We usually sing two or three
hymns before I preach. If you will, let's open our Bibles
tonight to Matthew chapter 28. Beginning with verse 16. 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. And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go you, 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 always,
even unto the end of the world." Tonight, we are blessed to witness
several publicly profess or confess their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savior. And I thought it would be good
that we once again look at these verses which many times are referred
to as the Great Commission. The Great Commission in which
baptism is commanded. And I have just a few points
I'd like to bring out to us First, we see that this commission took
place in Galilee. Notice in verses 16 and 17, then
the 11 disciples went away into Galilee. On the third day after
the Lord was crucified, he rose from the dead. The apostle Paul
in Romans 4.25 says, who was delivered for our offenses. He was crucified and slain to
pay the sin debt of his people who was delivered for our offenses. We had offended God, we've sinned
against God. And he was raised again for our
justification. We read he was delivered, was
delivered for our offenses. Now think about that, delivered
for our offenses. It's true to say that the Jews
delivered him to Pilate. It's true to say that. The scriptures
reveal that. They had some kind of a mock
trial, the religious leaders did, and then the next day, early
the next day, they delivered him to Pilate. Because we know
they did not have the right at that time to put someone to death. The Jews didn't. So they delivered
him to Pilate. And then it's true also to say
that Pilate delivered him eventually to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. Even though he pronounced him
to be a just man, he said, take him and crucify him. But these are only what we call
second causes. The Jews delivering Christ to
Pilate, Pilate delivering Christ to the Roman soldiers, second
causes. The first cause of him being
delivered is, as the Apostle Peter said on the day of Pentecost,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God who delivered him to be crucified. God did. God's counsel. God predetermined his death when
he came into this world. How foolish sometimes people
are when they make some statement, oh, I wish I'd been there. I
would not have allowed Christ to be crucified. I would not
have allowed him to suffer like he did. How foolish is a statement
like that? God had determined from old eternity
to save his people through the death of his son. His justice
being satisfied by Christ suffering in the stead and in the place
of his people. He was delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. Well, are men responsible? Of course they are. Peter went
on to say, you have taken He was delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked
hands you have crucified and slain. But he was raised again,
Paul said, for our justification, just as he had foretold at the
very beginning of his public ministry. In John chapter two,
he told the Jews, he said, destroy this temple. Of course, they
understood him. to be speaking of that temple
in Jerusalem. And they said, well, it was years,
took years building this temple. He said, destroy this temple.
And in three days, I will raise it. He wasn't talking about that
temple in Jerusalem. We know that he was talking about
his body. And they knew that eventually,
because that's the reason they came to Pilate and said, Would
you give us some guards? Let's put some guards out there
around that tomb, because he said he's going to rise from
the dead in three days. I always like the way it's worded
in the Bible. Pilate told him, make it as secure
as you can. Make that tomb just as secure
as you can. That was an impossibility to
keep him in the tomb. He said, destroy this temple
and in three days I will raise it up. On that third day after his crucifixion,
which was the first day of the week, and this is the reason
I'm pointing this out, on that first day he appeared to two
disciples on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to Mary Magdalene
early He appeared to those two disciples, and then he appeared
to these 11 disciples in Jerusalem. Remember, the doors were closed
and he just appeared in their midst. But now you see in our
text, then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee. He appeared, the apostle Paul
tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, to 500 brethren at once. And I believe that probably was
in Galilee as well. Here we have the apostles and
some of them had doubted. You notice it says, and when
they saw him, they worshiped him. But some doubted. They didn't doubt now. He's not
saying that when they saw him and worshiped him, they doubted.
No, on the day that he came out of that tomb. They doubted. They doubted the words of Mary
Magdalene, first of all. They doubted her words. And then
Thomas, he's referred to as doubting Thomas. He doubted. And he said,
unless I see, because he wasn't with them on that first day,
he said, unless I see the wounds in his hands and the mark in
his side, I'm not going to believe. Eight days later, he appeared
again to the disciples, and Thomas was with him. Did Thomas put
his finger in those nail holes? I don't think so. I don't think
he put his hand in his side. That's what he'd said. But no,
when he saw the Lord, what did he do? He said, my Lord and my
God, my God. Some doubted. At first, they
did. but not after he had appeared
to them several times. No, they could not doubt what
John said we handled him. Couldn't doubt his resurrection,
that he came out of that grave bodily. Glorified body, yes,
but the same body that was laid in the tomb came out of the tomb
glorified. He still had the marks in his
hands, Yes. So we see the commission took
place in Galilee. Second, we say that this commission
was given by the all powerful. You can't doubt this. This commission,
the great commission was given by the all ALL powerful Lord
Jesus. All power. is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Does all mean all? It does here. All power. Now as the eternal
son of God, he's always had all power. He created the worlds. He spoke the worlds into existence. But when he speaks here of being
given all power, he's talking, he's speaking as the God-man,
as the mediator. That's the same when he said,
my father is greater than I. When he said that, he's speaking
as a God man, as a servant of Jehovah that he came into this
world to be. And now he says, all power is
given unto me, both in heaven and in earth. There's no time
and there's no place where he does not exercise all power. He's not that poor little Jesus
that some people talk about who wants to do something if man
will just let him. No, no. He is the Lord Jesus Christ who,
according to the letter of Hebrews, who has the scepter in his hand. The rulership is in his hands. There's nothing that moves. There's
nothing that breathes. There's nothing that speaks apart
from His power, His permission. All power is given unto me, both
in heaven and in earth. In Hebrews 1, we read, who being
the brightness of His glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, God hath
in these last days spoken unto us in His Son, who being the
brightness of His glory, The express image of his person. He said, you, he that has seen
me has seen the father. Express image, even in heaven. God is a spirit. We'll see God
in Christ. We'll see God in Christ. God
is a eternal spirit. You cannot see a spirit, but
he took. a body into union with his person
that you could handle and see and he could be crucified and
shed his blood. Who being the brightness of his
glory and the express image of his person and upholding all
things, all things. Who upholds all things? Who's
upholding this universe? Who's upholding the earth? Why
doesn't it just disintegrate? Why does it move out of its orbit
and get too close to the sun or too far from the sun and everyone
here perish? Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
has all power both in heaven and in earth and he upholds all
things by the word of his power. He upholds your life, my life,
We couldn't move out of this building without his power. When he had by himself, don't you love that? When he
had by himself, nobody helped him. Purged, washed our sins. You know, I don't know if I,
love Christ more because of his power to save or his willingness
to save. Both are wonderful, aren't they?
Aren't they? He has the power to save. That's
wonderful. Where would we be if there were
no Savior? If no one had the power to save?
But he does have that power, but he is also willing to save. willing to save all that come
unto him, all that call upon him. When he had by himself purged
our sins and sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high, and it was to that person, we read on there in Hebrews 1,
it's to that one, the Lord Jesus Christ, that God said, thy throne,
O God. And the writer is emphasizing
he never said this. God never said this to an angel.
God never said this to anyone else other than the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thy throne, O God. He is God. Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. He loves righteousness and he
hates iniquity. The third point I want to make,
we see that this commission was to go and teach, that is, disciple
all nations. What is a disciple? Well, a disciple
is one who accepts the teachings of another. And in this case,
a disciple is one who accepts and believes the teachings, becomes
a learner, a follower, of Jesus Christ. In baptism, a person
confesses to be a disciple, a learner, a follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I know I may be taking a little
too long, but let me just mention hurriedly four things that everyone
who is baptized has learned or should have learned. Four things. Number one, Those who confess
Christ in baptism should be able to say, to confess, I am a sinner. I've learned that. I don't sin to become a sinner.
I sin because I was born a sinner. I am a sinner. Sin is what I am. as well as
what I do, every one who confesses Christ in baptism. It's more
than just making an acknowledgement, oh yeah, I know, we've all made
some mistakes. I know, the scripture says, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I know that,
I've learned that this is true of me, but more than that, God
the Holy Spirit has convinced me that because of my sin, I'm
separated. I've been separated from God.
It's my sin, like a big barrier, and I could not come to God.
And God had to come to me because of my sin, because of who I am
and what I've done. A man doesn't know he's a sinner.
He's not convinced by God, the Holy Spirit, that he's a sinner.
And he shouldn't be confessing Christ in baptism because Christ
is a savior of sinners. He came into this world to save
sinners. And God has given me repentance,
which means I've changed my mind about sin. He's given me a change of mind.
That's what repentance is. I've changed my mind about God.
I used to think of him as some grandfather figure up there in
the heavens, you know, kind of wringing his hands and just hoping
everything's going to turn out all right. But now, he's changed
my mind. I know that he's a holy God. He's a just God. He's a righteous
God. I've changed my mind about God.
I've changed my mind about sin. I've changed my mind about myself.
That's what repentance is, and it's not a one-time act. Someone
said, oh yeah, I repented when I was 12 years old, or I repented
when I was 21, or I repented, no. When God gives you repentance,
it's a lifelong experience. It's a lifelong experience. Number two, I confess that there's
one God. Everyone who's been baptized
should be able to say, I know, I confess, there's only one true
and living God, and he exists in a trinity of persons. And
you see that here in the formula. Baptizing them in the name of
the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. Not in the
names, but in the name. And yet there's a definite article
before each one of the persons. Yes, there's only one God, but
he exists in a trinity of persons. You say, could you explain that
to me? No, no, but I believe it. He said, why do you believe it?
Because that's what the Bible says. That's why I believe it. I know it's so. And I know that
to save a sinner, God has to do that. My Redeemer had to be
God. And your Redeemer has to be God
or he could not save you. God can only satisfy God. And a third thing, I confess
there is one savior, one mediator between God and man, the man
Christ Jesus. And I confess that salvation
is of the Lord. And I look to Christ and Christ
alone for my salvation. I'm not trusting in Christ plus
anything. It's Christ and Christ alone.
I am accepted in the beloved. And that's the only place and
the only way anyone will ever be accepted by God, is to be
found in Christ. In Him by faith, yes. And number
four, I confess that I want to follow Christ. I want to follow
Christ as my Lord and as my Savior. I want to glorify Him. I want
Him to be my guide through life. I want to live for His glory.
I want him to be the king of my life. And I'll close with
this. Look at those last words. And
I know he spoke these words to the disciples, but what a blessing
to every child of God here this evening. Lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the ages. I am with you. When he takes
up residence in the heart of his people, it's not for a few
days or a few months or a few years. He is with his people
forever. And one day we'll be with him
in that mansion that he's prepared for all those who love him. We'll
be with him forever. David's going to come.