Matthew 28:16-20 - Who Makes Disciples?

As the new year begins, many people are making new efforts to get in shape. They’re going back to the gym, running in the neighborhood, or working out in the garage or living room. As they do this, they use words like “effort,” “discipline,” routines,” methods,” “training,” and “accountability.”

People also seem to think and talk about discipleship primarily in the same way.

But Scripture describes discipleship less like the gym and more like the hospital. At the gym, progress depends mostly on the consistency, effort and strength of a person. But in the hospital, progress depends mostly on the skill, ability, and knowledge of the doctor.

Discipleship isn’t self-improvement – it’s divine intervention.If it were mainly a human endeavor, the New Testament would sound very different.

But instead, we read statements like this one from Acts 2: “The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Or Romans 6, which says we were “baptized into Christ Jesus” and “united with him,” and 1 Corinthians 1, which says that “because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus.”

In Colossians 1, Paul says he labors to proclaim Christ and teach everyone, “struggling with all [Christ’s] energy that He powerfully works within me.” And in Philippians 1, Paul says, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion,” followed by these words in Philippians 2: “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

And Hebrews 12 says that it is Jesus who is “the founder and perfecter of our faith.”

I stressed last time that discipleship is fundamentally a divine work. It is the triune God who makes disciples. But here in Matthew 28, we see Christ instructing the apostles to go “make disciples.” Yet even these verses are evidence that it is ultimately the Father, Son, and Spirit who makes disciples.

Notice the outline on page 6 in the WG. We should understand that it is God who makes disciples because disciples are made at the direction of Christ (v.16), under the authority of Christ (vv.17–18), for incorporation into Christ (vv.19–20a), and by the power of Christ (v.20b).

Yes, God’s people play roles in disciple-making and we make efforts in our own discipleship. We’ll learn more about that next Sunday as we look closer at how disciples are made. But we must never lose sight of the God-centeredness of the work.

Now, last Sunday I directed you to page 2 of the WG, to the first sentence of the second paragraph, to our mission statement: Good Shepherd exists “to join God on mission by producing mature followers of Jesus Christ for His glory and our joy.” God involves His church in His disciple-making mission. We answered the question, “What is a disciple of Jesus Christ?” Someone who follows the teaching of Christ about Himself as the Messiah revealed in the Old and New Testaments.

And discipleship is a state or condition of learning from and being transformed by Christ as we behold His glory and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Jesus defines discipleship primarily by an inward, relational reality. Spiritual union with Him is necessary. External behavior is secondary. The outward evidence of a true disciple flows out of being in Christ and having Christ dwelling within.

And this union with Him is received, not achieved. Ephesians 2 says, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” By grace through faith – a result of the Holy Spirit’s work within us – we are united with Christ and then able to repent, learn, obey, and follow Christ.

Matthew 28:16-20 implies the centrality of union with Christ in discipleship. Look at verse [16] “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.” Back in Matthew 10, Jesus chose 12 apostles. But by ch.28, Judas was gone. He had betrayed and deserted Christ.

In ch. 26, Jesus promised to meet these men in Galilee. He also instructed Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to tell them to meet him there. So clearly, these eleven have come here at Christ’s direction and what they do after will be done at His direction.

In times of war, a general is said to “win the battle,” though soldiers do the fighting. In state government, a governor is said to “build roads” or “pass laws,” though workers construct roads and legislators draft laws and cast votes. And in a company, a CEO may “launch a company-wide initiative,” but managers and teams do much of the work.

In a similar way, disciples are made at the direction of Christ. To this day, disciples are made by His appointment. Therefore He makes disciples. But what Christ does is much greater than a general, or a governor, or a CEO.

Look at verse 17, “And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.” This occurred after His death and resurrection. Jesus was apparently at a distance, but when He came closer, as verse 18 says, they saw that it was Him and all were convinced.

Verse [18], “And Jesus came and said to them.” To whom? To the eleven. In Matthew 10, they are referred to as “disciples,” and then as “apostles.” At that time, Jesus had many disciples or followers, but these men were unique. What made them different from all the other “disciples?”

Well, these men were disciples first and eventually became apostles. Matthew 10 says, “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. [2] The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; [3] Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; [4] Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

Biblically speaking, an “apostle” is “an authorized representative.” Christ selected them from among His disciples for a special office to carry His message and lead His church. Christ was the chief Apostle, sent to speak with authority from the Father, and He gave this disciple-making commission directly to His eleven.

After Judas Iscariot fell away, only two men are presented in the NT as being added to the apostolic office: Matthias, who restored the number of the Twelve, and Paul, who was uniquely appointed by the risen Christ. While others are occasionally called apostles in a broader sense, no further additions to the foundational group are described.

So what about the next generation of apostle-like leaders? Well, they are not called apostles. Rather, in Scripture they are called “elders.” No other men were entrusted with this foundational authority. In the early church – and now – the only apostolic authority is the Bible. Elders submit to it, and “to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

The apostle Peter makes a statement that supports our understanding here. In 1 Peter 5, he says, “I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you.”  The apostles were the first elders of the church. They were the first "presbyters."

They received the Great Commission to make disciples. So it was specifically to this group that Christ gave instruction for disciple-making, though it’s obvious later on that they are to involve the whole church in the mission.

But how does this apostolic commission continue after the Apostolic Age? In line with the work of the apostles, “making disciples” is clearly portrayed as evangelizing, baptizing for inclusion into the covenant community, teaching, and establishing churches by elders who continue the apostolic work. Even though the Apostolic Age has been discontinued, the work of making disciples continues because the apostles appointed elders in all the churches to carry on the work.

Notice in verse 18 Christ says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” “Given?” Yes. It was given to Christ in His mediatorial role between God and mankind. Christ is saying this in his resurrected, immortal state. And notice He makes a specific point to express this “authority.” Why?

William Hendriksen explains, “So that when He now commissions His apostles to proclaim the gospel throughout the world, they may know that moment by moment, day by day, they can lean on him.” Hendriksen calls this “the great claim” that introduces “the great commission.” It is founded on the authority of Christ.

This is the authority of God Himself: the sovereign power and holy will of the One whose commands must be obeyed. This is the sinless, gracious, just, kind and loving authority of the only true God. It’s never in question or subject to revision, approval, or negotiation.

Imagine a building inspector who enforces the plans drawn by an architect. The inspector has real authority, but the inspector’s authority is derived. The inspector can’t change the design or approve something the architect forbids.

The elders of the exercise real authority in disciple-making, but that authority is only derivative. It is to be always governed by Christ’s holy Word and led by His Holy Spirit. Disciples are made under the authority of Christ. Therefore He makes disciples.

Now see verse [19]. Jesus says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” Going to the nations was always the plan in God’s covenant of grace. His gracious salvation would move outward. It would be worldwide. With this great commission from Christ, the blessing of the nations as stated in God’s covenant with Abraham is now ready to begin in full.

Being a disciple goes further than repenting, being converted, or changing your mind. Hendriksen says, “It is necessary that sinners learn about their own lost condition, God, his plan of redemption, his love, his law, etc. This, however, is not enough. True discipleship implies much more. Mere mental understanding does not as yet make one a disciple. It is part of the picture, in fact an important part, but only a part. The truth learned must be practiced. It must be appropriated by heart, mind, and will, so that one remains or abides in the truth. Only then is one truly Christ’s “disciple.” And he references John 8:31, which we studied last week.

The result of spiritual union with Christ is ongoing change in the whole person. As I said last week, “A true disciple is someone who receives union with Christ as the guiding reality, defining message, and liberating power for his or her life.”

Look at the rest of verse 19. Christ says to make disciples, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Now, both grammatically and logically, baptizing and teaching are subordinate to “make disciples.” And as you can see, it was the eleven – the apostles – who were given this task. They were to baptize under the authority of and “in the name of” Christ, which means to be “brought into vital relationship” with Christ. Scholars note that “into the name of Christ” is a valid translation here also.

We see another place in the NT where people are “baptized into” someone else. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul writes that when the Israelites were led out of Egypt, they “were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” What does this mean?

This is the language of union. It describes incorporation. The Israelites identified with Moses as their leader and mediator. In a similar yet greater way, disciples identify with Christ as our leader and mediator.

Of course, as was also true “in Moses,” baptism into Christ doesn’t guarantee true faith. Baptism doesn’t create the vital union. Saving faith is necessary, but baptism marks someone as part of the community. One Reformed scholar says “the rite of baptism as such” doesn’t bring “a person into vital union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But, according to Scripture the following are true: (a.) circumcision was a sign and a seal of the righteousness of Christ accepted by faith (b.) baptism took the place of circumcision; and (c.) therefore baptism, too, must be regarded as a sign and a seal of the righteousness of Christ accepted by faith.”

So – baptizing them and teaching them. Disciples must be taught, before and after baptism, depending on the circumstances. Those outside the church – when they are received by their profession of faith – should receive this baptism and additional teaching, though they likely have had some teaching already. So they are taught, baptized, and taught some more. Those received to the church by way of their believing parents are baptized then taught.

Since the early church – even the mid-first century – a person coming into the covenant community would have to demonstrate true understanding of the faith and a desire for genuine repentance of sins. We still require this today when we receive members into our church body.

Notice again that Jesus says, “teaching then to observe.” There is so much to learn, understand, and apply – for the rest of our natural lives! And see that Jesus adds, “all that I have commanded you.” This clarifies the order of making disciples: first to the apostles/elders/ordained teachers, then to the whole church, and every true member then testifies about these great truths to the world. Every true disciple can bear witness to the truth of the person and work of Christ.

Disciples are made for incorporation into Christ. This is more than mere instruction, more than moral formation or mission activation. It’s more than getting people to come here, stay here, and behave in certain ways. It’s more than giving your money and your time. Christ authorized His apostles to fulfill their ordained role in proclaiming Him,
and baptizing and teaching so that people from every nation could be received into a real, covenantal, living union with the risen Christ Himself!

When we are incorporated into Christ, His life becomes the source of our obedience, His holiness becomes the pattern of our growth, and His power becomes the strength of our perseverance. This transformation happens not because we try harder or do more, but because His life is at work in us.

It is Christ who makes disciples. This doesn’t dismiss what the apostles did or what the rest of the church would do. Instead, it frames it in a sound and healthy, Christ-glorifying way.

Now look at this final phrase. Christ says, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This is our comfort. This is our great assurance. First of all, Jesus says, “Behold” with force. In other words, “Pay close attention!” In disciple-making, Christ is with His officers, and with all His people. He abides with us through our union with Him and by the presence of His Spirit.

Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” Christ assures us that He is with those who proclaim Him under His authority. Christ is with those who teach His will. Christ is with “the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” He abides with us by His Word and Spirit, therefore, disciple-making is ultimately a work of His power, not ours. Disciples are made by the power of Christ.

As we go to the Lord’s table now, I want to give you one more image. In John 15, Jesus speaks directly to the eleven, after Judas departed. And He says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, it is he that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Yes, the ordained leaders of the church lead the work of disciple making. First it was the apostles, now it is the elders of the church. And yes, every member plays a necessary role in the disciple-making work. But truly it is Jesus Christ who makes disciples.

Will you be His disciple? Will you identify with Him publicly through baptism and the profession of your faith, and will you be taught and observe all He has commanded? He brings His people into life-giving, soul-soothing union with Himself – union which He secured for us through His saving work.

Let’s bow in prayer.