20th January 2008

Matthew 28: 16 - 20.   Go and Make Disciples of All Nations.

Jesus' last words - Three parts - A proclamation, a command and a promise.

1. The Proclamation. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. V 18.
What is a proclamation for?
What is authority? Dictionary. A. The power or right to give commands / take action.
                                                     B. Influence resulting from knowledge, prestige etc.
                                                     C. Delegated power.
What does this tell us about Jesus?
Calvin Comm, p 249. “The apostles would never be persuaded to undertake such a task of difficulty unless they knew that their Champion sat in heaven, that the supreme power was given to Him. Without such a defence, it would have been impossible to achieve anything. When they hear that He, to whom they engage their efforts has rule over heaven and earth, this is enough – and more than enough – aid for them to overcome every obstacle.”

Ephesians 1 : 18 – 23. Far above all rule and authority, power and dominion - - -
See Isaiah 9 : 7. Isaiah 42 : 1-4. Daniel 7 : 13-14. Hebrews 1 : 3 and 7 : 24-25.
Jesus’ role as mediator did not finish at the cross but continues in his heavenly rule.
He is still prophet, priest and king. He is Head of the church which he has promised to build.
His purpose is a great ingathering from every tribe and tongue. That means Perth and Perthshire!

How much authority has been given to Jesus? ALL. (That’s quite a lot.)
Note – Being under authority, he has been given authority. It is not self-derived.
How much authority do we give him in our lives?
We can give other things authority over us to make us obey them – fear, hurts, comfort, etc.
W Booth when asked the secret of his life of spiritual power said“God has every part of me.”

2. The Command. What are commands for? Therefore GO!
“Therefore” – the command flows from the proclamation. They are connected /linked/ joined.

                                                      The Great Suggestion.
“Some authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore a few of you could go and make converts of some people, suggesting that they might like to be baptized and teaching them to give lip service to some of the things I told you. And maybe I will be with you some of the time.”

Jesus gives 4 specific commands – Go and make disciples of all nations (Genesis 12:3 Ps 2)
Baptising them. Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

3. The Promise. What is a promise for? The promise is connected to the command.
The command is connected to the proclamation.
David Livingstone said –

“Would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile among
people whose language I could not understand ad whose attitude to me was always uncertain
and often hostile? It was this – Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. On
these words I staked everything and they never failed." (Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope, p 443.)

Also Diet Eman in Things We Couldn’t Say p 204. In Sheveningen Prison (1944)for hiding jews.

“I used to scratch a bible verse into the wall. It was a verse that always brought me comfort,
even though I had no idea what would happen to us : Lo I am with you always, even unto the
end - Jesus’ last words before he returned to heaven. I believed that promise, and I carved
those words into the bricks of that prison wall for the others too, and for those who would come after us."

Our obedience activates Jesus’ promise. We can “go” with great confidence.
As we go the one who has all authority has promised to go with us.

Robert Duncan, 20/01/2008