Matthew 28:16-20
The Greatest Missionary of All!
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Who would you consider to be the greatest missionary of all? Would you point to the apostle Paul because of all the congregations he established and all the letters he wrote? Would you point to Martin Luther because of how courageously he stood up to defend the Truth of Scripture and how prolifically he wrote books and pamphlets and confessions? If you were brought to faith as an adult would you point to the pastor who patiently instructed you in the Truths of Scripture or the neighbor who faithfully and humbly and openly lived the faith that was in their heart?
Who would you consider to be the greatest missionary of all? My guess is that no matter who we might point to as we answer that question, they would point to the ultimate answer to that question! Today as we gather together to celebrate Trinity Sunday let’s see how our text for this morning emphasizes this truth: The Greatest Missionary of All— Our Triune God!
Our text contains what is commonly known as The Great Commission— the “job description” that the risen Christ gave to His Church before He ascended Home to Heaven. But since we are studying these words on Trinity Sunday our goal is to see that behind this Great Commission is an even greater “co-mission,” the combined, cooperative and perfectly coordinated mission of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity— God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Church’s mission is rooted in God’s mission. The Church’s mission flows from God’s mission. The Church’s mission finds its source and its power in God’s mission. The key to the Church’s mission is to understand, confess and rejoice that the greatest Missionary of all is the Triune God Himself!
God’s mission begins in the heart of God and expresses His great love for us. This “heart for missions” has been a part of the Triune God from all eternity. Our Old Testament reading for today (Genesis 1:1-2:3) revealed to us that all three Persons of the Holy Trinity were actively involved in the Creation of the heavens and the earth. (See also John 1:1-3) Genesis chapter three not only contains the heartbreaking account of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God and the introduction of sin into God’s once perfect Creation, but it also contains the very first Gospel promise recorded in the Bible, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
But according to Ephesians 1:3-14 God’s missionary plan for you and for me began even “before the creation of the world.” Over and over again the Bible portrays God the Father as a seeking God and a sending God. He seeks the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. (See Luke 15) Because of God the Father’s seeking and searching love for the lost, He sent His only begotten Son into this world in order to “save the world through him” (John 3:17).
While God’s mission does indeed begin in the “heart” of God the Father, His mission centers on God the Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God the Father did not seek to carry out His mission to save sinners like us by the sheer force and power of His divine will. His missionary plan was focused on the willing cooperation and dedication of His Son who was “conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” From beginning to end the Bible is “Christo-centric,” which means that the Bible is focused on and centered in Jesus, the Christ. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise in Genesis 3:15. Jesus is the Promised Messiah who was sent by the Father to reconcile the world to Himself. (See 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 3:8) Because Jesus is both the true Son of God and the true Son of Man His perfect life, His innocent suffering and death, and His victorious physical resurrection from the dead has atoned for the sins of the world. (1 John 2:1-2). He has “crushed” the head of Satan. (1 John 3:8) He has opened wide the gates of heaven to everyone who believes and trusts in Him and what He has done for us! (Pointing to the cross.) (See 2 Peter 1:11)
While God’s mission does indeed begin in the “heart” of God the Father, and while God’s mission does indeed center on the life and the work of God the Son, God’s mission is empowered by God the Holy Spirit. Here is where we need to remember that God the Holy Spirit has always been an integral part of God’s mission to save us sinners. He was active in the Creation of the world. (Genesis 1:2) He spoke through the prophets of old. (2 Samuel 23:1, 2; Isaiah 59:21; Acts 2) He was openly revealed at Jesus’ baptism. (John 1:29-34; Acts 10:37-38) He filled and empowered the Church on the great day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:1-4) And as we heard last Sunday, God the Holy Spirit continues to enable God’s people to confess and profess, “Jesus is Lord.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
The ongoing work of God the Holy Spirit is vital to God’s continued missionary efforts. Without the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of people like you and me, no one could believe in Christ, or confess Christ, or serve as a witness for Christ in this sin-darkened world. As Martin Luther taught us, God the Holy Spirit is the One who “calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.” (Martin Luther’s explanation to the Third Article)
All of this is why it is so appropriate for us to focus on The Great Commission as we celebrate Trinity Sunday. When we recognize that the Triune God is the greatest Missionary of all, then we can understand the Church’s role in God’s mission. Then we can properly participate in God’s mission with joy and with confidence! When we recognize that the Triune God is the greatest Missionary of all, then we will take to heart the words our Lord and Savior speaks to us today, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Note very carefully that our risen Lord has been given “all authority.” No earthly rulers, not even all the legions of demons have the “authority” to stop the mission that the Triune God continues to carry out through His Church, through you and me.
That mission is both extremely simple and extremely powerful. Jesus describes that mission with these well-known words: “Therefore (that is, on the basis of My authority) go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Jesus has completed His mission. Jesus has “reached His goal” of saving us from our sins! (Pointing to the cross) Now Jesus gives to us our mission! Our mission is to “Go!” “Go and make disciples of all nations!” How do we do this? How do we carry out the mission that the risen Christ Himself has given to us? It is certainly not on the basis of our own “authority” or our own “ingenuity.” On the basis of His own “authority” Jesus gives us two ways to carry out the “mission” that He has given to us.
The first way is “by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When we baptize even the youngest child with water in the Name of the Triune God, the Triune God Himself washes away all their sins. The Triune God Himself dresses them in a beautiful white robe of perfect righteousness— the righteousness that God the Son secured for them on the cross of Calvary’s hill. (Pointing to the cross) The Triune God Himself adopts that child as His own dearly beloved child and freely gives to that child everything Jesus has won for them: forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. The Triune God Himself designates that child an “heir” of His glorious heavenly Kingdom.
This is why we never want to lose sight of the fact that baptism—whether it is our own baptism, or the baptism of our children and our grandchildren— baptism is a key part of the Great Commission that our Lord and Savior has given to us. Baptism is a key part of “making disciples of all nations.” Through Baptism we are lavished with the Father’s love. We receive the full benefit of the Son’s redemption. We are graciously given the Holy Spirit’s free gift of saving faith.
The mission the Triune God has given to us does not end with baptism, does it. Jesus goes on to tell us, “Make disciples of all nations…by teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” When you brought your child home from the hospital did you feed them, change them, and then say, “I have things I need to get done. I’ll check in on you later”? Of course not! You lovingly fed them and took care of them on a regular basis. As your children grew older did you let them decide for themselves what they were going to eat? I hope not! Young children are not exactly known for choosing the most nutritious foods to eat. Sometimes even adults do not make the best choices when it comes to what we eat.
That’s why the Great Commission our Savior has given to us His Church— that is, to each and every one of us— includes the words, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Just as we know how important it is to feed our physical body the nutritious food that it needs to stay health and strong, so also we need to remember how important it is to feed our soul spiritually nutritious food so that our soul can stay healthy and strong. This is especially true when it comes to the faith of our children and our grandchildren.
No matter whether we are a child who is still growing in our faith or an adult who has been around the block more than once, we all need to strive to “obey,” to “pay close attention to,” to “keep under guard” “everything” Jesus has “commanded” us here in His Word— not just “some” things, not just “most” things, not just the things we like or appreciate, but “everything” He has commanded us!
That’s the Great Commission that our Triune God has given to you and to me. Now we need to ask our God to help us keep our eyes open so that we can “see” the people who need our help— or perhaps we should say, the people who need His help (Pointing to the cross). These may be the people who are going through a major life-changing event, such as a marriage, the birth of a child, a job change, a divorce, a serious illness, or the loss of a loved one. These may be people who do not know what the Triune God has done for them or seem to have lost sight of what the Triune God has done for them.
So I ask you again: Who is the greatest missionary of all? The answer is, of course, our Triune God! With the words of the Great Commission resounding in our hearts on this Trinity Sunday let’s praise our Triune God! Praise Him for the fact that the love of God the Father, the dedication of God the Son, and the power of God the Holy Spirit guaranteed that God’s mission to save us from our sins is complete! With the words of the Great Commission resounding in our hearts on this Trinity Sunday let’s praise our Triune God as we ask Him to fill our hearts with the zeal and the dedication, the love and the humbleness we need to carry out the mission that He has given to us!
To God be the glory!
Amen