Authority over Heaven and Earth

Setting and Overview

Throughout his entire Gospel, Matthew has been building to a revelation of how Jesus is, and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. As we approach to conclusion to the Gospel, we see those ideas come together in a the mission that he gives to his disciples: to go and make disciples of all nations. While most attention is usually focused on the command itself, that command cannot be divorced from the authority that he declares just before it. For us to truly go out on mission in the way that he expects, we have to recognize the authority of the one who sends us out.

Exposition

In contrast to the women receiving the word from the angel and responding to his command to tell the disciples, we see the guards going off to report to the chief priests and elders. Assuming that these were Roman soldiers, then they probably go to the Jewish authorities because they are on assignment to them. In any case, the Jewish authorities represent less of a threat related to their “failure” to guard the tomb. When the guards tell them what they observed (the angel, the earthquake, the rolling away the stone, and the empty tomb) the priests and elders likely assume that this confirm the satanic influence of Jesus ministry (Matthew 12:22-32.) They come up with a plan to simply claim that the guards fell asleep and that Jesus’ disciples stole the body. This would have not only been farfetched (it would have been virtually impossible to do so without waking sleeping guards, and if they were caught they could face capital punishment) but also required the guards claiming something that would make them look bad and could come with severe punishment. The Jewish authorities offer money and protection against Pilate, and so the guards agree. Because people will believe that they want to believe, the story continues to circulate.

While the Jewish authorities were concocting stories, however, the disciples were responding to Jesus’ summons to Galilee. The other Gospel writers focus on the Judean appearances, but Matthew focuses on the humble origins of Jesus’ earthly ministry, which heightens the drama of the mission about to be given and the miraculous results that followed. The Eleven respond to Jesus in worship when they see him, but Matthew tells us that some doubt. Since the Eleven have all already seen the resurrected Jesus (Joh 20:19-29) and Jesus likely commanded the women to tell not only the Eleven but other disciples as well (Matthew 28:7, 10) the doubting probably comes from other followers of Jesus who are more hesitant. The word for doubt doesn’t necessarily mean rejection, just uncertainty, and like Thomas, many probably came to fuller belief later.

Jesus gets ready to issue his command, but before he does, he declares to him that all authority on heaven and earth has been given to him. Jesus’ authority has been a theme in the Gospel (Matthew 7:29, 8:5-13, 9:6-8, 10:1-8, 21:23-27) but during his earthly ministry it was still exercised in a limited sphere. After the resurrection we now see that authority exercised with no bounds (Ephesians 1:20-23.) This was important for the disciples to see, because unlike their previous mission to only Israel (Matthew 10:1-8) their mission now would be to the whole world (Matthew 28:19) and unlike their previous generally favorable response (Matthew 10:9-13) now they will face strong opposition (Luke 22:35-38) and they must face that opposition without fear of men (Matthew 10:28) but with gentleness toward men and fear of God (I Peter 3:13-16.)

Examination and Application

The command to go and make disciples of all nations will be carried out in different ways by different disciples. For some it will mean overseas missions, and for some it will mean domestic ministries. For some it will be focused on evangelism and for some it will be more of discipling others to evangelize. For some it will be vocational work, and for many it will not be. For all, however, it should be the defining focus of our lives, and if we take seriously the authority of the one who gives us the command, then it will be.