Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction

Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.

You remember the old TV show?

Fred Rogers taught us about how to live as good neighbors.

But it was a children’s show.

It wasn’t a seminar full of ideas or theories or topics or statistics.

He showed us how to do it by example.

He didn’t talk about being a good neighbor; he went out and did it.

Mister Rogers put it into action.

He did not hesitate and question what he should do or send it to a committee or create a report or develop a program.

He didn’t hesitate.

He put it into action.

The apostle Peter strikes me as a guy who has A.D.D. Think about all the times he jumps into a situation without thinking first about what he’s doing.

He just goes with his gut and he acts.

It’s Peter who gets out of the boat and walks on water toward Jesus.

After the resurrection, some of the disciples go out fishing.

When they see Jesus on the shore it’s Peter who again jumps out of the boat and swims to shore.

When confronted in the courtyard during Jesus’ trial, Peter quickly disowns even knowing Jesus.

Yes, it’s Peter who jumps first and thinks later.

And isn’t it interesting that it’s Peter who Jesus chooses to lead the disciples after he ascends to heaven—Peter, who consistently acts before thinking.

Maybe there’s something to that; not Peter’s thoughtlessness or rush, but his seemingly built-in propensity for action.

He’s not prudent, he’s not cautious, he’s not patient.

Check how that plays into the story of Jesus ascension.

[Matthew 28:16-20]

!! Doubt

Several things are going on in this passage.

Let’s set up the context before we get into figuring out the message.

This is a passage of scripture commonly known as the Great Commission.

And biblical commentators rightly point to this very short speech of Jesus at the end of Matthew’s gospel as the culmination of Matthew’s entire message.

Matthew tells us that the eleven disciples are present.

They worshipped Jesus, and Matthew tells us that some doubted.

Let’s not pass over that too quickly.

What does he mean that some doubted?

If the gathering here is just the eleven—and the context gives us every reason to believe this is true—then these disciples have already seen Jesus since his resurrection.

It’s not as though this is the first appearance Jesus is making to the eleven.

That at least would be understandable as a cause for doubt.

So what does Matthew mean that some doubt.

To make sense of this passage and to make sense of the Great Commission we need to understand this.

The greek work for doubt here is distadzo, which in this instance does not mean doubt in the sense of disbelief or unbelief.

Doubt here has better defined as being hesitant about a particular course of action.

So the disciples see Jesus and worship him.

But some hesitate because they are not sure about what to do next.

That’s the thrust of the context here.

The disciples are wondering, what do we do now?

And Jesus answers their question of hesitancy by giving them the great commission.

!

A Mission That Is Universal

Let’s break down a few things about the commission that Jesus gives.

It is the mission for the church.

But what can we say about that mission?

First of all we can say that it is a mission that is universal.

That is, Jesus did not give this as instructions just for those first eleven disciples and only them.

It is a mission that encompasses all disciples from this point forward until Jesus comes again to make all things new.

this means it is a mission that is just as real for us today as it was for those eleven guys back then.

If those guys were hesitating and had questions about what to do next, Jesus gave them the answer right then and there.

If we in the church today hesitate and have any question about what it is we should be doing as disciples, Jesus answers us right here and now about that.

It is a universal mission that is both for all.

Look in your outline how Jesus makes this certain by his repetition of the word “all.”

I’ve reworded this in your outline to follow something closer to the original greek so that you see those repetitions.

All authority, all nations, all things, all days.

Jesus says that this mission does not have a narrow scope in who it is for and for how long it should last.

It is a mission for every one of us.

!! Disciples Make Disciples

There is one main verb in this commission.

Even though it seems like a lot of action is taking place, it all leans in as support for one main verb—one main point of action.

That action is making disciples.

This is not only the culmination of Matthew’s entire gospel message, it is the main answer that Jesus gives to the disciples’ hesitancy about what it is that they should be doing next.

In other words, the main job of a disciple is to be making other disciples.

And just to be certain, the term “Christian” and “disciple” are interchangeable.

If you go to church and you consider yourself a Christian, then you are a disciple.

And if as a Christian you have to make a top ten list of what Christian’s do, or should do, even though your list includes things like Christians go to church, Christians pray—some things like that.

Jesus makes clear here in Matthew 28 that the top of that list is this: Christians make other Christians.

Disciples make disciples.

The disciples wondered, what do we do now?

Jesus said above all else, make other disciples.

That is the top of the list.

It is the top priority above all others.

If there is anything in the church that requires urgency, action, and no hesitation, this is it.

Making disciples is what we are here for.

!! Cooperative

And one more thing we can say about this universal mission.

It is a mission that is cooperative.

This business in the church of disciple-making is not something that we do alone, we do this in cooperation—cooperation with one another, and cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

Please understand that this is not a cop-out excuse.

This is not an excuse to say, “I’m a part of a church congregation that makes disciples, and so I regularly give an offering to pay the pastors so that they are actually the ones who are out there in the community making disciples.”

Or, “I am a prayer warrior and I regularly pray for those in my congregation who are out there making disciples, and that’s my part in disciple-making is to pray for the others that are doing this work.”

Those are attempts to justify being a disciple without doing the work that Jesus assigned for disciples to do.

The universal nature of the Great Commission makes it clear that this is something we are all expected to do as followers of Jesus.

We do this together.

But especially on this pentecost Sunday it is important to remember that this is a mission we do in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

And this is a source of comfort.

This task of disciple-making is not something we do apart from God.

Because at the end of the day you and I cannot change a person’s heart to repent and turn to God.

Only the Holy Spirit can do that.

We in the church have been given the great privilege of joining the Holy Spirit in God’s mission to have disciples from every tribe and nation—from every community, neighborhood, and block.

!

A Mission That Is Specific

Not only is this mission for the church a universal mission, but Jesus also explains it as a very specific mission.

The mission for the church is a mission that is specific.

Matthew 28 tells us three ways that this mission to make disciples is specific: going, baptizing, & teaching

!! Sending

I know the english translation of the Bible we are looking at says “therefore go and make disciples of all nations.”