Commentary - Matthew 28:16-20

Bird's-eye view

Here at the very end of Matthew’s Gospel, we have the Magna Carta of the Christian church. These are the final recorded words of the Lord Jesus in this account, His great marching orders for all subsequent history. Having completed His work of atonement on the cross and having vindicated that work through His resurrection from the dead, Jesus now stands as the undisputed King of the cosmos. On the basis of that absolute authority, He commissions His followers to undertake a global discipleship project. This is not a suggestion, nor is it a desperate, last-ditch effort to salvage a failed mission. It is a command, issued from the throne of the universe, guaranteeing the ultimate success of the enterprise. The task is to bring all the nations, all the ethnic groups of mankind, into a state of covenanted learning and obedience to everything Christ has commanded. This is accomplished through the apostolic means of going, baptizing, and teaching. And the whole endeavor is underwritten by the promise of His personal, perpetual presence with His people until the task is completed at the consummation of the age.

This passage is the foundation for Christian mission, the charter for the church's engagement with the world. It is profoundly optimistic, rooted in the finished work and universal authority of Jesus Christ. The goal is nothing less than the discipleship of the nations, a worldwide turning to Christ that will characterize the current age. This is not about saving isolated individuals out of a sinking world; it is about claiming the world for Christ the King. The means are simple: the proclamation of the truth, the administration of the covenant sign of baptism, and faithful instruction in the whole counsel of God. The power is Christ's authority, and the comfort is His presence.

Outline

Context In Matthew

The Great Commission is the grand finale of Matthew's Gospel. The entire book has been building to this point. Matthew began by identifying Jesus as the son of David and the son of Abraham, the rightful king of the Jews and the one through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Matt 1:1). Throughout the Gospel, Matthew has presented Jesus as the new Moses, delivering the new law from a mountain (Matt 5-7), and as the one who possesses all authority (Matt 7:29; 9:6; 11:27). His death and resurrection, which have just been recounted, are the pivotal events that secure this authority. The empty tomb is the ultimate validation of His claims. Now, on another mountain, the resurrected King gathers His followers to formally transfer the focus of His kingdom work from "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt 10:6) to "all the nations." This commission is the logical and necessary outworking of everything Matthew has recorded. The King has come, He has conquered, and now He sends His ambassadors to claim His global inheritance.

Key Issues

The Unconditional Commission

We must not read this as the last will and testament of a dying man. This is the coronation speech of a triumphant King. The mood is not one of wistful farewell, but of sovereign command. The foundation of this commission is not our ability, our resources, or our clever strategies. The foundation is an accomplished fact: "All authority has been given to Me." The Greek word is exousia, which means rightful, legitimate authority. It is the authority that arises from who He is and what He has done. Because He has been raised from the dead, the Father has formally installed Him as the mediatorial King over all creation. As Abraham Kuyper famously said, there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, "Mine!"

Therefore, the command to "Go" is not a tentative suggestion. The "therefore" links the command directly to the declaration of authority. Because He is King of all, we are to go to all. This is not a mission we undertake in our own strength, hoping for the best. We go as authorized ambassadors of the ruling monarch of the universe. Our task is not to negotiate a truce with the powers of this world, but to announce the terms of their unconditional surrender to the rightful King. This is a victorious mission, and its success is as certain as the authority of the one who gave it.

Verse by Verse Commentary

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.

The scene shifts from Jerusalem back to Galilee, the primary location of Jesus' earthly ministry. This is a deliberate return to the beginning, but now for the purpose of a new beginning. The number "eleven" is a poignant reminder of Judas's betrayal and the brokenness that sin brings. Yet, it is to this flawed and wounded group that the King entrusts His global mission. He meets them on "the mountain," a location that in Matthew's Gospel is consistently associated with divine revelation and authority (cf. Matt 5:1; 17:1). This is a summit meeting, a formal gathering for a royal pronouncement.

17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

The response of the disciples is a picture of the church in all ages. The proper response to the risen Christ is worship. They fall down before Him, acknowledging His deity and lordship. Yet, Matthew, with unflinching honesty, records that "some doubted." This should be a great encouragement to us. Their doubt did not disqualify them. Jesus does not rebuke them or send them away. He comes near to them (v. 18) and addresses their doubt not with a scolding, but with a declaration of His all-sufficient authority and a commission that will require them to live by faith, not by sight. The presence of doubt among the eleven shows that the foundation of the mission is not the strength of their faith, but the reality of Christ's power.

18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

This is the bedrock of everything that follows. Jesus does not say, "I am trying to get authority," or "I will have authority one day." He says it has been given. It is a settled, accomplished reality. This authority is comprehensive; it covers both the spiritual realm ("heaven") and the physical, political, and cultural realm ("on earth"). There are no autonomous zones, no spheres of life where Christ is not King. This is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Daniel 7, where the Son of Man is given everlasting dominion over all peoples, nations, and languages. Our mission does not establish Christ's authority; it operates on the basis of His already established authority.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

The "therefore" is crucial. Because all authority is His, we are to go. The central, imperative verb of the commission is "make disciples." The words "go," "baptizing," and "teaching" are participles that describe how we are to fulfill this central command. And who are we to disciple? "All the nations." The Greek is panta ta ethne, from which we get our word "ethnic." This is not merely a call to evangelize individuals from every country, but to bring entire people groups, cultures, and nations into a state of discipleship to Christ. It is a corporate, cultural mandate. This discipleship is formalized through baptism, the covenant sign of initiation. And the baptismal formula is explicitly Trinitarian. To be baptized is to be brought into a covenant relationship with the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are marked with His name, identified as His possession.

20 teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Discipleship is not just about a one-time decision; it is a lifelong process of learning and obedience. The curriculum for this global school is "all that I commanded you." This is a comprehensive education. We are not at liberty to pick and choose which of Christ's teachings are relevant. The goal is obedience, to "keep" or "observe" His commands. This includes His ethical teachings, His theological truths, everything recorded in the Gospels. And as this monumental task is undertaken, the King provides the ultimate promise: "I am with you always." This echoes the name Immanuel, "God with us" (Matt 1:23). His personal presence is the power and comfort for the mission. This presence is guaranteed until the project is complete, "to the end of the age." This phrase refers to the consummation of the current era, the age of the Messiah's reign, which will culminate in the full discipleship of the nations and the final judgment.

Application

The Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion. It is the defining mandate for the church, and for every Christian within it. Our lives are to be oriented around this task of making disciples of all the nations. This has immediate, practical implications for us.

First, it means we must be fundamentally optimistic about the future of the gospel in history. Christ has all authority, and He has promised success. Pessimism and a retreatist mentality are a denial of the foundational premise of the commission. We are on the winning side, and history is moving toward the global triumph of the gospel.

Second, our evangelism must be robust. We are not just trying to get people to "make a decision." We are calling them to become disciples, learners, and obedient followers of King Jesus. This means our goal is not just converts, but mature believers who are being taught the whole counsel of God. This has massive implications for our preaching, our Sunday schools, our Christian schools, and our family worship.

Third, we must see the scope of this mission as comprehensive. It is not just about saving souls for heaven; it is about teaching the nations to obey all of Christ's commands. This means we must apply the lordship of Christ to every area of life: to politics, to education, to art, to business, to science. The goal is to see every nation, as a nation, bow the knee to Christ. We begin this work in our own homes, our own churches, and our own communities, praying and working for the day when the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.