Bible reading: Matthew 28:16-20
The title of this message is the ALL Consuming Call of Jesus. I want to look at Jesus’ last words before He returned to heaven. This is known as the Great Commission. As we work through the passage from Matthew 28, I want to take special notice of the word ALL.
1. ALL authority belonged to Jesus
Matthew 28:18 – Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”
Jesus has all authority on heaven and earth. That is a big statement. It means no-one has more authority than Jesus. But as we look at the Scriptures we see this is true and undeniable.
In Matthew chapters 8&9 we see that Jesus had authority on earth. He had authority over sickness and disease, demonic forces and demons, the forces of nature, life and death.
Not only did Jesus say He had all authority, but He clearly demonstrated in the way He lived and ministered to the people He came in contact with. No demon, sickness, storm or death could disobey His command and authority.
2. Jesus said to go to ALL the world and make disciples
Matthew 28:19a – Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations…
In the last point we see Jesus has all authority. With this authority and His final words to His followers He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples”. It is a compelling command. It is an all-consuming call that can’t be ignored.
All of us here all called to the mission field too. Though not all of us are called to go abroad. We have a mission right outside this church. One church I went to once had the sign over the exit, “Mission starts here”. People would often reach up and touch as they left church.
People here is our region need to hear about God’s love for them, how Jesus came to show us what God is like, that Jesus died to pay the price for our sin and He rose again to life. And by putting our faith and trust in Him we have abundant life now, and live for eternity with Him when we die.
3. Jesus told us to teach them to obey ALL His teachings
Matthew 28:20a – Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.
I have been a Christian for 35 of my 57 years on earth. The first 15 years of being a Christian I was really good at going into the world and preaching the good news. I was able to talk to people, share my faith, give them tracts and people would come to Christ. So, I was being obedient to the first part of the Great Commission.
However, I found that while people were getting saved, I would lose track of people and not know if they were growing or not. One day I felt God speak to me and say, “I told you to make disciples, not just Christian converts”.
This got me thinking what sort of things did Jesus teach? If we look at the sermon of the mount in Matthew 5-7, we see that Jesus talked about being salt and light, loving one another, giving to the needy, loving our enemies, not talking revenge, praying and fasting, money and possessions, the golden rule, being true disciples and producing good fruit.
Matthew 7:24 says, “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock”. We need to help people build their house on the solid rock of Jesus’ teachings.
4. Jesus promises to be ALL-ways with us
Matthew 28:20b – And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Jesus promises to be with us always. He says, “Be sure of this!” So, He really wants is to get it.
Jesus’ presence is with you by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. He is with you when you are alone. He is always with us when we meet together. He is our God and we are His people.
Knowing that Jesus is always with me by the presence of His Indwelling Spirit gives me courage and strength. Courage when I am afraid to share my faith or step out and pray for someone. And strength to know His power is with me to enable to share my faith, disciple others and allow God power to flow through me.
The key thought here is Jesus promises to never leave us until He calls us home individually or He comes back for us all. He does not expect us to fulfil the Great Commission alone.
Closing summary
Today we have looked at the passage known as the Great Commission of Jesus. His last words on earth to His followers before returning to heaven. In the message we saw.
- Jesus has ALL Authority in heaven and on earth
- Jesus told us to go into ALL the world and make disciples
- Jesus told us to teach them to obey ALL His teachings
- Jesus promises to be ALL-ways with us
In these passages Jesus bookend His commands. He says all authority is with Him and He promises to be all-ways with us. In the middle He says to go and make disciples and teach them to obey all His teachings.
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