16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16–20 (ESV)
What are the major components of the Lord’s Great Commission to His disciples? What right does Jesus have to command His followers to obey this commission? What promise is included in this commission? These questions are to be considered and answered in the next several days.
To begin with, what right did Jesus have to give a commission in the first place? Jesus provided the answer when He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Authority (ἐξουσία; exousia) means the authority to rule. Jesus said He was in control, or in charge. This biblical truth is set forth in Psalm 2 and 110. See also Cf. Dan. 7:14; Matt. 16:28; 24:30; 26:64. This Great Claim forms the basis for the Great Commission.
“Authority is the right to rule, to command, to govern. The Greek word exousia, which is translated as the English word authority in Matthew 28:18–20, literally means “that which arises out of being.” It is the right to rule that arises out of the present conditions (state of being) or relation in which one finds himself. A father has the right to rule by virtue of the God-ordained relation that the father has with his child. Jesus has the right to rule by virtue of His present state of being, or condition, as the victor over sin, death, and hell,” states one commentator.
“Thus, before the Lord Jesus commissioned His disciples, He asserted His authority to do so. Here is the claim of universal and unlimited authority. We should note first the source of His authority: He received it from His Father. In His state of humiliation (His earthly life prior to His resurrection), He possessed authority, but He voluntarily limited the exercise of it. However, He would at times assert it with great power.”
“Jesus is here claiming all power and right to exercise it. When he says, “To me has been given” we naturally interpret this to mean that he is referring to a gift he has received as Resurrected Mediator. One might add: “as a reward upon his accomplished mediatorial work, the atonement which he rendered.” But did he not make a somewhat similar claim long before his death and resurrection? See 11:27. Not only this, but did he not, even during the days of his humiliation, exercise power over every sickness, including leprosy, and over hunger, demons, winds and waves, human hearts, death even? Did he not prove this on many occasions? True, but there is, nevertheless, an important difference,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen. “It is the investiture of the risen Christ with such unrestricted, universal sovereignty, that Jesus now claims and which, especially within a few days, that is after his ascension to heaven, he is beginning to exercise. That is the reward upon his labors (Eph. 1:19–23; Phil. 2:9, 10; Rev. 5).
Why did Jesus make this claim at this moment? He did this so when His apostles would proclaim the gospel throughout the world, they would remember this truth every moment of every day in order to lean on Him. This is the teaching of passages such as John 16:33; Acts 26:16–18; Phil. 4:13; and Rev. 1:9–20.
“These apostles, and those that follow afterward, must demand that everyone, in every sphere of life, shall joyfully acknowledge Jesus as “Lord of lords and king of kings” (Rev. 17:14). “The Great Claim” is therefore a fitting introduction to the Great Commission,” concludes Dr. Henriksen.
Note the authority Jesus possesses is total; “All authority in heaven and earth.” Jesus’ right to rule is comprehensive. It is all-powerful.
“Note also the extent of His authority. It is unlimited. His authority is not restricted by jurisdiction or geography. He has received from the Father all authority, without limitations or restrictions. We know this is the case because Jesus adds the clarifying phrase “in heaven and on earth”—everywhere in the universe in which any authority could be exercised. He is given all authority in the spiritual and material realms, in the heavens and on the earth. There is no place in this universe over which He has not been given authority. His authority penetrates every realm and sphere of influence,” comments one pastor.
This Great Claim precedes the Great Commission.
Soli deo Gloria!
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