clearly links these two writings in an unmistakable way through this commission. This link is necessary because the office of the prophet and apostle work together in the Church. This commission best reflects the office and ministry of the prophet (Luke) and apostle (Acts) in the five-fold ministry.
The structural theme of John’s Gospel is the five-fold testimony of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. John’s Gospel reveals His deity with the testimony of the Father, of John the Baptist, of Jesus’ miracles, by the fulfillment of Old Testament Scriptures and finally in the last chapter by the testimony of Jesus Himself. This is why John’s commission is simply, “Come, follow Me.” This commission best reflects the office and ministry of the pastor in the five-fold ministry.
Two Phases of the Christian Life The Great Commission of Mat 28:18-20 contains Jesus’ command to preach the Gospel to every creature and to disciple them in the faith. This commission reflects two stages of the Christian life: conversion and discipleship. Conversion of believers is described in the statement, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” (Mat 28:19) while discipleship is addressed in the statement, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” (Mat 28:20)
Illustration – On April 9, 1997, I traveled to the Philippines to pick up my wife and bring her to the U.S. When I awoke the first morning after we met in Manila for the processing of her visa at the U.S. Embassy, I dreamed that Pastor Tom Leuther and John Wampler went to the baptismal pool at Calvary Cathedral in order to baptism. The presence of the Lord was so strong that they were not able to stand. I ran upstairs to help. I ran past an assistant and felt God’s power there. I passed Steve Henry, who was reading his Bible quietly. The Lord then quickened to me that there were two steps in the Christian life: conversion and discipleship. The scene in the dream of water baptism represented conversion, while the individual reading the Bible represented discipleship. The Lord continued to show me that once both steps are completed in a person’s life, it is difficult to re-convert someone out of an erroneous teaching and discipleship plan. He reminded me of how people in cults will do fanatical things, such as committing suicide with their leader. He reminded me of a California cult named Heaven’s Gate that had recently drunk poison with their leader believing that their souls would be teleported to an alleged alien space craft that was following a comet named Hale-Bopp, which was passing near the Earth at this time. [722] Such people exhibit bizarre behaviour because they have been through both conversion and discipleship. The Lord then quickened the words to me, “And many disciples followed their conversion.” Jesus had many who believed in Him (converts), but not all of them followed Him in sincere devotion and became genuine disciples.
[722] Wendy Gale Robinson, “Heaven’s Gate: The End,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 3 (3) (Duke University, Department of Religion, December 1997) [journal on-line]; accessed 30 August 2011; available from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue3/robinson.html; Internet.
The Purpose of Preaching the Gospel to the Nations was to First Change the Mindset of a Nation – Why did Jesus send out apostles to the nations to preach the Gospel prior to sending in social workers to meet the physical needs of the people? Having worked in the African mission field of Uganda for thirteen years, I learned that financial contributions and social aid do not help a poor nation come out of its poverty. An effort must be made to change the mindset of a nation so that integrity is embedded among the people to properly manage international aid. Otherwise, the people squander what is given to them through greed and corruption, leaving a few wealthy and the masses in poverty. Thus, Jesus first sends His disciples out to teach the nations in order to change the mindset of the people.
Illustration – In the late 2000’s I was leaving Lugogo shopping center in Kampala, Uganda when I saw a Ugandan man lying in the middle of the street who had been hit by a taxi driver. He was lying in a small pool of blood, but was alive and trying to sit up. I pulled up to him and had my security guard that rides with me assist him into my car. A crowd was there watching the scene. The injured man then called out for his mobile phone. I found a few pieces of the phone, then asked the crowd if someone had his phone. No one answered. I then drove this may to a nearby health clinic, where he was treated and released later that day. Dr. Stockley identified him as being drunk, a probable cause of the accident. During his treatment, the man asked for his shirt, which I gave him. He then discovered that his money had also been taken. This story reminded me on another incident that took place in Fort Worth several years earlier. I was driving to church in the mid-1990’s when I came upon an overturned car on the freeway with a lady laying on the road with a couple attending her. I call 911 and described the accident and our location. Within five minutes, a police officer, a fire truck and an ambulance had arrived and began to treat her and manage traffic. Two accidents on a highway, but with two different responses by cultures.
The Testimony of the Early Church Concerning the Fulfill the Great Commission by the Apostles – The early apostles of Jesus Christ took the Great Commission of their Master literally. The early Church fathers tell us that they scattered themselves into every region of the ancient civilized world, preaching the Gospel and performing miracles. Hippolytus (A.D. 170 to 236), in his writing On the Twelve Apostles Where Each of Them Preached, and Where He Met His End, gives us the tradition handed down to him as to where each of the twelve apostles preached the Gospel.
“1. Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia, and Betania, and Italy, and Asia, and was afterwards crucified by Nero in Rome with his head downward, as he had himself desired to suffer in that manner.
2. Andrew preached to the Scythians and Thracians, and was crucified, suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae, a town of Achaia; and there too he was buried.
3. John, again, in Asia, was banished by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos, in which also he wrote his Gospel and saw the apocalyptic vision; and in Trajan’s time he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his remains were sought for, but could not be found.
4. James, his brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there.
5. Philip preached in Phrygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there.
6. Bartholomew, again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward, and was buried in Allanum, a town of the great Armenia.
7. And Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Parthia.
8. And Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians, and was thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spears at Calamene, the city of India, anti was buried there.
9. And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem. was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple.
10. Jude, who is also called Lebbaeus, preached. to the people of Edessa, and to all Mesopotamia, and fell asleep at Berytus, and was buried there.
11. Simon the Zealot, the son of Clopas, who is also called Jude, became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep and was buried there at the age of 120 years.
12. And Matthias, who was one of the seventy, was numbered along with the eleven apostles, and preached in Jerusalem, and fell asleep and was buried there.
13. And Paul entered into the apostleship a year after the assumption of Christ; and beginning at Jerusalem, he advanced as far as Illyricum, and Italy, and Spain, preaching the Gospel for five-and-thirty years. And in the time of Nero he was beheaded at Rome, and was buried there.” ( Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus 49: On the Twelve Apostles Where Each of Them Preached, and Where He Met His End 7)
Socrates (A.D. 380-450), the early Church historian, tells us that the apostles went forth by lot among the nations.
“We must now mention in what manner Christianity was spread in this emperor’s reign: for it was in his time that the nations both of the Indians in the interior, and of the Iberians first embraced the Christian faith. But I shall briefly explain why I have used the appended expression in the interior. When the apostles went forth by lot among the nations, Thomas received the apostleship of the Parthians; Matthew was allotted Ethiopia; and Bartholomew the part of India contiguous to that country but the interior India, in which many barbarous nations using different languages lived, was not enlightened by Christian doctrine before the times of Constantine.” (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History 1.19)
Philip Schaff tells us that early Church tradition distributes the Twelve Apostles throughout the Roman Empire:
“The apocryphal tradition of the second and later centuries assigns to Peter, Andrew, Matthew, and Bartholomew, as their field of missionary labor, the regions north and northwest of Palestine (Syria, Galatia, Pontus, Scythia, and the coasts of the Black Sea); to Thaddaeus, Thomas, and Simon Cananites the eastern countries (Mesopotamia, Parthia, especially Edessa and Babylon, and even as far as India); to John and Philip Asia Minor (Ephesus and Hierapolis).” [723]
[723] Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 1: Apostolic Christianity A.D. 1-100 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1955), 200.
Mat 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Mat 28:16
Mat 4:16, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.”
We have no record of exactly where Jesus first met His disciples in Galilee. Evidently, it was in a remote place so as to avoid arousing the attention of the local villagers. Jesus had told them prior to His Passion that after His Resurrection He would met them in Galilee (Mat 26:32). Perhaps He gave them the location of the mountain as well. He repeated this instruction to the women at the tomb (Mat 28:10).
Mat 26:32, “But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.”
Mat 28:10, “Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”
Mat 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Mat 28:17
Mat 28:17, “And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.”
Mar 16:12, “After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.”
Luk 24:16, “But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.”
Luk 24:37, “But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.”
Joh 20:14, “And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.”
Joh 21:4, “But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.”
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:18
Mat 28:18 “All power is given unto me” – Word Study on “power” – The Greek word for “power” used in Mat 28:18 is (G1849), which means, “absolute authority” ( BDAG), or “the power of rule or government, authority” ( Thayer). Zodhiates says this word “combines the two ideas of right and might” and translates it “authority.” Helen Milton suggests that this phrase reflects the re-establishment of the Davidic kingdom upon earth in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, which is mentioned in the opening genealogy of Matthew. [724] Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham and of the royal lineage of David, now sits in absolute dominion both in heaven as the Son of God and upon earth as the Son of Man.
[724] Helen Milton, “The Structure of the Prologue to St. Matthew’s Gospel,” in Journal of Biblical Literature 81.2 (June 1962): 176.
“in heaven and in earth” – Comments Jesus Christ opens the Great Commission with the phrase, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” In this phrase He makes a distinction between His divine authority being established in the two-fold realm, that of heaven and that of earth. We see this two-fold distinction discussed in the opening chapters of the epistle of Hebrews. Heb 1:1-14 tells us that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has been given a name above the angels, that is, above everything that is in the heavenly realm. Heb 2:1-18 tells us that He took upon Himself the form of man; and as the Son of Man He destroyed the power of the devil, delivering mankind from bondage, which reflects Jesus’ dominion upon the earth as a man according to Psa 8:4-6, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:” (Heb 2:6-8) Jesus has been given dominion in heaven as the Son of God. He has been given dominion upon the earth as the Son of Man. He took dominion upon the earth when He destroyed the power of the devil. He took dominion in Heaven when He sat down at the right hand of God. Thus, Jesus Christ has been given all dominion and authority in every realm of creation.
Mat 28:18 Comments The last words of a person are some of the most important words that a person speaks. The last words of someone are also words that people remember the most. As the last words of “the Preacher” in the book of Ecclesiastes are the most important words of the Preacher (Ecc 12:13-14), so are words of the Great Commission.
Ecc 12:13-14, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
In Gen 1:26-31 God handed over to man the power to rule over the planet earth. Psa 115:16 tells us that God rules over the heavens, but He has given the earth unto the children of men. God gave man dominion over his creation on earth, but man yielded this dominion to demonic influence as a result of the Fall in the Garden of Eden. However, when Jesus Christ conquered death, hell and the grave, He legally took back this dominion because He, too, became a man (see Heb 2:5-18). Jesus then handed this dominion back over to His Church again in the Great Commission when He said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore” (Mat 28:18-20) Without this delegating of power, the Church would not have been able to accomplish its task of taking the Gospel to the world.
Psa 115:16, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.”
Jesus Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father, which is the greatest place of divine authority. Just before His ascension into Heaven, He gave to the Church His name and all of the authority within His name. It is by His name that we will overcome and be able to fulfill the Great Commission. We are the body of Christ and have been commissioned to do what Jesus was doing, which was defeating the kingdom of darkness. As the Head, He has ascended to Heaven. Therefore, we have been given His authority to complete what He began. The Head is dependent upon the body to carry out His work. In the natural we depend upon our physical bodies to do the work although our head plans the work. Thus, in Mat 28:18-20 we see that Jesus Christ delegated His authority to the Church as a whole, so that anything that is done on earth would now have to be done through His body, the Church. This is stated again in Eph 1:20-23. Thus, many problems that we face on earth take place because the Church permits them to happen and does not take authority over them.
Eph 1:20-23, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
Arthur Blessitt, who has carried a 12-foot wooden cross in every nation on earth, said that Mat 28:18-20 is our “passport to the world.” [725] In other words, he was saying that God will open the doors if we will go.
[725] Arthur Blessitt, interviewed by Matthew Crouch, Praise the Lord, on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program, 24 February 2009.
If we do not know how to use His name and walk in divine authority, then we as believers will live a defeated life and not be able to do what we have been called to do. We read in Col 2:15 that Jesus Christ spoiled principalities and powers. That is, He defeated them and took their goods, or their dominion over men. Thus, Mat 28:18 implies that Jesus’ disciples have matured in the Christian faith so that they are equipped to walk in victory in their own lives through faith in His name. Before we can go forth and disciple nations, we must walk in a level of Christian maturity and faith.
Col 2:15, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
Jesus Christ gave Kenneth Hagin this witness from the words of Jesus and three others New Testament writers, Paul, James, and Peter, that testify as to the authority given to every believer. [726]
[726] Kenneth Hagin, I Believe In Visions (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1984, 1986), 87-9.
Mar 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”
Eph 4:27, “Neither give place to the devil.”
Jas 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
1Pe 5:8-9, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:19
Eph 4:11, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”
The Lord quickened this phrase in Mat 28:19 to me one night in church (6 Aug 08) prior to being asked to take up the offering. I brought out the point that Christian television in Uganda for the past ten years has had the effect of transforming the mindset of the people. The process of discipleship transforms a person into the image of Christ. Lighthouse Television is an instrument used to disciples its viewers in fulfillment of Matthew’s great commission.
The ASV reads, “make disciples of all nations.” Disciples, or mature Christians, are not born that way. They have to grow and be taught. The Lord said to me in April 1997, while in Manila, Philippines, “There are two phases to the Christian life. There is conversion and there is discipleship. Just as a person can be converted into a cult, if he is discipled properly, this person will give his life for his faith. So it is the same with a Christian.” A Christian must be discipled through much effort and work of the local church in order to be rooted and grounded in the faith.
Discipleship is accomplished by following the example Jesus gave in Matthew’s Gospel of both demonstrating the Christian life in the narrative material, and teaching others how to do the same in the discourse that follows the narrative.
“all nations” – Comments – The word “all nations” refers to all races and colors of people, and not necessarily countries, although other countries are included under races.
“baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” Comments The statement, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” describes the phrase of conversion, while the statement that follows, “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you,” describes discipleship. Thus, the commission of Mat 28:18-20 gives us a two-fold formula for discipling the nations, which is first through conversion by the proclamation of the Gospel, then the teaching the Word of God.
This statement has been used as a formula in many churches when baptizing new converts. However, other believers teach that the proper formula should be to baptize in Jesus’ name only. They use verses in the book of Acts to verify this. Note that every baptism that took place in the book of Acts uses the name of Jesus only:
Act 8:16, “(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus .)”
Act 10:48, “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord . Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”
Act 19:5, “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
When teaching on water baptism, I had to deal with this difference in views. When praying about this matter, the Lord gave me the following answer. When we read the Gospels, we have the testimony of Jesus bearing witness to the Father, Himself and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in water baptism, He also bears witness to the trinity. However, the book of Acts is written by the unction of the Holy Spirit. He testifies not of Himself, but of the Lord Jesus (Joh 15:26). Therefore, the testimony of the Holy Spirit at water baptism is a testimony of Jesus.
Joh 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me :”
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mat 28:20
The teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew serve to lay a foundation upon which the Church is to build its doctrine. Many scholars see five major discourses within the Gospel of Matthew (Mat 5:1 to Mat 7:28, Mat 10:5 to Mat 11:1, Mat 13:1-53, Mat 18:1 to Mat 19:1, Mat 24:1 to Mat 26:1). Each of these discourses end with similar phrases, or transitional sentences:
Mat 7:28, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:”
Mat 11:1, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.”
Mat 13:53, “And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.”
Mat 19:1, “And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;”
Mat 26:1, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,”
The Great Commission ending this Gospel serves as a final commission to the Church to build itself upon the foundational doctrines laid down in these five discourses:
Mat 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
The Great Commission in Matthew’s Gospel Serves As the Commission of the New Testament Writings – We often find a divine commission at the beginning of the story of God’ servants in the Scriptures. We see in the book of Genesis that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob each received their commissions at the beginning of their genealogies which divide the book of Genesis into major divisions. We also see how Moses received his divine commission near the beginning of his story found within Exodus to Deuteronomy. Joshua received his commission in the first few verses of the book of Joshua. Also, we see that Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel each received a divine commission at the beginning of their ministries. The book of Ezra opens with a divine call to rebuild the Temple and the book of Nehemiah begins with a call to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which divine commissions Ezra and Nehemiah answered. In the New Testament, we find Paul the apostle receiving his divine commission in Act 9:1-22 at the beginning of the lengthy section on Paul’s life and ministry.
Each of these divine commissions fits within God’s original commission to Adam in the story of Creation to be fruitful and multiply, for these men were called to bring the about the multiplication of godly offspring. The patriarchs were called to multiply and produce a nation of righteousness. Moses was called to bring Israel out of bondage, but missed his calling to bring them into the Promised Land. Joshua was called to bring them in to the land. Esther was called to preserve the seed of Israel as was Noah, while Ezra and Nehemiah were called to bring them back into the Promised Land. All of the judges, the kings and the prophets were called to call the children of Israel out of sin and bondage and into obedience and prosperity. They were all called to bring God’s children out of bondage and destruction and into God’s blessings and multiplication. The stories in the Old Testament show us that some of these men fulfilled their divine commission while others either fell short through disobedience or were too wicked to hear their calling from God.
Now Joshua’s calling falls under God’s original command to Adam and Eve while in the Garden of Eden to be fruitful and multiply and to take dominion over the earth. In this command, God was referring to the multiplication of a righteous people. Thus, Joshua was simply building upon the foundation laid by his predecessor Moses. We see God’s original plan for mankind is still being given to His children of righteousness, who are the children of Israel during the time of Moses and Joshua up until the time of the New Testament church. The command to be fruitful and to multiply has never changed and will be given again to the apostles in the Great Commission by our Resurrected Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for He will command the apostles to go and to train, or to make disciples, of all nations. In other words, the Church was to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth. This was God’s original plan for mankind and this plan has not changed in the least. The Gospel of Matthew serves as the training manual by which the Church is to go and make disciples just as the Law of Moses found in the Pentateuch served as Joshua’ guide to fulfil his divine calling and destiny; for the Gospel of Matthew is structured into five major discourses that parallel and build upon the five books of the Pentateuch. The Great Commission is found in the first book of the New Testament and therefore serves to lay the foundation for the work of the New Testament Church. We find in the book of Acts how the early Church followed this command. In the same way, the book of Joshua serves as an example and a pattern for the nation of Israel in subduing the nations around them.
Mat 28:20 “and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” Comments – Matthew opens and closes his Gospel with the promise that God is now with us and that He will never forsake us. He is called Emmanuel in the opening passages of Mat 1:23, which name means, “God with us.” Jesus is about to depart, but He will always be with us in the form of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Mat 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us .”
Jesus Christ knew that persecutions accompanied the proclamation of the Gospel. The disciples did not live in fear when following Jesus during His earthly ministry. However, at His Passion and Resurrection, the disciples feared that their own lives would be endangered; therefore, He needed to assure His disciple that He would still be with them forever, and ever leave them. Jesus appears to His disciples for forty days after His Resurrection to assure them of His presence with them and to give final instructions (Act 1:1-9). He returned to Heaven after these appearances and sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to be with them and dwell in them forever. However, Jesus still appears to men and women on occasions. For example, Kenneth Hagin records the major visitations from Jesus during his ministry. [727] In contrast, many children of God no longer hear the voice of God and lack a sense of His presence with them because they have drifted away from His plan for their lives and walked in disobedience.
[727] Kenneth Hagin, I Believe in Visions (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1984, 1986).
A. B. Simpson comments that Jesus did not say He will be with us, which suggests a break, but rather, “I am with you,” suggesting the ever present, never changing, presence of God is always with us when we need Him (Deu 31:6-8, Heb 13:5). [728]
[728] A. B. Simpson, The Gospel of Healing, fourth edition (New York: Christian Alliance Publishing Company, 1890), chapter 1: The Scriptural Foundation no. 15.
Deu 31:6-8, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee . And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee : fear not, neither be dismayed.”
Heb 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee .”
Jesus is also with us in the sense that He will supply the resources to go to the nations and preach the Gospel. This cannot be done without finances. Jesus promises that if we will just go, He will supply the means to get there and He will supply the resources to accomplish this great task.
How do we know that He is with us? Mark’s commission (Mar 16:14-18) and the epistle of Hebrews (Heb 2:1-4) says that He will be confirming the preaching of His Word with signs and miracles following. He will let the world know that we are servants of God when miracles take place.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Great Missionary Command. Mat 28:16-20
v. 16. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
v. 17. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
v. 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.
v. 19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
v. 20. teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Jesus had named a certain mountain in Galilee to His disciples, where He would meet them after His resurrection, but we know neither the time of this meeting nor the location of the mountain. It had been His express command that they assemble there, and after they had received the confirmation of this word by the message of the women on Easter morning, they went to keep the appointment. When He appeared before them there, some of them fell down before Him in glad adoration, but others still were in doubt. They could neither believe the fact of His resurrection nor that it was actually their Lord who here appeared before them. Jesus therefore drew nearer that they might recognize His features more exactly. But principally He depended for the effect of His presence upon His words. The speech of Jesus is majestic, but His whole bearing was friendly and intended to take away all apprehension of whatever kind among them all. His final commission is a wonderful bit of solemn oratory. As He stands before them, in His spiritual body, true man as ever during His earthly life, but no longer in humility and weakness: all power in heaven above and on earth beneath is given to Him. He is the almighty God, with unlimited authority. And since this is true, therefore they, in going forth, in doing the work of their apostolic mission, should make disciples of all nations. The whole earth should be their sphere of activity. And this discipling should be done by two means of grace. First there is the means of making disciples by baptizing in the name of the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; into the name, as confessing the name which summarizes the entire Christian creed. The second means of making disciples is that of teaching them to observe closely all things which Jesus has committed to His disciples, to expound to them the counsel of God to their salvation. Not human notions, but the Word of the Gospel, the inspired Word of God shall be the content of all preaching in the Church of Jesus Christ, no more, no less. And if His commission is carried out in this manner, then His promise also will stand secure, that He will be with us all the days until the end of time. When this age comes to its close, when He Himself will usher in the new age by the dawn of His Judgment Day, then only will the work of the Church have come to an end.
Summary. Jesus arises from the dead amidst the quaking of the earth, the angel shows the women the empty tomb and bids them bring the tidings to the disciples; Christ, appearing to the same women, confirms the message, while the chief priests and elders take steps to spread lies about the resurrection. Christ finally appears to His disciples in a body on a mountain in Galilee and gives them the great missionary command.
The Baptism Of Children
In view of the fact that the rights of children, so called and real, are being discussed more and more at teachers’ conventions, mothers’ meetings, neighborhood clubs, federations of woman’s clubs, and in countless other organizations, it seems almost like an anachronism to hear the objection to children’s baptism voiced time and again with great emphasis and bitterness.
For there is, first of all, the plain command of Christ with reference to children. “Make disciples of all nations,” He says, Mat 28:19, and He mentions Baptism as the first method, not without a very good reason. There is His command to baptize the children, for they surely make up a considerable part of the nations. If the objection is made that children are not specifically named, we may ask: Are the women specifically named? And was it so self-evident in the days when the women were largely regarded as chattels that they should be placed on an equality with the men of the nation, presumably the representatives of the nation? The Apostle Paul says, Col 2:11: “Ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. ” And in verse 12 he explains this: “Buried with him in Baptism. ” But if Baptism is to take the place of circumcision by such a close analogy, it follows that it is to be administered to children also. In his great sermon on Pentecost Day, Peter tells the multitude: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you. For the promise is unto you and to your children,” Act 2:38-39. Again a plain command to include the children in the blessings of Baptism.
There is, furthermore, the fact that children can believe and do believe, which is an urgent reason for baptizing them. Christ says: “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me,” Mat 18:2-6. There can be no clearer words than these to show that Christ regards them as believers in Him, and without faith in Him it would be impossible for them to enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again He says: “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein,” Mar 10:14-15. Human language can hardly be made plainer.
There are, in the next place, the facts of Scriptural history in support of the baptism of children. It would be doing outrage to the common understanding of the term, if the word “household,” Act 16:15, or the expression: “He was baptized, and all his,” Act 16:33, See verses 32 and 34, should exclude the children. There are, finally, the facts of the history of the early Church, which make child baptism appear as a custom which had always been practiced in the congregations. There was a difference, of course; those converted in adult life receiving Baptism at that time, and since that was the case in most of the mission-stations, it follows that adult baptism was more prevalent in the early centuries than child baptism. But it seems to have been the custom from the very first to baptize the children of Christian parents. A few examples will suffice to show this truth. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in the second century, says that infants and little ones, boys and youths, and aged persons are baptized. Origen, who lived a little later, writes that the Church had received the tradition to give Baptism to infants from the apostles. Accordingly, a council held in the city of Carthage, A. D. 253, declared that Baptism should be denied to no human being from his birth. This answer was given with reference to the question whether children should be baptized before the eighth day, or on that very day. Tertullian’s objection to infant baptism, at the end of the second century, shows that the practice was universal. Gregory of Nazianz, in the fourth century, demanded that infants be baptized at once, especially if there were any danger of their not living.
Our children belong to Christ, and to Him we bring them in Baptism.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 28:16-17. Then the eleven disciples went away, &c. The time now approached when Jesus was to shew himself publicly in Galilee, after having frequently shewn himself in a more private manner to his disciples and the women. This was in many respects the most remarkable of all his appearances. He promised it to his apostles before his death, ch. Mat 26:32. The angels who attended at his resurrection, spoke of it to the women who came to his sepulchre, and represented it as promised to them also, Mar 16:7. Nay, Jesus himself, after his resurrection, desired the company of women to tell his brethren to go into Galilee, where they should see him, as if the appearance whichhe was to make that day, and on the eighth day thereafter, were of small importance in comparison. Moreover, the place where he was to appear in Galilee was mentioned by him, as St. Matthew here informs us. Whether there were more present at this appearance than the eleven, the Evangelist does not say:nevertheless the circumstances of the case direct us to believe that it had many witnesses. This appearance was known before-hand. The place where it was to happen was pointed out by Jesus himself. The report, therefore, of his being to appear, must have spread abroad, and brought many to the place at the appointed time. In short, it is reasonable to think that most of the disciples now enjoyed the happiness of beholding personally their Master raised from the dead. What confirms this supposition is, that St. Paul says expressly, that Jesus after his resurrection was seen of above five hundred at once, 1Co 15:6. For the number of the witnesses mentioned by St. Paul, agrees better with the appearance on the mountain in Galilee, described by St. Matthew, than with any other. Galilee having been the principal scene of Christ’s ministry, the greater part of his followers lived there; for which reason he chose to make, what may be called, his most solemn and public appearance after his resurrection on a mountain in that country,the appearance to which a general meeting of all hisdisciples was summoned, not only by the angels who attended his resurrection, but by our Lordhimself, the very day on which he rose. The greatest part of those present were so fully convinced that the person they saw was their Master, that they worshipped him:and when they saw him, they worshipped him;but some doubted: with respect to a few, their joy at seeing their Lord put them into a kind of perturbation; and their desire that it might be he, made them doubtful, and afraid that it was not. This reason is assigned by St. Luke for the unbelief of some on an occasion previous to this, (see Luk 24:41.)They believed not for joy and wonder, and therefore it may be fitly offered to account for the unbelief of others on this occasion. Besides, the thing is agreeable to nature, men being commonly afraid to believe what they vehemently wish, lest they should indulge themselves in false joys, which they must soon lose. Hence the saying in Terence,Misera mens incredula est; quo plus cupio, minus credo: “My anxious mind is incredulous; the more I wish, the less I believe.” The case of the disciples, whose desire and joy made them doubt the truth of what they saw, may be illustrated by the instance of the states of Greece and Asia, whose joy and surprize on hearing a Roman herald declare them all free, and at liberty to use their own laws, had a similar effect on them, as you will find the circumstance beautifully related in Livy, lib. xxxiii, ch. 35. The Prussian editors, however, who are followed by some others, render the clause thus.even those who had doubted. It is probable, that at this appearance the apostles received orders to return to Jerusalem; for from Act 1:3-12 compared with Luk 24:50 it is plain that our Lord’s discourses before his ascension, related Mar 16:15; Mar 16:20 and Luk 24:44; Luk 24:53 were delivered in or near to the city. Besides, he ascended from the mount of Olives, as we shall see in the subsequent evangelists. Wherefore, if the orders for the apostles to repair to Jerusalem were not given at this appearance, Jesus must have shewed himself again, which indeed is not impossible, as it is evident from 1Co 15:7 that he shewed himself somewhere, after his appearance to the five hundred brethren, to the apostle James alone, though none of the evangelists have given the least hint of this appearance. In the college of the apostles there were two persons of that name; one the brother of John, who was killed by Herod; another the brother or cousin of Jesus. Perhaps it was to James the brother of John, that our Lord appeared after his resurrection; and his being to suffer martyrdom so early, might make this special favour necessary. See Macknight and West.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 28:16 The eleven disciples, in accordance with the directions given them, Mat 28:10 , proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain, etc.
, . . .] an additional particular as to the locality in question, which the women received, Mat 28:10 , and had subsequently communicated to the disciples. The , ubi , is to be regarded as also including the preceding whither (to go and abide there), Luk 10:1 ; Luk 22:10 ; Luk 24:28 ; Winer, p. 439 f. [E. T. 592]; Khner, II. 1, p. 473.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
THIRD SECTION
THE OMNIPOTENT RULE, AND THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH
Mat 28:16-20
(Mar 16:15-18; Luk 24:44-49.)
16Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a [the, ] mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17And when they saw him, they worshipped him:36 but some doubted [hesitated].37 18And Jesus came [drew near] and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in [] heaven and in [on. ] earth. 19Go ye therefore,38 and teach [make disciples of, or disciple, christianize, ]39 all [the, ] nations, baptizing40 them in the name [into the name, ]41 of the Father, and of the 20Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching [] them to observe all things what-so-ever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway [all the days, every day, ], even unto the end [ ] of the world [ ].42 Amen.43
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Mat 28:16. Then the eleven disciples.They come forward here as the representatives of the entire band of disciples, and not as the select apostolic college of the Twelve, which makes its first reappearance after the selection of Matthias. This distinction is to be found in the remark that some doubted, which cannot apply to the Eleven: reference is made to many witnesses in 1Co 15:6.
Upon the mountain.The Evangelist himself informs us that Jesus had appointed the place of meeting, but does not tell us when and where, Inasmuch as the disciples were bidden at first merely to go into Galilee, the more special direction must have been given at a later date. Grotius thinks that the command was issued while they were still in Jerusalem. We agree with Ebrard and others, that Christs meeting with the seven (John 21) preceded and introduced this manifestation. That there is a reference to an actual mountain in Galilee, may be seen from the connection between this passage and the injunctions to proceed into Galilee, Mat 28:7; Mat 28:10; also from the consideration, that in Galilee only could a place be found for so large an assemblage of disciples as is mentioned in 1Co 15:6. An apocryphal tradition, dating from the thirteenth century, named the northern peak of the Mount of Olives as the scene, and gave it the name of Galila. This theory has undoubtedly originated early, in an improper and interested attempt at harmonizing, the first traces of which we find in the apocryphal Actis Pilati. It is upon this statement that Rudolf Hofmann supports his views in his work, Ueber den Berg. Galila, Ein Beitrag zur Harmonie der evangelischen Berichte, Leipzig, 1856.44 We saw above that Mount Tabor could not have been the scene of the transfiguration. But should we conclude from this, that that tradition is wholly untenable? How easily could that which had been said of the second transfiguration of Jesus before the eyes of His Church, be confounded with the account of the former transfiguration! How well adapted, besides, was Mount Tabor for the accommodation of the disciples, who assembled for the purpose of celebrating the first great Easter festival! That the mount was then peopled, goes against the theory which makes it the scene of such an event as the first transfiguration, but not against the view which selects it as the centre to which the Galilean Christians were gathered. For the dwellers upon this mountain (if the mountain were not then, to some degree, waste and occupied only by ruins; see Schulz, Reisebeschreibung) could be but few in number, and would be, besides, friendly disposed to the Galilean believers, so that the assemblage upon this high peak of Galilee would not be in the least disturbed (see the authors Leben Jesu, ii. 3, 1730). Grotius, too, writing upon this passage, is in favor of Tabor. Southward from the Mount of Beatitudes, six miles distant from Nazareth, in an easterly direction (southeast), the Mount of Tabor rises, , i. e. peak, navel, Greek (Hos 5:1; Sept.), called by the natives Tschebel Tor. It is a great, well-nigh isolated ball of chalkstone, flattened on the top. Jerome says of it: Mira rotunditate sublimes. In omni parte finitur qualiter. Upon the southern side, it extends far down into the plain of Jezreel:45 northward it overlooks all the confronting mountains of the highlands of Galilee. The sides of Tabor are covered with a forest of oaks and wild pistachio-trees, which shelter wild swine. The whole mountain is rich in flowers, and abounds with trees. The flat top is about a mile and a half in circumference; upon it are the remains of a large fortress, and two churches may still be recognized. (K. von Raumer, Palstina, p. 62.) See Jer 46:18; Psa 89:12, [Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name]. Upon the prospect from Tabor, consult works of travel, Schubert, Robinson; also Schulz (Mhlheim an der Ruhr, 1852, p. 260). Gerlach supposes the mountain to have lain in a lonely neighborhood, in Lebanon, in the north of Galilee, but states no reasons.
Mat 28:17. And when they saw Him.In the case of the Eleven, this was neither the first occasion upon which they saw Him since the resurrection, nor yet the first impression. Judging from the import of what follows, we believe that Matthew groups the eleven Apostles together with the assembled pilgrim throng of Galilean believers. To this congregated body does the prostration refer, and also the doubting of some. We consider, however, that the statement: some doubted, is not applied to the reality of the Risen One, but is used in regard to the immediately preceding . These some were not in doubt whether the person before them was really Jesus who had risen. That would have been a total inversion of the order of things, if they had come to the mountain believing, and had been plunged back into doubt upon the sight of the Lord. Why, it was the very vision of the Lord which made the women and the Eleven believing. So that they doubted whether it was proper to offer unto the Lord such an unbounded worship as was expressed in the supplications and prostration of the disciples. This view is held also by de Wette. The following declaration of Jesus refers to this hesitation. Hence we find in this a prophetic allusion by the Evangelist to that germ of Ebionism which developed itself at a later period among the Jewish Christians, just as he had before pointed out the germ of the antichristian Judaism. These some without a preceding constitute a particular section of that assembled mass, formerly mentioned as a body, to which special attention would be directed.46 The words, , have received various explanations. 1. The reading itself, : Bornemann [Beza]. 2. The meaning, Some prostrated themselves, the others separated in dismay: Schleussner. 3. The occasion: (a) They doubted, because Jesus body was already glorified: Olshausen and others; (b) dread of a phantom: Hase; (c) on account of a change in the body of Jesus, which was now in the intermediate state, between its former condition, and glorification, which was completed at the ascension: Meyer,47 4. The subject: (a) The Eleven were they who doubted: Meyer; (b) certain of the Seventy: Kuinoel; (c) certain of the five hundred brethren, 1Co 15:6 : Calovius and others [also Olshausen, Ebrard, Stier, who suppose, from the previous announcement of this meeting, and the repetition of that announcement by the angel, and by Christ, that it included, probably, all the disciples who could be brought together:in which case we must take the in Mat 28:16 in an emphatic, not in an exclusive sense, the Eleven being the natural leaders of the rest.P. S.] This last explanation is undoubtedly the correct one. (See above.)
Mat 28:18. And Jesus drawing near, spake unto them.This drawing near was manifestly a special approach unto those who were doubting; and unto them likewise were the following words in the first instance addressed, though not exclusively.
All power is given unto Me.Expression of His glorification and victory. It is an unwarranted rationalizing explanation, when this expression is made to mean simply, either potestas animis hominum per doctrinam imperandi (Kuinoel), or full power to make all the preparations necessary for the Messianic theocracy (Paulus). It is the munus regium Christi, without limitation. Meyer. According to the doubts of the later Ebionites, Christ must share the power given Him by God, in heaven with the angels, on earth with Moses. [With the resurrection and ascension Christ took full possession, as the Godman, of that which, as , or according to His eternal Divine nature, He had before the foundation of the world, Joh 17:5; Luk 24:26; Php 2:9-11; Eph 1:20-23.P. S.]
Mat 28:19. Go ye (therefore). is a gloss, but a correct one; for the majesty of Christ is the ground both for His sending, and for their allowing themselves to be sent. [Alford, a dignitary of the Church of England, says of these words of the great commission, that they were not spoken to the apostles only, but to all the brethren. He also remarks on the connection between and : All power is given Mego therefore andsubdue? Not so: the purpose of the Lord is to bring men to the knowledge of the truthto work on and in their hearts, and lift them up to be partakers of the Divine nature! And therefore it is not subdue, but make disciples of.P. S.]
Make disciples of, Luthers translation: lehret, is incorrect.48 So also is the Baptist exegesis: In every case, first complete religious instruction, then baptism. To make disciples of, involves in general, it is true, the preaching of the Gospel; but it marks pre-eminently the moment when the non-Christian is brought to a full willingness to become a Christian, that is, has become, through repentance and faith, a catechumen. This willingness, in the case of the children of Christian parents, is presupposed and implied in the willingness of the parents; for it is unnatural and unspiritual to treat children as if they were adults, and Christianity as if it were a mere school question, when the parents do not decide unhesitatingly in favor of Christianity as the religion of their children, and do not determine to educate them accordingly. Hence the children of Christian parents are born catechumens, or subjects of Christian instruction. The Holy Scriptures everywhere place the spiritual unity of the household in the believing father or believing mother, representing this as the normal relation.
All nations.Removal of the limitations laid down in Mat 10:5, according to the statements contained in Mat 25:32; Mat 24:14. By this, the universality of the apostolic commission is established. The question, how the Gentiles are to be received into the Church, is not yet answered, though the unconditioned reception of believers is found in the appointment, that nations, as nations, are to be christianized, without being first made Jews; that they are to be marked out as Christians by baptism, without any reference to circumcision. The development of this germ is left by the Lord to the work of the Spirit. The revelation recorded Acts 10, is the Spirits exegesis of the already perfect commission, and not a continuation or expansion of that commission, which was completed with the work of Christ. We cannot, therefore, assume that the Apostles, up to that time, held circumcision to be a necessary condition of baptism, or reception into the Church; they were merely in the dark regarding this question, until the Holy Spirit explained the word of Christ unto them.
Baptizing them.Or, more correctly according to the reading : having baptized them.49 But is not completed in baptism. Rather are there two acts, a missionary and an ecclesiastical,the antecedent baptism, the subsequent instruction. [Meyer: , etc., by which the is to be brought about, not what is to take place after the , which would require -. Alford: The consists of two partsthe initiatory, admissory rite, and the subsequent teaching. It is much to be regretted that the rendering of ., teach, has in our Bibles clouded the meaning of these important words. It will be observed that in our Lords words, as in the Church, the process of ordinary discipleship is from baptism to instructioni. e., is admission in infancy to the covenant, and growing up into , . . . But this applies only to Christian churches already established. As the Jewish religion commenced with the promise of God, and the faith and circumcision of adult Abraham, who received circumcision as a sign and seal of the covenant already established (Rom 4:11) for himself and for his seed, so the Christian Church was founded in the beginning, and is now propagated in all heathen countries by the preaching of the Gospel to, and by the baptism of, adults. Infant baptism always presupposes the existence of a responsible parent church and the guaranty of Christian nurture which must develop and make available the blessings of the baptismal covenant. Hence the preponderance of adult over infant baptism in the first centuries of Christianity, and in all missionary stations to this day. But even in the case of adult converts, a full instruction in the Christian religion and development of Christian life, does not, as a rule, precede, but succeed baptism, which is an initiatory, not a consummatory rite, the sacramental sign and seal of regeneration, i. e., of the beginning of the new life, not of sanctification or growth and perfection in holiness.P. S.]
In [or rather with reference to, or into] the name of.50That is, in the might of, and for, the name, as the badge and the symbol of the new Church. . Note, says Meyer, that the liturgical formula, In nominee, In the name, rests entirely upon the incorrect translation of the Vulgate. Yet, not so entirely, because the expression is found in Act 10:48 (compare Mat 3:11). De Wette and Meyer explain , with reference to the name. But , in other passages, means either the element into which one is baptized (Mar 1:9, ; Rom 6:3, ); or the object, , Mat 3:11; Act 2:38, ; or the authority of the community, under which and for which one is baptized ( , 1Co 10:2). The last meaning is probably the prominent one in this passage: a baptism under the authority of, and unto the authority of the triune God, as opposed to the baptism in and for the authority of Moses. But, as the context shows, we have expressed likewise the idea of being plunged into the name of the Three-one God, as the element, and the dedication of the baptized unto this name.51 The expression, , Act 2:38, brings out most fully the idea of the authority, in virtue of which, or the foundation upon which, baptism is administered. In so far, now, as baptism has the Triune name as ground, means, and object, the combined signification of may be partially explained by with, reference to; more distinctly, however, in the name of: that is, upon the ground of this name, in the might of this name, as dedicated unto this name, or for this name. Meyer: The name of the Father, etc., is to be the object of faith, and the subject of confession. This expresses only the third conception, and that but half. Upon the import of the name, see Commentary on Mat 4:9 [p. 125]. 52 The name refers to each of the Persons of the Godhead. The plural form, , would have pointed to Tritheism; while the singular, in its distributive application to Father, Son, and Spirit, brings out in the one name the equality as well as the personality, of the three Divine Names in one name.53 In an emphatic sense, may it also be said, that is a distinctively Christian characteristicum of the Spirit (Joh 7:39).
We must dissent from Meyer, when he maintains that the passage is improperly termed the baptismal formula, assigning as reason that Jesus does not, assuredly, dictate the words which are to be employed in the administration of baptism. (No trace is to be found of the employment of these words by the Apostolic Church: compare rather the simple form , Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27; X., Act 8:16; and X., Act 2:38.) It is the telic import [or intention] of the baptismal act that is given in this expression. Consult Reiche, De Baptism, orig., etc., Gttingen, 1816, p. 141. It was only at a later period that the baptismal formula was drawn up according to these words (see Justin. Apol. i. 61), just as was the baptismal confession of the three articles. But it is exactly this gradual development of the apostolical confession of faith which conducts us back to the germ, which we find here deposited in the New Testament. A baptism in the name of Christ is conceivable only when that confession was accompanied by the acknowledgment of the Father and the Holy Spirit; and this so-called telic import points us back to the homogeneous foundation upon which that import rests. It is true, indeed, that the apostolic age was not bound to formulas, as stiff and dead formulas. Otherwise, Meyer is right in defending, against the objections of de Wette, Strauss, and others, the historical truth of this direction of Christ. This is not the only instance in which we have presented a mere specially defined statement of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and of the essential points of the Christian confession (see 2Co 13:13; 1Ti 3:16; Tit 2:11; Tit 2:13, etc.). [Comp, the Doctrinal Thoughts, below, sub No. 6.]
Mat 28:20. Teaching them.These words mark on the one hand, the continuation of the apostolic activity, after that and had preceded; upon the other, the course of the Christian, which should run on parallel to this activity. The statement concerning the new , Joh 13:34, which refers undoubtedly to the institution of the Holy Supper, shows us, that all things commanded by Christ concentrate in the truth, and the spiritual observance of that Supper as necessarily following baptism and the establishment of the visible church. See the authors Leben Jesu, ii. 3, p. 1330.
[We should not overlook that there is no before , so that baptizing and teaching are not strictly cordinate, as two successive acts and means of Christianizing the nations; but the teaching is a continuous process, which partly precedes baptism, as a general exhibition of the gospel with the view to bring the adults to the critical turning point of decision for Christ, and submission to His authority, and partly follows baptism, both in the case of adults and infants, as a thorough indoctrination in the Christian truth, and the building up of the whole man unto the full manhood of Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Since the eleven apostles and other personal disciples of our Lord could neither baptize nor teach all nations, it is evident that He instituted here the office of a continuous and unbroken preacherhood (not priesthood in the Jewish or Romish sense) and teacherhood, with all its duties and functions, its privileges and responsibilities; and to this office He pledged His perpetual presence to the end of time, without the intermission of a single day or hour.P. S.]
[All things, whatsoever I have commanded you.The doctrines and precepts of Christ, nothing ness and nothing more, are the proper subjects of Christian faith and practice, and constitute the genuine Christian tradition to be handed down from age to age, as distinct from those pseudo-Christian traditions of men which were added to the gospel, as the pseudo-Jewish traditions of the Pharisees and elders were added to the Old Testament, and made the word of God of none effect, Mat 15:6.P. S.]
And, lo.Excitation and encouragement to fulfil the apostolic commission, and the duties of the Christian life, which are here enjoined.54
I am with you.Not merely through the agency of the power which has been given Me, but still more in the other person of the Holy Spirit, or the Paracletos (Joh 14:16; Joh 14:26, etc.), and in My own personal agency, through My word (Joh 14:23) and sacrament (Mat 26:28). There is reference also to their vital union to, and communion with, Him, in the might of His Spirit (Joh 14:20; Joh 16:22), and of His life (Joh 15:5). [Alford: I, in the fullest sense: not the Divine Presence as distinguished from the Humanity of Christ. His Humanity is with us likewise. The vine lives in the branches.The presence of Christ is part of the abovethe effect of the well-pleasing of the Father. So that the mystery of His name, , is fulfilledGod with us.P. S.]
[With you.Wordsworth, like the Romish interpreters, erroneously confines to the apostles and their successors in office. Let us quote Alford, also a dignitary of the Episcopal Church, against him: To understand only of the apostles and their (?) successors, is to destroy the whole force of these most weighty words. Descending even into literal exactness, we may see that , makes into , as soon as they are . The command is to the Universal Churchto be performed, in the nature of things, by her ministers and teachers, the manner of appointing which is not here prescribed, but to be learnt in the unfoldings of Providence recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, who by His special ordinance were the founders and first builders of that Churchbut whose office, on that very account, precluded the idea of succession or renewal. In a general sense, however, the apostolic officethe only one which Christ founded, but which was the fruitful germ of all other ministerial offices (the presbyterate and deaconate)is truly and really continued, with all its necessary functions for the preservation and propagation of the church, in the ministerial or pastoral office. In this passage the apostles and other disciples (there were, probably, more than five hundred in all, comp. 1Co 15:6) appear as the representatives of the whole ministry of the gospel, and in a wider sense of the whole church over against the unchristian world, which is to be christianized by them. As the Saviour prayed not for the apostles alone, but for them also that shall believe on Him through their word, that they all may be one (Joh 17:20-21), so the promise of His abiding presence is to all ministers of the gospel and to the whole Church they represent. Christ has abundantly proved, and daily proves, His blessed presence in non-episcopal, as well as episcopal churches, even where only two or three humble disciples are assembled in His name (Mat 18:20), and it is our duty and privilege, in the spirit of true evangelical catholicity, to acknowledge and revere the footprints of our Saviour in all ages and sections of Christendom, whether Greek, or Latin, or Anglican, or Protestant.P. S.]
Alway.55The words: , every day, mark not only every year which will elapse till the worlds end, as years of redemption, but also every day, even the darkest, as days of redemption. [Alford: All the appointed daysfor they are numbered by the Father, though by none but Him. Wordsworth: I shall never be absent from you a single day; I shall never be absent in any of the days of the greatest trial and affliction of the Church; but I shall remain with her till the last day, when you will see Me again in bodily presence.P. S.]
Unto the end of the world.That is, until the completion or consummation of the secular on, or the period of time which comes to an end with the parousia, and involves the end of the present world itself. Hence this fact is also included, that Christ accompanies His own, when they go to the most remote boundaries of the world to preach the Gospel. [The word unto () does not set a term to Christs presence, but to His invisible and temporal presence, which will be exchanged for His visible and eternal presence at His last coming. Now Christ is with us, then when He shall appear in glory, we shall be with Him where He is (Joh 17:24), and shall see Him as He is (1Jn 3:2). Comp. Bengel, who remarks to : Tum enim nos erimus cum Domino.P. S.]
On account of this all-encompassing, this heaven-and-earth-including presence of Christ, the fact of the personal ascension is omitted by our Evangelist, which is done also by John, as a point which is self-evidently comprehended in this omnipresence. [The fact itself of the ascension is clearly implied, not only in this verse, but also in other passages of this Gospel, as Mat 22:44; Mat 24:30; Mat 25:14; Mat 25:31; Mat 26:64.P. S.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The mountain in Galilee.The appearance of the risen Lord upon this mountain recalls in its every part the transfiguration upon the mountain in Pera, and also Peters confession, which preceded that transfiguration. Hence it is, it seems to us, that tradition has connected the second event with the first, in regard to the locality, and has named Mount Tabor as the scene of the transfiguration. Upon this occasion we have a repetition of both the solemn confession and the transfiguration. The two scenes agree in kind, but this present one surpasses in degree. There, Peter confessed: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God; here, a disciple-band of more than five hundred believers fall in adoration at the feet of the risen Lord. There, Christ confirmed Peters confession, as a revelation from the Father; here, He declares: All power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth. There, He proclaimed the institution of His Church () upon the foundation of this confession; here, He appoints His disciples apostles unto all nations, while these nations were to take the place of the disciples (), He institutes holy baptism, and recalls the more special institution of the ministerial (teaching) office (Joh 20:21), and of the Holy Supper (see above, Exeg. Notes).And as He made manifest, upon the Mount of Transfiguration, His connection with the heavenly world of spirits, and with the entire past of Gods kingdom (Moses and Elijah), so He certifies here His connection with the entire future of Gods kingdom, His eternal presence in the Church in this world, by means of these words: Lo, I am with you every day till the completion of the on, of the worlds course and time.
2. When Matthew mentions in this passage only the Eleven, he will merely mark them out as the leaders f the Galilean disciple-procession, but in no sense as those to whom the institutions of the glorified Lord were exclusively entrusted. Gerlach is of the opinion, that the principal, the predominating thought with Matthew, was the office of public teacher; and hence it is that all the appearances of our Lord, which were enjoyed by different parties, are omitted. But Matthew reports even an appearance of Jesus unto the women. If Matthew here records (as Gerlach himself admits) the same meeting of Jesus with the disciples which is mentioned by Paul, 1Co 15:6, it follows that the Lord himself here committed His formal institutions and commissions to the whole assembled Church, with the Apostles at her head, just as He at a later date poured out His Spirit upon the whole assembled Church. And from this, then, we argue, that, according to the law of Christ, the apostolic office and the Church are not two divided sections. In the commission to teach and to baptize, the apostolical community is one, a united apostolate, involving the Church, or, a united Church, including the Apostles. In this unity we may unquestionably mark the distinction between the leader and the led, which comes out in a more positive way in the entrustment to the Apostles of the official keys (Mat 16:19; Mat 18:18; Joh 20:21). But that is an organic contrast, arising from, and conditioned by, the unity of the apostolic communion (1Co 5:4).
3. The declaration of Christ: All power, etc., and His command to baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, etc., as also the fact that He received the adoring homage of His disciples, show clearly that He presented Himself, not only in the majesty of His exalted humanity, but also in the brightness of His divinity. In the words: is given unto Me, there is, undoubtedly, emphasis laid upon His mediatorial relationship, which is frequently illustrated by the Apostle (1Co 15:28; Eph 1:20; Php 2:9 ff.); but, at the same time, with equal distinctness is the homoousia (or co-equality) of Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit expressed in the second name of the baptismal formula. Under the old economy, the predominant reference in all the divine government was to the glorification of the Father; under the new economy, to that of the Son; while, in the final completion, the Father shall be glorified with the Son in the glorification of the Holy Spirit.
4. It is manifest that the kingdom which Christ here describes is not only a regnum grati;, but also a kingdom of power, and a kingdom of glory; but it does not manifest itself as three distinct kingdoms, but the power which He manifests is subservient to the interests of the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom of grace finds its end and completion in the Kingdom of glory (see the authors Positive Dogmatik).
5. That the Anabaptists appeal for their views without sufficient reason to Mat 28:19, has been often enough pointed out (see the Exeg. Notes). But, upon the other hand, it is clearly presupposed in , that persons are to be induced to be baptized by the use of gospel means, not by forcible conversion,are not to be made catechumens by compulsion; and also, that baptism can be administered to children really only upon the ground of a truly Christian family, or at least of a god-parentship (sponsorship) which represents spiritually such a family. On the baptism of children, consult W. Hoffmann: Gesprche ber Taufe und Wiedcrtaufe; Culmann Welche Bewandtniss hat es mit der Taufe? Stressburg, 1847; the writings of Martensen, Rudelbach, etc. [Comp. also, on the pdo-Baptist side of the question: P. Schaff: History of the Apostolic Church, New York ed., 1853, 142, 143, pp. 569581; P. Schaff: History of the Christian Church of the First Three Centuries, New York, 1859, p. 122 ff.; W. Wall (Episcopalian): The History of Infant Baptism, 2d ed., Oxford, 1844, 4 vols.; Samuel Miller (Presbyterian): Infant Baptism Scriptural and Reasonable, etc., Philad., 1840; W. Nast (Methodist): A Dissertation on Christian Baptism, Cincinnati, 1864 (at the close of his Com. on Matthew, p. 641652). On the Baptist side of the question, both in regard to infant baptism and immersion, compare the learned and able works of Alexander Carson: Baptism in its Mode and Subjects, 5th Am. ed., 1850, and, as regards the mode of baptism, Dr. T. J. Conant: The Meaning and Use of Baptizein Philologically and Historically Investigated, being an Appendix to his revised Version of the-Gospel of Matthew, New York, 1860, and also separately printed by the Am. Bible Union New York, 1861.P. S.]
6. In (into) the name.As we saw before, the name is not the essence itself, but the expression, the manifestation of the essence, among those of Gods intelligent creatures who name the name. So then, In (into) the name ( ) of the Triune, signifies: 1. The ground; (a) objectively: according to His revelation, under His authority, by reason of His command, and agreeably to His institution; (b) subjectively: upon the confession of this name. 2. The means; (a) objectively: into the revelation of His name as the spiritual element; (b) subjectively: for the revelation of His name in the actual confession. 3. The object; (a) objectively: for the glorification of the Triune name in the subject baptized; (b) subjectively: for the happiness56 of the baptized in the Triune name. All the significations are combined in, and expressed by . Gerlach says: To do something in the name of God, means, not only: upon His commission, but to do it in such a manner that the power and being of God Himself shall appear as working in the transaction. Thus: to bless in the name of the Lord (2Sa 6:18; Psa 129:8); to adjure one in the name of the Lord (1Ki 22:16); to curse one (2Ki 2:24); above all, to pray in Jesus name (Joh 16:23). The person baptized is, accordingly, fully committed unto the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spiritconsecrated, made over to experience the blessing, the redeeming and sanctifying influences, of each of the three Persons; hence, also, he is even named by the name of the Lord (Isa 43:7; Isa 63:19; Jer 15:16).
Baptism is, after the analogy of the circumcision, a covenant transaction, more particularly the dedicatory covenant transaction, the sacrament of regeneration, to which the Lords Supper corresponds, as the completed covenant act, as the sacrament of sanctification. Baptism represents the birth, the Supper the festive manifestation of Christianity. Considered in this light, however, we must bring out prominently these three points: (1) God in this covenant is its author, who invites, reconciles, lays down conditions, and that all the vows and performances of men are to rest upon Gods promises. (2) The promises of God are promises and assurances of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in which the personal Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, specializing and individualizing the Gospel, makes Himself over, with all His own peculiar gifts, to each individual subject of baptism; the Father, with the blessing of creation and regeneration; the Son, with the blessing of history, i. e., of salvation; the Holy Spirit, with the blessing of His life and of the (entire) Church. This promise contains the assurance of the paternal guardianship and blessing of God, of the grace and merit of Christ, of the consolation, illumination, and direction of the Holy Spirit. But all this under the condition of the subjects own personal appropriation and application. (3) And in accordance with this, we must direct attention to the vows presented to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In the case of children, these vows are made by parents or god-parents (sponsors); and where these guarantees are entirely wanting, there is the limit of Christian infant baptism.
7. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.This passage is the chief proof of the doctrine of the Trinity. (1) These three must be subjects distinct from one another, and true persons, especially because is never in the entire Bible used of abstractis, of qualities, but only of true persons. (2) They must be equal, consequently divine persons, because they are placed upon an equality, and because like reverence is claimed for each. Even Julian the Apostate acknowledged the force of this passage, and accused the Christians of being polytheists. So Heubner. This taunt is to be avoided by our showing no favor to the vulgar conception of three distinct Divine beings and individuals, and by holding fast to three personal distinctions in the one divine being. For more exact details, see the works upon systematic theology. We would only add, that the doctrine of the Trinity is to be regarded as the fundamental, theological doctrine of Christianity, to which the soteriological doctrines of election, of the atonement, and the Church correspond.
[It should be added, that the doctrine of the Trinity does not rest, by any means, merely on the few dicta probantia which teach it directly and expressly, as the baptismal formula, the apostolic benediction, 2Co 13:13, and the doubtful passage on the three witnesses in heaven, 1Jn 5:7 (comp. besides Mat 3:16-17; 1Pe 1:2; Rev 1:4-5), but still more on facts, on the whole Scripture revelation of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the three great works of creation, redemption, and sanctification. From this Trinity of revelation (conomical Trinity) we justly infer the Trinity of essence (ontological Trinity), since God reveals Himself as He actually is, and since there can be no contradiction between His character and His works. Moreover, every one of the many passages which separately teach either the divinity of our Saviour, or the divinity of the Holy Spirit, viewed in connection with the fundamental Scripture doctrine of the unity of the Godhead, proves, indirectly, also the doctrine of the holy Trinity. Hence you cannot deny this fundamental doctrine without either running into Tritheism, or into Deism, without destroying either the divine unity, or the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and thereby undermining the whole work of redemption and sanctification.P. S.]
8. Institution of the Church.With this apostolic commission, and with the institution of baptism, which had been preceded by that of the Supper and of the ministerial office, and by the presentation of the keys, the institution of the Church is finished, as regards her elements. This can be doubted only, when we ignore that the essence of the Christian Church consists in the communion of the word and the sacraments of Christ, that the word calls the Church into being, that baptism is the foundation, and the communion in a more special sense is the manifestation, of the Church. The doubt whether Christ Himself founded the Church, originated with those who sought the nature of the Church in her policy, or external social organization and constitution; as, e. g., J. H. Bhmer, G. J. Plank (Geschichte der christlichen Gesellschaftsverfassung, i. p. 17. We may notice in passing, that the germs of Baurs Ebinioten Hypothese are to be found p. 9. in this book). The evangelical history teaches us that the institution of the Church arose first gradually, that the institution was announced and prepared for in the word , Mat 16:18; was decided by the fact of Christs death and resurrection; and completed, when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost. Then it was that the organism of the Church, which the Lord had gradually formed, received the quickening Spirit.
9. The resurrection as the Lords exaltation.Because Matthew and John do not record the ascension, some have drawn conclusions from this silence adverse to the reality of the ascension. These deductions rest upon two essential errors. The first error concerns the character of the evangelical writings: the Evangelists are held to have been chroniclers, who relate all they know of Jesus. But we have already shown how far they surpassed these demands; that each Evangelist viewed his materials, and arranged them, influenced by a conception of the Lords glory peculiar to himself, and according to one plastic, fundamental thought. But far below a proper appreciation of the Gospels as this error lies, equally far below a proper appreciation of the resurrection of Christ, in its full, eternal significance, does the second error lie. Some, in accordance with the low belief of the Middle Ages, have conceived the resurrection to have been a kind of awaking, on the Lords part, unto a life in this world similar to that of Lazarus, so that possibly He might have died again. Then the ascension came in, as the second, entirely new, and in fact much greater miracle, and decided the matter then, and only then. This may be the view of monks of the Middle Ages, but it is not the view of the Apostolic Church. According to the true conception, the ascension is essentially implied in the resurrection. Both events are combined in the one fact of Christs exaltation. The resurrection is the root and the beginning of the ascension; the ascension is the blossom and crown of the resurrection. Hence the Apostolic writings take the ascension always for granted (Act 2:31; Act 2:33; Act 5:31; Act 7:55; Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 4:8; Php 2:6-10; 1Ti 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:32). The ascension is as really presupposed by John (Joh 6:62; Joh 20:17) and by (Mat 26:64)57 as it is distinctly related by Mark and Luke. The Lord did not return again after His resurrection into this present life; and yet quite as little did He, as a simple, spiritual existence, enter into the unseen world. He has become through the resurrection, which was at the same time transformation, the first-fruits of the new spiritual human life of glorified humanity; hence is He the Prince of the visible and the invisible worlds, which find here the point of union (Eph 1:21). But this life, as regards its essence, is the heavenly life; and, as regards its character, the entrance into that estate was accordingly the beginning of the ascension. We cannot indeed say (with Kinkel), that the early Church identified the resurrection and the ascension; or, that the latter occurred upon the first day of the resurrection; or, that there was a succession of ascensions. The resurrection marks the entrance into the heavenly slate; the ascension, into the heavenly sphere. With the first, the manner of His former intercourse with the disciples ceased, and was replaced by His miraculous appearances; with the last, His visible intercourse with the disciples generally ceased, to give place to the sending of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. This is the reason why the ascension presents a sad side as well as a joyful, being the departure of Jesus from the earth. It is both Good Friday and Easter. By it the Church of Christ is marked out as both a Church of the cross and a Church of the crown, and enters upon a course of conflict which lasts from Pentecost to the second Advent. Christs ascension is accordingly His proper glorification, as the resurrection His transformation. Nevertheless, the unity of the exaltation of Christ predominates to such a degree in the apostolic view, that the final ascension is taken for granted by the Apostles. John sees the image of the ascension in this, that Christ will continue to live in the Petrine and Johannean type of the Church; Matthew in this, that He will be with His own till the completion of the world, hence omnipresent with His people in His majesty, as regards both time and space. Such a spiritual dynamic omnipresence of Christ is conceivable only upon the precondition of the ascension. That the feast of the Ascension did not make its appearance until a late period (Gerlach), is to be explained by the fact, that originally the forty days of the glorification of Christ made up one continuous festival. Then the ascension rose just in proportion as the festival of the Forty Days sank. Upon the corporeality of the risen Saviour, see Langes Leben Jesu, ii. 3, p. 1750. In that work, we have considered connectedly the conceptions of transformation and glorification, as is usually done; and this is so far justifiable, as transformation is the basis of glorification. But the latter, which is the fully developed bloom of transformation, does not fully manifest itself till Christs appearance upon the mountain in Galilee, and till the ascension.
10. Matthews three sacred mountains: (1) The Mount of the Seven Beatitudes; (2) the Mount of Transfiguration; (3) the Mount of the great Resurrection-festival. (De Wette: The self-inauguration of Jesus,Transfiguration,Farewell.)
OMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The revelation of our risen Lord in the great congregation of the disciples upon the mountain: 1. The festival which succeeded the Palm-entry, after they had been scattered. 2. The festival which preceded the feast of Pentecost, when they became perfectly united. 3. The festival of Easter in its complete form.How great the gain when we believingly repair to the place where the Lord has commanded us to go: 1. In the Lords house; 2. at the Lords table; 3. before the Lords throne.The believing Church is constituted by its appearance before the Lord: 1. It is only the appearance before the Lord which makes a true Church; the appearance before men can form only a picture of a Church, or a party. 2. The appearance before the Lord truly unites the everlasting Church.The Easter Church, kneeling before her Lord, receives His Easter blessing: 1. The kneeling Church. 2. The Easter blessing: (a) the most blessed assurance that His royal glory is her shield and salvation; (b) the most extensive commission unto all the world with His salvation; (c) the solemn assurance of His presence and His conduct to the end of the world.How Christ replies to doubters in His Church: 1. By a reference to His unbounded power; 2. by the institution of His unbounded Church; 3. by the assurance of His ever-abiding presence.The believing Church participates in the glory of her glorified Lord: 1. She shares His might, in the guardianship and blessing which she experiences; 2. she shares His fulness of grace, in the office she discharges; 3. she shares His victory, in the assurance received by her.The risen Saviour in His majesty: 1. In His royal glory; 2. in His divine glory; 3. in the glory of His victory.All power in heaven and upon earth united in the Lord for His people.Jesus omnipotence, an omnipotence of grace, and an omnipotence of judgment.The Churchs institution and commission is one: 1. The institution, a commission; 2. the commission, an institution.Holy baptism, as the foundation of Christs Church: 1. The pre-condition, catechumens who have been won by the gospel; 2. its meaning, the covenant grace of the Triune God; 3. its object, the holy communion and its blessing.Baptism in the name of the Triune God, the celebration of a personal covenant: 1. The promises of God, Father, Son, and Spirit, unto the baptized; 2. the vows of the baptized, in which he yields and binds himself unto the Father, Son, and Spirit.Baptism, the gospel in its special application to the subject of baptism.The right of pdo-baptism: 1. The Lords title to the children of Christians; 2. the Christian childrens title to the Lord.The sanctification of pdo-baptisim.The doctrine of the holy Trinity in its practical significance: 1. A threefold gospel; 2. a threefold Christian calling; 3. a threefold creation and summons unto a spiritual life.The religion of the Trinity and the religion of the Spirit are one.Christs servants should teach others what Christ has commanded, not command others what Christ has taught.The blessing of the risen Lord unto His people: 1. Near all and with all; 2. every day, upon every way; 3. till the worlds end; 4. and till the world in perfected.
Starke:Man must contribute his part; then will God meet him with His promises.But some doubted. Because they were so tardy in believing, we may receive their testimony as so much more trustworthy.Is given Me: This is a divine, eternal power,the foundation of the gospel, the ministerial office,the ground of our responsibility to obey His commandments, of the baptismal covenant, and of His gracious presence in the Church.This is the greatest loss, both at the appearance and the beginning of piety, in very many souls, that they will not deny their own strength, and cast themselves down at Christs feet.The boundless power and exaltation of Jesus Christ, the ground of faith and all consolation, from which we must obtain the victory over sin, death, the devil, hell, and the world.Hitherto ye have been my disciples and scholars; but now ye are to become masters and teachers, and are to make disciples of others.The preaching of the gospel, along with these attestations, is a precious and incomparable fruit of the death and resurrection of Christ.To preach and administer the sacraments, are the chief duties of the New Testament minister, Act 4:6.Teaching them to observe, Heb 6:1-2; 2Ti 3:15-16.To these duties belongs also the observance of the Lords Supper.Zeisius: It is not enough to be baptized, but there is likewise demanded a holy zeal, to live after the baptismal covenant, and to walk blameless, 1Pe 3:21.Quesnel: A preachers true fidelity consists in this, that he preaches nothing but what he has learned from Jesus Christ.Believest thou His promise, then canst thou in Him and through Him easily overcome all things.[Quesnel adds this concluding prayer to his practical Com. on Matthew: Be Thou therefore with us always, O Lord, to be our light, our strength, and our consolation. Be with Thy Church, to be her steadfastness, her protection, and her holiness. Amen.P. S.]
Lisco:Christ even in His human nature is the administrator of the divine laws over men, yea, over all creatures.I have been baptized; the pledge of Gods grace unto me.Baptism is an incorporation into the body of Christ, which is governed by His Spirit.
Gerlach:They worshipped Him. That belief in the divinity of Christ, which was partly slumbering during His state of humiliation, is awakened in all, as with one blow, through this miraculously imposing view of the risen Saviour.Acknowledgment of repentance and of faith, even when it was not yet associated with a clear knowledge concerning the Lords person and teaching, was deemed sufficient by the Apostles to justify baptism, Act 2:41; Act 8:12; Act 8:37; Act 9:19; Act 10:47-48; Act 16:33; Act 19:5.Unto the end of the world; i. e., till the new world appears, in which Gods kingdom is manifested in its glory. Their administration of baptism and their teaching were accordingly to be accompanied and blessed by His omnipresent, everywhere mighty, efficient power.
Heubner.The authority of the Father continues, but He performs everything through the Son (and for the Son).Thereupon rests also the obligation to worship Christ.The Lord sends to His subjects.Christ declares here distinctly the universality of His Church.58 It was His own clear will to be a universal Saviour.By the ordinance of Christ, baptism has the divine sanction for all times and peoples.Teach them all things. Nothing is to be made obsolete. Nothing is contained in Christs law which was merely a toleration of an error of the times.I am with you: The most glorious word of consolation at parting. The most sublime conclusion of the gospel: 1. For all Christians unto all time. 2. The import of tins promise. With His Spirit, and His actual manifestation of power.Christ shall be
preached to all in their own time, even in the other world.The revelation of the glory of Jesus on parting from His Apostles and His Church.
Braune:Previously, Christ had appeared suddenly, unexpectedly; now He makes a special appointment with them.In Galilee, the despised province, He had the most friends.Christ is the Lord of the visible and invisible Church, of the Church militant and triumphant.[ Rieger:] Some doubted: wonder not that in thy case, too, faith is a constant subjugation of unbelief.In flaming hearts, the light of conviction must kindle.Is given Me. With joyous assurance Ha awaited His departure. He had won so few, and His task embraced all peoples, all times, Eph 1:20; Eph 1:23.If He is busy and efficient at creation, much more is He at regeneration.The first disciples, Christians, became missionaries, messengers of salvation, as soon as the Church was founded at Pentecost. Upon that first feast of Pentecost, there were three thousand Christians; at the end of the first century, five hundred thousand; under the first Christian ruler, Constantine the Great, about ten millions; in the eighth century, some thirty millions; at the era of the Reformation, nearly one hundred millions; and now, well nigh two hundred millions.59Missionaries from England and Ireland brought the gospel to Germany.60The missionary work is the duty for the Church. There are still eight hundred millions who have not the gospel; one hundred and sixty millions Mohammedans, ten millions Jews, six hundred and thirty millions heathen.61Missions are now beginning to receive from the Church that attention they demand. Oh, if it were only held fast: Go ye, preach the gospel! Many act as if the Redeemer said, the Confession.[Rieger:] The preaching of the gospel is an address made in Christs name unto the whole world: it has not to do with an emendation of the Jewish religion, nor with an elevation of heathen morality, nor with the establishment of civil rights; but it is a gospel of the kingdom, a proclamation that Jesus is the Lord; a gospel of glory, that the Son of God hath appeared and taken away the power from death, and from the subjection unto vanity, beneath which the whole creation groaneth, etc.Baptism. Immersion, which signifies the death and burial of sinful humanity, became an aspersion to signify the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the souls renewal, or a sprinkling to indicate purification and dedication, sanctification of heart and life; the external mode may change (but still the idea must obtain the same depth, Rom 6:4, viz., to be baptized into the death of Christ to a new life).Baptism is the sacrament through which one becomes a Christian.Lo, I am with you: He is not coming, He is here: 1. He is with weak and strong; 2. in battle as in victory; 3. in life and in death; 4. in time and eternity.Here Jesus is with us in His word, there we shall be with Him in His glory.Uhle: What the exalted Son of man in His exaltation is unto men: 1. What do His friends possess in Him? He is, (a) their royal Brother; (b) their eternal High-Priest; (c) their almighty Protector; (d) the unfailing Accomplisher of their perfection. 2. What do His enemies possess in Him? He is, (a) their almighty King; (b) an omniscient Witness; (c) a patient Forbearer; (d) a righteous Judge.Ahlfeld: The last will of our Lord Jesus Christ: 1. Believe on the Risen One; 2. extend the Church; 3. console thyself with the Lords gracious assistance.Heubner: The everlasting endurance of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
[Matthew Henry:Alway, i. e., all days, every day. I will be with you, on Sabbath days, on week days, fair days and foul days, winter days and summer days. There is no day, no hour of the day, in which our Lord Jesus is not present with His churches and His ministers; if there were, that day, that hour, they were undone. The God of Israel, the Saviour, is sometimes a God that hideth Himself (Isa 40:15), but never a God that absenteth Himself, sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance.With you: 1. With you and your writings: the divine power of the Scriptures continues to the end of time; 2. with you and your successors: all the ministers of the Apostles, all to whom the commission extends to baptize and to teach; [3. with you and all true disciples, comp. Mat 18:20].Chrysostom:Lo, I am with you alway, etc. As much as to say: Tell Me not of the difficulty of all these things, seeing I am with you, who can make all things easy. A like promise He often made to the prophets of the O. T., to Jeremiah, who pleaded his youth; to Moses and to Ezekiel, when they would have shunned the office imposed upon them. The promise is not to the Apostles only, who were not to continue till the end of the world, but with them to all who shall believe after them. He says this to the faithful as one body.P. Schaff:The unbroken succession of Christs life through all ages of Christendom (or, the true doctrine of the apostolic succession): 1. A glorious fact; 2. an irresistible evidence of Christianity; 3. an unfailing source of strength and encouragement to the believer.Christs presence with His people: 1. In the Holy Spirit, who reveals Christ to us and unites us to Him; 2. in the Church which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all; 3. in His word; 4. in His sacraments, especially the Lords Supper, where He offers Himself to the believer as his spiritual food; 5. in the hearts of believers, who live in Him as He in them, the hope of glory.Christs omnipresence in the Church: 1. Its nature: (a) spiritual real; (b) divine-human; (c) mediatorial and saving; 2. its warning; 3. its comfort in life and in death.Christs presence with His members on earth till His coming; their presence with Him in heaven, where they shall see Him as He is, to glorify and enjoy Him forever.P. S.]
Footnotes:
[36]Mat 28:17.Codd. B., D., [also Cod. Sinait.], Vulgate, Chrysostom, and Augnstine omit , and so Lachmann and Tischendorf [not in the large edition of 1859, where he retains it with a majority of uncial MSS.]. some cursive MSS. read .
[37]Mat 28:17. [Grotius, Doddridge, Newcome, Fritzsche, Serivener translate : had doubted, taking the Greek aorist as a Latin pluperfect. So also the French translations of Martin and Osterwald: avaient dout. But this is unnecessary, and grammatically impossible after . Matthew does not say and the doubt may be referred (with de Wette and Lange) to the act of worship, and not to the fact of the resurrection. See Exeg. Notes. But even if all disciples fell down before the risen Lord, some (not of the eleven, after the two appearances in Jerusalem, John 20., but of the seventy or of the five thousand to whom Christ appeared, 1Co 15:6) may have done so with the honest scepticism of Thomas, being very anxious, but hardly able as yet to realize such a stupendous miracle. Hence there is no necessity, as there is no critical authority, for Bezas conjecture, substituting . P. S.]
[38]Mat 28:19.The particle (therefore) is wanting in all uncial MSS. [This is not quite correct. The Vatican Codex (B.), both in the edition of Angelo Mai and of Buttmann, has it, as well as some ancient patristic quotations, and hence Lachmann retains it, although in brackets. Some quote also Cod. Ephraemi Syri (C.) in its favor, but this Codex as published by Tischendorf breaks off in this chapter with Mat 28:14. But eleven uncial MSS. (Codd. Sinait., A., E., F., H., K., M., S.) and numerous cursive copies omit it, and so do the editions of Griesbach, Scholz, Tischendorf, and Alford. But although it is difficult to defend it critically, it certainly accords with the sense. For the glorification of the Son by the Father and His elevation to the right hand of Almighty power is the foundation of the Church and of the authority of the apostolic ministry.P. S.]
[39]Mat 28:19[The verb (properly an intransitive verb: to be a pupil to one, , Mat 27:57 and among the classics, but in the N. T. used also transitively: to make a disciple of, , so here, Mat 13:52; Act 14:21,= , Joh 4:1), is more comprehensive than , Mat 28:20, and should therefore be differently rendered in this connection. It signifies the end, the participles the means. The nations are to be made disciples of Christ or converted to Him by two means chiefly, viz., by baptism () and by religions instruction (). The margin of the Authorized Version proposes: make disciples, or Christians of all nations; Doddridge: proselyte (which is objectionable on account of the double meaning); Campbell: convert; Norton: make disciples from all nations (from implies a false restriction); Scrivener: make disciples of; Conant and the N. T. of the Am. Bible Union: disciple (in the sense: to convert, to cause to become a follower). This is certainly shorter than the circumlocution: to make disciples of, but perhaps not sufficiently popular. Lange has: Machet zu Jngern, and adds in small type: bekehret; de wette and Ewald: bekehret. The teach of the Authorized and all the older English Versions (as well as the lehret of Luther) comes from the inaccurate rendering of the Vulgata: docetebaptizantesdocentes.P. S.]
[40]Mat 28:19.The reading: (having baptized) of Codd. B., D., instead of , is worthy of notice. [Comp. the translators foot-note on p. 557.P. S.]
[41]Mat 28:19.[The preposition with the accusative, as distinct from , strictly conveys the idea: inte the covenantunion and fellowship of the triune God, with all the privileges and duties involved in it. The common version in the English and German Bibles and baptismal offices arises from the inaccurate rendering of Cyprian (Epist. 73:5) and of the Vulgata: in nomine Patris, etc., instead of in nomen, as Tertullian has it (De Bapt. c. 13). It may be grammatically defended, however, by ch, Mat 18:20 : gathered together in my name, , and Mat 10:41 : in the name of a prophet, , , ,the meaning of being here: in reference to. Lange ingeniously combines the two meanings: in the authority of, and into the communion with, the holy Trinity. See his Exeg. Notes and my additions; also Langes Doctrinal Thoughts, No. 6.P. S.]
[42]Mat 28:20.[Lit.: till the consummation of the (present) on (as distinct from the future on after the Advent or the never-ending world to come); Lange: bis an des Weltlaufs Vollendung. But the common rendering of by end of the world, is upon the whole the best, certainly the most popular, and hence we left it undisturbed in the text. It dates from Wiclif, and was retained by all the older versions (except that of Rheims, which has: to the consummation of the world, after the Vulgata: ad consummationem sculi), and among recent revisers also by Conant and the N. T. of the Am. Bible Union (with the omission of the interpolated even, which dates from Tyndale). Coverdale and James Revisers have: unto, but the Versions of Tyndale, Cranmer, Geneva, and the Bishops have: until. The old version is greatly preferable to that of Campbell: to the conclusion of this state, and to that of Norton: to the end of present thingsP. S.]
[43]Mat 28:20.[The word of the text. Rec. and younger MSS is omitted in Codd. Sinait., B., D., etc., Vulgata, etc It is cancelled by Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Alford; it is also wanting in the first edition of Erasmus, 1516, and hence in Luthers German Version, and In all the English Versions previous to that of King James Revisers The word was probably added by the scribes who prepared the copies for liturgical use.P. S.]
[44][Hofmann endeavors to harmonize the differences in the history of the forty days by means of this apocryphal tradition; but means nowhere in the N. T. a mountain, but always the well-known province, nor do the fathers use it in any other sense. Comp. Meyer in the fifth edition, p. 613, note.P. S.]
[45][The Edinb. edition reads: it sinks deep into the Valley of Israel. I do not know what the Valley of Israel is; but Dr. Lange undoubtedly means the great plateau or elevated plain of Jezreel, , which extends from Carmel to the Jordan where it leaves the Lake Genezreth, and was celebrated for its beauty and fertility, Jos 17:16; Jdg 6:33; Jdg 7:1; 1Sa 29:1, etc.P. S.]
[46][The omission of implies that those who doubted were a small minority, a mere exception. If Matthew had written: , , he would have divided the disciples into two co-ordinate and almost equal parts. Comp. Meyer in loc.P. S.]
[47][Lange means the late Johann Friedrich von Meyer, the reviser of Luthers German Bible, not to be confounded with Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, the commentator still living. As the latter is mentioned immediately afterward, their Christian names should have been given here. P. S.]
[48][So is the teach of the English Version, and the docete of the Latin Vulgate. Comp. the Critical Note No. 4, p. 555. P. S.]
[49][The reading has the authority of only two, though very important uncial MSS., the Vatican (B.) and the Cambridge Codex (Codex Bez or D.), and looks very much like an ecclesiastical correction. The Sinaitic Codex, which otherwise so often agrees with Cod. B sustains here the text., rec., and all the modern critical editions, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, etc., read the present participle . Meyer, otherwise so careful in grammatical and critical matters, does not even notice the difference of reading in this case.P. S.]
[50][Lange, as also de Wette, Stier, and Ewald, translate : auf den Namen, while Luther, following the Latin Vulgate, translates in dem Namen, like on; English Version. See the Critical Note No. 6, p. 555.P. S.]
[51][So also two distinguished modern English commentators. Alford in loc.: It is unfortunate again here that our English Bibles do not give us the force of this . It should nave been into (as in Gal 3:27) both here and in 1Co 10:2, and wherever the expression is used. It imports not only a subjective recognition hereafter by the child of the truth implied in , …, but an objective admission into the covenant of redemptiona putting on of Christ. Baptism is the contract of espousal (Eph 5:26) between Christ and His Church. Our word in being retained both here and in our formula of Baptism, it should always be remembered that the sacramental declaration is contained in this word; that it answers (as Stier has well observed, Reden Jesu, 6:902) to the in the other sacrament Similarly Wordsworth, who otherwise adheres very closely to ancient usage: Not in, but into; and not names (plural), but into the One name; i. e., admit them by the sacrament of Baptism into the privileges and duties of faith in, and obedience to, the name of the one God, in three personsand into participation of, and communion with, the divine nature. Conant, on the other hand, retains and defends the Authorized Version in the name (though not in the sense: by the authority of, but in reference to), and denies that into the name gives the sense, and is admissible in English. But the Authorized Version Venders , Rom 6:3 : so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, the , Mat 28:4 : baptism into death, and , Gal 3:27 : baptized into Christ. Why not say then with equal propriety: to baptize into the name of Christ, i. e., into communion and fellowship with Him and the holy Trinity as revealed in the work of creation, redemption, and regeneration?P. S.]
[52][The name signifies the meaning and essence or the subject as revealed, the copy or expression of the being. In this case the name implies all that belongs to the manifestation of the triune God in the gospel, His titles, attributes and works of creation, redemption, and sanctification. It is probable that Christ had reference also to His own baptism in Jordan, where all three persons of the Godhead revealed themselves.P. S.]
[53][Meyer (p. 619, 5th ed. of 1864) thinks that, doctrinally, the singular can be used neither in favor of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity (as is done by Basil, Jerome, Theophylact and others), nor in favor of the Sabbellian view of a mere nominal Trinity, since the singular signifies the definite name of each one of the three, so that must be supplied before and before , comp. Rev 14:1 : . But he admits that the New Testament doctrine of the holy Trinity as the sum and substance of the whole Christian faith and confession is presupposed and implied in the passage.The old practice of a threefold immersion, which is first mentioned by Tertullian, is a venerable usage, but cannot be traced to the apostolic age, nor is it at all required by the trinitarian formula.P. S.]
[54][So also Meyer. Alford gives the words; , a different meaning which is rather far fetched, by referring them to the ascension, the manner of which is not related by Matthew.P. S.]
[55][Lange: alle Tage, all the days, which is the literal translation.P. S.]
[56][In German: zur Beseligung, which the Edinb. edition misrenders: to seal, as if Beseligung were the same with Versiegelung! The objective end of baptism (and of man) is the glory of God, the subjective end the happiness and salvation of the persons baptized by introducing them into the communion with God. The Westminster Catechism combines the two in the first question: What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. P. S.]
[57][Matthew 28:22 is a printing error of the original faithfully reproduced in the Edinb. edition, which adds other errors, as Mat 26:24, instead of 64, etc.P. S.]
[58][The universality or catholicity of the Church, which unfolds itself gradually in the missionary work, is implied in the words: Make disciples of all nations. The Edinb. edition renders Allgemeinheit seiner Kirche by equality of His Church, which gives no sense at all in this connection.P. S.]
[59]According to the calculation of Dr. Dietericl in Berlin, made in 1859, the number of Christians amounts to 335,000,000.P. S.]
[60][Germany is substituted for the original to us (i. e., Germans), which the Edinb. edition thoughtlessly retained. Germany gave to England, in the fifth century, its Anglo-Saxon population, which was subsequently christianized by missionaries from Rome (Augustine and his thirty companions sent out by Gregory I., a. d. 596); England sent a few centuries later the gospel to the Continent, mainly through Winfried or Boniface, the apostle of Germany; and Germany discharged the debt by giving to England, indirectly at least, the Protestant Reformation, in the sixteenth century. In America both nationalities meet in the nineteenth century to coalesce into one on the ground of their common Protestant Christianity.P. S.]
[61] [According to Dietericls calculation the religious statistics of the world in 1859 stood as follows:
Heathens
800,000,000
Mohammedans
160,000,000
Jews
5,000,000
Christians
335,000,000P. S.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. (17) And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.”
The only circumstance here of note to be attended to is, what is said that some doubted. What some? We read of no more but the eleven disciples being present, and how many can be supposed to be included in the phrase of some doubting? And what is to be understood by the doubting of any? Not surely that Christ was risen from the dead. For this interview at the mountain Jesus had appointed them, must have been some days after the day of our Lord’s resurrection during which time they had all seen Christ and all had had testimonies upon testimonies of the certainty of it. The unbelief of Thomas had been removed before this, and which was eight days, or rather the eighth day, from the day of Christ’s resurrection. Joh 20:26 . The doubting here spoken of, therefore can mean no more; than, that notwithstanding this meeting in Galilee was by the Lord’s own appointment, (see Mar 14:28 . and Mar 16:7 .) and the whole eleven had seen Christ before (Joh 20:26 .); yet, now again, some of them for the moment doubted the reality of what they saw, overcome with holy joy and surprize, and supposing, as upon the former occasion, that they had seen a spirit when they cried out for fear, Luk 24:37 . This must be the meaning of the phrase.
They beheld the Lord Jesus with the rest; and they had before received ample proof of his resurrection from the dead; but when Jesus appeared and the greater part immediately worshipped him with divine adoration, some were so struck with consternation as to appear like men in a state of suspense.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
XXXII
CHRIST’S APPEARANCES AND COMMISSIONS (CONTINUED)
Harmony, pages 228-231 and Mat 28:16-20
The next commission is found on page 228 of the Harmony, Matthew’s account, Mat 28:16-20 : “But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth, go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” By the side of it is Mark’s account, also a statement by Paul about five hundred being present. This is what is called the Great Commission. The points of it are: (1) Before he was put to death he appointed this place, a mountain in Galilee, for the assembling of his disciples; and Paul says five hundred brethren were there, and we have already seen that the women were there also. In his appearances to the women he told them to be present, so we must put the number at anywhere between five and six hundred. The gathering is a specially appointed one. He appointed the women after his resurrection to remind them of it. It was to be the gathering of the general body of his disciples apostles, other men and women. The supposable reasons for assembling them at this particular place are: (a) Most of his disciples were Galileans, and (b) by having this big gathering in Galilee, it would avoid creating a disturbance, for if a meeting had been held in Jerusalem, not so many could have attended, and there they would be liable to interruption by the excited people. (2) The next point is that this was the most eventful, far-reaching, important gathering of God’s people between his death and his ascension. (3) Let us analyze the Commission itself. Dr. Landrum once preached a sermon on the Commission, calling attention to the “alls”: (a) “all” authority; (b) go to “all” the nations; (c) observe “all things”; (d) “I am with you all the days,” as it is expressed in the margin.
The reference to the authority which he received is to show them that in telling them to do something, and so great a something, and so important a something, he had the authority to do it; “all authority” in heaven and on earth, is given unto him. That is because of his faithful obedience to the divine law, and particularly because he had expiated sin by his own death on the cross. Now he is to be exalted to be above all angels and men; the dominion of the universe is to be in his hands, and from this time on. It is so now. He today sits on the throne of the universe and rules the world; all authority in heaven and on earth is given unto him.
That is the question which always is to be determined when a man starts out to do a thing: “By what authority do you do this?” If you, on going out to preach, should be asked, “By what authority do you preach, and are you not taking the honor on yourself?” you answer that he sent you.
We are to see what he told them to do, and we will compare the Commission to a suspension bridge across a river. On one side of the river is an abutment, the authority of Jesus Christ. And at the other end of the bridge we will take this for the abutment: “And lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the age.” On one side of the river stands the authority, and on the other side stands the presence of Jesus Christ Christ in the Holy Spirit. That is to be until the end of the age. Suspended between these two, and dependent on these two, and resting on these two, is the bridge. Let us see exactly, then, what they are to do: First, to “go therefore.” The “therefore” refers to the authority; second, “make disciples of all the nations.” So there are three parts to this first item of the Commission: To go, what to go for, and to whom. If we are Missionary Baptists indeed, this Commission is the greatest of all authority.
One of the deacons, when I took charge of the First Baptist Church at Waco, said to me on one occasion, when I was taking up a foreign mission offering, “Brother Carroll, I am interested in helping you reach these Waco people, and I will help some on associational missions, and state missions, but when it comes to these Chinese and Japs, if you will just bring me one of them, I will try to convert him.” I said to him, “You don’t read your Commission right. You are not under orders to wait until somebody brings you a Jap; you are to go; you are the one to get up and go yourself. You can’t wrap up in that excuse.”
This Commission makes the moving on the part of the commissioned the people of God; they are to go to these people wherever they are. If they are Laplanders, go; if Esquimaux, go; if they are in the tropics, you must go there; if in the temperate region, you must go there; anywhere from the center of the earth to its remotest bounds. That is what makes it missionary one sent, and being sent, he goes. And we can’t send anybody unless he goes somewhere. The first thought, then, is the going. It does not say, “Make the earth come to you,” but “you are to go to them,” and that involves raising the necessary means to get you there. The command to go involves the means essential to going. That is the going law. If the United States shall send one of its diplomats to England, that involves the paying of the expenses of the going.
The next thing is, What are you to do when you get there? You are to make disciples. There are two words here in the Greek one, matheteusate , which means “to make disciples”; the other, didaskontes , which means “teaching.” You do not teach them first, but you make disciples out of them. Now come the questions: How make a disciple? What is discipleship? That will answer the other question, What is necessary to the remission of sins? When is a man a disciple? How far do you have to go in order to make him a disciple? The way to answer that question is to look at what John the Baptist and Christ did. The Gospel of John tells us that John the Baptist made and baptized disciples; that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John did. John made disciples before he baptized them; Jesus made disciples before he baptized them, not afterward. John did not baptize them before he made them disciples; he did not leave off the baptism after he disciplined them. The question of order here is one of great importance. There are three things to be done: (1) Make disciples; (2) baptize disciples; (3) then teach them all things whatsoever Christ commanded. And you must take them in their order. It is not worth while to try to teach a man to do everything that Jesus did when he refuses to be a disciple. Don’t baptize him before he is a disciple. You must not baptize him in order to make him a disciple; you must not attempt to instruct him in Christian duties until he is a disciple.
How important is the answering of that question: “How do you make a disciple?” John made disciples this way: Paul says that John preached repentance toward God, and that they should believe on Jesus to come, i.e., a man who has repented toward God and exercised faith in Jesus Christ, was a disciple; then John baptized him. The Pharisees came to be baptized, but John refused, saying to them: “Think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our Father: for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” “Do not think that entitles you to baptism; that does not at all entitle you to baptism; but you bring forth fruits worthy of your repentance, then I will baptize you, ye offspring of vipers.” And Jesus went forth and preached: “Repent ye, and believe the gospel.” So that from time immemorial the Baptists have contended that the terms of discipleship, or the terms of remission of sins, are repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said that he everywhere testified to both Greeks and Jews, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. I sometimes change that a little by putting first the contrition, or godly sorrow; the Spirit convicts a man, and under that conviction he becomes contrite, has godly sorrow; that contrition leads him to repentance; that leads him to faith, then he is a child of God, right there: “We are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
This is a great part of your qualification to be a preacher that you know how to tell a man what to do to be saved; to know what to tell him. You don’t bury a man to kill him. Baptism is a burial. You bury dead men, but not till they are dead. Nor do you bury a live, raw sinner. You must wait till the Spirit kills him to sin.
Major Penn told of a man who had been lost in the woods. It was in the heat of the day, and he was very thirsty. Late in the day he found his way to a shady little nook, where, bursting from a rock, was a cool mountain spring, and hanging up over the spring was an old-fashioned gourd. He dipped that gourd in the spring and held the water up a little and let it run down his throat, and gloried in drinking out of a gourd. Major Penn made such an apt description of it that one man came up and said, “I’ll go and get me a gourd; that is the best drinking vessel; I know by the way you talk about it.” So he went to a farmer and asked for a gourd. The farmer picked him a green gourd. He cut off the top of it and dipped it into the water. He commenced sipping and drinking. When he discovered the bitter taste he asked, “What in the world is the matter with this gourd?” An old woman said to him, “Why, you were not such a fool as to drink out of a green gourd, were you? You let that gourd get thoroughly ripe; then open it, take out the insides, boil it, let it get dry, and it will be fit to drink out of.” Major Penn said to baptize a man a dry sinner is to bring him up a wet sinner, and it is like drinking out of a green gourd.
This is the answer to the question, What are the terms of discipleship, or, How do you make a disciple? He has godly sorrow. That godly sorrow leads him to repentance a change of mind; that leads him to the Saviour, and when he accepts Jesus Christ he is a child of God. Now you know how to approach a sinner, but don’t you put him under the water at the wrong time and with the wrong object in view.
This brings up another question: Who is to do this baptizing? Is the command here to be baptized, or is it to baptize? Which comes first? Any lawyer will tell you that the command to do a thing, in which you must submit to the act of another, must specify the authorized party to whom you must submit in that act. For example, suppose that after you had come to the United States from a foreign country, you speak to your friends and ask, “How did you settle in the United States?” They tell you that they took out naturalization papers. Then you meet a man and ask him, “Will you give me some naturalization papers?” He gives you the naturalization papers, and says, “You are a citizen of the United States.” Being now a citizen, you come up to vote, but the judge of the election says, “Are you a foreigner?” “Yes, I was till I was naturalized.” Then he asks for your papers. Looking at them he says, “Why, this man was not authorized to do it. The law tells how you shall be naturalized, and you have just picked up a fellow on the streets here that did not count at all.” The law tells us in every state who shall issue naturalization papers, otherwise the citizenship of the state would be vested in a “Tom-Dick-and-Harry” everybody and nobody. It is just that way about baptizing.
I know some who teach that the command is simply to be baptized. I said to one of them once, “Does it make any difference who does the baptizing?” “Well,” he said, “no it doesn’t; the command is simply to be baptized.” I said, “I will give you $100 if you will show me a command to be baptized, with no authorized administrator standing there to administer the ordinance.” “Well,” he said, “look at Paul’s case: Ananias said, ‘Arise and be baptized.’ ” I said, “Who sent Ananias? Ananias had authority from God to baptize Paul. Who sent Philip into the desert? The eunuch said, ‘Here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized?’ but there was the administrator talking to him, a sent administrator.”
And this question is thereby raised: Jesus ascended to heaven and vested this authority to disciple and to baptize, in whom? Here’s a big gathering, not apostles only, because here are five hundred besides those women. Not in that particular crowd alone, for he said, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.”
There is no escape from it, that when he gave this Commission, he gave it to an ecclesiastical body the church. That is why the great church gathered. It is a perpetual commission. No man can deny that these disciples were acting representatively.
“But,” says one, “the Commission was given to the apostles.” But I say, “Where were the apostles?” Paul says that God set them in the church (1Co 12:28 ; Eph 4:11-16 ). He did not set anybody out in the woods. Ask those free lances who run out on the prairie, or in the woods, who set them.
God put these apostles, pastors, etc., in the church, and from the time that God gave this commission he has done the baptizing through the church. You cannot give it just in your own way or notion; you cannot just pick people up and put them in the creek, and say, “I baptize you.”
Here are the things that are essential to a valid baptism: (1) A man must be a disciple, a penitent believer in Jesus Christ; (2) The act of baptism, whatever that commission means. If it means to sprinkle, sprinkle them; if to pour, then pour; if to immerse, then immersion is the act. (3) The design or purpose: Why do it? If we baptize to “make a disciple” or in order that he may become a disciple; that he may be saved; that his sins be remitted, then I deny that it is baptism. It lacks the gospel design, or purpose. (4) It must be done by authority, and that authority is the church.
The church authorizes; the subject must be a disciple, and the act is immersion. The purpose is to make a public declaration, or confession, of faith in Jesus Christ, to symbolize the cleansing from sin, a memorial of Christ’s resurrection, and a pledge of the disciple.
According to your understanding of this commission you bring confusion into Israel, or keep it out.
While I was pastor in Waco, we received a member from another Baptist church. He heard me preach on this commission and came to me and said, “Look here, I want to preach; I believe I am called to preach, and the way you state that, I have not been baptized at all.” I said, “How is that?” “A Campbellite preacher baptized me.” “Did the Baptist church receive that baptism?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “Now suppose you want to preach, and you come before this church for ordination, and they find out that fact, they won’t ordain you. But suppose they did ordain you, wherever you go that would come up against you. They would say, ‘There is a man not scripturally baptized.’ It will hamper your whole ministerial life, and bring confusion into the kingdom of God.” “Well,” he said, “what ought I to do?” I said, “Don’t do anything until you are convinced it is the right thing to do. You study this again, and let me know what your conclusions are.” About a week after he came and said, “I don’t think I have been baptized: he baptized me to make me a disciple. I did not claim to have been a disciple before he baptized me.” “Well,” I said, “did it make you one?” He said, “I do not think it did.” So the blood you must reach before you reach the water. The way is the blood. It has to be applied before you reach the water. It must be reached before you can be saved. So, the blood is before the water. A preacher’s whole future depends on how he interprets this commission.
You will see by referring to the Harmony that Dr. Broadus puts Mark’s commission beside this great Commission on Matthew, thereby indicating that they refer to the same occasion. Assuming this to be correct, I do not discuss the commission of Mark except to say that the first eight verses of Mar 16 are in the manuscripts of Mark’s Gospel, but the latter part of this (Mar 16:9-20 ) which includes the statement, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,” is not in any of the ancient manuscripts. I have facsimiles of the three oldest manuscripts the Sinaitic, the Vatican, and the Alexandrian. Whenever those three agree as to what is the text of a passage we need not go further. It is usually right. But whenever those three leave out anything that is in the text, we may count it spurious. The best scholars among preachers never preach from Mar 16:9-20 , because it is so very doubtful as to whether it is to be received as Scripture. Dr. Broadus says it certainly does not belong to Mark’s Gospel, but that he believes it records what is true; and I am somewhat inclined to believe that too. I think it is true, though it was added by a later hand. Certainly, Mark did not write it. The manuscript evidence is against that part of it. Therefore, I do not consider this as a separate commission of our Lord.
We now take up the fourth commission, that is to say, the commission recorded by Luke, found in Luk 24:44-49 and 1Co 15:7 ; Harmony, pp. 229-230. The remarks upon this commission are these:
1. It is to the eleven apostles.
2. He introduces it by reminding them of his teachings before his death of the witness to him in the law, the prophets, and the psalms, especially concerning his passion, his burial, and his resurrection.
3. Especially to be noted is the fact that he gives them illumination that they may understand these scriptures, and shows the necessity of their fulfilment, in order to the salvation of men.
4. On this necessity he bases the commission here given, which is, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
5. He constitutes them his witnesses of these things.
6. He announces that he will send the promise of the Father, namely, the Holy Spirit, and commands them to wait at Jerusalem until they receive this power from on high to enable them to carry out the work of this commission.
7. The reader should note that, as in the commission recorded by John (Joh 20:22 ) he inspired them to write the New Testament Scriptures, so here he illumined their minds to understand the Old Testament Scriptures. Mark the distinction between inspiration and illumination: The object of inspiration is to enable one to speak or write infallibly; the object of illumination is to enable one to understand infallibly what is written.
8. Further note the unity of the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures, and their equality in inspiration.
9. Note also the very important item that illumination settles authoritatively the apostolic interpretation of the Old Testament as to the true meaning of these Scriptures. As he inspired men to write the Old Testament, and inspired these men to write the New Testament, so now he illumines these men to understand the Old Testament and to interpret it correctly. In other words, as the Holy Spirit is the real author of the Old Testament, which he inspired, by illumination he shows these men just what he meant by those Old Testament writings. We cannot, therefore, put our unaided interpretation on an Old Testament passage against the Spirit’s own explanation of that passage by the illumination of the apostles’ minds. Due attention to this one fact would have prevented many false expositions of Old Testament Scriptures, particularly in limiting to national Israel what the Spirit spoke concerning spiritual Israel. Very many premillennial expositions of the Old Testament prophecies go astray on this point. They insist on applying to the Jews, as Jews, a great many prophecies which these illumined apostles saw referred to spiritual Israel, and not to fleshly Israel. In the same way do the expositions of the Old Testament passages by modern Jews and the limitations of meaning which destructive critics and other infidels put on the Old Testament Scriptures, go astray. It is wrong, and contrary to sane rules of interpretation, to say that you must not read into an Old Testament passage a New Testament meaning. In that way they wish to limit it to things back there only, but the Holy Spirit illumined the minds of the apostles to understand these Old Testament Scriptures better than the prophets that wrote them. Oftentimes the prophets did not know what they meant, and were very anxious to find out what they did mean. The meaning was revealed to New Testament prophets, and their minds illumined to understand them. I have just finished reading a book which as certainly misapplies about two dozen Old Testament prophecies as the sun shines. In other words, this book interprets them as a modern Jew would interpret them, and exactly contrary to what the apostles say these passages mean. When an illumined apostle tells us the meaning of an Old Testament passage, we must accept it, or else deny his illumination, one or the other. You have no idea how much you have learned if you let this one remark sink into your mind.
10. Yet again, you should especially note in this commission the inseparable relation between repentance and the remission of sins, or forgiveness. The first, repentance, must precede remission of sins, and the relation is constant and necessary in each case of all sin, whether against God, against the church, or against ourselves. If you read carefully Act 2:38 ; Act 3:19 ; Psa 51 , where the sin is against God, you find that a repentance of that sin is made a condition of forgiveness. Then if you read carefully Luk 17:3 and Mat 18:15-17 , where the sin is against ourselves or against the church, the law is, “If he repent, forgive him.”
I saw a notice in The Baptist Standard once where it was assumed that we must forgive a sin before the person who committed it against us has repented of the sin. That would make us out better than God, for God won’t do it. He won’t forgive sin against himself until there is repentance, and he says to Peter, concerning a brother’s trespass against a brother, that if he repent, forgive him. And in Mat 18:15 , it says, “If thy brother sin against thee, go right along and convict him of his sin, and if he hear thee thou hast gained thy brother; if he does not hear thee, tell it to the church; if he does not hear the church, then he is unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.” There are men who insist that you must forgive trespasses against you whether they are repented of or not, meaning that you must be in a forgiving and loving attitude; and that is correct. You must cultivate that spirit which at all times is ready to forgive when repentance comes. But the majority of people who take that position take it in order to get out of some very troublesome work resting on them, and that work is to go right along to convict a man of that sin. It is much easier to say, “I forgive,” and let him alone, than it is to go and show him that he has sinned, and lead him to repentance. And they thus dodge their duty. The largest part of the back-sliding in the church comes from that fact. “If thou seest thy brother sin, then what? Forgive him? No. If thou seest thy brother sin, whether it is a private offense or a general one, report it to the church? No, but go right along and convict him of that sin; and if you fail, take one or two brethren with you; if they fail, let the church try the case. If the church fails, forgive him? No. Let him be to thee a heathen man and a publican.” That is Bible usage.
On the other hand there are some people who rejoice in the thought that they do not have to forgive a man until he repents, and they keep right on hating him. You are not to hate him; you are to love him. You are to have toward him a keen desire to gain him, and under the spirit of that desire, the obligation to gain him is on you personally, and there is no excuse for you. God will not hold you guiltless if you see a brother sin on any point, whether against you, the church, or the state, and do not try to bring him to repentance. It is our duty, as Dr. Broadus puts it, “to go right along and not rave at him,” but convict him that he has sinned, saying, “Now brother, this is wrong, and I have come, not in the spirit of accusation, nor in a disciplinary manner, but as a brother interested in you, and with the earnest desire in my heart to make you see that wrong, and if you ever see it and get it on your conscience and repent and make amends, I will save my brother.”
He says that repentance and remission of sins shall be preached in all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Paul says about that, “I have testified everywhere, both to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The weakness of modern preaching is that the preachers leave repentance out.
So the modern churches leave out the faithful and loving labor which should always precede exclusion. Especially should you note in this commission the unalterable relation between repentance and remission, or forgiveness of sins. The first must precede the second, and the relation is constant and necessary in the case of all sin, whether against God, the church or against ourselves.
The fifth commission is the commission at his ascension. The scriptures bearing on this are: Act 1:6-12 ; Mar 16:19 ; Luk 24:50-53 , and the account of it is found in the Harmony on pages 229-231. Upon this last commission, given just before Jesus was taken up out of their sight, note:
Act 1:8 indicates a “gathering together,” different from any of the preceding ones, and at which they asked this question: “Dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Act 1:9 shows that the occasion of this commission was his ascension into heaven.
Act 1:15 implies that 120 were present at this time. This specific number necessitates that the occasion when 500 brethren were present, mentioned by Paul, must have been at the appointed mountain in Galilee, where the great commission to the church, recorded in Mat 28:16-20 , was given. A very distinguished scholar has said, “Maybe these five hundred brethren were present at the time of his ascension.” It could not be, because one hundred and twenty is given as the number. It could not even have been at any other time than at that appointed in Galilee, where most of his converts were, and where be could get together so large a number as that. The form of the commission here is: “Ye shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” That is the test for the Commission.
The place where the Commission was given is thus stated: “And he led them out until they were over against Bethany,” and “from the mount called Olivet.” Another commission was given at that place. The place from which he led them is the place of their gathering, to which they returned (Act 1:13 ), and they returned to Jerusalem, to the upper room, where were a multitude together, about 120. And then the writer gives the names of those who abode there, and Peter got up and spoke to these 120.
The commission to be his witnesses suggests the simplicity and directness of their work. I heard a preacher say once with reference to what he did when he went out to an appointment, “I snowed.” He said the Spirit was not with him, and it was just like s snow. Another preacher said, “I ‘hollered,’ and I ‘hollered.’ ” Preachers lose sight of one important function of their office, and that is to be witnesses. That is a simple thing to testify. You are to stand with uplifted hands, and with elbows on the Bible you are to witness before God and to bear witness to what you know to testify.
They were to testify to his vicarious passion, his burial, and his resurrection. Paul makes these three things the gospel. He says, “I delivered unto you first of all that which also I have received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day.” Of what they were eyewitnesses we will see a little later, in some other testimony.
We come now to his sixth commission. This commission is found in Act 9:15-16 ; Act 22:10-15 ; Act 26:15-18 ; Gal 1:15-16 ; Gal 2:7-9 . These scriptures give you the commission of Paul, on which note:
While both Peter and Paul, on proper occasion, preached to both Jews and Gentiles, yet we learn from Gal 2:7-9 that while the stress of Peter’s commission was to the circumcision, the stress of Paul’s commission was to the uncircumcision. He was pre-eminently the apostle to the Gentiles.
The elements of his commission may be gathered from all these scriptures cited. Read every one of them, and you will gather together the elements of his commission. Let us see what these elements were:
(a) He was set apart to his work from his mother’s womb, and divinely chosen.
(b) Personally he must suffer great things.
(c) He received the gospel which he was to preach by direct revelation from the risen Lord. He did not get it from reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Paul’s letters were written before the Gospels were written.
He did not have them to read. He did not go to Jerusalem to talk with them, but he went into Arabia, and therefrom ;the Lord himself, and from the site of the giving of the law, whose relation to the gospel he so clearly cited, he received direct from Jesus Christ the gospel which he wrote.
(d) He was chosen to bear the Lord’s name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
(e) He was chosen to know God’s will, and to see and hear the Just One, and then to witness to all men what he saw and heard. Now, here comes in Paul as a witness, and this is a part of his commission: “What are you testifying to, Paul?” “I know God’s will; it was revealed to me; I saw Jesus; I saw him with these eyes; Jesus raised; I heard him; I heard his voice.” What next? “He saved my soul.”
One of the most effective sermons I ever preached was on this use that Paul makes of his Christian experience. Seven times in the New Testament Paul states his Christian experience, and for a different purpose every time. When he was arraigned before Agrippa he tells his Christian experience as recorded in Act 9 . In Act 22 , standing on the stairway, looking into the faces of the howling mob of murderous men, he states his Christian experience. Writing to the Romans, as is shown in Rom 7 , he tells his Christian experience. Writing to Timothy he does the same. The man is speaking as a witness.
In one of Edward Eggleston’s books there is an account of a pugnacious Methodist preacher, who was not only ready to preach the gospel, but to fight for the gospel also. On the way to a certain community two men waylaid him and said, “Mr. McGruder, if you will just turn your horse around and go back, we will let you alone, but if you persist in going to this place and interfering with our business, we are going to beat the life out of you.” So the preacher got down off the horse, saying, “I prefer to give you the beating,” and he whipped them both unmercifully. But he got his jaw broken, and that jaw being broken, he could not say a word. In the church he took his pencil and wrote to a sixteen-year-old boy and said, “Ralph, you have got to preach today.” Ralph said, “I have just been converted, you must remember.” “Do you want me to get up here and write a sermon in lead pencil to a crowd?” continued the preacher. “Well,” said Ralph, “I don’t know any sermon.” “If you break down on preaching,” said the preacher, “tell your Christian experience.” So Ralph got up and started to preaching a sermon, looking very much scared, for he had a terror, which was what we would call stage fright. At last he remembered the direction to tell his Christian experience, and the poor boy quit trying to be eloquent, or to expound the Scriptures that he knew very little about, and just told how the Lord Jesus Christ came to him, a poor orphan boy, an outlaw, and saved his soul, and that he wanted to testify how good God was to him. Before he got through there was sobbing all over the house, and a great revival broke out there.
I am telling these things to show that men are commissioned to bear witness, and while you cannot bear witness to facts that you do not know anything about, you can tell what you do know what God has done for you. David says, “Come, all ye that fear the Lord and I will tell you what great things he hath done for my soul, whereof I am glad.” In one of the prophecies concerning Jesus it is written: “I have not hid thy righteousnesses within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy loving kindness and thy truth from the great assembly.”
(f) The fulness of Paul’s commission appears best in Act 26:16-18 , as follows: “Arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee, to open their eyes, that they may turn: from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.” Whenever you want to preach Paul’s sermon, take Paul’s commission and analyze it. Paul was speaking before Agrippa. Notice that besides witnessing, Paul wanted to open their eyes (they were spiritually blind) ; that they might turn from darkness to light (then they were in the dark) ; from the power of Satan unto God, (they were under the power of Satan); that they might receive the remission of sins (so that they were unpardoned; and to an inheritance among them that are sanctified (then they were without heritage). Analyze that commission and you will see what he was to do; he puts it all before you plainly in that scripture. So he said to Agrippa, “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision,” i.e., he just went on and carried out that commission. That is the analysis of the commission of Paul.
The seventh and last commission is the special commission of John Rev 1:1-2 ; Rev 1:9-11 ; Rev 1:19 . This commission is unlike any other; but it is a commission. It is a commission, not to speak, but to write; and in it we have an account of the past tenses. “What did you see, John?” “Well, I saw one of the most wonderful things in this world.” And he tells about Jesus, and how he looked in his risen glory; about the candlesticks and the stars, and what they meant; and then, having thus told what he saw in the midst of the churches, and (see chap. 4) what he saw in heaven, he looks at the present things; the churches, as they are, and heaven as it is. Then follows the last part of his commission: “Write the things which are to come.”
QUESTIONS 1. On the Great Commission (Mat 28:16-20 ) answer: What evidence that this was at an appointed meeting? Where, and who were present?
2. What are the supposable reasons for assembling at this particular place?
3. How does this occasion rank in importance?
4. What is Dr. Landrum’s analysis of this commission?
5. What authority does Christ claim in giving this commission, why was this authority given him and what the pertinency of this statement of our Lord on this particular occasion?
6. Compare this commission to a suspension bridge.
7. What does the first part of the commission prescribe to be done, or what are the three parts of the first item?
8. What does this going involve? Illustrate.
9. After going, then what three things are commanded to be done and what is the order?
10. How make disciples, and what is the teaching and example of John the Baptist and Jesus on this point?
11. Who then must do the baptizing?
12. What are the essentials to a valid baptism?
13. What can you say of Mar 16:9-20 ?
14. To whom was the Commission, recorded in Luk 24:44-49 , given?
15. How does Christ introduce this commission?
16. What does he show in this commission to be a necessity in order to the salvation of men?
17. In this commission what does he say should be done?
18. What does he constitute the disciples in this commission?
19. What promise does he announce to them in this commission?
20. What special gift does he bestow upon the disciples here, what is the difference between inspiration & illumination, and what is the object of each?
21. What especially is noted relative to Old & New Testament Scriptures?
22. What very important question does this illumination settle and how?
23. What is the necessary & constant relation between repentance & forgiveness of sins, and what the application of this principle in the case of all sin?
24. What danger, on the other hand, does the author here warn against?
25. What weakness of modern preaching churches here pointed out?
26. Give the analysis of the Commission of our Lord at the ascension.
27. To whom was Paul especially commissioned to preach?
28. What are the six elements of this commission?
29. What was the condition of the people to whom he was sent as indicated in Act 26:16-18 ?
30. What was the special commission to John, and what is the analysis of it as given in Rev 1:1-2 ; Rev 1:9-11 ; Rev 1:19 ?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Ver. 16. Went away into Galilee ] They had seen him twice or thrice before at Jerusalem; yet took a long journey here into Galilee to see him again. “Whom having not seen ye love,” 1Pe 1:8 . Austin’s wish was to see Christum in carne, Christ in the flesh. But if we had known Christ after the flesh, yet, saith St Paul, “henceforth should we know him so no more,”2Co 5:162Co 5:16 , since the comfortable presence of his Spirit is better than his corporal presence, and more to our benefit, Joh 16:7 . By this it is, that “though now we see him not, yet believing, we rejoice with unspeakable and glorious joy,” 1Pe 1:8 , and must not think much of a journey, yea, though it be not to a mountain in Galilee, but to the heavenly hills, from whence comes our help, to see the King in his beauty, Christum regem videre in decore suo, which was Bede’s wish. Isa 33:17 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
16 20. ] APPEARANCE OF THE LORD ON A MOUNTAIN IN GALILEE. This journey into Galilee was after the termination of the feast , allowing two first days of the week , on which the Lord appeared to the assembled Apostles (Joh 20:19 ; Joh 20:26 ), to elapse. It illustrates the imperfect and fragmentary nature of the materials out of which our narrative is built, that the appointment of this mountain as a place of assembly for the eleven has not been mentioned , although seems to imply that it has. Stier well remarks (Reden Jesu, vii. 209) that in this verse Matthew gives a hint of some interviews having taken place previously to this in Galilee. And it is important to bear this in mind, as suggesting, if not the solution, at least the ground of solution, of the difficulties of this passage. Mat 28:17 seems to present an instance of this imperfect and fragmentary narrative. The impression given by it is that the majority of the eleven worshipped Him, but some doubted (not, whether they should worship Him ; which is absurd and not implied in the word. On , cf. ch. Mat 26:67 . , , Xen. Hell. i. 2. 14: see also Anab. i. 5. 13). This however would hardly be possible, after the two appearances at Jerusalem in Joh 20:1-31 . We are therefore obliged to conclude that others were present . Whether these others were the ‘500 brethren at once’ of whom Paul speaks 1Co 15:6 , or some other disciples, does not appear. Olshausen and Stier suppose, from the previous announcement of this meeting, and the repetition of that announcement by the angel, and by our Lord, that it probably included all the disciples of Jesus; at least, all who would from the nature of the case be brought together.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 28:16-20 . The meeting in Galilee , peculiar to Mt.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 28:16 . ., the eleven , not merely to discount Judas, but to indicate that what follows concerns the well-known Twelve (minus one), the future Apostles of the faith. , to the mountain, a more specific indication of the locality than any previously reported. Conjectures have been made as to the mountain meant, e.g. , that on which the hill teaching was communicated. An interesting suggestion but unverifiable. , an adverb = ubi , used pregnantly so as to include quo : whither Jesus had bid them go, and where He wished them to remain. : if this points to an instruction given expressly by Jesus, it is strange that the evangelist has not recorded it. It rather seems to presuppose an understanding based on experiences of the Galilean ministry as to the rendezvous The meeting place would be some familiar haunt, recalling many past associations and incidents, only imperfectly recorded in the Gospels. If there was such a retreat among the mountains often resorted to, it would doubtless be the scene of the hill teaching, as well as of other unrecorded disciple experiences. The disciples would need no express direction to go there. Instinct would guide them.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 28:16-20
16But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Mat 28:16 “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated” Jesus had told the disciples earlier (cf. Mat 26:32; Mat 27:7; Mat 27:10) that He would meet them there. If they had listened closely they would have expected the resurrection, but they did not. This was not the mount of Ascension. Jesus’ ascension took place on the Mount of Olives forty days after the resurrection (cf. Luk 24:50-51; Act 1:4-11).
Mat 28:17
NASB”but some were doubtful”
NKJV, NRSV”but some doubted”
TEV”some of them doubted”
NJB”some hesitated”
This could not refer to the 120 disciples who had seen Him three times in Jerusalem in the Upper Room. Possibly it refers to the larger number of followers (upward of 500) that Paul mentioned in 1Co 15:6. Apparently Jesus appeared at a distance and walked closer to them. There was some physical difference in Jesus’ appearance after the resurrection (cf. Joh 20:14; Joh 21:4; Luk 24:13; Luk 24:31).
The significance of this is that the Great Commission was not given to the Apostles alone, not even the hundred and twenty disciples of the Upper Room, but to the whole church. It is for all Christians, not just the church’s leadership! It was given on at least three different occasions.
1. upper room, resurrection evening (cf. Luk 24:46-47; Joh 20:21)
2. on a mountain in Galilee (cf. Matthew 28)
3. on the Mount of Olives just before the ascension (cf. Act 1:8).
Mat 28:18 “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” What a tremendous statement (cf. Mat 11:27; Luk 10:22; Joh 3:35; Joh 13:3; Eph 1:20-22; Col 1:16-19; Col 2:10; 1Pe 3:22)! Jesus must have been either the Messiah or a liar. His resurrection confirmed His claims!
Mat 28:19 “Go” This is an aorist passive (deponent)participle used as an imperative. This should not be interpreted “as you are going” because this would translate a present imperative, not an aorist. “Going” may be the most accurate option. All Christians are commanded to be lifestyle witnesses (cf. 1Pe 3:15 and possibly Col 4:2-6). It is a priority. This is the Great Commission-not the Great Option.
“make disciples” This is an aorist active imperative. The term “disciples” meant “learners.” The Bible does not emphasize decisions, but lifestyle faith. The key to evangelism is discipleship. However, discipleship must start with a repentant faith profession and continue in the same way unto obedience and perseverance.
“of all the nations” This must have been a shocking statement to the Jews, but it follows Dan 7:14 which speaks of a universal, eternal kingdom (cf. Revelation 5). This is a reversal of Jesus’ previous orders (cf. Mat 10:5-6). Notice the number of times that the inclusive “all” appears in this paragraph.
See SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH’s ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN at Mat 24:14.
“baptizing” This is a present active participle used as an imperative. This is balanced with “teach” (v.20). The two purposes of the Church are evangelism and discipleship. They are two sides of one coin. They cannot and must not be separated!
SPECIAL TOPIC: BAPTISM
“in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” This three-Person formula may reflect Isa 42:1. Notice “in the name” is singular. The name of God is Triune (cf. Mat 3:16-17; Joh 14:26; Act 2:32-33; Act 2:38-39; Rom 1:4-5; Rom 5:1; Rom 5:5; Rom 8:1-4; Rom 8:8-10; 1Co 12:4-6; 2Co 1:21; 2Co 13:14;Gal 4:4-6; Eph 1:3-14; Eph 1:17; Eph 2:18; Eph 3:14-17; Eph 4:4-6; 1Th 1:2-5; 2Th 2:13; Tit 3:4-6; 1Pe 1:2; Jud 1:20-21). See Special Topics: The Trinity at Mat 3:17 and The Personhood of the Spirit at Mat 12:31.
The baptismal formula of Act 2:38, “in Jesus’ name,” cannot be exclusive to this formula in the Great Commission. Salvation is a series of acts both initial and continual: repentance, faith, obedience, and perseverance. It is not a liturgical formula or sacramental procedure. It is an intimate, daily, growing, personal relationship with God. This was/is the purpose of creation.
Mat 28:20 “teaching them” This is a present active participle used as an imperative. Notice that “what we teach” is not simply facts about Jesus, but obedience to all of His teachings. Christian maturity involves
1. a repentant faith profession
2. a life of Christlike living
3. a growing doctrinal understanding
“I am with you always” This is emphatic. The personal presence of Jesus is always with believers. Emmanuel came (cf. Mat 1:23) and remains! There is a real fluidity between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling Son (cf. Rom 8:9-10; 2Co 3:17; Gal 4:6; Php 1:19; Col 1:27). In Joh 14:23 both the Father and the Son indwell believers. In reality all three persons of the divine essence participate in all redemptive events. The One who has “all authority” and who is “with us always” has commanded us to evangelize and disciple all nations (note the four uses of “all” in the Great commission). With His presence and power we can to it!
“to the end of the age” This refers to the two Jewish ages and was a reference to the Second Coming or consummation of the Kingdom of God. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THIS AGE AND THE AGE TO COME at Mat 12:31.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
a = the.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
16-20.] APPEARANCE OF THE LORD ON A MOUNTAIN IN GALILEE. This journey into Galilee was after the termination of the feast, allowing two first days of the week, on which the Lord appeared to the assembled Apostles (Joh 20:19; Joh 20:26), to elapse. It illustrates the imperfect and fragmentary nature of the materials out of which our narrative is built, that the appointment of this mountain as a place of assembly for the eleven has not been mentioned, although seems to imply that it has. Stier well remarks (Reden Jesu, vii. 209) that in this verse Matthew gives a hint of some interviews having taken place previously to this in Galilee. And it is important to bear this in mind, as suggesting, if not the solution, at least the ground of solution, of the difficulties of this passage. Mat 28:17 seems to present an instance of this imperfect and fragmentary narrative. The impression given by it is that the majority of the eleven worshipped Him, but some doubted (not, whether they should worship Him; which is absurd and not implied in the word. On , cf. ch. Mat 26:67. , , Xen. Hell. i. 2. 14: see also Anab. i. 5. 13). This however would hardly be possible, after the two appearances at Jerusalem in Joh 20:1-31. We are therefore obliged to conclude that others were present. Whether these others were the 500 brethren at once of whom Paul speaks 1Co 15:6, or some other disciples, does not appear. Olshausen and Stier suppose, from the previous announcement of this meeting, and the repetition of that announcement by the angel, and by our Lord, that it probably included all the disciples of Jesus; at least, all who would from the nature of the case be brought together.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 28:16. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Away from the haunts of men, where he had been wont to be, in a country familiar to them, and with which he was familiar, in a despised country, Galilee of the Gentiles.
Mat 28:17. And when they saw him, they worshipped him:
Probably this was the occasion referred to by Paul, when the risen Saviour was seen of above five hundred brethren at once.
Mat 28:17. But some doubted.
There were some honest doubters then. The breed has been kept up ever since, only there are more dishonest doubters by a great deal than there are of honest ones now. We can never expect to be quite free from doubters in the church, since even in the presence of the newly-risen Christ some doubted.
Mat 28:18. And Jesus came and spake unto them,
These words seem to imply that he came nearer to them than he was at first; unveiling himself still more, and revealing himself more clearly.
Mat 28:18-19. Saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
Teach, that is, disciple, make disciples of all nations.
Mat 28:19-20. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
There is teaching again. It is as much the duty of the Christian to teach after baptism as to teach before baptism; he must be ever teaching. Hence believers are always to be learners, since Christ would have his servants always to be teachers: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. We are not to invent a gospel; we are not to change, and shift, and cut, and shape it to meet the advancement of the age; Christs command is plain: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
Mat 28:20. And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
They have their commission, here is the seal to it; here is the source of their power; here is the society in which they are to work: Lo, I am with you alway. God grant that you and I, going forth to teach for Christ. may always have the sound of our Masters feet with us, even to the end of the world! Amen.
This exposition consisted of readings from Luk 4:16-30; Luk 9:57-62; and Mat 28:16-20.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Mat 28:16-20
The Meeting in Galilee, Mat 28:16-20
J.W. McGarvey
16. where Jesus had appointed.-Here we learn that the mountain on which the oft promised meeting in Galilee was to take place (Mat 26:32; Mat 28:7; Mat 28:10), had already been designated by Jesus; and we may safely infer that the time had also been named, for otherwise the disciples would not have known when to assemble at the appointed place.
17. but some doubted.-The doubt is accounted for in part by the fact that he first appeared at a distance, as appears from the words, “he came and spoke to them” (Mat 28:18), and in part by the fact that others were there besides the eleven. This is undoubtedly the time at which he was seen by “above five hundred brethren at once” (1Co 15:6); for it was the only appointed meeting, and the appointment gave opportunity for all who would to be present. In so large a crowd it is not surprising that some even of the eleven did not recognize him at the first moment of his appearing.
18. All power.-More correctly rendered all authority. The assertion that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him was a proper prelude to the command which follows, for the possession of such authority was requisite to the effective issuing of such a command.
19. teach all nations.-The term rendered teach () means to make disciples. The clause should be rendered, “Go, disciple all nations.” A disciple is one who accepts the teaching of Jesus; and men are made such by preaching the gospel to them.
baptizing them.-Not baptizing the nations, but baptizing those discipled. Them, in the Greek, is in the masculine gender (), and can not refer for its antecedent to nations (), because the latter term is in the neuter gender. Its antecedent is the masculine noun disciples (), implied in the verb (), make disciples. (For another example of this construction, see note on Mat 25:32.)
in the name.-As is well remarked by Alford, “It is unfortunate again here that our English Bibles do not give us the force of this . It should have been into (as in Gal 3:27, al.), both here and in 1Co 10:2, and wherever the expression is used.” So depose Lange, Olshausen, and the best critics generally. It has been objected, especially by Dr. Conant (Notes on Bible Union Version), that into the name is not good English. The objection may as well have been urged against such expressions as “into Moses,” “into Christ,” “into his death.” There is no fault to be found with any of these expressions, unless it be their obscurity, and this cannot be avoided except by a circumlocution. The name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit means the combined authority of all the manifestations of God. To be baptized into this, is to be brought by baptism into actual subjection to it. He that is baptized is brought into subjection by that act to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; and in consequence of this subjection he receives the remission of his sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Act 2:38.)
20. teaching them.-Here the word teaching is a proper rendering, and it indicates the third step to be taken with those to whom the apostles would preach. Having made disciples by persuading men to accept the teaching of Jesus, and having baptized such into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, they were next to teach them all that Jesus had commanded-all the duties of the Christian life.
I am with you alway.-This promise includes more than his mere presence. When we urge men to a dangerous and difficult undertaking, and say, We will be with you; we promise them our co-operation and support. Such is the meaning of Jesus: he is with his people to help them and to protect them. The promise is limited only by “the end of the world.” The term rendered world () frequently means age: but whether we render it world or age in this place the meaning is the same, for the age referred to must be the Christian age, and this will end with the world itself. The promise was made primarily to the eleven, but inasmuch as they were not to live till the end of the world, it properly extends to the entire Church of which they were the recognized representatives. While the world stands, therefore, Christ, possessed of all authority in heaven and in earth, is pledged to be with his Church. This is a most appropriate conclusion for a narrative whose object it was to record some of the labors, sufferings, and triumphs by which Jesus laid the foundation of his Church, and from which the promise of his presence derives all of its heavenly consolation.
Argument of Section 9
This section contains at least two historical proofs of the divinity of Jesus. The first is found in the demonstrations of divine power which accompanied his death. The miraculous darkness which covered the land for three hours previous to his last breath, was an unmistakable sign from heaven. The invisible hand which at the moment of his last cry rent in twain the veil of the temple, could have been no other than the hand of God or that of an angel sent from heaven. The earthquake, bursting solid rocks and opening the chambers of the dead, was a divine response from the earth to the divine token of wrath which hung over the face of the sky. All these are unmistakable manifestations of God’s displeasure, and none of them could have accompanied the death of Jesus had he been an impostor. The conclusion forced upon the mind of the centurion, and extorting from him the exclamation, “Truly this was the Son of God,” is the conclusion which must be echoed back from the soul of every honest man who reads the story.
The second proof in the section, and the grand final demonstration, is found in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. That he did arise is attested by conclusive evidence. The women can not have been mistaken as to the statement of the angel at the sepulcher, nor as to the appearance of Jesus to them on the way. Their testimony on these two points is true unless they lied, and they had no motive prompting them to lie. Their statement, too, is such, in its details, as they could not have invented: to suppose that they invented it is a far more violent supposition than to suppose it is true. Again, the eleven can not have been mistaken in asserting that Jesus appeared to them on the mountain in Galilee and spoke to them the words of the commission; nor can the commission itself have been an invention of men, and especially of these men. Matthew was himself one of the eleven, and an eyewitness to this part of the proof. The resurrection of Jesus being thus established as a fact, his Messiahship and his Sonship are established beyond all reasonable doubt.
Conclusion
We here conclude our comments on a narrative which, whether we consider its merits as a mere narrative; the momentous character of the leading proposition which it advocates; or the completeness and amplitude of the historical demonstration which it furnishes, has no superior among the writings of earth, and no rival except its own three companions. To the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, be glory everlasting for this inestimable gift of his grace!
The Great Commission – Mat 28:16-20
Open It
1. What is the most exciting news you have received in the last month?
2. What images spring to mind when you hear the words “missionary” or “evangelism”?
3. What is the loneliest time you have ever experienced?
Explore It
4. Who went to Galilee? When? (Mat 28:16)
5. Where did the disciples gather? Why? (Mat 28:16)
6. Why did the disciples assemble on the specific mountain they chose? (Mat 28:16)
7. Who appeared to the disciples? When? (Mat 28:16-17)
8. What responses did Jesus appearance elicit? (Mat 28:17)
9. What did Jesus say about Himself? (Mat 28:18)
10. Where did Jesus tell His disciples to go? (Mat 28:19)
11. What did Jesus tell His disciples to make? (Mat 28:19)
12. What activities were the disciples to be involved in? (Mat 28:19-20)
13. With what words of comfort did Jesus leave His disciples? (Mat 28:20)
Get It
14. What insight into the triune nature of God do you find in this passage?
15. Why do you think some of the disciples doubted when they saw Christ?
16. What causes Christians to doubt God today?
17. How do you think you might have reacted to the appearance of the risen Christ?
18. What does it mean to us that Jesus has “all authority”?
19. Over what does Jesus have all authority?
20. Over whom does Jesus have all authority?
21. What does it mean to “make disciples”?
22. What role do you have in making disciples?
23. How can knowing that Jesus is always with us make a difference in our daily lives?
24. What specific teaching of Christ do you need to obey more consistently?
Apply It
25. What older and wiser Christian can you approach in the next couple of days to ask for help in spiritual learning, training, and growing?
26. What step can you take this week in the process of making disciples?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The King’s Last Command
Mat 28:16-17. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Notice those words, the eleven disciples. There were twelve; but Judas, one of the twelve, had gone to his own place; and Peter, who had denied his Lord, had been restored to his place among the apostles. The eleven went away into Galilee, to the trysting-place their Lord had fixed: into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. Jesus always keeps his appointments, so he met the company that assembled at the selected spot: and when they saw him, they worshipped him. Seeing their Lord, they began to adore him, and to render divine honours to him, for to them he was God: hut some doubted. Where will not Mr. Doubting and other members of his troublesome family be found? “We can never expect to be quite free from doubters in the Church, since even in the presence of the newly-risen Christ “some doubted.” Yet the Lord revealed himself to the assembled company, although he knew that some among them would doubt that it was really their Lord who was risen from the dead.
Probably this was the occasion referred to by Paul, when the risen Saviour “was seen of above five hundred brethren at once.” It was evidently a meeting for which he had made a special appointment, and his own words to the women, following those of the angel, seem to point this out as the one general assembly of his Church on earth before he ascended to his Father. Those who gathered were, therefore, a representative company; and the words addressed to them were spoken to the one Church of Jesus Christ throughout all time.
Mat 28:18-20. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
What a truly royal speech our King made to his loyal subjects! What a contrast was this scene in Galilee to the groans in Gethsemane and the gloom of Golgotha! Jesus claimed omnipotence and universal sovereignty: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” This is part of the reward of his humiliation (Php 2:6-10). On the cross he was proclaimed King of the Jews; but when John saw him, in his apocalyptic vision, “on his head were many crowns,” and on his vesture and on his thigh he had a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
By virtue of his kingly authority, he issued this last great command to his disciples: ” Go ye therefore, and teach “or, “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” This is our commission as well as theirs. From it we learn that our first business is to make disciples of all nations, and we can only do that by teaching them the truth as it is revealed in the Scriptures, and seeking the power of the Holy Spirit to make our teaching effective in those we try to instruct in divine things. Next, those who by faith in Christ become his disciples are to be baptized into the name of the Triune Jehovah; and after baptism they are still to be taught all that Christ commanded. We are not to invent anything new; nor to change anything to suit the current of the age; but to teach the baptized believers to observe “all things whatsoever “our Divine King has commanded.
This is the perpetual commission of the Church of Christ; and the great seal of the Kingdom attached to it, giving the power to execute it, and guaranteeing its success, is the King’s assurance of his continual presence with his faithful followers: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” May all of us realize his presence with us until he calls us to be with him, “for ever with the Lord”! Amen.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s The Gospel of the Kingdom
the eleven: Mar 16:14, Joh 6:70, Act 1:13-26, 1Co 15:15
went: Mat 28:7, Mat 28:10, Mat 26:32
Reciprocal: Mar 14:28 – General Mar 16:7 – there Joh 21:1 – Jesus Act 1:3 – he showed Act 13:31 – he was Act 13:48 – ordained 1Co 15:6 – he was
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8:16
The women were told by the angel (verse 7) to give the disciples the word, and in verse 10 Jesus gave them the same message. Hence this verse reports the journey to Galilee, the very mountain spot for the meeting having been designated. Eleven disciples were in the group because Judas had taken his own life before the crucifixion of his Lord (Mat 27:5).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 28:16. But the eleven disciples. As this meeting was appointed before our Lords death (chap. Mat 26:32) as the message of the angel (Mat 28:7), repeated by our Lord Himself (Mat 28:10 was probably addressed to the whole body of disciples, and as the language of Mat 28:17 (some doubted) could scarcely apply to the eleven, we infer that all the disciples who could be brought together were assembled on this occasion, identifying it with the appearance mentioned in 1Co 15:6 (five hundred brethren at once). It was probably the eighth appearance, preceded by that at the Sea of Galilee (John 21). The eleven disciples are mentioned as representatives of the entire band.
Went into Galilee. Probably on the Monday after the Pass-over feast had closed, nine days after the resurrection.
Unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. Evidently a definite place of meeting, but exactly when and where is unknown. An apocryphal tradition of a late date (13th century) says that the mountain was the northern peak of the Mount of Olives, which it is asserted, was called Galilea. But this is a useless attempt at harmonizing the accounts. There was a good reason for the withdrawal into the district of Galilee, remote from Jerusalem. Some conjecture that it was Mount Tabor. Were a knowledge of the locality important, it would have been pointed out to us as definitely as it was appointed to believers then.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The meeting of our Saviour and his apostles upon a mountain in Galilee, was an appointed and general meeting. The mountain is supposed to be that near Capernaum, where he made that famous sermon, called, The sermon on the mount: and the meeting is supposed to be appointed as a general rendezvouz for confirming the faith of all his disciples in the certainty of his resurrection. Possibly our Lord appointed this place in Galilee, so far from Jerusalem, that his disciples might without danger come thither to see their Saviour alive again, after his crucifixion.
This is judged to be that famous appearance of which St. Paul speaks, When he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once. 1Co 15:6 And those who say him worshipped him, who before had doubted.
Learn hence, That when faith is once satisfied, and sees Christ to be God, it engages the soul to worship him. Divine worship is due to Christ upon account of his divine nature. No creature can be the object of divine worship, therefore they who worship Christ by praying to him, and yet deny him to be God, are certainly idolaters. If Christ had an angelic nature, that had not made him capable of divine worship: for adoration is founded only on divinity, and what is but human or angelical, is not adorable.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 28:16. Then Not immediately after what is related in the preceding verses, but after several appearances of Christ, and events connected therewith, recorded in the last chapter of Luke and Mark, and in the last two chapters of John; where see the notes: the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, &c. That Christ promised after his resurrection to go before them into Galilee, we read Mat 26:32; thither the angel here, Mat 28:7, and Christ himself Mat 28:10, direct them to go to see him; but there is not the least mention of any mountain in Galilee to which he bade them go to meet him; and therefore the following words, where Christ had appointed them, must refer, not to the mountain, but to Galilee; but there being a mountain which Christ had frequented, and on which he had been before transfigured, this, it seems, moved the disciples to go to that mountain. Moreover, it is observable that they did not go into Galilee till above eight days after Christs resurrection, for Christ appeared to them at Jerusalem eight days after, Joh 20:19; and when they went, doubtless, they went not alone, but the curiosity of those that were with them, Luk 24:9; Luk 24:33, would probably move them to go to the place where he had appointed to be seen. It is true, the evangelist does not say that there were more present at this appearance than the eleven; nevertheless, the circumstances of the case direct us to believe that it had many witnesses. This appearance was known beforehand; the place where it was to happen was pointed out by Jesus himself; and it was represented in such a light as if the appearances which were to take place before it were of small importance in comparison of it. The report, therefore, of his being to appear in Galilee, must have spread abroad, and brought many to the place at the appointed time. In short, it is reasonable to think that most of the disciples now enjoyed the happiness of beholding personally their Master raised from the dead. What confirms this supposition is, that Paul says expressly, Jesus, after his resurrection, was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, 1Co 16:6, for that number of witnesses mentioned by Paul agrees better to the appearance on the mountain in Galilee described by Matthew than to any other. Galilee having been the principal scene of Christs ministry, the greatest part of his followers lived there; for which reason he chose to make what may be called his most solemn and public appearance after his resurrection on a mountain in that country; an appearance to which, as we have seen, a general meeting of all his disciples was summoned, not only by the angels who attended his resurrection, but by our Lord himself, the very day on which he arose.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
CXLI.
EIGHTH APPEARANCE OF JESUS.
(A mountain in Galilee.)
aMATT. XXVIII. 16, 17; eI. COR. XV. 6.
a16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. f6 then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; a17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. [Though Matthew speaks of only eleven being present at this appearance, yet as it was the oft-promised meeting by appointment and as the women and disciples generally shared in the promise ( Mat 28:7-10), we have no doubt that it was the meeting mentioned by Paul the account of which we have here blended with Matthew. As to the doubts, we may explain them in three ways: 1. Among so large a number as five hundred some would likely be skeptical. 2. It would take Jesus some time to draw near enough to all to convince each one of his identity. Some, therefore, would doubt until they were thus convinced by Jesus coming to them and speaking to them, as the first clause of the next section shows that he did. 3. Matthew records no other appearance to the apostles save this one, and it seems to us reasonable to think that he here notes the doubts of Thomas, and connects them with the appearance of Jesus generally. He could not well say “had doubted,” for he records no other appearance where they had opportunity to doubt. The history of the eleven sustains this view, for there [761] were no doubters among them at Pentecost. According to Paul, many of these brethren were still alive when he wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, which is commonly accepted to have been in the spring of A.D. 57.]
[FFG 761-762]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
OUR LORD MEETS THE APOSTLES, AND MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN, ON A MOUNTAIN IN GALILEE
Then He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at once; many of whom remain till now, but some indeed have fallen asleep. (1Co 15:6.)
Mat 28:16-20 : And the eleven disciples departed into Galilee, into the mountain where Jesus commanded them. And seeing Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted. No one knows what mountain that was. As He appeared to them on the coast doubtless it was one of those mountains around the Sea of Galilee, and more likely to be the, Mount of Beatitudes, back of Capernaum; His headquarters the first two and a half years of His ministry.
Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying, All authority is given unto Me in heaven and upon earth. Therefore, going, disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things, so many as I command you; and, 1o, I am with you all the days, unto the end of the age. This is the Great Commission of our Lord to His apostles and their successors down to the end of the age. Let no one foolishly say, The age of miracles is past, since our Lord flatly contradicts all such fanaticism, assuring us that He is with us all the days, unto the end of the age. Where He is, miracle is the order of the day. The E. V., Go…teach is incorrect, the word being matheteusate, make disciples of all the nations, didaskontes, teaching,
occurring further on in the sentence. Hence, you see, baptizing and teaching are for the disciples, as you are not allowed to baptize a sinner, from the fact that God does not mark the devils hogs, but His own sheep; meanwhile you can not teach a dead man, and all sinners are dead. Then what can we do for the sinner? Our Lord plainly commands us to make disciples of them. How shall we do that? Preach, pray, sing, exhort, and work, as the Spirit leads you, till you get him truly and genuinely converted Then, being a disciple, he is ready for baptism and a place in the school of Christ i. e., the Church where he is to be taught the way of the Lord more perfectly, sanctified wholly, and thus become an assiduous student taught by the Holy Ghost and human instrumentality the deep things of God and the wonders of His kingdom.
TENTH AND ELEVENTH APPEARINGS OF OUR LORD
Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. (1Co 15:7.)
To whom He presented Himself alive, after He suffered, in many manifestations, being seen by them through forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God. And assembling them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father, which you heard from Me that John indeed baptized with water; but you shall be baptized of the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Then indeed they, having come together, asked Him, saying, Lord, at this time do You restore the kingdom to Israel? And He spoke these things to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons, which the Father put in His own authority. But you shall receive the dynamite of the Holy Ghost having come on you, and you shall be witnesses, both in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and in Samaria, unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Act 1:3-8.)
It is now the end of the forty days. In E. V., power occurs both in verses 7 and 8. In the original, the same word does not occur in these two verses as in the English, but exousia, authority or power, in verse 7, and dunamis, dynamite or power, in verse 8. Dunamis, dynamite, is the Pauline definition of gospel (Rom 1:16), and the word constantly used revelatory of the Pentecostal blessing. Power is the best English definition, but hardly strong enough. The rule of translation is, that when a word has been adopted in the English language, we no longer translate, but transfer. According to that rule, where dunamis occurs we would render it dynamite, as it has been adopted into the English language, with slight modification peculiar to Anglicization; whereas the E. V. translators could not so render it, from the simple fact that dynamite had not yet been discovered, and therefore dunamis had not been Anglicized. When men of science made this wonderful discovery of the greatest mechanical power the world had seen, finding no word in the English language strong enough, they went to the Greek, and took the most prominent word in the New Testament, being actually used to define gospel and the enduement of the Holy Ghost in His sanctifying power. You see, this heavenly dynamite, which came down at Pentecost and so empowered the disciples as to make them witness to all the world the wonders of full salvation, constitutes the very essence of Christian experience, and is here emphasized in the very valedictory of our crucified and risen Savior at the very hour of His ascension into glory, and is thus His own honored climax of the glorious redemptive scheme. Hence, we see, it becomes the burning message of every true gospel preacher, and the sine qua non of all doctrine and experience. Without this glorious, culminating truth, experienced in the heart and verified in the life, all profession is a failure.
You see here that when the apostles said to the Lord, Do You at this time restore the king, down to Israel? He simply answered, It is not your privilege to know the periods or epochs, which the Father placed in His own authority. The truth of the matter is, the Son Himself, as He says in His sermon on the Second Coming (Mark 8), did not at that time know the date when He should come in the glory of His kingdom. You know that if He had not been going to come in His glory and restore the kingdom to Israel, He would certainly there have corrected such a mistake on the part of His disciples. All those misapprehensions in reference to His crucifixion and resurrection He had already corrected, so that their minds were clear and cloudless on those great, salient facts of His Christhood. The statement of our Lord on this occasion warrants the conclusion that He led His disciples and ascended to heaven knowing that they were looking for Him to restore the kingdom to Israel. He never permitted mistakes and illusions to remain with His people. All the apostles lived and died looking for Jesus to return on the throne of His glory and restore the kingdom to Israel.
And you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. This is a part of our Lords valedictory, spoken at the time of His ascension, and certainly will bear exhaustive analysis. You see the fire is not mentioned, confirming the fact that, like water, wind, and oil, it is a concomitant symbol of the Holy Ghost, always to be expected, recognized, and realized simply as an accompaniment of the Holy Ghost, and never separate from Him. When you separate any of the symbols from Him, you run headlong into fanaticism.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 28:16-20. Conclusion. Jesus Appears in Galilee.The mountain (Mat 28:16) reminds us of Mat 5:1 or Mat 17:1. The statement that some (rather, they) doubted brings the narrative into line with Luk 24:37, Joh 20:25, and in any case points to the gradual nature of the growth of the Resurrection belief.
Mat 28:18 reminds us of Mat 11:27, but is not like Jesus, and is best taken as a rsum of the Christian faith and the Churchs mission.
Mat 28:19 reflects the change in that mission brought about by the Jews rejection of Jesus, who had regarded His work as confined to Israel. The Church of the first days did not observe this world-wide command, even if they knew it. The command to baptize into the threefold name is a late doctrinal expansion. In place of the words baptizing . . . Spirit we should probably read simply into my name, i.e. (turn the nations) to Christianity, or in my name, i.e. (teach the nations) in my spirit.
Mat 28:20. Jesus as the new lawgiver (cf. Mat 16:17-19, Mat 18:16-20, and the Sermon on the Mount). Note that instead of the promise of a second Advent (Act 1:11 and Paul) we have the more satisfactory assurance of the constant and immediate presence of Jesus with His followers (cf. John 14-16). The promise recalls Mat 18:20 and the Jewish idea of the Shekinah. It forms a worthy ending to the Gospel* the most worthy of all the four.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 16
Into Galilee. Jesus had several other interviews with his disciples, both in Galilee and in the vicinity of Jerusalem, as is related by the other evangelists.–Into a mountain; into a secluded place among the mountains.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
28:16 {4} Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
(4) Christ appears also to his disciples, whom he makes apostles.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
4. The King’s final instructions to His disciples 28:16-20 (cf. Mar 16:15-18; 1Co 15:6)
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. [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 590.] This 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, and it ends the story of Jesus where it began: in Galilee. [Note: See France, The Gospel . . ., pp.2-5, for further explanation of the geographical plan of Matthew’s Gospel.]
". . . 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 (Mat 21:37-39), God vindicates Jesus by raising him from the dead (Mat 28:5-6). Consequently, when Jesus appears to the disciples on the mountain in Galilee (Mat 28:16-17), it is as the crucified Son of God whom God has vindicated through resurrection (Mat 28:5-6). Although some disciples show, in doubting, that they are yet weak of faith (Mat 28:17; Mat 14:32), they all see on the person of Jesus that crucifixion, or suffering sonship, was the essence of his ministry (Mat 21:42). Correlatively, they also grasp at last that servanthood is the essence of discipleship (Mat 16:24; Mat 20:25-28). As ones, therefore, who comprehend, in line with God’s evaluative point of view (Mat 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 (Mat 28:18-20; chaps. 24-25)." [Note: Kingsbury, Matthew as . . ., pp. 162-63.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
"But" (NASB) is too strong a contrast for the Greek word de that occurs here and means "then" (NIV). However the action of the Eleven contrasts with the action of the guards (Mat 28:15). We do not know the mountain to which Jesus had directed them and to which they went (cf. Mat 26:32; Mat 28:7; Mat 28:10). 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.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 21
The Gospel for all the Nations through “All the Days” – Mat 28:16-20
The brief concluding passage is all St. Matthew gives us of the thirty-nine days which followed the Resurrection and preceded the Ascension. It would seem as if he fully realised that the manifestations of these days belonged rather to the heavenly than to the earthly work of Jesus, and that therefore, properly speaking, they did not fall within his province. It was necessary that he should bear witness to the fact of the Resurrection, and that he should clearly set forth the authority under which the first preachers of the gospel acted. Having accomplished both, he rests from his long labour of love.
That the commission of the eleven was not restricted to this particular time and place is evident from notices in the other Gospels; {Mar 16:15, Luk 24:48, Joh 20:21-23; Joh 21:15-17} but we can see many reasons why this occasion was preferred to all others. We have already seen how natural it was that St. Matthew should call the attention of his readers to the appearances of the risen Lord in Galilee rather than to those in Jerusalem and its vicinity; and the more we think of it, the more do we see the appropriateness of his singling out this one in particular. It was the only formally appointed meeting of the Lord with His disciples. In every other case He came unannounced and unexpected; but for this meeting there had been a distinct and definite appointment.
This consideration is one of many which render it probable that this was the occasion referred to by St. Paul when our Lord was seen by above five hundred brethren at once; for on the one hand there was nothing but a definite appointment that would bring so large a company together at any one point, and on the other hand, when such an appointment was made, it is altogether natural to suppose that the news of it would spread far and wide, and bring together, not the eleven only, but disciples from all parts of the land, and especially from Galilee, where the greater number of them would no doubt reside. That St. Matthew mentions only the eleven may be accounted for by the object he has in view-viz., to exhibit their apostolic credentials; but even in his brief narrative there is one statement which is most easily understood on the supposition that a considerable number were present. “Some doubted,” he says. This would seem altogether natural on the part of those to whom this was the only appearance; whereas it is. difficult to suppose that any of the eleven could doubt after what they had seen and heard at Jerusalem.
In any case, the doubts were only temporary, and were in all probability connected with the mode of His manifestation. As on other occasions, of which particulars are given in other Gospels, the Lord would suddenly appear to the assembled company; and we can well understand how, when first His form was seen, He should not be recognised by all; so that, while all would be solemnised, and bow in adoration, some might not be altogether free from doubt. But the doubts would disappear as soon as “He opened His mouth and taught them,” as of old. To make these doubts, as some do, a reason for discrediting the testimony of all is surely the very height of perversity. All the disciples were doubters at the first. But they were all convinced in the end. And the very fact that it was so hard to convince them, when they were first confronted with so unexpected an event as the Lords appearing to them after His death, gives largely increased value to their unfaltering certainty ever afterwards, through all the persecution and sufferings, even unto death, to which their preaching the fact of the Resurrection exposed them.
As Galilee was the most convenient place for a large public gathering of disciples, so a mountain was the most convenient spot, not only because of its seclusion, but because it would give the best opportunity for all to see and hear. What mountain it was we can only conjecture. Perhaps it was the mount on which the great Sermon was delivered which gave the first outline sketch of the kingdom now to be formally established; perhaps it was the mount which had already been honoured as the scene of the Transfiguration; but wherever it was, the associations with the former mountain scenes in Galilee would be fresh and strong in the disciples minds.
The choice of a mountain in the north was moreover suitable as signalising the setting aside of Mount Zion and Jerusalem as the seat of empire. From this point of view we can see still another reason why St. Matthew, the Evangelist for the Jew, should mention the formal inauguration of the new kingdom in the north. The rejection of the Messiah by His own people had gone very deeply to the heart of the author of this Gospel. He certainly never obtrudes his feelings, even when they are strongest, as is most strikingly apparent in his calm record of the Passion itself; but there are many things which show how keenly he felt on this point. Recall how he tells us on the one hand that “Herod the king was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him,” when the report was spread abroad that the Christ was born in Bethlehem, and on the other that the wise men from the East “rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” Remember how he speaks of “Galilee of the Gentiles” as rejoicing in the great light which had been unnoticed or unwelcome in Jerusalem, and how he calls special attention to “the coasts of Caesarea Philippi,” the utmost corner of the land, as the place where the Church was founded. And now, having recorded the Lords final and formal entry into the ancient capital to claim the throne of David, only to be despised and rejected, mocked and scourged and crucified, it is natural that, as the Evangelist for the Jew, he should pass away from what he often fondly calls “the holy City,” but which is now to him an accursed place, to those calm regions of the north which were associated in his mind with the first shining of the light, with so many words of wisdom spoken by the Lord, with the doing of most of His mighty deeds, with the founding of the Church, and with the glory of the Transfiguration.
The words of the Lord on this last occasion are worthy of all that has gone before. Let all doubters ponder well the significance of this. Suppose for a moment that the story of the Resurrection had been only “the passion of a hallucinated woman,” as Renan puts it, and then consider the position. No one of course denies that up to the moment of death there was a veritable Jesus, whose sayings and doings supplied the material for the history; but now. that the hero is dead and gone, where are the materials? The fishermen and publicans are on their own resources now. They have to make everything out of nothing. Surely, therefore, there must be now a swift descent; no more of those noble utterances to which we have been accustomed hitherto-only inventions of the poor publican now. No more breadth of view-only Jewish narrowness now. It was about this very time that the disciples asked, “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Suppose, then, these men obliged themselves to invent a Great Commission, how narrow and provincial will it be!
Is there, then, such a swift descent? Are not the reported words of the risen Lord-not in this Gospel merely, but in all the Gospels-as noble, as impressive, as divine as any that have been preserved to us, from the years of His life in the flesh? Search through this Gospel, and say if there can be found anywhere an utterance that has more of the King in it, that is more absolutely free from all Jewish narrowness and from all human feebleness, than this Great Commission which forms its magnificent close. It is very plain that these simple artists have their subject still before them. Manifestly they are not drawing from imagination, but telling what they heard and saw.
There is an unapproachable majesty in the words which makes one shrink from touching them. They seem to rise before us like a great mountain which it would be presumption to attempt to scale. What a mighty range they take, up to heaven, out to all the earth, down to the end of time!-and all so calm, so simple, so strong, so sure. If, as He finished the Sermon on the Mount, the multitude were astonished, much more must these have been astonished who first listened to this amazing proclamation.
“All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth” (R.V). What words are these to come from One Who has just been put to death for claiming to be the king of the Jews? King of kings and Lord of lords is the title now He claims. And yet it is as Son of man He speaks. He does not speak as God, and say, “All authority is Mine”: He speaks as the man Christ Jesus, saying, “All authority has been given unto Me”-given as the purchase of His pain: authority in heaven, as Priest with God-authority on earth, as King of men.
Having thus laid broad and deep and strong the foundations of the new kingdom, He sends the heralds forth: “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you” (R.V). These are simple words and very familiar now, and a distinct effort is needed to realise how extraordinary they are, as spoken then and there to that little company. “All nations” are to be discipled and brought under His sway, -such is the commission; and to whom is it given? Not to Imperial Caesar, with his legions at command and the civilised world at his feet; not to a company of intellectual giants, who by the sheer force of genius might turn the world upside down; but to these obscure Galileans of whom Caesar has never heard, not one of whose names has ever been pronounced in the Roman Senate, who have excited no wonder either for intellect or learning even in the villages and country sides from which they come, -it is to these that the great commission is given to bring the world to the feet of the crucified Nazarene. Imagine a nineteenth-century critic there, and listening. He would not have said a word. It would have been beneath his notice. A curl of the lip would have been all the recognition he would have deigned to give. Yes, how ludicrous it seems in the light of reason! But in the light of history is it not sublime?
The hidden power lay in the conjunction: “Go ye therefore.” It would have been the height of folly to have gone on such an errand in their own strength; but why should they hesitate to go in the name and at the bidding of One to Whom all authority had been given in heaven and on earth? Yet the power is not delegated to them. It remains, and must remain with Him. It is not, “All authority is given unto you.” They must keep in closest touch with Him, wherever they may go on this extraordinary mission. How this may be will presently appear.
The two branches into which the commission divides-“Baptising them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,” “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you”-correspond to the twofold authority on which it is based. By virtue of His authority in heaven, He authorises His ambassadors to baptise people of all nations who shall become His disciples “into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” Thus would they be acknowledged as children of the great family of God, accepted by the Father as washed from sin through the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, and sanctified by the grace of His Holy Spirit-the sum of saving truth suggested in a single line. In the same way by virtue of His authority on earth, He authorises His disciples to publish His commands so as to secure the obedience of all the nations, and yet not of constraint, but willingly, “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
Easily said; but how shall it be done? We can imagine the feeling of bewilderment and helplessness with which the disciples would listen to their marching orders, until all was changed by the simple and sublime assurance at the close: “And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” This assurance is perhaps the strangest part of all, as given to a company, however small, who were to be scattered abroad in different directions, and who were commissioned to go to the very ends of the earth. How could it be-fulfilled? There is nothing in St. Matthews narrative to explain the difficulty. We know, indeed, from other sources what explains it. It is the Ascension-the return of the King to the heaven whence He came, to resume His omnipresent glory, by virtue of which alone He can fulfil the promise He has made.
This brings us to a question of considerable importance: Why is it that St. Matthew gives no record of the Ascension, and does not even hint what became of the risen Christ after this last recorded interview with His disciples? It seems to us that a sufficient reason is found in the object which St. Matthew had in view, which was to set forth the establishment of the kingdom of Christ upon earth as foretold by the prophets and expected by the saints of old; and inasmuch as it is Christs kingdom on earth which he has mainly in view, he does not call special attention to His return to heaven, but rather to that earthly fact which was the glorious result of it-viz., His abiding presence with His people on the earth. Had he finished his Gospel with the Ascension, the last impression left on the readers mind would have been of Christ in heaven at the right hand of God-a glorious thought indeed, but not the one it was his special aim and object to convey. But, concluding as he does, the last impression on the readers mind is of Christ abiding on the earth, and with all His people even to the end of the world-a most cheering, comforting, and stimulating thought. To the devout reader of this Gospel it is as if his Lord had never left the earth at all, but had suddenly clothed Himself with omnipresence, so that, however far apart His disciples might be scattered in His service, each one of them might at any moment see His face, and hear His voice of cheer, and feel His touch of sympathy, and draw on His reserve of power. Thus was it made quite plain, how they could keep in closest touch with Him to Whom was given all authority in heaven and on earth.
After all, is it quite torrent to say that St. Matthew omits the Ascension? What was the Ascension? We think of it as a going up; but that is to speak of it after the manner of men in the kingdom of heaven there is no geographical “up” or “down.” The Ascension really meant the laying aside of earthly limitations and the resumption of Divine glory with its omnipresence and eternity; and is not this included in these closing words? May we not fancy one of these doubting ones (Mat 28:17), who trembled in the presence of that Form in which the Lord appeared to them upon the mount, recalling afterwards the supreme moment when the words “Lo, I am with you,” entered into his soul, in language such as this:
“Then did the Form expand, expand-
I knew Him through the dread disguise,
As the whole God within His eyes
Embraced me”-
an embrace in which he remained, when the Form had vanished.
The Ascension is all in that wonderful “I am.” It is not the first time we have heard it. Among His last words in Capernaum, when the Saviour was thinking of His Church in the ages to come, gathered together in companies in all the lands where disciples should meet in His name, the great thought takes Him for the moment out of the limitations of His earthly life; it carries Him back, or rather lifts Him up, to the eternal sphere from which He has come to earth, so that He uses not the future of time, but the present of eternity: “There am I in the midst of them”. {Mat 18:20} A still more striking example has been preserved by St. John. When on one occasion He spoke of Abraham as seeing His day, the Jews interrupted Him with the question, “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?” Recognising in this a challenge of His relation to that timeless, dateless sphere from which He has come, He promptly replies, Before Abraham was, I am. It is as if a foreigner, speaking perfectly the language of the country of his adoption, were suddenly betrayed into a form of expression which marked his origin.
That was a momentary relapse, as it were, into the language of eternity; but this last “I am” marks a change in His relations to His disciples: it is the note of the new dispensation of the Spirit. These forty days were a transition time marked by special, manifestations-not wholly material as in the days of the Incarnation, nor wholly spiritual as in the days after Pentecost; but on the borderland between the two, so as to prepare the minds and hearts of the disciples for the purely spiritual relation which was thenceforward to be the rule. Whichever appearance was the last to any disciple would be the Ascension to him. To very many in that large gathering this would be the Saviours last appearance. It was in all probability the time when the great majority of the disciples bade farewell to the Form of their risen Lord. May we not, then, call this the Ascension in Galilee? And just as the parting on the Mount of Olives left as its deepest impression the withdrawal of the man Christ Jesus, with the promise of His return in like manner, so the parting on the mount in Galilee left as its deepest impression not the withdrawal of the human form, but the permanent abiding of the Divine Spirit-a portion of the truth of the Ascension quite as important as the other, and even more inspiring. No wonder that the great announcement which is to be the Christians title-deed, for all ages to come, of Gods unspeakable gift, should be introduced with a summons to adoring wonder: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
The Gospel ends by removing from itself all limitations of time and space, extending the day of the Incarnation to “all the days,” enlarging the Holy Land to embrace all lands. The times of the Son of man are widened so as to embrace all times. The great name Immanuel {Mat 1:23} is now fulfilled for all the nations and for all the ages. For what is this finished Gospel but the interpretation, full and clear at last, of that great Name of the old covenant, the name Jehovah: “I am,” “I am that I am”? {Exo 3:14} All of the Old Testament revelation is gathered up in this final utterance, “I am-with you”; and it has in it by anticipation all that will be included in that last word of the risen Saviour: “I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last”. {Rev 22:13}
This last sentence of the Gospel distinguishes the life of Jesus from all other histories, biographies or “remains.” It is the one “Life” in all literature. These years were not spent “as a tale that is told.” The Lord Jesus lives in His gospel, so that all who receive His final promise may catch the light of His eye, feel the touch of His hand, hear the tones of His voice, see for themselves, and become acquainted with Him Whom to know is Life Eternal. Fresh and new, and rich and strong, for “all the days,” this Gospel is not the record of a past, but the revelation of a present Saviour, of One Whose voice sounds deep and clear across all storms of life: “Fear not: I am the First and the Last: I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold I AM ALIVE FOR EVERMORE.”