Matthew 28:16-20 (Part 8)
Jesus Gives the Great Commission
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Perfect ending. Perfect summation. Jesus’ last words, the last words, of the Gospel of Matthew are like the perfect ending to a movie. We all have our favorite movies of all time. I have mine.
As I may have mentioned before here, my favorite movie of all time is The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise and Ken Wantanabe. My favorite last lines spoken by the two actors in their last scene together in the film, Tom and Ken, as their characters, Captain Algren and Katsumoto, as they both lay together wounded on the battlefield. Algren’s wounds are not life-threatening but Katsumoto’s are. As they lay there on the ground bleeding, they say their final words to one another. Captain Algren says to Katsumoto, “I will MISS our conversations!” and Katsumoto says as he looks at Algren and the cherry blossom trees behind him, “Perfect… They are all… perfect…” The words each speak are references to earlier parts of the movie and act to sum up the relationship that the two characters had developed. At the beginning of their relationship, when Algren confronts Katsumoto about being in captivity, Katsumoto abruptly ends their first meeting because of the lack of respect that Algren has shown him when he says, “I have introduced myself. You have introduced yourself. This has been a good conversation.” Later, when Algren, is about to leave Katsumoto and return to his life in the West, they stand in this beautiful garden of cherry trees in full bloom, Katsumoto says, “The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.” At the end of the movie, the lines spoken sum up the relationship that has developed between the two. For Algren, the conversations that they had over the length of the movie and being exposed to the honorable ways of the Samurai people have led Algren to re-examine his life and to find peace and purpose to it. For Katsumoto, the friendship with Algren has taught him that his way of life has not been wasted, that a way of life of honor, duty, dignity, devotion has not been wasted. It was a perfect life. It was not a wasted life. With that final battle the rebellion was over and the way of the Samurai would disappear. However, living a life of honor, duty, dignity, and integrity is not a wasted life. It is a perfect life like searching for the perfect cherry blossom – the search is not a wasted life. The pursuit of perfection is not a wasted life. The values of the Samurai as Algren said in a scene earlier, “Necessary? What could be more necessary?” Ah, I love that movie. So many memorable lines. I have seen it a million times but as I watch it each time, I am awestruck by the words of the movie and the cinematography. One of the best of all time. Well written, superbly acted, beautifully directed, and awesomely filmed. And those closing lines between the main characters, perfect!
That perfectly wrapped up ending is what I think about when I read the last half of v. 20 of Matthew 28, the ending of Matthew’s Gospel. There could be no better words spoken at the end of this book. With that in mind, Let’s re-read, Matthew 28:16-20, with special attention once again to vv. 20b:
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
In today’s blog, as we end our 9 month study of the Gospel of Matthew that we began back in early August 2015. Jesus has given his disciples a great charge to carry out, the Great Commission as we call it. But he reminds them that though the task is great, He will be with them always – to the very end of the age. It is the perfect ending. As a movie director, you could not have a better scripted ending. Powerful words spoken by the main character to his closest friends just before he rides off into the sunset, or as the screen fades to black.
The words of Jesus are profound to us through the ages here in the 21st century, as the disciples of disciples of disciples, etc. who can trace our way back through history to these first disciples. Jesus tells us that He will be with us as we go through our trials and tribulations of being a Christ follower in a world that is antagonistic to His message. He will be with us as we suffer. He will be with us as we stand up for Him. He will be with us when the world treats us badly. He will be with us no matter what. No matter how bad things get in our lives, when we have accepted Christ as our Savior, He will be with us. That gives us joy in the midst of strife. That gives of happiness in the midst of trouble. We know that Jesus has our back. We know He is there. Through His resurrection we know that He is bigger than anything that we face.
That is kind of the point of Matthew. He is the Messiah. He spent the whole gospel proving the point that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan promised to His people. Jesus is not just some prophet. He is divine. He is of one and the same essence as God. He is the Messiah. Everything He did was fulfillment of prophecy. It is from this proof text. This research paper written by Matthew that we come to understand the deity of Jesus Christ. He is the One! He is the Messiah! And He will be with us no matter what! He is God in the flesh. He is worth living for and dying for. He is the Messiah! When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our faith will give us eternal life. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we have put our faith in the right place, the Messiah.
He will be with us to the end of the age, also means that He will return one day to end the age. He will return to establish His kingdom on earth and put an end to this world as we know it. He will judge all nations, because He is God in the flesh. He will be the righteous judge. He will cast out those who do not believe in Him. He will judge us for how we reacted to Him. He will judge those who rebel against Him. At the end of the age, He will vindicate all those who have believed on His name. At the end of the age, it will be finished and we will have victory as children of Jesus Christ. That gives us joy. That gives us peace. Perfect ending to a perfect movie. Perfect…they are ALL…perfect.
Amen and Amen.
Fade to black…