Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Matthew 28:18-20 | Date: January 11, 2026 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

Today, we come to another topic, and you will turn in your Bibles to Matthew 28, a familiar passage at the end of Matthew’s Gospel. We have been looking at the marks of a true church or the ordering of a church—what are known as the marks of a true church. These are things that have been discussed for centuries, but what has been pretty much agreed upon is what are the marks of a true church, the difference between a true church and a church that calls itself a church and whatnot.

The marks are: number one, submission to the Scriptures or, as it’s often stated, the preaching of the gospel in its purity. That’s the first mark. Another mark of the true church is the appointed officers in the church, elders and deacons, which the New Testament has appointed. Another mark of the true church is it exercises discipline. And another mark of the true church is the observance of the two ordinances that our Lord has ordained to be observed in the church.

So today, we take on that last one that I just mentioned. After today, just as a heads-up, we will have two more messages in this series, and I think finally we will be done. We’ll deal next time with the Lord’s Supper, and then the time after that, we’ll deal with the subject of church discipline, and we’ll finish up then this series on the ordering of the church.

Today, we begin to look at the ordinances, and today, the topic of baptism as it is instituted here by Christ in verses 18 and following. We have two ordinances in the church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the initiatory rite on the way in, and the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance that is to be observed throughout our time here, and we’ll look at that next time. Today, the subject of baptism: Matthew 28, verses 16 through 20.

“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came to them, said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.'”

You will want to notice here that the passage, in a way, is constructed around the idea of “all,” and you’ll see it four times in this passage. We have “all authority” in verse 18, “all nations” in verse 19, and then we have verse 20, “all that I have commanded you.” And then the end of verse 20, “behold, I am with you always,” or as it reads in the original, “all the days to the end of the age.” We’ll see the significance of some of that as we go along.

The context here is that of the cross and resurrection. Christ has died, offered himself in sacrifice for sin. God has raised him from the dead in triumph over death, testifying to his accomplished work, and now we are several weeks later, 40 days later. This is the last post-resurrection event that Matthew records for us. This is just prior to his ascension, and we have in verses 18 through 20 what’s called the Great Commission. Verses 18 and 19 again: “Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.'”

All Authority in Heaven and on Earth

Now that all authority belongs to Jesus is in one sense a given. We know that already because, as we have seen here just recently, particularly over the Christmas holiday time, Jesus is God the Son incarnate. And as God the Son, he has always had all authority. From all eternity, he has reigned as the second person of the triune Godhead, ruling over all.

But something new, something more specific is in view here. Verse 19, notice it: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” So there’s something new going on, something more specific. Now, this is a fascinating theme, and it’s a happy providence today that we sang all of these songs regarding Jesus’ kingship. It was marvelous—the song service this morning rehearsing these themes in our hearing—and this is what we’re looking at here. Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

In a very important way, this is the climax of Matthew’s presentation of Jesus. This idea of Jesus’ kingship was introduced to us at the very outset of Matthew’s gospel. Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1: he’s the son of David. He tracks that genealogy of Jesus back to David, showing his place in the kingly line that was promised. We find it again in Matthew chapter 2 when the Magi come and offer their worship to Jesus. They’ve come to worship the king of the Jews.

We find this note of Jesus’ authority repeated throughout the gospel. We have it in many different places. Chapters 5 through 7, we have the Sermon on the Mount, and what struck the people, Matthew tells us—what struck the people at the end of his sermon is that this man preaches with authority. We find it again in Matthew chapter 10 where it’s highlighted in a significant way where Jesus has authority to forgive sins. The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. We find it again in Matthew chapter 11 where Jesus claims that he alone has authority to reveal God. The theme of Christ’s authority and kingship comes to the fore in a great way then around the time of Jesus’ passion.

We have his conversation with Pilate: “Are you the king of the Jews?” He’s given a crown of thorns, reflecting his kingship in a mocking way, but reflecting his kingship. He’s given a reed for a staff. This is the king. He’s given a purple robe. Pilate puts the title over his head on the cross: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

We’re reminded throughout from beginning to end in the Gospel of Matthew of this theme of his authority. And now we come to this context here. This is post-cross, post-resurrection; he is about to ascend into heaven, and this is the climax of that theme of Jesus’ authority. Now he has died for sinners. Dying in their place, he has accomplished their redemption. God has demonstrated his acceptance of his work in raising him from the dead, and now he is the accomplished Redeemer. He’s the accomplished mediator. God’s own authority now is mediated through Jesus, the incarnate Son. All authority has been given to him.

He now, through his saving work, has earned the right to judge and to save. We find this pictured for us famously—we’ve seen this many times—in Revelation chapter five, the ascension theme, where we have God on the throne in chapter four. In chapter five, he’s got a scroll in his hand, which is his last testament, if you will, his last will and testament for history. This is God’s purpose for history and salvation and judgment. And a cry goes out, “Who’s worthy to take the scroll?” Finally, it is the Lamb who is worthy because He was slain and by His blood He has bought men and women to God through His redeeming work. So here Jesus now is the accomplished Redeemer and this is the ground of His exaltation to the right hand of God.

We’ve seen this in many of the Psalms. The nations rage against God. God has resolved, “I’ve set my son on my holy hill.” And the son says, “God has told me, I’ll receive the nations as an inheritance.” We see it in Psalm 110, where he’s seated at the right hand of God. It was read this morning, Philippians chapter 2, that he humbled himself, became obedient, all the way to the cross; therefore, because of his saving work, God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee would bow and every tongue will confess. That’s the scene here then. Matthew’s theme of Jesus’ kingship, his authority, his universal authority, here now comes to its climax and Jesus claims it for his own. He’s the accomplished redeemer. He is the world’s savior. He’s the world’s judge. And so he is king over all.

Make Disciples of All Nations

Now that explains in turn the “therefore” in verse 19. “All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me, go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” That is, Jesus’ great commission here is grounded in his universal authority. He’s achieved this right to judge and to save, and on the ground of that, his people are now responsible to go to the world and call men and women everywhere into submission to him. We’re to make disciples of all the nations because all authority has been given to Jesus. He is the world’s savior and judge. This we’re commanded to do all the way to the end of the age. This is the church’s defining responsibility, our defining role for this whole age: go and make disciples everywhere. Bring men and women into submission to Jesus everywhere because all authority is his.

Now, that in turn then defines for us—his authority defines for us—what it means in these verses to make disciples. What is it to make a disciple? Very simply, to make a disciple is to bring a man or a woman into submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. A disciple is, by definition, one who submits to the kingship of Jesus. Or, in these words here, verse 20, a disciple is one who has learned to obey or to keep all that Christ has commanded.

A disciple, you might know, etymologically means a learner. The way it’s used in the New Testament, it’s not so much just a learner; it’s a follower in the truest sense. Jesus defines a disciple in terms of a disciple must be like his teacher. He is a servant who must be like his master. That’s what a disciple is—a follower in the truest sense. We turn a few pages over again, we’ll come to the Book of Acts, and we’ll find that this word “disciple” is the standard word for what we call Christians. That’s not the word used in the Book of Acts. Well, a couple of times it is. “Almost you persuade me to be a Christian.” “They were called Christians first in Antioch,” and so on. But the standard term for believers in the Book of Acts is disciples. The apostles, the early church, went out, called men and women to faith and repentance in Christ, and the number of disciples multiplied.

That’s the definition of the relationship now. They are men and women who have come to bow before the authority of Jesus Christ. These are not people who simply have, to use our current lingo, “accepted Jesus” in order to get out of hell. These are men and women who have acknowledged the lordship of Christ, surrendered before him in repentance and in faith, and there’s a new orientation of life entirely. That’s what a disciple is. In the words of Jesus in Matthew 11, a disciple is one who takes the yoke of Jesus on his neck. So to make a disciple is to lead men and women to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, repent of their sin, and trust in him.

And this he says to all the nations—men and women everywhere. Bring them all into submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the only qualified Savior and Judge. He is the one to whom all of God’s authority has been mediated now, and so, go to all the nations and bring them to him. So this is: make disciples of all the nations.

This is the gospel going global. You’ve seen this before. This is, again, the defining note of this age. It is to extend the gospel to all the nations. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world to all the nations in my name, and then the end will come.” The defining note of this age is the advance of the gospel to all of the nations. That’s what God is up to. Jesus said that after his resurrection to his disciples in Luke chapter 24: “All this was necessary to happen, that the Christ should be crucified, that he should be raised again the third day. That”—and there’s the purpose clause—”in order that repentance of sin and forgiveness may be proclaimed in his name to all the nations.”

The gospel going global. We see it at the outset of the book of Acts, where Jesus defines the disciples’ responsibility: “You’ll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth.” That’s what this age is about: to take the gospel to all the nations, to men and women everywhere. Jesus is the exalted Lord. He has authority over all. He alone can save. He will be the judge. And all men and women everywhere, whether they know it yet or not, all men and women everywhere are responsible to him. And so he says, “You go everywhere and call them into submission to me and bring them to bow before me.” He’s king, he’s judge, but he offers terms of acceptance: repent of your sin, bow before him, acknowledge him as your king, and trust him to save.

The book of Acts ends with the Apostle Paul under house arrest in Rome. Luke tells us he was proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and without hindrance. That was the defining mark of the book of Acts: taking the commission to the world. And all of the centuries since Acts chapter 28, in a sense, can be characterized as Acts chapter 29. It’s the gospel going to all of the world. This is the church’s role. Our defining purpose, our Lord has called us: make disciples of all the nations. Call them to submission to me.

Baptizing Them in the Name

All right now, it is in that context, the context of this Great Commission, that Jesus institutes this rite of baptism. This is the passage; there’s no other. This is the passage where Jesus institutes the ordinance of baptism. He commands it as part of the church’s discipling responsibility. He commands it as part of the church’s responsibility to the end of the age. In its context here, baptism is given just volumes of significance, and we’ll just be able to highlight it this morning.

Verse 19: the main verb here is a command, an imperative. “Make disciples.” Call them to submit to Jesus Christ. In turn, two further steps are required. Verse 19: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” One: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.” And two: “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Call them to be disciples of Jesus, call them into submission to him, and then two things: baptize them and teach them. In other words, they’re called to repent and believe, and they respond by signifying their submission to Christ in their baptism, and then by learning from Christ how to live. They submit to the waters of baptism as Jesus commanded, signifying their submission to him. And then from then on, life is different. Life now is shaped by all the things that he has commanded. That’s the significance then of baptism.

Now, I’m not going to spend time with this: what does it mean to baptize? There is some confusion on that because 400 and some years ago, English translators, when they translated the Bible into English, rendered this word baptizo—they rendered it “baptize.” They didn’t translate it; they just transliterated it. They took a Greek word and put it in English and didn’t translate it at all. The translation of the word very simply is “immerse.” Go and immerse. Make disciples of all nations, immersing them. That’s simply what the word means. There’s lots of volumes that have been written on that. It’s been interesting to see how those who have tried to make other ways—the typical argument is, “Well, of course, it means immerse, but the mode doesn’t matter.” And even that statement, I think, is a fascinating one because what do you mean by the mode of immersion? But that’s another time.

“Baptize them,” immerse them “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This is a very important passage. It is an explicit revelation of God as triune. You may wonder, “How can this be that important? It just mentions the three.” How does it show us here that God is triune? Well, notice first of all the expression “the name.” Baptize them—do this holy ordinance “in the name.” Coming out of the Old Testament, that expression “the name” is freighted with overtones of deity. It’s unmistakable. You exalt the name of God, you praise the name of God, you trust in the name of God, and so on. It’s freighted with implications of deity. And notice it’s singular, not plural. Not “the names” of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Not—which would amount to the same thing—it is not, and please don’t ever say it this way, it does not read, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Spirit.” No, the three share the same name: “in the name of the Father and”—and yet it’s distributed to the three with the definite article for each—”and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That is to say, from this point forward now, God’s name is known as Father, Son, and Spirit. God is triune, and when we baptize into the name of God, we baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Well, what then does it mean to be baptized into the name? We have it here: “in the name” or “into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Often you’ll see this described as this expression—”baptized into the name of”—means to become in relationship with. And I think that’s right enough, but it’s not specific enough. Yes, it is to come into a relationship with, but it’s of a specific kind of relationship: to come into a relationship as a subordinate, to become identified as a disciple, to be identified as a follower of Jesus, or simply to come under the leadership of.

We find this, for example, in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. You’ll remember the fightings in the church at Corinth: “I’m of Paul, I’m of Apollos, I’m of Cephas,” and there’s all this squabbling going around about the preachers. You remember how Paul answers? “Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” What’s the significance of that? When you came into this thing, you didn’t declare your allegiance to me. You declared your allegiance to Jesus. You came in as his subordinate, as his follower, his disciple. And that’s the significance here. Baptism here is given to us as a—what I like to call it—a pledge of allegiance. “Baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son, of the Holy Spirit” means very simply: I am coming in as a disciple of the triune God. I’ve acknowledged his authority, and I come in as a subordinate, bowing before him.

Now when we come to the book of Acts, the language becomes more specific. We don’t find this as a formula: “baptized in the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit.” What we find in the book of Acts is “baptized in the name of Jesus.” Baptized into the name of Jesus. That is because Jesus Christ is the means of entrance into that relationship to the triune God. So by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we come under the submission of the triune God and we call ourselves now disciples of Jesus Christ.

Now all of that then serves to define for us the meaning and the significance of baptism. Baptism is a symbolic declaration of our submission to Jesus Christ. Let me say it again: baptism is a symbolic demonstration or declaration of our submission to Jesus Christ. It is saying, “I have become his disciple. I am now under his authority. I’ve heard the demand of the gospel. I’ve heard the offer of forgiveness. I’ve heard the demand of repentance. I’ve flown the white flag of surrender. I’ve given myself to Jesus. I’m bowing before him, acknowledging him as my Lord. I’m no longer my own, and from here forward, I live for Jesus.”

This is a symbolic pledge of allegiance to Jesus Christ, who has all authority over all the nations. This is the Jesus command then to all who claim to be his: “Declare your submission to me,” he says, “by being baptized.” And this to the end of the age. It may be that we have fallen into an age because of the ecumenical tendencies and we want to play down the differences that divide us and all—it may be baptism becomes played down, but Jesus’ command is very plain. This is the sign. If you will be my follower, go under the water and show your submission to me. Well, that then is the significance of baptism. It is a declaration of our allegiance to Jesus Christ, our submission to him as his disciples, and acknowledging him as our king.

Buried With Him in Baptism

Now there’s more symbolism involved, and when we come to the epistles, we see that played out. We can’t look at all of them, but I do want to look at one of the major ones, and that’s in Romans chapter six. Romans chapter six. And we’ll find here that baptism is described in the same kinds of terms, but with a fuller symbolism and a fuller significance.

Now the context here is very important for us. In Romans chapter 5, Paul has been articulating for us in a wonderful way the fullness of grace in Jesus. That just as we lost everything in Adam, we’ve more than regained everything in Jesus. Whatever we lost in Adam, we’ve more than regained in Christ. By faith, we’re united to Jesus Christ. We’re no longer united to Adam; we’re united to Jesus. And in Him, we have all that God requires of us. And Paul summarizes that in an interesting way in verse 20 of chapter five: “The law came to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded more.” Wherever there was sin, if we’re in Christ, there’s more grace.

And now we come to chapter six and verse one: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” Paul knows how our twisted little minds work. If more sin means more grace, maybe I can sin more so I can have more grace. And so Paul anticipates that objection. “What are we to say then? We continue in sin that grace may abound?” Verse two: “By no means. How can”—here’s his argument—”how can we who died to sin still live in it?” Now you notice his point here: whatever’s happened with Christ has happened to us. We’re united to him by faith and his death became our death. We’ve died to sin in Christ.

But now he amplifies on that in verses three and four: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? And we were buried by him”—by the way, here’s more the significance of the immersion—”we were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

All right, now there are layers of significance here, and you need to see it. First of all, baptism pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Again, that’s part of the significance of immersion: buried with him in baptism. It is a picture that Christ has died, he was buried, he rose again. That’s the first significance.

Now there’s a second layer to it, and that is baptism not only pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, it pictures our identification with Christ, or our union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. That is, when he died, there’s a profound and important sense that we died. When he was buried, there’s a profound and important sense we were buried. When he was raised from the dead, there’s a profound and important sense in which we were raised from the dead.

Now that will climax, verse 5, in our physical resurrection. He’s our forerunner. He goes ahead of us. And just as he was raised from the dead, so we with him will follow in resurrection. And this is the ground of the resurrection hope that we have. But not only in the future; already there’s a sense in which we have been raised with Christ. That’s what he says in verse four: “He has been raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, that we too might walk in newness of life.”

The old life is gone, the new life has come. And that’s the third level of significance, and that is that baptism not only pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; it not only pictures our identification with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection; but baptism pictures the death then of our old life and our new life that is experienced in union with Christ. He’s been raised from the dead. We will be raised with him in the final resurrection. But already we have been raised to a new life. In a sense, we have entered the age to come. And in experience, we feel it.

And that’s how he expounds it through the rest of the chapter. Sin’s grip is gone. We’ve been freed from that dominion of sin. We’ve been raised to a new life. We’re no longer enslaved to sin. And so Paul has answered his question. To continue in sin would be a denial of our profession of faith that was made in baptism. In our baptism we are professing not only has Christ died, been buried, and raised, not only was I united with him in his death, burial, and resurrection, but as a result of my union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection, I have come to experience a new kind of life. All of that is the same significance of baptism, the same symbolism that we find in Matthew chapter 28. How it is that we become a disciple: we become a disciple of Jesus by dying, being buried, and being raised again in Jesus through faith. And that faith is expressed in baptism. So we have then baptism is a symbolic declaration of our discipleship.

Now, it’s for this reason that baptism is always associated with and conditioned on faith and repentance. Baptism is a sign of discipleship. That’s the very meaning of baptism. Jesus says that in the Great Commission. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them”—the disciples—”teaching them”—the disciples—”to observe all that I have commanded you.” Baptism is always then associated with faith and repentance and it is conditioned on that. And that’s what we find when we come to the book of Acts. All through the book of Acts, baptism is administered to those who repent and believe. We find the same thing in Colossians chapter 2. We won’t take time to go there now. If you’d like to mark it down, Colossians chapter 2, verse 12, we have the same: that baptism is symbolic of our faith union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. He says there, we are buried with him in baptism, raised with him through faith in the powerful workings of God.

Common Questions That Are Asked About the Practice of Baptism

All right, all of that then is in brief the symbolism of baptism. Now, let’s bring it to some common questions that are asked about the practice of baptism. Number one: “I was baptized as an infant. Is it necessary for me to be rebaptized?” My answer to that is, were you baptized as an infant? I have no doubt someone put some water on your head, but were you baptized as an infant? Whatever happened back then, was it what Jesus describes here? What Jesus describes in his Great Commission is not a command to parents so that baptism becomes a pledge on the part of parents to bring up their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That’s not what Jesus commands. What Jesus commands is discipleship to be symbolically declared in the act of baptism. Or as Peter puts it in 1 Peter 3, baptism is the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.

Some years ago now, I was talking to a Presbyterian theologian, a friend. We came to the subject of baptism to talk about. He’s a professor in a seminary. And he asked me, “What do you do in your church when someone who has been baptized as a baby asks to join?” I said, “What I ask them to do—it’s always been the same for years I’ve done this—you go to your Bible and look up every instance of the word baptize or baptism, and every passage that has to do with water baptism. Every passage that has to do with water baptism, ask yourself the question: have I done that?” You know what his response was? “Oh, you do that, they’ll be Baptists.” Well, I didn’t come to talk too much about them, but I think it’s very important to recognize that—that this is what Jesus commanded. Baptism as a symbol of our discipleship to Jesus. It is fitting then and applicable only to those who have repented and believed in Christ.

Another question that comes up sometimes: “Well, what if I was baptized as a Roman Catholic or some other false religion?” And the answer again is another question: was that baptism the baptism that Jesus describes here? In Roman Catholic theology, baptism is more of a priestly magic that is performed that washes away the sin of that child and infuses righteousness. Is that what Jesus commanded? Clearly it is not.

Now, here’s one more question that is, I think, the most common that we see: “Can a person be a Christian and not be baptized?” Now, I know what you’re expecting. You’re expecting me to say, “Well, of course you can be a Christian without being baptized.” I’m not going to say that. And I’ll tell you why. I’m going to answer it with another question: unless you are the thief on the cross with no opportunity to be baptized, what possible excuse would exempt you from Jesus’ first command? Why would you not want to identify yourself as a follower of Jesus in the way that he commanded you to do?

The New Testament—this is significant—the New Testament knows nothing of an unbaptized believer except the thief on the cross. Always in the New Testament, baptism is viewed as the means of entrance. It is the means of entrance because it is the symbolic declaration of faith by which we enter into union with Christ. It is the first expression of saving faith.

Well, here then is our Lord’s command regarding baptism. In this symbolic act, we pledge our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ above all others; we pledge our allegiance to Christ even above ourselves. We acknowledge him as King and Lord, and what we say—we go into the water and we say, “That old life is gone.” We come up out of the water, we say, “It’s a new life now, and it’s shaped by what Jesus commands. I’m under new management. A new life has come. Jesus is King.”

Looking back to our own baptism, it’s a reminder of our very identity. Who are you? Who am I? First and foremost, who I am, I’m a disciple of Jesus. I belong to him. Pledged my life to him and my life will be shaped by his will. That’s what we say in our baptism. And this, he says, “Do this to the end of the age.” Men and women everywhere, all the nations. “I’m the world’s only king. I’m the world’s only judge, only savior. Go the whole world over and bring men and women into submission to me. Baptize them to symbolize that. And then from there on, teach them to keep all that I’ve commanded so that they follow me all their life.” Amen.

Let’s pray. Our Father, we often don’t think enough of the significance of what our Lord has commanded us. We pray that this reminder will be good for all of us and serve to remind us that what we are above all else is men and women who belong to Jesus. We thank you that in him we have a fullness of salvation and all that you require of us. Help us to remember the pledge we make at the outset, that he is king, that we live for him, and may that be evident, Lord, in every aspect of our lives. We pray in his name. Amen.