← Back to sermon library

can turn in your Bibles to Matthew 
chapter 28. Matthew 28 captures, of course, 
that famous passage concerning the Great Commission, as it's 
been called, the command from the mount where the gloriously, 
victoriously resurrected Christ gives this blessed commission 
to his disciples and by virtue of the succession of the truth 
throughout the ages to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So 
we're going to we're going to read all of Matthew 28 and then 
our focus is going to be verses 16 through 20. Matthew 28, beginning 
at verse 1, the Word of God. Now after the Sabbath, as the 
first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the 
other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great 
earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and 
came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 
His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as 
snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like 
dead men. But the angel answered and said 
to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, 
who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen. As he said, come see the place 
where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he 
is risen from the dead. And indeed, he is going before 
you into Galilee. There you will see him. Behold, 
I have told you. So they went out quickly from 
the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples' 
word. And as they went to tell his 
disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, Rejoice. So they 
came and held him by the feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus 
said to them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go 
to Galilee, and there they will see me. Now while they were going, 
behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to 
the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they 
had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they 
gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, Tell them 
his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept. 
And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and 
make you secure.' So they took the money and did as they were 
instructed, and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews 
until this day. Then the eleven disciples went 
away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for 
them. When they saw him, they worshipped, but some doubted. 
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been 
given to me in heaven and on earth. 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, 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. Well, 
let's call God's blessing upon the preaching of the word. Let's 
go to him in prayer. God, we thank you for this time now in 
the preaching of your word. We do pray that you would help 
us in this act to know your truth or right. We pray that by the 
Holy Spirit, we would gain an understanding of these precious 
things that are contained here in the Gospel of Matthew. We 
once again thank you for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
for the fullness and the perfection of his salvation, and that by 
grace, through the gift of faith, we, your saints, can behold the 
glories of our blessed Christ. And it's in his name that we 
pray, amen. Well, this is a very significant 
passage of the New Testament. It captures this wonderful command 
from the mount that Christ gives to his disciples, all based upon 
the reality that he has perfectly executed the work for which he 
was sent to do by his father, and upon the heels of the perfection 
of his redeeming work, He gives this commission. He receives 
all authority. He has ascended, or he has not 
ascended yet, but he will ascend, and he will be coronated, if 
you will, and given all authority in heaven and on earth. It is 
his, essentially, as he declares here, by virtue of the fact that 
he has been raised from the dead. That vindicated the fact that 
he did what he was sent to do. that he executed the work of 
the Messiah, of the mediator, of the surety of the new covenant. And so now, by virtue of that, 
he is given all authority and he commissions his disciples. 
Just by way of introduction first, we note here first in verse 6, 
Christ's victory over death. As we move towards the passage 
under consideration, notice first, though, the victory of Christ 
over death in verse 6. These are precious words, verse 
6. He is not here, for he is risen. What wonderful words those 
announce, that that announces to the people of Christ. He's 
not dead in the tomb. There is no victory for death. 
There is no victory for the grave. Oh, death, where is your sting? 
Oh, grave, where is your victory? Christ has risen. He is victorious 
over death, over the devil, over sin, its power and its condemning 
weight. And so we have this blessed reality 
that Christ is victorious over death. He's not here. He is risen. And we have the declaration of 
joy by Christ in verse 9. And as they went to tell his 
disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, Rejoice! So they 
came and held him by the feet and worshipped him. This rejoice 
captures this declaration of joy on the part of Christ. Remember, 
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Hebrews 12, 2. for the joy that 
was set before Christ, the victory over death, victory over the 
devil, victory over sin, its power, its condemnation, its 
guilt, and for his people. This rejoice captures all of 
that. I have done the work my father 
sent me to do. I have redeemed a multitude that 
no man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and 
nation. And I've done that perfectly. rejoice. And we have the deceit 
and the depravity of the unbelieving Jews who retained this blasphemous 
lie that the disciples came at night and stole him away while 
the soldiers slept. They perpetuated that lie. That's 
still a lie perpetuated today in many circles that are opposed 
to the truth of Christ. And so we see this lie perpetuated. But then in verses 16 to 20, 
we see this glorious appearance by the Lord Jesus Christ to his 
disciples. And that's what we're going to 
take up, verses 16 through 20. The first thing that we see here 
is the significance of the location. Now, this might not first capture 
our attention, the significance of the location in verse 16. 
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain 
which Jesus had appointed for them. It's not just an interesting 
geological reflection on the part of Matthew, that they went 
to a mountain. It's just sort of a fact that 
he threw in there. I think resting behind this is the Bible's whole 
testimony to the theology of mountains, and how they all connect, 
and how they all find their end point, their terminus, in the 
glorious Christ who was sent to save his people. Sin, if we 
think about this, and we'll see a passage in a moment, sin began 
on a mountain, the mountain garden of Eden, and it was paid for 
on a mountain, Golgotha, or Calvary's Mount. Sin was brought into the 
world and the curse of it was brought into the world on a mountain 
tree, at a mountain tree, the tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil, the payment of sin and the answer of the curse. 
The bearing of the curse takes place on a mountain tree. the 
tree of life, which is Christ and his blessed sacrifice. So 
we see here this appointment by Christ to go to this mountain. 
He says that in verse 10, do not be afraid, go and tell my 
brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me. This 
was an appointed event for the disciples to go to this mountain 
in Galilee. It was by the appointment of 
Christ according to his instruction and of course by his eternal 
predestinating will that this would take place in time and 
in history on a mountain in Galilee. And we should note here that, 
just bear with the language because I'll explain it, that we have 
the weight here of the eschatological commencement of the New Covenant, 
the beginning of the New Covenant. It was announced in the Old Covenant 
that there would be a new covenant made that would be radically 
unlike the old covenant. It was physical, it was temporary, 
it was typical. There would be a new covenant 
that would come that would be spiritual, it would be everlasting, 
and it would be anti-typical, the fulfillment of all of those 
things that pointed to Christ. And we see its commencement here 
on the mountain. The first thing I want us to 
see in redemptive history and its movement with mountains through 
to this culmination is in Eden in chapter 2 of Genesis. You 
can turn there with me or you can listen as I read the passage. 
But notice what we have in Genesis chapter 2 regarding Mount Eden. It's not just happy accidents 
that we have mountains all throughout the Holy Scriptures, that God's 
redemptive history begins with a mountain and ends with a mountain. 
And I'll eventually get to Genesis chapter 2. Hands are shaking for some reason. So in Genesis chapter 2, we have 
sort of an expansion upon the creation account. We don't have 
two creation accounts. We have an expansion upon it 
and some elaborative information provided in Genesis 2. And notice 
in Genesis 2 at verse 8. The Lord God planted a garden 
eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 
And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that 
is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life 
was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge 
of good and evil. Now notice verse 10, now a river 
went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted 
and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon. It is the one which skirts the 
whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, and the gold of 
that land is good. Bedillium and the onyx stone 
are there. The name of the second river is Gihon, et cetera. The 
language continues with the naming of these rivers, but the point 
is that the Garden of Eden is on a mountain. I'm no genius, 
but I do know that rivers don't run uphill. The source of these 
rivers are on Mount Eden, and they run down the mount, the 
garden mount, where the tree of life is and where the tree 
of the knowledge of good and evil is. What does this mean? 
There is a dominion mandate. given to Adam on Mount Eden that 
Adam fails to execute, Christ takes dominion. Remember, all 
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. He declares 
this from a mountain. His the restoration of access 
to the divine presence is reflected in Matthew 28. Man lost the reality 
of the divine presence on a mountain. The reality of a divine presence 
restored is brought to bear from a mountain, Mount Calvary, and 
the victory is declared. on a mountain in Galilee. Remember 
that we have Mount Ararat in Genesis chapter 8. If you're 
still in Genesis, you can turn to Genesis chapter 8. Another 
mountain that is very significant. Genesis 8 and verse 4, then the 
ark rested in the seventh month, the 17th day of the month, on 
the mountains of Ararat. What does this mean? Well, first 
off, with regards to Mount Eden and the original creation, Mount 
Calvary inaugurates the new creation. Here, there's something of a 
new creation after the flood. On Mount Ararat, there's a dominion 
mandate reiterated, and there's a beginning of a new creation. 
When you read this account, there's the beginning of a new creation. 
What does this point forward to? It's a typical narrative 
true account of the post-flood reality in this new creation 
that points to the reality that Christ, who is the Ark, will 
bring in a new creation with his saving work. We have Mount 
Caramel, the vindication of the true God with that contestation, 
Elijah versus the prophets of Baal, that occurs on Mount Caramel. Mount Sinai, how significant 
is that? A significant theophany, the 
burning bush, occurs on Mount Sinai with lightnings, with thunderings, 
and with much fire. And that's a declaration of the 
covenant identity of Israel in the Old Covenant. Their God is 
the God of the mount, the God of Mount Sinai, the God who is 
the creator and upholder of all things. And I want you on this 
point to turn to Hebrews for a moment. It's interesting, your 
mind may be saying, that we're pausing upon just these narrative 
words of this gathering at the Great Commission on a mountain. 
You know, hopefully you're not saying big deal. And as we move 
through this, we see the significant connection and the glorious theology 
of mountains that culminate in the blessed redemptive work wrought 
by Jesus Christ. Notice in Hebrews chapter 12, 
there's this language of two mountains. this language of two mountains. 
In the old covenant, they had their covenant identity by virtue 
of the pronouncements made from the thundering mountain, Mount 
Sinai, the law given by Moses. Notice in Hebrews 12, and we'll 
begin reading at verse 20. For they could not endure what 
was commanded. Well, actually verse 18. I said that like I sounded defeated. I'm not defeated. That was me 
indicting myself for not including 18 and 19. Okay. Verse 18, for 
you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that 
burned with fire and to blackness and darkness and tempest. and 
the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those 
who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to 
them anymore, for they could not endure what was commanded. 
And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned 
or shot with an arrow. And so terrifying was the sight 
that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling, but So 
a distinction now between Mount Sinai, which was important for 
covenant identity, but the startling and radical difference between 
the old covenant mountain and the new covenant mountain, verse 
22, but you have come to Mount Zion. and to the City of the 
Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of 
angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, 
who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the 
spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the 
New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better 
things than that of Abel. You see this distinction, the 
importance of mountains, the reality that Mount Sinai, the 
old covenant, was not the covenant, nor was it the covenant of grace. 
It was a covenant that served particular ends to declare the 
holiness of God. the distinction of his people 
from whom the Messiah would come, but it only served the end that 
the new covenant would be ratified in the blood of Jesus Christ 
that speaks better things than that of Abel. And we are not 
to approach with that Sinaitic fear, but with the blessed, joyful 
reverence of the Mount Zion fear. where we approach, by virtue 
of the blood of sprinkling, the reality that Jesus Christ has 
perfected salvation upon a mountain. We could also note here Mount 
Nebo, which is in the Pisgah mountain range, where the beholding 
of the promised land by Moses took place. And it pointed forward 
to that greater than Moses, whose promised land is the whole earth. So that Mount Nebo declaration 
where God has Moses look out upon the land of promise and 
see that which is physical and typical, which points to that 
which is spiritual and extensive, he says, look upon this and you 
see the promised land. Christ stands on a mountain with 
his disciples in Matthew 28, having all authority in heaven 
and on earth, and he sends them to go forth into the land. into the promised land, beyond 
the region that Moses looked upon to proclaim the riches and 
the excellencies of gospel truth. We have the Mount of Olives. 
We're almost done with mountains, by the way. Hopefully it's not 
tiring for you. Hopefully you see the significance 
and the genius of God's inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and how 
these mountains tie together and how the wisdom of God from 
Genesis all the way through to Revelation has this theme that 
exalts the redemption wrought by Christ and the amazing grace 
of God. The Mount of Olives is David's 
high place. It's the splitting of the mount 
that we read of in prophetic literature. In fact, you can 
turn to one of them, Zechariah 14. Notice in Zechariah 14, this 
language of mountains and the Messiah who will split the mountains, 
the Mount of Olives. In Zechariah 14, notice at verse 
4, 3, we'll go to, then the Lord will go forth and fight against 
those nations as he fights in the day of battle. And in that 
day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces 
Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall 
be split in two from east to west, making a very large valley. Half of the mountain shall move 
toward the north, and half of it to the south. So there's something 
very significant about the coming of the Messiah, his first coming 
in his incarnation to execute the perfection of redemption, 
to be resurrected, to be exalted, to be given all authority in 
heaven and on earth. And something will happen with 
the splitting of mountains. This would occur at least, we 
might say, typically or with regards to a smaller reality. 
This actually did happen in AD 70 when the Roman armies carved 
a valley that split the Mount of Olives so that the Roman armies, 
according to the foreordained majesty of God, would come and 
visit the covenant curses upon apostate Jerusalem. The mountains 
are split, a valley is wrought between them, and God visits 
divine justice for those who betrayed the Messiah, who cast 
their own countrymen, who is very God and very man, to that 
Roman gibbet of execution. So all of this to say, mountains 
are big. Not just geographically, not 
just geologically, but richly theologically and with the narrative 
of redemptive history. In the last mountain, we could 
say, Mount Zion, where the temple mount was, where the temple was, 
in that central place of Judaic worship, the place of the divine 
majesty and reign, which is symbolic of the gathering of all nations 
to the truth of God. And it's very interesting language 
that we have. If you turn with me to Isaiah 
2, and we'll get to Christ's words here momentarily, but I 
think this is rich for us to observe. Notice in Isaiah chapter 
2, with regards, again, this language 
of mountains, but something of a reversal we're going to see 
here in Isaiah chapter two and beginning at verse two. Now it 
shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the 
Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and 
shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow to 
it. Many people shall come and say, 
come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the 
house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways and 
we shall walk in his paths. This is interesting. At least 
I hope it is for you. Remember that the Mount Mount 
Eden, the rivers go out from the mountain and they flow down. 
And it is upon that mountain with the flowing down rivers 
that the curse is brought into, is brought to humanity by the 
fall of the first man, Adam. Well, what Isaiah is saying is 
that by virtue of the flowing of the rivers of blood from out 
of the Messiah, many nations will reverse the trajectory of 
these rivers that flow from that cursed mountain. They will come 
up to the mountain of the Lord by virtue of the work of the 
Lord who comes to his house to bring redemption. It's a glorious 
theme. And so Christ standing upon the 
mountain, as we find our way back to Matthew 28, Christ standing 
upon a mountain and calling his disciples to their stand with 
him, it's no small thing. This culmination, this radical 
influx of the commencement of the new covenant and the visitation 
of divine justice and the outflowing of divine redemption all comes 
to a head upon this mountain where the Great Commission is 
given. So now moving to the response of the disciples to the glory 
of the resurrected Christ, we see two things here. Notice in 
Matthew 28 and at verse 17. Matthew 28, verse 17, when they 
saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. It's interesting 
language because it's quite a contrast. We see worship on the one hand, 
and we see a worship hindered perhaps, but hindered by this 
doubt. And it doesn't capture all of 
the language of Luke 24, It doesn't have to, it's capturing particular 
things. But remember what happened in Luke 24 when the resurrected 
Christ appears to his disciples? We noted that this morning in 
our discussion about the real manhood, the real humanity of 
Jesus Christ. He appears to them post-resurrection 
and they think him to be a phantom, a specter, a ghost. And so he 
says, well, after they could hear him speaking, he goes to 
further evidence. He says, look at me and see. 
Look at the wounds upon my wrists. Look at the wound in my side, 
the wounds in my feet. It is I. I stand before you. 
But they still doubt. It does say, though, for joy 
they doubted. You know how when you're really 
happy, you're really joyful about something. And you're like, yes, 
this can't be true. This is too good to be true. 
And you have this measure of doubt. You're joyful. You still 
have this doubt. That's what's going on. And they 
still don't believe him when he shows them the wounds upon 
his body. And so he says, come, touch me, handle me, and see 
that it is I. And that really still doesn't 
sell it for everyone. And then finally he eats broiled 
fish and honeycomb before them. And that fourfold evidential 
declaration or demonstration helped them to get past the finish 
line in a sense. They worshipped him, but some 
doubted. For joy, they are doubting. It's 
not this damning unbelief. It's probably this overwhelming 
joy where they would say in the modern vernacular, it's too good 
to be true. But they do engage in this divine 
adoration. They worshipped him. And this 
is significant for the reality of who Christ is. Remember that 
we, the scripture reading this morning, we said that the most 
important question ever asked is Christ asking his disciples, 
who do you say that I am? Christ is worshipped here. Only 
God is worshipped and is to be worshipped, and they worship 
Him. And Christ, unlike angels who do reject worship, Christ 
doesn't reject it, but knowing, of course, who He is, very God, 
and yes, very man, but very God, He receives their worship, that 
divine adoration. There's a wonderful passage in 
the book of Romans that connects this glory to and this worship 
to Christ and his resurrection. In Romans chapter 1, you don't 
have to turn there, I'll read it for you. In Romans chapter 
1, we see this language. And this is just in the introduction 
to the book. And this touches upon the question, 
who do you say that I am? Notice Romans 1, Paul, a bondservant 
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the 
gospel of God, which he promised before through his prophets in 
the holy scriptures, concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, 
who was born at the seed of David according to the flesh and declared 
to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness 
by the resurrection from the dead. And so this, the resurrection 
Paul is saying, is a declaration largely of the glory of the Son 
of God, who he is as the one who is very and eternal God of 
one substance with the Father, the one who made the world in 
all things that consist in him. They worshiped him. He is God. And likewise, we are to worship 
him. were to follow these disciples' 
example to worship the Son of God who came into this world, 
sinners to save. We come here not to check a box. We come here, yes, out of tradition, 
but not rote and vain and empty tradition, out of a blessed tradition 
ordained by God unto the purpose that we would rejoice in Him 
and with the disciples worship the one who came down from heaven, 
sinners to save. they engage in this divine adoration. And there's a moment of joyful 
uncertainty, but some doubt it. As Jim has noticed before, as 
Pastor Butler has noticed before, this but some doubted is one 
of those precious little bits of evidences that testify to 
the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. Because who 
trying to force a religion upon the masses would say that some 
of the the most important founders of the Christian religion, if 
we can say, doubted. It's one of those nuggets of 
evidences of the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and the 
authority of God in them. We see thirdly here the dominion 
now of the mediatorial king. The dominion of the mediatorial 
king. And the first thing that we see 
here is we want to know what this doesn't mean. This statement, 
all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 
Before we do that, let's just acknowledge something as Christians 
who love our Christ. This is only within a couple 
handfuls of days after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. You know, some 
of them fled. Most of them fled. John was at 
the cross. There would have been some disciples 
here if it's not only the 11, but it could be the 70 or the 
500. But whatever is going on, they 
would have seen or they would have heard of the bloody crucifixion 
that the Son of God incarnated endured. the lashings, the beatings, 
the spittings, the bruisings, the nailings, and the sufferings 
of the cross. And not only that, but even more 
than that, the bearing of the wrath of God in that travail 
of soul, the pouring out of the cup of divine justice, the pouring 
out of the cup of the wrath of God, for the elect upon the Son 
of God. And now, after having beforehand 
been a suffering Messiah who died upon the cross in a gory 
massacre, we now have this glorified one standing before them. All 
authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. What 
a glorious, glorious picture of our Savior here. Yes, to us 
upon the cross with the crown of thorns, He is glorious and 
He is our King, but with a scepter of righteousness, having risen 
from the dead with majestic victory and having been given all authority 
in heaven and on earth. What a glorious contrast and 
what a blessed picture of the reign and the victory of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. So what this doesn't mean, though, 
this doesn't mean all authority has been given to me in heaven 
and on earth. It does not mean that he has a divine glory restored 
to him. Some teach, sadly, even within 
our own circles, some measure of a doctrine of Christ where 
in the incarnation he sets aside glory and measures and marks 
of divinity in order to engage in his messianic work. And we 
noted this morning in our study in the doctrine of Christ that 
because Christ is very God of very God, light from light, true 
God from true God, he can't change. Divinity can't, for a time, set 
aside divinity. The God would stop being divine. And so this all authority has 
been given to me in heaven and on earth doesn't apply to his 
eternal divinity by which, of course, he has all authority 
in heaven and on earth. This applies to his mediatorial 
reality that he assumed he took upon himself man's nature to 
exercise perfection of redemption in overturning the curse that 
was wrought on that first mountain and on a mountain having victory 
over sin, death, and the devil, inaugurating the new covenant, 
and by virtue of the perfection of his work, he's given by the 
Father. In essence, as a reward for that 
perfection, all authority in heaven and on earth. Our minds 
should draw ourselves to certain passages in the Holy Scriptures 
when we read that, and we're gonna go to one now. In Isaiah 
9, if you'll go there with me, Isaiah chapter 9, there is more 
than this one, certainly, but notice how Isaiah's prophecy 
perfectly captures in glorious language what Christ is announcing 
here. In Isaiah 9, beginning at verse 
six. For unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder. 
And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting 
Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government 
and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and 
over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment 
and justice from this time forward, even forever, the zeal of the 
Lord of hosts will perform this. That is announced by Christ in 
a shorter announcement, all authority in heaven and on earth has been 
given to me. And notice this connection to 
from that time forward and forever, lo, I am with you always, even 
to the end of the age. And so we have in the Old Testament, 
the prophetic announcement that to the one born, to the one given 
to the nation and to the nations, who would give himself upon Calvary's 
cross, having perfected the law of God and bearing its curse, 
he would rise again, he would ascend, and he would bring many 
sons and daughters to glory by virtue of that perfect work. I struggle sometimes to mount 
the proper adjectives upon adjectives and adverbs upon adverbs. The glory of Christ is beyond 
words. We've noted before that for the 
preacher, preaching God, preaching Christ, is at the same time the most blessed thing, but also 
the hardest thing in the world to do. How do you capture the 
glory of one who is very and eternal God, of one substance 
with him who begat him. How do you capture one living 
and true God who eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 
of one substance, power in eternity, having the whole divine essence 
and the essence undivided? How do you capture the Son of 
God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and 
eternal God, taking to himself man's nature? With all of our 
properties, body and soul, with all of our common infirmities, 
our hunger, our thirst, our weakness, our sorrow, taking all of that 
upon himself yet without sin and bearing a cross and perfecting 
redemption. How do you adequately speak of 
that? Words fail us, but yet God has 
given us some words to capture in a moment and to capture in 
sound words as much as possible measures of the glory of this 
great Christ. It's beyond a proper grasp, what 
glory we have. So it does not mean that a divine 
glory was restored to him, but it does mean that as mediator, 
according to his human nature, he has received his kingly inheritance. He's received his kingly inheritance 
by virtue of his saving work. All authority has been given 
to me in heaven and on earth. And we should note this with 
the vain promises, compare this with the vain promises of the 
devil in that desert temptation. In fact, let's just go there 
for a moment. Let's go back to, back to the, in the gospel of 
Matthew. Matthew chapter four. I think when we get there, we'll 
check if the pastor knows his Bible. Three and then four. Three is the baptism and then 
four. So in Matthew chapter four, notice in these temptations of 
the devil, they're progressive and they kind of build one on 
top of the other. And remember that for all the 
40 days Jesus had been tempted by the devil, But he comes in 
this last moment, and we have this note of this threefold temptation. And notice, and interestingly, 
on an exceedingly high mountain, verse 8 of Matthew 4. Again, the devil took him up 
on an exceedingly high mountain. Mountain theology. Some have 
commented on this and said, oh, maybe this is Mount Nebo in the 
Pisgah Range, where God brought Moses and said to look out and 
see the nations. And in fact, Abraham was also 
given such a mountain proclamation, where he went up and God said, 
look and see your inheritance. Your progeny will be like the 
sand the seashore so back to verse 8 again The devil took 
him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the 
kingdoms of the world and their glory The the devil is trying 
to tempt Christ As if the devil can give him these things that 
the devil is trying to tempt Christ and in essence He's trying 
to stop whatever Christ is doing in his redemptive mission. We 
don't know how much the devil knows. We don't know the content, 
the propositions of the devil's mind. but he's smarter than all 
of us and he probably has these inklings that the son of god 
took to himself the nature of fallen humanity so that he might 
redeem fallen humanity and so he's trying to trip up the son 
of god but notice what he says after promising uh after promising 
all of these kingdoms and all of that he says If you fall down 
and worship me, and then Jesus says to him, away with you, Satan, 
for it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and him only 
you shall serve. Interesting language when we 
get to Matthew 28, where upon a mountain, Christ is declaring 
that He has all authority over the kingdoms of the earth, not 
because the devil gave it to Him, but because He has perfected 
the work for which He was sent, redeeming a multitude of sinners 
and vindicating the perfections of God. And He sees the reality 
come true. You shall worship the Lord only. 
Him only you shall serve. Verse 17, when they saw Him, 
they worshiped Him. but some doubted. So it does 
mean again that Christ was given this kingdom, he has this kingdom 
by virtue of the perfection of his work, and the devil plays 
no role because Christ had victory over him both in that desert 
battle. Some of the commentators call 
it a single combat battle in the wilderness, and they compare 
it to David and Goliath. If you read some of the commentaries 
on Matthew 4, very interesting. It's like David and Goliath in 
the wilderness, in the Valley of Elah, With this temptation 
of Christ in the wilderness, you have the greater than David 
against a greater than Goliath also coming with single combat. Just like David was left without 
armor because he could not wear Saul's armor, Christ goes alone 
into the wilderness Without armor, if you will, some of the commentators 
say, as well without armor, just like David, and the lion of the 
tribe of Judah has victory over the lion from the pit. And now, 
having victory over the devil at the cross of Calvary, where 
the Genesis 3 promise comes true, that the hero, born of woman, 
will crush the serpent with his heel, he announces, authority 
has been given to me in heaven. and on earth. And lastly, closing 
with this, we have the rule of the king. The rule of the king by, for, 
and in the midst of the church. This is verses 19 and 20. The rule of the king by, for, 
and in the midst of this church. We have this wonderful conjunctive 
adverb A little language lesson. I didn't know that either beforehand. 
But a conjunctive adverb in therefore. So there's this language of, 
there's this premise being given by Christ, a statement being 
given. All authority in heaven and on 
earth has been given to me. All authority has been given 
to me in heaven and on earth. Then there's this conjunctive 
adverb, a logical connection that there's a clause to follow, 
that logically flows from the previous clause. In other words, 
by virtue of the fact that, by virtue of the fact I have been 
given all authority in heaven and on earth because of my saving 
work, Now go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Spirit. So the first thing that we see here, we see the apostolic 
commission to proclaim the gospel. Go therefore and make disciples 
of all the nations. Remember that mountain announcement 
from Isaiah chapter two. Christ on the mountain, I'll 
stop saying mountain in about seven and a half minutes, but 
Christ on a mountain, announces that he is the one who is the 
Lord of Mount Zion. who inaugurates a better covenant 
than that which was on Mount Sinai, who now is fulfilling 
the prophecy that was given about a mountain to which all nations 
should flow. And he says, go therefore and 
make disciples of all those nations, so that like rivers of water, 
they would flow to the new creation, the mount of the new creation, 
even Calvary, even Zion, the spiritual fulfillment of it. 
What a blessed thing that we have here. And so this captures 
the church's mission throughout the ages to proclaim the riches 
and the excellencies of Christ. That's what Christ is saying, 
go and preach me. Go and make disciples of all 
the nations. What are they proclaiming? They're 
proclaiming the amazing and victorious grace of God, who through the 
perfection of His only begotten Son, who assumed man's nature, 
has perfected salvation. He's been obedient to the law 
of God in the place of all who believe in His name. perfecting 
the law, perfecting an obedience, a righteousness that avails with 
God. He's died upon Calvary's cross, 
Mount Calvary, on a tree to reverse the cross, the curse of the tree 
of the knowledge of good and evil that was taken from on Mount 
Eden. He has perfected salvation through 
the shedding of his blood, through rivers of blood flowing from 
his five wounds. And now, because of the perfection 
of that work, having risen, And soon to ascend, he sends his 
disciples to the nations to preach that, to preach a glorious Savior 
who came into this world, sinners to save. Do you know that you, 
sitting here today, first, as believers sitting here today, 
you are the blessed yet undeserved recipients of the announcement 
of Christ in Matthew 28, verse 19. You have received the disciple-making 
proclamation of the Church of the Living Christ. Throughout 
the ages, Christ was building, has built his church, and you 
are members of that spiritual building. You're in the kingdom 
of God. All authority, the kingdom of 
God has been given to Christ and he has brought you in by 
the proclamation of the word. You, by virtue of amazing grace, 
ascend the mount of spiritual Zion to the one who on a mount 
saved you from your sins. If you're here this morning and 
you're outside of Christ, you need to feel the weight of all 
authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. The unbelieving 
mind might have a measure of patience for an infant, a babe 
wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger. Christ meek and 
mild as a baby in a manger. According to his humanity, he 
didn't have the power to do much then, but according to his eternal 
divinity, even as an infant, a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 
he fills the heavens and the earth, even as he had from the 
beginning. The point is, is that with the unbelieving mind, perhaps 
an ineffectual human Jesus, the man Jesus, as an infant, or as 
a young person, or as appearing weak upon a cross, Calvary's 
Mount, perhaps he doesn't seem all that dangerous. But know 
for a certainty that he has risen from the dead, that he has ascended 
to the right hand of the majesty on high. And if you're a believer, 
you're blessedly in this kingdom. But if you're outside of Christ, 
you're on the side of the world, you're on the side of the devil, 
and you're on the side of the lusts of your own flesh, excluded 
from the kingdom. justly resting under the justice 
and the divine wrath of a holy God who is right to judge those 
who oppose him and who oppose his gospel. But Christ says, 
come to the mount. Christ says, come to me, all 
who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You 
are stuck in the mire of sin and depravity and wickedness. 
There is a Savior who saves you, who has all authority, who has 
perfected salvation, and who says, come, come to me and I 
will give you everlasting life and the blessings of the eternal 
kingdom of God. We see as well here the apostolic 
commission to baptize those who profess faith in Christ. It's 
a simple reality that the Bible positively proclaims credo or 
believer baptism. Notice the language here. Go 
therefore and make disciples of all the nations. It's conspicuous 
and it's obvious the proclamation of the gospel. Many multitudes 
from the nations believe. And then after that, baptize 
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Spirit. Notice Christ is Trinitarian. He's the second of the blessed 
triune God. As mediator, having assumed our 
humanity, he speaks to these people, and he says that baptism 
comes in the singular name of three persons, Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. An explicit declaration of the 
triune reality of our everlasting God. One God who eternally exists 
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and 
eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence 
undivided. Our God is Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit. So the apostolic commission to 
proclaim the gospel, on the heels upon the proclamation of gospel, 
many will believe in the name of Christ, they are to be baptized, 
and then notice the apostolic commission to continually instruct 
believers in the knowledge of Christ, teaching them to observe, 
verse 20, all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with 
you always, even to the end of the age. the continual instruction 
of believers in the knowledge of Christ. This is one reason 
why we come to church. We come to church according to 
the command of God to observe the Sabbath and to keep it holy. 
We come to worship the one God in three persons, blessed Trinity, 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we are to put on the mind 
as believers that I'm coming to church not for a weariness, 
but for joy to learn more of my God and to learn more of his 
Christ, our Christ. And so Jesus is gloriously here 
setting up the pattern for church and the reality of church, the 
reality of his Matthew 16 promise that I will build my church and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it because all authority 
has been given to him and he ascended by the power of his 
spirit, equips and empowers the church to proclaim the gospel. 
That's the book of Acts. The Book of Acts has been commonly 
called the Acts of the Disciples. Some have rightly called it the 
Acts of the Ascended Christ, because he goes to the right 
hand of the Father and he sends his disciples, empowering them 
with the promised spirit to proclaim his riches, to proclaim his excellencies. and to bring a multitude of the 
sons and daughters of men to salvation through him. And lastly, 
we see the abiding presence of the exalted Christ in the midst 
of his church. What a wonderful final statement 
before the amen that we have here. And lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the age. What a wonderful thing that we 
have an ascended Christ on the side of the church, yes, empowering 
them by the Spirit, but as believers, this promise as well obtains 
for us, that we have the Son of God incarnated, ascended and 
victorious, who stands at the right hand of the Father, looking 
down and judging his enemies and protecting and defending 
his church. Let's look at a cold, old, dry 
document. Now, there's rich doctrine in 
this, in our confession of faith, and in chapter eight, it captures 
this well. What sort of confidence can we 
have when we read a passage like this and we see our Christ so 
gloriously set forth? Speaking of the offices of Christ, 
as mediator, Christ is prophet, priest, and king. Separate offices 
in the Old Testament, taken up by multiple individual persons 
over a number of generations, all pointing forward to the one 
glorious divine person who would assume our humanity, who would 
take up all offices and do so perfectly. Notice what it means 
for believers. This number and order of offices 
is necessary, for in respect of our ignorance, we stand in 
need of his prophetical office. And in respect of our alienation 
from God and imperfection of the best of our services, we 
need his priestly office to reconcile us and present us acceptable 
unto God. And in respect of our averseness, 
an utter inability to return to God, and for our rescue and 
security from our spiritual adversaries, we need his kingly office to 
convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us unto 
his heavenly kingdom. That's what This means, lo, I 
am with you always, even to the end of the age. What a Christ 
that we have. I think very often, perhaps Monday 
through Saturday, we don't often, by pattern and by natural rhythm, 
engage in reflections upon the glory of this Christ and realize 
that when affliction comes, and when trial comes, and when travail 
comes upon body and soul, We're not in it alone. We're not trying 
to rest upon the fallibility of men. We have one who said 
2,000 years ago, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of 
the age. We have his prophetical office. I mixed up my words there. That 
cadence shouldn't be used. He has his prophetical office 
so that he might make us know him in our natural ignorance. 
We ought to avail of his prophetical office Monday to Saturday as 
well. Sunday is peculiar and special 
as the Lord's Day appointed Sabbath. But what a thing it is to learn 
of this Christ and to gain an advancement from our present 
ignorance to a precious growing knowledge. of the Savior, the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We have his priestly office when 
we fall into sin. He's with us always, even to 
the end of the age. When we sin, we're not to continue 
in it. We're not to grieve for months 
over it. We're to realize immediately 
that we have a Savior for sin. We don't need months of reflection 
upon misery before we can be restored to access to God. We 
fly immediately to that advocate at the right hand of the majesty 
on high who perfected priesthood that he might bring many sons 
to glory by virtue of the shedding of his blood. And we have his 
kingly office. When we look upon a world bound 
by sin and depravity and wickedness, We can know that there is a king 
in high heaven that will do one of two things. He will judge 
those reprobate opposers who mock him. who spit upon his truth 
and who oppose the glory of his person and work. But as that 
self-same king, he will draw unbelievers to himself by his 
power and by his spirit. What hope we have in that God 
and in that Christ for our friends, for our family, who oppose Christ, 
who do not believe, and who stand in their ignorance and stand 
in their sin in opposition to God. Christ overcomes them by 
the glory of his kingship, drawing them and giving them his spirit 
to see his riches, to see his excellencies and brethren. One 
of the strong confidences that we have in this lower world is 
this one to whom all authority has been given. We can look upon 
a mad world. We can look upon the madness 
of the political landscape and the sanctioning of injustices 
and the rejection of proper justices. But we can know this for a truth 
that the nations of this world have been given to our God and 
to our Christ. They are his. He holds the hearts 
of kings in his hands. He directs them where they will 
go. And it is all for the purpose that he would bring his church 
to everlasting glory, that we would ascend like rivers the 
mountain of the Lord to come to Him, to worship Him, and that 
these rivers would flow upwards, defying gravity, from every tribe, 
from every tongue, from every people, and from every nation. 
Praise God that we Gentiles have been brought to a knowledge of 
Christ, and for those outside of Christ today, know that this 
same authoritative Christ, this same ruling Christ, bids you 
to come and to know the blessing of salvation in Him, believe 
on Him. and you will be saved. Let's pray. God, we thank you 
for your truth. We rejoice in your goodness to 
us. We thank you for your word. We rejoice in our Savior, the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that through the 
perfection of his work, through his life of obedience, his suffering 
upon Calvary's cross, that we have, and by virtue of his resurrection, 
that we have everlasting life, that you have caused us by your 
grace and for your glory to believe on so precious a Savior, We pray 
for the advancement of your church throughout the world by the work 
of missionaries, by the work of your church at large, by the 
proclamation of the gospel in faithful churches, we pray that 
your word would advance, that multitudes of sinners would come 
to a knowledge of this precious savior, and that a thousand tongues, 
Lord God, would sing the victories of such a glorious Christ. And 
it's in his name that we pray, amen.