Matthew 28:18-20:
‘18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.’

Question:

We will look at Matthew 28:18. The next two verses (19-20) are well-known, being the Great Commission, with Jesus saying ‘Go’. But this command is linked to verse 18 by the word ‘therefore’. So, the sense of it is that it is because Jesus has been given all authority and power that ‘therefore’ we are to go etc. So, the question is: “What part does verse 18 play in the Great Commission?”

Verse 18 shows us various things about the nature of God.

What we are to believe

Jesus’ statement that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” defines His divine role as being fully equal with the God the Father and the Holy Spirit. This statement, along with many other verses, is God’s revelation in scripture to us of His nature, being three persons in one, which is what we call His triune nature, which was put into doctrine in the Nicene Creed.

Earlier claims by Jesus of his divine nature were blasphemy for the Jewish leaders, which they used as justification for his execution. But here the risen Jesus is proof of those statements.

What we are to proclaim

The verse also defines what we are to proclaim in the making of disciples, to the whole world in the Great Commission which follows; baptism is to be “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, i.e. in the single “name” of the three equal persons of the one triune God.

Our limited human brain cannot easily take in the full nature of our infinite God, so there have been continual attempts over the centuries to reinvent God in our own imagination, and what’s known as the Arian heresy was the first major attempt. The Council of Nicea, which produced the Nicene Creed, was called to clarify this doctrine.

An attempt in modern times has been the formation of the so-called Unitarian Church which rejects the doctrine of the Trinity.

How we are to proclaim

Since Jesus has all power and authority, then the making of disciples is not in our power. We simply need to obediently proclaim His good news, while letting His Holy Spirit touch the hearts of people on hearing these words to convict and convince them. That preaching needs to be faithful to what God has revealed, which is why the condemnation of Arianism at the Council of Nicea was so important.

Personal experience

In His power and authority, Jesus also provides the opportunities for us to share the Gospel, so it becomes a pleasure to take up those opportunities, rather than a burden to create them in our own power.

I was struck by this recently, when a penpal was enthusiastic about this Questions and Belief website, and asked if it could be made available in his language so he can share it with his fellow countrymen.

Praise God for revealing His nature to us!