Rev. Rob Jones
May 26, 2026

Matthew 28:16–20	
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Church, there are moments in Scripture that feel less like a doorway and more like a mountain. You do not stroll into them casually. You climb into them. Matthew 28 is one of those places. The risen Christ gathers his disciples on a mountain in Galilee, and on that mountain, he gives them words that still shake the earth: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me… Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age”.

And Matthew tells us something wonderfully honest before Jesus ever gives the commission: “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted” (v.17).  That means the first audience for the Great Commission was not a room full of polished, fearless, untroubled saints. It was a worshiping and wavering people. A kneeling and trembling people. A people with faith enough to bow, and weakness enough to hesitate. Wise interpreters have noted that the word translated “doubted” here can also carry the sense of wavering or hesitating rather than outright unbelief, as if the glory of the moment overwhelmed them. (Mounce & Bennett, Jr., 2011)

It reminds me of a child standing on the edge of a swimming pool on the first day he is meant to jump into his father’s arms. He wants to jump. He trusts his father. But he is still staring at the water. His little feet curl over the edge. His heart says yes, but his body freezes. And the father does not walk away offended. He steps closer. He opens his arms wider. He says, “Jump. I’ve got you.” That is this text. The disciples are on the edge, and Jesus does not cancel their calling because of their trembling. He comes near and speaks.

First, Jesus declares his absolute authority: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v.18).  He does not say some authority. He does not say religious authority only. He does not say authority over private spirituality but not over history, nations, rulers, suffering, demons, death, or the future. He says, "All authority in heaven and on earth.” The crucified one is now the enthroned one. The one who wore a crown of thorns now wears the crown of creation itself.

That means the mission of the church does not rest on the strength of the church. It rests on the reign of Christ. We are not sent because we are impressive. We are sent because Jesus is Lord. We are not commissioned because we have mastered every answer. We are commissioned because all things are already under his feet. If the success of the gospel depended on our cleverness, the church would have died in the first century. But the gospel does not advance by human brilliance. It advances because the risen Son has been given dominion, and He gathers His people by His Word and Spirit.

Then Jesus says, “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” (v.19).  On Trinity Sunday, we do not come to solve God like a puzzle. We come to adore the living God who has made himself known in the gospel. The Father sends. The Son redeems. The Holy Spirit applies and seals. Distinct, yet never divided. Glorious, yet accessible. And notice Jesus says “name,” not “names,” a wording long recognized as significant for the unity of God, even as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are named together. 

Before I knew Christ, before the Holy Spirit filled me, before my baptism, I was like an orphan. I came to salvation wearing the dust of the road and the memory of hunger. I owned nothing. I brought nothing. Nothing I could do could purchase a place at God’s table. But then the head of the house gave me the family name. The door opened. The table was set. The inheritance was promised to me. I did not stand outside practicing speeches to earn sonship, to earn my place at the table. I was brought in by grace and taught how to live as a son. That is what baptism signifies here—not magic, not empty ritual, but the gracious claim of God, who brings sinners into covenant fellowship and marks them with his own Name.

And Jesus does not say merely, “Make converts.” He says, “Make disciples,” and then explains that with two ongoing realities: baptizing and teaching (v.19–20). The heart of the command is to make disciples, not simply to collect decisions, and that discipleship includes a life of learning obedience to Christ. The church is not called to produce only spiritual moments. The church is called to raise up a people who hear the words of Jesus, keep the words of Jesus, and are steadily conformed to the likeness of Jesus. Baptizing and Teaching; Salvation and Sanctification; two sides of the same coin.

That is why real Christian discipleship has both fire and form. It has wonder and obedience. It has tears and truth. It has lifted hands and bowed knees. The Holy Spirit does not come merely to stir us for a moment; He comes to make us holy, to take what belongs to Christ and press it into our lives, to make the commands of Jesus beautiful to us, weighty to us, and possible in us. The same Spirit who hovered over the waters in Genesis, who descended upon Christ at his baptism, and who was poured out on the church still breathes life into dead hearts and power into weak saints.

The beautiful thing is that this gospel is for “all nations” (v.19).  That means no tribe is too distant, no culture too layered, no neighborhood too broken, no family too tangled, and no sinner too far gone. The King, with all authority, sends a church with a global commission because He intends to gather worshipers from every corner of the earth. Mission is not a hobby for a few adventurous Christians. It is the overflow of the heart of God. The Father purposed it. The Son purchased it. The Spirit empowers it. The church executes it…

But here is the line that steadies us most: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (v.20).  Christ does not send us into the world with a map and no companion. He sends us with his own presence. Matthew began by calling him Immanuel, “God with us,” and Matthew ends with Jesus promising that same presence to his people.  The gospel begins with God drawing near, and it ends with God remaining near.

A pastor once told of visiting a dying saint whose memory was fading. Names were slipping. Dates were gone. Whole stretches of life had become mist. But when he began to recite the promises of Christ, the old believer whispered back, “He is with me.” That is the essence of Christian courage. Not that we are strong. Not that we are certain of every next step. Not that we have no trembling left in us. But that Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, reigning, and present, is with us, His church. And if he is with us, then we can pray boldly, preach boldly, repent honestly, suffer hopefully, and go joyfully.

So, on this Trinity Sunday, hear the call of the mountain. Worship the risen Son, even if your knees are still shaking. Trust the Father whose purpose cannot fail. Yield to the Holy Spirit who gives life, light, and power. And go where Jesus sends you—into your home, your street, your workplace, your city, and even to the ends of the earth—making disciples in the confidence that the One who commands all things also accompanies his people in all things. The church does not move into the world alone. We go in the Name above every name, under the authority of Christ, and in the fellowship of the living God.

And now, before we leave this word, let me ask you this: if Jesus truly has all authority, and if he is truly with you always, what fear, what hesitation, or what place of disobedience is he calling you to surrender today? I’ll leave you to ponder this in your hearts this morning. Let us pray: Lord our God, lift our eyes to the majesty of your Son. Draw us deeper into the grace of the Father, the rule of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Make us a worshiping, obedient, and joyful people. And as you send us, keep us steadfast in the promise that Christ is with us always. Amen.

Bibliography

Calvin, J. (1960). Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion (Vol. I). (J. T. McNeill, Ed., & F. L. Battles, Trans.) Philadephia: The Westminster Press.

Kittle, G. (Ed.). (1967). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1983 reprint ed., Vol. IV). (G. W. Bromiley, D. Litt., D.D., Trans.) Grand Rapids, Michigan: WM.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Mounce, W. D., & Bennett, Jr., R. D. (Eds.). (2011). Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament. (Version 4.5), Accordance edition hyperextended and formatted. OakTree Software, Inc.

NRSV Updated Edition Holy Bible. (2021). Holy Bible With Deuterocanonical/Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament., Updated Edition. Washington, D.C., USA: Zondervan.