When the Eleven saw Him, they, assured now of His resurrec- tion, " worshipped him." But " the others " — the greater part, it may be, of the waiting multitude, who as yet had not themselves seen — "the others doubted." They had expected, we may con-
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jecture, to behold clear tokens of unearthly majesty, signs which should have compelled belief; and lo, it was "the same Jesus" whom they had loved and followed in earlier days who was now drawing nigh. " The others doubted." They had all obeyed their Master's call ; they were all true to the instincts of sacred fellow- ship. But they had not all attained to the same measure of faith. They could not all bear the test of a spiritual crisis. They could not all at once give the Lord the glad welcome of an unquestion- ing worship. The fact of their doubt is recorded, but the Evangelist does not stay to give the details of the sequel. Doubtless he would have us understand that to them, as to the Eleven, Christ spoke ; that on them, as on the Eleven, Christ laid the burden of His great commission ; and that as they listened to His voice, as they learned something of the work which was to be the portion of His followers, their misgivings probably did not find a precise and logical answer, but melted away in the enthusiasm of service.
2. The text may well fascinate the theologian, for it has some- thing to say about the nature of God. It throws some light on the Person of Christ, and is a part of the very significant testimony which He bears to Himself. The text may also engage the thoughts of the ecclesiastic, for it has suggestions to make as to the ministry of the Church and the conditions of admission to the membership of the Church. But the text is of supreme interest to the missionary, because it is the charter of his enterprise, and sets forth four things concerning the enterprise to guide his work, test his success, quicken his conscience, support his faith, feed his courage and enthusiasm — its aim, its field, its obligation, and its encouragement. The aim of missionary enterprise is to make disciples of Christ, receive them into the fellowship of His Church, and teach them His will and train them in His grace. The field of missionary enterprise is the world as represented by " all the nations " ; the obligation of missionary enterprise rests on the final command of Him who wields all authority in heaven and on earth, and has the right to command; the encouragement to missionary enterprise is the Presence in " all the days " of the risen Christ who commands all the means necessary for the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
ST. MATTHEW xxvm. 18-20 439
This great utterance of our Lord falls into three parts : I. A Great Claim — " All authority hath been given unto me
in heaven and on earth." II. A Great Commission — " Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations." III. A Great Assurance — " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
I.
The Claim.
"AI! authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth."
1. In these words Jesus, standing on the resurrection side of His grave, in the simplest language made the sublimest claim when He thus declared Himself to be King by Divine right, and therefore absolute in His Kingship. The word admits of no qualification. The claim admits of no limitation. In that moment He claimed authority in the material, mental, and moral realms. The application of His claim to this world does by no means exhaust it. He swept the compass with a reach far wider, more spacious, and stupendous. Not only on earth but in heaven is authority given to Him. The one phrase, " in heaven and on earth," includes the whole creation of God. It is manifest that He is excluded who created, and who puts all things under the feet of His King. It is equally manifest that all is included which comes within the scope of that comprehensive word, the creation of God. We may interpret this final claim of Jesus by the prayer He taught His disciples : " Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." Having completed His ministry of teaching ; having accomplished His exodus and resur- rection, at last He claimed authority in heaven and on earth, thus assuming the throne of empire over the whole creation of God, included in the terms of the prayer, and now defined in the words, " as in heaven, so on earth."
TJ Who is it that dares thus confidently to make this amazing claim ? Who is it that utters it as if it were a simple matter of
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fact about which there was no question ? Not merely power or might (SiW/x/j), such as a great conqueror might claim, but " authority " (e^ovsla), as something which is His by right, con- ferred upon Him by One who has the right to bestow it (Rev. ii. 27). And " all authority," embracing everything over which rule and dominion can be exercised ; and that not only " upon earth," which would be an authority overwhelming in its extensiveness, but also " in heaven." Human thought loses itself in the attempt to understand what must be comprehended in such authority as this. Nothing less than the Divine government of the whole universe and of the Kingdom of Heaven has been given to the Eisen Lord. In more than one Epistle, St. Paul piles up term upon term in order to try to express the honour and glory and power which the Father has bestowed upon the Son whom He has raised from the dead. The glorified Christ is " above every principality and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come" (Eph. i. 21 ; comp. Col. i. 16-21; Phil. ii. 9-11). Nevertheless, with all his fulness of language, the Apostle does not get beyond, for it is impossible to get beyond, the majestic, inexhaustible reach of the simple statement which Christ, with such serenity, makes here.1