Bigger Conquest

At the very end of Matthew's Gospel, the eleven disciples finally meet Jesus, where he told them to go to a mountain in Galilee. And that location is no accident. Galilee is where it all began, where Jesus first called these men and started his ministry. So when he gathers them there, he's taking them back to the beginning, as if to say: I've finished my course, I've accomplished everything I came to do, and now it's your turn to begin right here where we started.

But before he sends them anywhere, he tells them who he is. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Not some authority. Not authority in a few places. All of it, everywhere, won through his death and resurrection. And on the strength of that authority, he commissions them: go to all the nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe everything I've commanded. Notice how that word keeps repeating—all authority, all nations, all his commandments. This is a gospel of "all." And notice, too, that making disciples isn't just getting people to believe. It's bringing them into union with Christ through baptism and forming them in a whole way of life.

Now here's where it gets honest. We hear Jesus claim all authority and promise his presence, and something in us pushes back. Look at the news. Look at history. It sure doesn't always feel like Christ is in control. So how can this be true? Well, look at how Jesus actually exercises his authority. This is the One who calmed storms, cleansed lepers, and called Lazarus from the grave—and yet he let himself be beaten, mocked, and crucified. At the very moment it looked like he had no authority at all, he was wielding it most fully. He doesn't sweep evil off the table; he absorbs it and turns it into good. It's the story of Joseph all over again: "What you meant for evil, God meant for good." It's the early church, whose blood was spilled in martyrdom—and that very suffering is what grew the church until even Rome, which had killed them, was won to Christ.

So this is our hope. Jesus is a greater Moses. Moses stood on Mount Nebo and could only point to a promised land he would never enter, handing the mission to Joshua. But Jesus has already crossed over. He's not just sending us ahead—he's gone before us, preparing the place, and he stays with us to the end of the age. We feel his presence most when we gather as his church and love one another.

In the end, it's like being told how a movie ends and then being invited to help make it. We already know the conclusion. We simply get to live it out—making disciples, trusting his authority, and hoping for the day he returns and we look back to see the glory of God in the story we were given to make.

Peace be with you,

Pastor Bruce