Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18-20

And while Jesus drew near He spoke to them while saying, “All authority in heaven and upon the earth was being given to me.  Therefore while going out, make all nations disciples while baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit while teaching them to keep all that I commanded you all.  And behold!  I am with you every day until the completion of the age.

Thoughts for Today

Today is going to be a very Greek intensive day.

First Thought:

The tense of Jesus’ verb in verse 18 is profound.  Jesus speaks in the simple past (aorist) tense and the passive voice.  “All authority in heaven and upon the earth was being given to me.”  This is a direct statement to the fact that the act of giving authority to Jesus is complete and it was completed in the past.  This has two possible implications.  First of all, it means that Jesus has all of the authority.  The process is complete.  He is as authoritative as it gets.  The second implication is a bit more deep.  It is also possible that Jesus is saying that the process of giving authority to Him is over because He is about to ascend into heaven and God’s authority is going to be given to Jesus’ disciples.  There is no need to continue to give authority to Jesus because He is going to the right hand of the Father.  Therefore, God’s authority can now be granted to those who follow Jesus.

What does it mean that Jesus’ authority is complete?  What does it mean to you to think that God’s authority is given to those who follow Jesus?

Second Thought:

I’ve heard many sermons on the Great Commission and the “imperative verbs.”  In other words, I’ve heard many sermons on the “commands of the Great commission.”  I’ve heard about the “Go,” the “Make Disciples,” the “Baptize,” and the “Teach.”  So imagine my surprise when I dove into the Greek and only found one imperative.  Imagine that surprise grow when I found out that the imperative isn’t the verb “Go” but rather the verb “Make Disciples.”  The thrust of the Great Commission is making disciples of all nations.  Okay, so I have to admit that this is no surprise to me.  That’s the verb I’ve always focused on anyways.  But what is neat in the Greek is that the other verbs that many people treat as commands are actually what we call circumstantial participles in the Greek language.  A circumstantial participle is a participle that sets the circumstance of the verb.  That’s why in my translation above I translate the three participles as “while going,” “while baptizing,” and “while teaching them to keep my commandments.”  These three participles set the context of how disciples are made.  Disciples are made while we go into the nations.  Disciples are made while we baptize.  Disciples are made while we teach.  But the overarching goal of the Christian call is making disciples.

Do you live a life focused on making disciples?  Are you making disciples in the midst of your going into the world, in the midst of your baptizing people, and in the midst of your teaching them in the faith?

Third Thought:

Finally, we get to Jesus’ promise.  The verb here is “am.”  It is such a simple present tense verb.  But in that present tense we have an incredible promise.  Jesus says, “I am with you.”  He doesn’t say, “I was with you.”  He doesn’t say, “I will be with you.”  He doesn’t even say, “I have been with you.”  He says, “I am with you.”  No matter where we are in the present, Jesus is there with us.  No matter what we are doing in the present, Jesus is there with us.  Jesus always is there.  This is how the Gospel of Matthew ends, and it is a very fitting promise.

Why is it important to know that Jesus is with us in all circumstances?  When has Jesus been there for you in your circumstances?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 28:18-20