Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church
Sermon Matthew 28:16-20 “Making Disciples of All Nations”
June 7, 2020
This is Trinity Sunday. On this Sunday we remember that the God we worship is revealed to us as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As Augustin told us, since God is love, as scripture told us, then God must be both a lover and a beloved because it always takes two to be in a loving relationship. Therefore for God to be love, there must be the Father that loves the Son and the Son loves the Father. The Holy Spirit binds the Father and the Son together with bonds of love. And so the God we worship is one God existing in a loving relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, what we call the Trinity.
After Jesus’ resurrection, he asked his followers to meet him at a mountain in Galilee. There Jesus told them what he expected his followers to do once he ascended to heaven. Jesus left behind the church which would carry out his instructions. These instructions left us with the command that we should make disciples of Jesus Christ from all people on earth. We will look at this, but first, let’s pray.
Father in heaven, calm our fear of others. Help to follow you into our community where we can tell people about you. Send your Spirit to fill us with love for you and for our neighbors. Help us to make disciples of people from every nation and ethnic group. We pray this in the name of our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
On Easter morning a group of women went to the tomb where Jesus was buried. An angel came and informed them that Jesus had been raised from the dead. The women were then commanded to return back to the other followers of Jesus with a message. Here is the message they were to deliver.
Matthew 28 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’
While on their way to report to the disciples what they had seen and heard they encountered the risen Jesus. Here is what Jesus told them.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
The women went back to the disciples and told them all they had seen and heard. They gave Jesus’ instructions to the disciples. Once the disciples heard the witness of the women that decided to obey Jesus and return to the mountain near Capernaum where Jesus had taught during his life.
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
Jesus’ 11 remaining disciples heard from the woman and returned to their homes in Galilee. They assembled on the mountain near Capernaum where Jesus had been teaching. There they saw the resurrected Jesus and this happened.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
The disciples bowed down in worship to the resurrected Jesus. Most of them were filled with faith. But we are told that some doubted. Doubt? Why did some doubt? There he was. The resurrected Jesus was standing right there in front of them. What is there to doubt? The Bible doesn’t give us an answer to that. But we do know that the ones who doubted still worshiped Jesus. They worshiped him before they believed in him.
This is a very important point. If you know someone who does not believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, bring that person to church. Let them worship Jesus even with their doubts. Worship precedes faith. Bring people to worship and their faith will develop.
The disciples were obedient, they came back to Capernaum to the mountain where Jesus taught. They saw the resurrected Jesus. And they bowed down to worship. At that point, the resurrected Jesus began to teach. But as any good rabbi would, Jesus must first tell them where his authority comes from. Most rabbis would say that their authority comes from Rabbi So and So who wrote hundreds of years ago. But Jesus’ authority is a little different than the average rabbi. Here is what he said.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
The resurrected Jesus is the supreme authority on earth. This means that not only his disciples but everyone on earth are to follow and obey him. This is the kingdom of God. And we, his people are to obey him and follow his commands. So, what is Jesus commanding us to do? Listen to his own words.
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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus used his authority to tell us that our mission as the church is to make disciples, followers of Jesus, and baptize them in the name of our triune God. As we are going about our day to day lives we are to tell everyone we meet about the good news we have found in Christ. We are to proclaim that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and through him our sins are forgiven and we are promised eternal life.
When Jesus used the words “all nations” he was not talking about modern nation-states like we have today. Rather Jesus used the Greek word ethnos from which we get the word “ethnic”. In other words, Jesus was telling us that we are to make disciples of all the different ethnic groups. To obey Jesus means that we must make disciples of all the people regardless of their ethnic background, nationality, language, dress, documentation status, or income level.
When I lived in DC I was able to meet and establish friendships with people from many different nations. I loved this experience. So when I was looking at seminaries I wanted a place where I could study with people from all over the world. That is why I chose Fuller Theological Seminary.
While at Fuller I lived in an extremely multinational apartment complex. My neighbor on one side was from Africa and on the other was from China. While at Fuller I met and married a woman from Korea. And my internship at Pasadena Presbyterian Church was with a ministry to international students from around the world.
West Jersey Presbytery has the initiative to start Spanish speaking churches. Pittsgrove church helped this effort by providing childcare for Hispanic families who were being trained to lead churches. Joyce Guliano often talks about the great joy she had caring for these children. We must always be looking at ways to proclaim the gospel message to other ethnic groups.
Christ wants us to build multiethnic churches because that is in the very nature of God. We believe that we have one God. This is the God of the Hebrews who created everything. But this one God exists in the diversity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So just as our God is diverse, so too should the church be diverse welcoming all people into its doors.
But building a multiethnic church is difficult. There are many cultural differences in worship styles. But we will be united as one if our worship is always centered on Jesus Christ. Our triune God is held together as one by the bonds of mutual love. So too must the church be bound together by the love of God and our love for each other. A multiethnic church is tied together into one unified church by the bonds of genuine mutual love.
Jesus not only told his disciples to make new disciples from people of every ethnic group he also told them to obey his teaching. This is something else we have to do. We have to study God’s word and put what we learn into action. Just as the first disciples were obedient by coming to the mountain in Capernaum to worship their risen Lord, so too should we be obedient to all of Jesus’ teachings.
Jesus told us to do two things. First, we are to love God with all of our hearts, souls, strength, and minds. We do this by gathering around the communion table and remembering all that God has done for us. Second, we are to love one another as God loves us. We do this by making new disciples and baptizing them in the name of our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus completed his ministry on earth with a promise. After receiving worship from his disciples, declaring his authority, and teaching them to make disciples of all people Jesus promised to do this:
20 …And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus’ promise is that he is here with us. Whenever we obediently come together for worship Jesus is with us. Whenever we make new disciples and baptize them, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Jesus is with us. Whenever we come around this communion table to remember what he did for us, Jesus is with us. Jesus will continue to be with until he comes again.
We are to be obedient to all the teachings of Jesus. We are to learn what Jesus said and did. And we are to talk about Jesus in our daily lives, never forgetting to invite people to church. We invite people to church even though they have doubts about Jesus because through worship faith develops. And remember that Jesus wants everyone, not just people like us, all ethnics groups to be his disciples. Let’s pray.
God in heaven, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bind us together with your mutual love. Fill our hearts with the desire to take this love into our community. Bless us as we make new disciples and baptize them. Bless us as we gather around the communion table and remember all you have done for us. This we pray in Jesus’ glorious name. Amen.
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