Matthew 28:16-20
Mat 28:16-20 The King's Last Command
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.
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.