SERIES: The Everyday Gospel
TEXT: Matthew 28:16-20
MESSAGE: “Living With A Kingdom Vision”
Q: What Is a Kingdom Vision?
“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life… Come further up, come further in!” — C.S. Lewis
A disciple of Jesus is centered on the gospel, empowered by the Holy Spirit, rooted in God’s missional family, equipped for everyday rhythms, and sent with a Kingdom vision.
TEXT: Matthew 28:16-20
“In Matthew 28:16–20 we come to the conclusion of a journey with Jesus, a journey that began with His birth and has continued through His life, His teaching, His miracles, His death, and in the previous section of Matthew 28, His resurrection. Now in this final passage in Matthew’s Gospel, we come to what has been called the Great Commission, a commission given by the Lord Jesus to those early disciples and to all His followers in subsequent generations. It’s a call we need to hear afresh in our own day. The Great Commission was not simply meant to be analyzed, though there is much here to think through. These few verses ought to, by the working of God’s Spirit, awaken our hearts, both individually and collectively in our churches, with a renewed zeal to make disciples in our own communities and among all nations. For some followers of Christ, this might even result in going to an unreached people group to make known the glory of Christ.” — David Platt
“…the climax and major focal point not only of this gospel but of the entire New Testament. It is not an exaggeration to say that, in its broadest sense, it is the focal point of all Scripture, Old Testament as well as New…” — John MacArthur
Q: What do we learn about a Kingdom vision? We see three ways this is lived out in today’s text. It’s living life… (1. Under Jesus’ Authority 2. Through Jesus’ Mission 3. With Jesus’ Presence)
1. Under Jesus’ Authority (v. 16-18)
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.
“But some doubted” raises questions. Is this a different group than those who worshiped? Was a larger gathering than just the Eleven present? What kind of “doubt” does Matthew have in mind? The latter question is more easily answerable. Distazō refers more to hesitation than to unbelief.” — Craig Blomberg
“Jesus’ authority is the basis for everything else that follows in this text. His authority over heaven and earth means that Jesus is not just the personal Lord and Savior over us…you and I don’t decide to make Jesus Lord; He is Lord regardless of what we think of Him.” — David Platt
“First, the king of this kingdom is commonly said to be God (not least in the common expression ‘the kingdom of God’) but can also be said to be Christ: ‘My kingdom is not of this world,’ Jesus said (John 18:36). The point is that all of God’s sovereignty is mediated through the resurrected and exalted Jesus (1 Corinthians 15). The second peculiar feature to this kingdom is that King Jesus ‘reigns from the cross’, as early patristic writers put it…for King Jesus establishes the peculiar nature of his kingdom by dying on behalf of his rebellious people.” — D.A. Carson
2. Through Jesus’ Mission (v. 19-20a)
“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.”
“Christianity would be born into a world that had multiple options for explaining, coping with, and living in light of ultimate reality.” — Donald Fairbairn
“Because of this authority, Jesus has the right to issue his followers their “marching orders,” but he also has the ability to help them carry out those orders.” — Craig Blomberg
“Although the church isn’t the kingdom, it is part of what theologians call the ‘already but not yet’ kingdom. The church is the overt tool God uses to manifest his kingdom—and the coming consummated kingdom…Thus, for the church to participate with Jesus on mission means they follow in his footsteps. As Jesus came saving, serving, and sending, his church moves in the world sharing, serving, and sending. In living as kingdom citizens, the church shares the good news of Jesus—that he is the rightful King of the world who has come to redeem and restore every aspect of our lives as well as our world.” — Ed Stetzer and Daniel Im
3. With Jesus’ Presence (v. 20b)
“ And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
“Jesus is ‘God with us.’ This is a fitting way for Jesus to conclude his charge to the disciples and for Matthew to conclude his Gospel.” — J. I. Packer
“The world of the first century was a world in significant contact with God’s people. Among many in Europe, Africa, and Asia, a true and universal monotheism was an option on the spiritual menu…Many polytheisms, pantheisms, dualisms, and nontheistic philosophical codes stood side by side, offering to help people make sense of the universe and their place in it. Among those various faiths was a true monotheism that made universal claims about the one God who created the heavens and the earth, all things visible and invisible. This God tolerated no competing allegiances, no worship of local gods and goddesses alongside himself. His name was Yahweh, his peculiar people were widely known, and soon news would spread that he had sent his Son into the world to save not just his own people but all humankind. This message would quickly find a hearing…Within two centuries of Pentecost — and possibly even sooner than that — the Christian faith was already substantially a global movement.” — Donald Fairbairn
TAKEAWAYS: How can we live out a Kingdom Vision?
- Understand Mission, Missions, and Missional
“…(missional) means adopting the posture of a missionary, joining Jesus on mission, and learning and adapting to the culture around you while remaining biblically sound…missional means living and acting like a missionary without ever leaving your city.” — Ed Stetzer and Daniel Im
- Intentionally Cultivate Kingdom Outposts
“…God calls us to plant gardens in the wilderness, to create beauty in a broken world, and to establish places of peace amid chaos. Whether in a home, a community center, or a workplace, every Christian is called to cultivate a space where God’s presence is experienced. The world needs sacred spaces—places where the kingdom is embodied, our worship shapes our imaginations, the weary find rest. May we steward these places well, knowing they aren’t ends in themselves but glimpses of the renewed world to come.” — Jeremy Treat
- Live joyfully for the King
“Every faithful act of service, every honest labor to make the world a better place, which seemed to have been forever lost and forgotten in the rubble of history, will be seen on that day [at the final resurrection] to have contributed to the perfect fellowship of God’s kingdom…. All who committed their work in faithfulness to God will be by Him raised up to share in the new age, and will find that their labor was not lost, but that it has found its place in the completed.” — Amy Sherman (Kingdom Calling)
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” — Hebrews 12:1-2