You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching we may present everyone mature in Christ. Oh Lord, we come to you this evening as the only fountain of truth. Lord, that you would enlighten us, that you would help us to understand your word this evening. Lord, that we would walk in this truth. Lord, as we see this great commission tonight, that we would take this to heart and that we would be a people of action. So Lord, help us. Help us to be focused and help us to grow as a result, we pray in your name, amen. All right. So for the last few weeks, we've been studying Jesus's resurrection. the actual resurrection, and then all of the implications of the resurrection. So as a tiny, tiny recap, because I can't really recap all that was gone over, we saw that the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the chief doctrine, because salvation hinges upon faith and confession of this truth, of the resurrection. If Jesus had stayed dead, we would be lost in our sins. We saw in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, in verse 14 it explains that our preaching and faith is in vain without the resurrection. And then in verse 17 of that same chapter, it says if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins. So we looked at the attestation of the resurrection, meaning that we saw all the many visible, physical interactions people had with Christ after he had risen. So that was the attestation of the resurrection. We looked at the theological implications of the resurrection, which were, I won't quiz you, the fulfillment of prophecy, the fulfillment of Old Testament types, and Jesus completely executing the office of mediator. After that, we saw also the benefits of the resurrection. Those benefits that we got into last week were justification, definitive sanctification, and the assurance of the believer's future resurrection. So with all of that covered, And if you want to know more about each of those things then you have to go back and you have to listen to it because I can't I can't properly summarize that tonight, so But I'm looking forward to a summary of the whole book next week as I said on Sunday, so with all of that Sort of resurrection stuff covered Let's let us read the final two paragraphs of this book of Matthew and We'll begin in 28 verse 11 with the report of the guard. While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers. and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him. But some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age." May the Lord richly bless the reading of his word this evening. So as we start here in verse 11, I'll just say that the one fun little thing that one of the commentators said in these two sections is that they're essentially juxtaposed to one another. So it should have been called, they say, the Great Deception and the Great Commission. because we see two different things here that are opposed to one another in how they play out. But the first thing that we see right away in verse 11 is, while they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. So the first question that we come to is, while who was going? So we have to go back to the previous section to figure out who was going. And if we go to 28 verse five, we see the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you." And then verse eight, so they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. So we see then that verse 11 is making reference to the women. While the women were going, it's essentially a segue. It's a segue to get to what's gonna go on with these guards. So we're gonna jump to the guards then while these women were leaving. And from what we read, the women left, but then they ran into who along the way? Anybody remember? Jesus, so, right, so there are a whole bunch of puzzle pieces, and you'd have to read all of those accounts from all the gospels to see all of those things. But this segue brings us to the guards, and it says, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. The one thing that I thought was super interesting here is that it says some of the guard, So I'm assuming then that not all the guards went to go tell those chief priests. But whether this means that some of the guards could perhaps have still been unconscious, or some of the guards stayed behind to keep watch over whatever else could happen after these ones are leaving, only some of them go. And they don't go to Pilate, they go to who? Yeah, they're going to the Jewish leaders. They're going to the chief priests. Because they were commissioned by those Jewish leaders, so they run to them to give their report. And what does it say that they're gonna report on? All that had taken place But we see though, back when the guard were brought in and commissioned by those Jewish leaders, we see in chapter 27, if you go to verse 62, it says, the next day, that is, after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, this is when they make their appeal to Pilate, sir, We remember how that imposter said while he was still alive, after three days I will rise. Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people that he has risen from the dead. And the last fraud will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, you have a guard of soldiers. Go make it as secure as you can. So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. This was when the guards get commissioned to go there. But take note in what we read in chapter 27, just there, that the Pharisees were well aware of Jesus's prophecy. They were well aware that he said, I will rise in three days. That was basically the only reason that they give for wanting to send guards to that place, because they were afraid. He said that he was gonna do this, but they weren't afraid that he was gonna actually do it, were they? At least from what they say, they're afraid that somebody's gonna snatch away the body, right? And then that's the reason why they seal the stone. They're going to great efforts to make sure that he cannot be stolen. So if we go back to our section in verse 11, we see that the guards are going to make a report and they're gonna report all that had taken place So the next question is, what all had taken place? What are they gonna report to the chief priests? Well, certainly, if we go back, we read that around dawn on Sunday morning, there was a great earthquake. I would hope they would remember that. And then an angel descends from heaven. I would hope they would remember that. and that angel rolls the huge stone away from the mouth of the tomb and sits on top of it. This angel, it says, was bright white in his appearance and in his clothing, and the guards were afraid, and it says, quote, they fell like dead men. Whether or not that means that they were unconscious, conscious, what happened to them? They fell like dead men. Whether they knew what was going on while they lay there, who knows? Whether they didn't know and they just woke up then and saw the tomb is empty and the women are now running to go somewhere, this is the extent of what they potentially know. Whether or not they heard what the angel had said, they can come to their own conclusions. I think anybody could come to a conclusion when an earthquake and an angel and the rolling of a huge stone by said angel and then sitting on top of it, the seal is broken, all these precautions that they had taken are all null and void. So what they go to tell these chief priests is all of that stuff that had happened. Everything that they knew, everything that they had seen, And who knows, maybe some things that they hadn't seen. And who knows if they came to the conclusion that he was raised from the dead, given that in 27, that's what these Jewish leaders were afraid of anyway. So they essentially spill all the beans to the Jewish leaders about everything that they see, and then take counsel. So whether the leaders are taking counsel or they're taking counsel together with the guards, it says that when they assembled, so all the elders, all the leaders had assembled, and those elders and leaders had taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers. Now, if you remember back to somebody named Judas, how much money did they bribe Judas with? Anybody remember? Right, 30 pieces of silver. Was that a lot of money? Was he rolling in riches to sell out his master? It was a paltry sum. The indication here saying that it was a sufficient sum of money for these guards indicates that it was a large sum to get them to spread this lie being sufficient. And the reason why it would have to be large and sufficient is because they had to be willing to go along with the lie, and that lie included an enormous dereliction of duty. They were asleep doing the job they were commissioned to do. So you'd have to pay me a lot of money I think you'd have to pay anybody a lot of money to go and lie like that, first, and second, to admit that they weren't doing their job. I was asleep, and they came and they snatched this away. So they had to pay up a significant amount of money. We don't know what it is, but it was sufficient to cause them to agree. So they bribed the guards to spread this lie, the lie that we just saw in chapter 27, The same exact lie. It says in verse 13, "...tell the people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep." That would be their dereliction of duty. And knowing that, they even say to the guards, and if this comes to the governor's ears, because he wouldn't be happy about that, not in the least, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. Maybe they'll pay him. Regardless, they're gonna cover up this whole entire lie. And this lie, by the way, have you ever heard somebody in this day and age spread this lie? Say that this is what happened. They stole his body away. There's all kinds of things that people make up just so that they can avoid saying that he actually rose, but this is the root of this lie. This is the beginning of this lie. The thing though that we can't do, we can't let this sort of evil and nefarious nature of these Jewish leaders, we can't let it off the hook, we can't let it pass us by. Because not only were they out to get Jesus while he lived, and we saw that throughout the whole book, they really wanted him badly to stop, to stop his ministry, to stop all of the teaching, to stop the blaspheming, what they had determined was blaspheming. They wanted to even ensure that he be put to death, and they did, for asserting that he was God. But now they're even continuing in this same evil scheming, even after Jesus died. They achieved their goal. And now, after his resurrection, they're still scheming and plotting and planning. They're essentially desperate to continue in their unbelief. J.C. Ryle puts it this way at this section of these verses. He said, what absurdities blind prejudice will believe rather than believe the truth. So this whole story they concoct is absurd. And you have to believe that they know that it's absurd because they're making it up and telling them, spread this to the people. It's not believable. But the question, though, for all of us is, can you identify why this is an illogical and a blatant lie, just based in the text? Why is this a lie? When these soldiers go and they start running around and spreading it, and people say, what happened at the tomb? You guys were there. You had a guard posted there, didn't you? What are they going to start saying? Oh, well, we were asleep. It's illogical because they're saying that they're asleep. They were asleep. And in saying they're asleep, they're saying, but even though we're asleep, we know what happened. So all of the proof is against this lie, right? The lie is blatantly an illogical lie because the first person that they come across who says, well, how do you know that the disciples stole the body of Jesus? You were asleep. Well, and they can keep on digging and digging while their large sum of money is rattling around in their tunic or something. But all of it is just leading down this illogical path. How would the guards have even stayed asleep while this rolling huge stone is being moved? Now they knew very well that the angel moved it because they didn't fall as though dead until after that. So they clearly would have woken up at such a disturbance and wouldn't have been able to identify some perpetrators if they were sleeping. So I thought to myself, I think often about people who have children. And so imagine that your child in the morning comes to you after everybody wakes up and they say, while we were all sleeping, the neighbor stole all the doors from our bedrooms. And you say, well, how do you know it was the neighbor? You were sleeping, right? Or how did we not all wake up from the noise of someone uninstalling every single door and stealing them? All of it makes no sense, just as much as this lie doesn't make sense that these Jewish leaders are telling the guards to perpetuate. But given their persistence, These Jewish leaders are so persistent and they are willing to part with substantial money. It says then, according to verse 15, that they took the money and they did as they were directed. They went and they perpetuated this lie. And Matthew adds this here. So at the time during which Matthew's writing this gospel, This story has been spread among the Jews even to this day. However long that was, it's still spreading. This deal was sealed with this exchange of money, regardless of what the truth and the proof actually was in their story that they had even told to these Jewish leaders. So at the end of verse 15, Matthew tells us that this is still spreading, and even now, technically, things like this are still spreading. The trouble with so-called solutions to the problem of an empty tomb, they have never been reasonable. The stolen body, which is this one, the swoon theory that Jesus didn't really die, and mass hallucination that all the people were just hallucinating and that they were fooled. All of this stuff is absurd and doesn't solve what people say is the problem of the empty tomb. The tomb was empty and the easiest way to explain that is that he's not in it. And he's not in it because he rose again from the dead. And we even saw at the resurrection all of the people that saw him, interacted with him, that attestation of him being alive. That was so much more solid proof, having interacted with people, than this lie that continues to be perpetuated. This is the end of that section, and we will work our way through the Great Commission now. In verse 16, it says that these 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. So we see these disciples obeying the instructions given to them. They went to Galilee to where Jesus had directed them to go. And this caused me to think about so many situations and characters in the Bible where someone immediately without question obeys. Can you think of somebody? There's one really good example in the Old Testament. Thanks, Bob. Even just in God? Oh, thanks, Andrew. That's a good job. Well, think back further than the Isaac situation. Abram was called from his homeland. Leave and go to this foreign land. And he goes. Pick up your stuff and go, and he goes. There's so many more examples. As you read through the Old Testament, take note of that, of how many people just quickly obey without question. But even in the book of Matthew, we see Joseph and Mary quickly obeying, quickly understanding and agreeing and doing what they were told. A willing submission to obey the will of the Lord in all of these circumstances. Just as a side note, as you read, take note of that. When obedience happens, just like we want immediate obedience from children, these people immediately obeyed the supreme authority in God. So we saw in the beginning of chapter 28, that the angel and Jesus told the women to pass this message on to the disciples, go to Galilee. The angel tells the women, then they run into Jesus on the road, and Jesus tells the women, tell the disciples, go to Galilee. But had Jesus mentioned this before to the disciples? If you flip back to Matthew 26, it really wasn't all that long ago, 26 verse 30. This is right after the Lord's Supper when Jesus is foretelling Peter's denial. It says, and when they sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. So he had already told them that he was going to be raised up. He already told them he was gonna go before them to Galilee. Now, after his resurrection, this message is even more clear. Go to Galilee. There you will see him. So they obey and they go to Galilee. Verse 17 in chapter 28. So they went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And in 17, and when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. This is the same exact reaction the women had when they saw Jesus risen on the road. They worshiped. They worshiped Jesus the moment that they see him alive again from the dead. So think about this. Jesus' resurrection is just further cementing his lordship in his disciples and in his followers, that they see him. This is further cementing that. He is our Lord. He is the Lord of all creation. This resurrection and these visible these visible interactions that they have with Jesus. But you have to remember also that they had been following Jesus for how many years? For three whole years they were with Jesus. They heard all of his teaching. They had seen his miracles. He had control of the spiritual realm and demons. He had control of the physical realm with weather and food, with water and sickness, and he had control over even death itself in the widow's son and in Lazarus. So they had seen many great things in these three years as they had followed Jesus. Now they're seeing Jesus alive again. After he had told them, Whether they remembered that he had told them, it seems as though during a lot of these narratives, they seem a little bit dense about stuff. They didn't fully understand. The light bulbs really start going on after the resurrection. And then as we get into the book of Acts, you can really see that happening. But in this case, where they see him and they worship, worship is the only proper reaction to God. In fact, we're commanded not to worship anything but God. So the proper reaction to God is to worship Him, and we're commanded not to worship anything but Him. In Exodus chapter 20, beginning at verse one in Exodus 20, it says, God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. you shall have no other gods before me. And then you shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. In verse five, you shall not bow down to them or serve them. You shall not worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. That was Exodus 20, verse one to six. The Bible is perfectly clear that we're not supposed to worship anything but God, and that we are supposed to worship God. So it's only natural, and it's only the right thing for them to do when they see him, to worship him. Not only because now he's raised again from the dead, light bulbs are coming on about all these things that he had previously said, but if he is the God of this universe, and he is, He is to be worshiped. In Revelation, do you remember Revelation 22, verse eight and nine, it says, I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things in the book of Revelation. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. And what happens? The angel says, you must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. What should John do? The angel says, worship God. As is most appropriate, these disciples worshiped Jesus as God here when they see him. Now although it adds in verse 17, it says at the end, but some doubted, Matthew doesn't give any specifics about that at all. So if you want specifics about doubting, you have to go to Luke, or you have to go to John, and you'll see the story of Thomas and his doubting. You'll see potential unnamed others who doubt, who aren't sure. But Matthew doesn't give us that. He just puts it here as a footnote. Some of them doubted, but the major thing is that they worshiped him when they saw him, and that that was the right thing for them to do. So when they saw him then, in verse 18, then it says, and Jesus came. Most people said he came closer to them. He was approaching them. So Jesus came to them and said to them, And now we get to the Great Commission. He came to them and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. I wanna start, maybe it's in a strange place, perhaps. I wanna start with verse 18 and verse 20, the end of verse 20. Because I think these are the two reasons or the two comforts that are given by Jesus. And these two reasons or comforts indicate why and how believers will be successful in this work that they're being commissioned to. So we see in verse 18, all authority given to Christ. And then we see at the end of verse 20, that I, Jesus, am with you always. So if you reverse this order and you put it this way, it's essentially saying I am always with you and I have all authority over all things. So if you keep the commission in mind, what they're being commissioned to do, this should bring such comfort to them, such comfort to us, that all of the efforts to perform His work will definitively accomplish what he desires to accomplish. There can be no other outcome besides what he has decreed, and that's because he is with us always, and he has all authority. So these things will succeed. The things that he desires to come to pass through this great commission, through what he commissions them to do, these things will come to pass. This gives a little bit of a glimpse into God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, right? Because if he has all authority, and he is with them always, so he has, you could say this shows his omnipotence, and it shows his omnipresence in these two phrases. He's going to accomplish this work, but who does he tell to go and accomplish the work? the disciples, his disciples. This command is for them to do something. So even though God's work will be accomplished, these people, and by import of us in this day and age, us as well, are to go and accomplish this work on his behalf. And because he's with us, it'll succeed. And because he has all authority, it will succeed. Will it succeed the same way that we think that it should succeed in our human finite minds? But will what he desires to come to pass succeed in this great commission? It will, every single time. So in these few sentences, in 18 and in 20, and then in the meat of the middle, We see that Jesus has ultimate authority, and at the same time, he's commanding us to do work, and to be responsible for the spread of his kingdom and the truth of his gospel. It's interesting that this, in verse 18, when it says, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, is a pretty clear allusion to Daniel 7, 14. Where in Daniel 7 14 it says, and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. This is all alluded to in this statement that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Who gave him that authority? Yeah. But didn't Jesus always have all authority? Yeah, the interesting thing is that a lot of the commentators talked about this idea. in some way that his authority grew through his earthly ministry, through these things that he accomplished on earth, in his life, in time and space, as the God-man, that his authority grew. And in the resurrection, now he can say, all authority has been given to me. Some of them said, and actually, I don't know who said it, but I wrote it down here, To get a little bit technical, yes, he always had all authority. He's the second person of the Godhead. So throughout all eternity, he has had all authority. That is omnipotence. And then omnipresence, all of these things that are implied in this. But one of the things that I read said, Jesus begins to rule over heaven and earth at the wilderness temptation. So as we go through Matthew in some ways, that he begins to rule over heaven and earth at the wilderness temptation. His faithful life, death, and resurrection earn him the right to rule to an even greater degree at the right hand of his father. And finally, when Jesus returns at the end of the age, his rule as the son of man will be consummated. So there's this progression that people are seeing, that this authority has progressed. As the God-man, as he actively obeyed the will of the Father, that authority was given. You have done this. You have obeyed and you have accomplished this. Now at the resurrection, he has truly accomplished. That is the proof that this sacrifice was once and for all time done. He raised him back to life. You can see as well that this isn't dissimilar from the depiction in Revelation of the lamb who is found to be worthy to open the seals of judgment. And it says in Revelation 5, 9 and even in 12 that His worthiness was because of His death and resurrection. That that is why He was worthy to open those seals. But as we head into this Great Commission, into these verses, essentially just 19 and a little bit of 20, kind of, in what is supposed to take place, what are they being commissioned to do, there are four imperatives. So these four imperatives start with the first one, which says, go therefore. That's the first one. You could even just say go. And then the second one, make disciples. And you can guess how they go after that. Then baptizing them is the third one, the third imperative. And then teaching them is the fourth imperative in this Great Commission. But let's start with go therefore. So it says in verse 19, go therefore. What we can get from that is that we can't do nothing. So you can't just sit back and relax and let everything play out. You can't just say, well, God's sovereign over everything. I'm not responsible to do anything. You have to be a doer. You must go forth. So it starts with go, go therefore. But if you can't do nothing, if you can't just sit around and do nothing, what are you supposed to go and do? That's what it gets to next in the second one. So you're supposed to go, what am I supposed to go and do? You're supposed to go and make disciples of all nations. Making disciples is the main verb here. Baptizing and teaching are subordinate to this main verb. The main verb is make disciples. But baptizing and teaching is what makes disciples, if you can catch that. But this main verb is that you are to make disciples. It's a natural thing, though, that baptism is mentioned as the first thing, right? You're supposed to make disciples baptizing them. It's mentioned as the first thing because how many times are you to be baptized? One time, it's a one-time occurrence. So it's mentioned first due to the fact that this is a one-time occurrence, but teaching is an ongoing, regular occurrence that happens for the rest of a disciple's life. Baptizing is an imperative, for sure, but it is a one-time thing. What's interesting is that the disciples were commissioned before, not this great commission. It was a different commission. Earlier in the book of Matthew, in chapter 10, Jesus commissioned them, and he commissioned them in 10, verse 1, He gives them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness, but only within Israel. He specifically forbids them, do not go among the Gentiles or enter the town of the Samaritans. It's a limited commission that they received back in chapter 10 of Matthew. The disciples are to proclaim to the Israelites that the kingdom of heaven has come near. This is what they were commissioned to do at that point in time. Now we get to this Great Commission, which, by the way, is a perfect segue to the book of Acts. It really just leads right into it. How does this Great Commission work itself out? Well, we'll see that. But in this Great Commission, it says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. It's not limited anymore. This work is not just for Israel. It's for every tribe, nation, tongue of the entire earth. They are to make disciples of all the nations. And even, not that this is a parallel passage per se, but when Jesus' ascension occurs, he tells them in Acts 1-8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, where they weren't supposed to go in that first commission, and to the end of the earth. This is a broad and sweeping commission. regardless of who the people are, regardless of their location, that doesn't matter. You're to make disciples of them. Now there's an interesting comment that R.C. Sproul made. So I'm just gonna read it verbatim. He said, but not only are we to go, we are to make disciples. I have found that it is relatively easy to raise funds to support missions work that is focused on evangelism. People see the importance of converting people to Christ. Likewise, it's easy to raise money to help starving children or for other kinds of mercy ministries because those needs are so glaring. It is never easy to raise money for missions involving Christian education. People do not really think Christian education is all that important. However, when a person is converted, he may be 10 years old, he may be 50 years old, or he may be 90 years old, but spiritually he is only a newborn. He needs to be nurtured spiritually and brought up to maturity in the faith. The Great Commission calls us to do more than work to convert people. It calls us to teach them, to ground them, to help them grow in conformity to Christ. That is our actual mission. Which is really humbling. When I read that, I thought, he's totally right. It's super easy to just say like, You know, children in this country have no home or no food. They need food. Here's some money, go get food. People need the gospel told to them in evangelism. Yeah, sure, go, go, go. People need to be discipled and grow and be taught crickets. Crickets. But how will they know who this Jesus is? How will they know all that he has done if they're not taught? But we'll get to teach them. Right now, we're at baptizing them. So they're to go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. So by means of baptizing and being taught, that's how a person becomes a disciple. These two things are how you make disciples. So with the understanding that this individual is ready for baptism and is willing to be taught, that's a disciple. The context here in the Great Commission makes very clear that Jesus is speaking about those who are old enough to be considered the objects of preaching and teaching. He's not speaking about infants. These people are to be ready for baptism, and to be ready for baptism it requires repentance, which we see all throughout the book of Acts, and it even requires the receiving of the word, so the teaching that it's talking about. Baptizing them and then teaching them, all of these things are indicative of a people who are old enough, who are ready to receive that. All of that is implied in here. And we've seen this with our recent baptisms that we've held here. We've seen that baptism communicates we've been united to Jesus Christ. We've seen that it shows we've been cleansed from sin, that we've been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and buried and raised again with Jesus Christ. All of these things take place in baptism. This is why we are unabashedly, unapologetically baptistic here, because you must be able to profess your faith in Christ, to be baptized. And what happens with the Ethiopian eunuch in the book of Acts? He's baptized. What keeps me from being baptized right now? I believe. He was reading Isaiah. I believe, baptize me. And that's what happened. And we'll see that. I don't want to spoil Acts, but we're going to see it all throughout Acts that there is a pattern. And the pattern is super, super clear. So baptizing people, these disciples, you're gonna make them a disciple. They've heard the word, they've heard preaching, they've heard the gospel from people going forth. They're to be baptized. One interesting nitpicky thing that came up had to do with this word where it says baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A lot of people, and even in the notes in your Bible, it may say into the name. And there's a different way to interpret what this means. Those who hold to it saying, in the name of the Father, hold to that being like, in the authority of them is how I baptize you. Those who say, into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are saying that you're being baptized into them. You are being, you're in union with them by means of this baptism. But that's why you'll see that as a note potentially in your Bibles. But the last thing is teaching them. And what in the world are we supposed to teach them, these people that we're trying to make disciples of? Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. Another way to state it is to teach them to obey all that I've commanded you. It's kind of like you are observing a stop sign. It doesn't mean you're just looking at it, you're actually obeying it. You made an observance of that stop sign. But what is entailed, so it says teach them, teach them to obey or observe all I've commanded. What's entailed in all that I have commanded? That sounds like a lot. It is a lot. Teach them everything, everything that I have been here doing these last three years that he was with them. Teach them all of it. So one list that I read said, all of Christ's discourses, all of his parables, all of his sayings, abide in me and all of the I am sayings. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. All of these things. Teach them specific predictions, promises, and assurances. Says, he who comes to me will in no way get hungry, and he who believes in me will in no way get thirsty, in John. Teach them that. It says, in the world you'll have tribulation, but be of good courage, I've conquered the world. All of these have implied directives. Teach them all of these things. And you can add to all of that the lessons on the cross, hypocrisy, proclaiming the gospel, lessons on prayer, humility, trust, and even the law. Teach them all of those things. Teach them the full counsel of God. Ultimately, teach them the truth of the gospel. Teach them that men and women are sinners, teach them that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one can come except through that gospel. But this teaching is a teaching that is to make disciples And it's not merely a teaching that is for knowledge, knowledge's sake, right? The point isn't just cram a whole bunch of information into the brains of believers. That's not what this is saying. Just make a whole bunch of really smart people. That's how you got disciples. The goal through this teaching, the goal is that it would lead to changed lives. changed attitudes, changed actions and behaviors, it would lead to praise of our glorious Savior. All of this teaching that he says to teach them, and specifically teach them to observe or to obey. Just like I said, observing the stop sign. Teach them that when you see a stop sign, you stop at the stop sign. In this same way, teach them everything that he had taught. And teach them to observe and to obey everything that is contained in here. So if we think back even just through the book of Matthew, J.C. Ryle says, is the Sermon on the Mount our rule and standard? Do we strive to copy Christ's example? Do we seek to do the things that He commanded? These are questions that must be answered in the affirmative if we would prove ourselves born again children of God. Obedience is the only proof of reality. Faith without works is dead. You are my friends, Jesus says in John 15, 14, if you do what I command you. So teach them to observe all that he commanded. We kind of already covered this a little bit, but this Great Commission is not strictly talking about what we perceive to be evangelism or missions, right? It's not just about converting people. It's not about doing good things for people. It's not about those short-term things. This Great Commission isn't short-term in the least. Because the main goal of evangelism and missions is making disciples, which is clear here that we're to make disciples. Can you truly make a disciple if you interact with someone one time? Can you truly make a disciple if people are never taught anything? Now a more difficult one, can someone be a true disciple if they haven't been baptized? teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded them. It all, correct, it all comes back to making the disciple is an active and constant occurrence. It's not some one-time thing. That's the whole point of this. They are to go and not just go and then say, okay, we went and now we're done. We made some disciples. You can see super clearly Paul's life as an example of this. He never stopped. He went and went and went. He went, he made disciples, he set up churches. He went, he made more disciples, he set up churches. He put elders in those churches. He taught the elders of the church. That is this Great Commission playing out, the making of disciples. It's not a short-term thing, it's a long-term thing. And the whole idea is that it sees the subjects of this activity placed into good quality gospel-believing local churches where they can continue to be discipled. It's a never-ending thing. And like Dr. Sproul said, it doesn't matter how old you are when this conversion happens, when you first hear this good news. You're now a disciple, and you need to grow, and you need to learn, and you need to be taught to observe and to obey all the things that Jesus had commanded. And then this ending, which we hinted at a little bit before, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. This should be of great comfort, that he is with us. And he's with us always. Some translations say, I am with you day after day or day by day. Every single day, I am with you all the way to the end of the age. So I wanna close with this because it's a fun pattern that at times we have going. I wanna read a pretty long quote from J.C. Ryle. But if you go and study any book, it's free. J.C. Ryle's expository thoughts on whatever the book is, Mark, Matthew. J.C. Ryle's expository thoughts on Matthew. And he had this to say just about this idea. I am with you always to the end of the age. And let this resonate with us tonight. He says, No words could be imagined more comforting to believers in every age of the world. Let all true Christians lay hold on these words and keep them in mind. Christ is with us always. Christ is with us wherever we go. He came to be Emmanuel, God with us, when He first came into the world. And he declares that he is ever Emmanuel with us when he comes to the end of his earthly ministry and is about to leave the world. He is with us daily to pardon and forgive, with us daily to sanctify and strengthen. He's with us daily to defend and to keep us. He's with us daily to lead and to guide us. He's with us in sorrow. He's with us in joy. He's with us in sickness and He's with us in health. He's with us in life and He's with us in death. He is with us in time and with us in eternity. What stronger consolation could believers desire than this? Whatever happens, they at least are never completely friendless and alone. Christ is ever with them. They may look into the grave and say with David, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. They may look forward beyond the grave and say with Paul, we shall ever be with the Lord. He has said it and he will stand to it. I am with you always, even to the end of the world. I will never leave you and never forsake you. We could ask nothing more. Let us go on believing and not be afraid. It is everything to be a real Christian. None have such a king, such a priest, such a constant companion, and such an unfailing friend as the true servants of Christ. So let us go from here tonight and be encouraged and empowered to fulfill the Great Commission in making disciples because He is with us and has all authority in heaven and earth. Let's pray. Oh Father, we are so, so grateful at the sending of your Son We're so grateful for his life and for his death and for his resurrection. Lord, we're thankful for these words that he commanded for all of us to go and to make disciples. And Lord, we're thankful that you will be with us always in this endeavor and that you have all authority over this endeavor. Lord, help us not just to seek out converts, not just to seek out merciful applications of your truth, but Lord, let us seek to make disciples. Let us seek to teach your word and the truth of your gospel to all who would hear. Lord, that we would be identified with that, that we are people who make disciples. and who faithfully teach others your word. Lord, help us not to falter in that. Help us not to be anxious or afraid to do that. Lord, you will build your church and you will do it through this command for us to go and to make disciples. So, Lord, we pray that you would help us in that and that you would be with us this evening as we return home. May our words and our actions all align with your word and may we obey it to the best of the ability that you have given us by your Holy Spirit, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.