Sent Out In Power
And Jesus came and said to them “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Matthew 28:18 (ESV)
The Great Commission stands as one of the most well-known texts in the entire Bible for good reason. Christ is leaving, the disciples are waiting, and the world is changing. The Risen King has only a few more words to give the disciples he loved so much. And in his last words on earth he tells them: “go, make disciples…” Our eyes so naturally sweep over the first sentence to find their place upon our mission, and yet, it is this first sentence that determines what follows. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Why does Jesus tell the disciples such an obvious truth? They knew that God was the Sovereign King over all the earth and they knew also that Christ was God. So why would Jesus spend some of his last moments on earth telling them of his authority?
Christ the Exalted Son
Jesus says that all authority “has been given” to him. We must remember that this Jesus was mocked, beaten, broken, and killed for all to see. The world witnessed the humiliation of the Son. Philippians 2 speaks of “humbling unto death” while the author of Hebrews viewed the incarnation as “being made lower than the angels”. Jesus had been stripped naked, humiliated, and seemingly defeated. The Jews had won. The Romans had won. Jesus was dead. And so Christ in his glory tells the disciples, witnesses of his humiliation, of his exaltation. Paul in Philippians speaks not simply of humbling but of the great exaltation of Christ.
Who is it who sends us out to proclaim the gospel and to make disciples of all nations? It is not the crucified Christ. It is the glorious, exalted Christ! Yes, preach Christ crucified but do not leave him on the cross or in the grave or in the Bible. This is the living Christ who has conquered death and has broken the grip of sin upon the lives of his disciples! Evangelize! Go to the nations! But preach Christ crucified and exalted! He is risen and he reigns eternally.
Christ the Represented Lord
The exalted Christ has sent us out on mission for the advancement of the gospel. Without his authority, his power, and his Spirit, it would be a fool’s errand to attempt anything on par with what Christ commands. If we attempt to evangelize, to proclaim the name in all places, without Christ’s authority we are sunk before we have even left the harbor! On whose authority do we invade people’s lives with the message of the gospel? As whose ambassadors do we bring the news of sinful man and just God to all cultures? By what right should we teach that our God is one thought all mankind serve idols?
It is on the authority of Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, who has died for the sins of all who would believe, who has suffered humiliation and now stands exalted. He is the one who sends us. Let discouragement come for we know on whose authority we act. Let persecution come for we know that our Lord does not work in vain. Let us work through suffering even unto death knowing that the purposes of our God are never thwarted. Steadfastness comes from a higher authority. An authority over heaven and upon the earth.
Christ the Commanding King
Hidden beneath slightly archaic language is the truth about The Great Commission. It is no suggestion. It is not for certain people with unique giftings. It is not for a certain time only. It is the command of Christ, with complete authority, to be obeyed by all who call themselves his disciples. It is dangerous to soften what God declares with caveats. Why should we go? Why should we make disciples? Why should we baptize and why should we teach? For all the reasons above, surely, but more than that because the King over all things has commanded us to.
To shrink back is to be disobedient. To say “not me” is to refuse his commands. To be half-hearted is to be stiff-necked and grumbling. To go is to serve God with a grateful heart. For we were bought for a price. Let us glorify God in our bodies.
