Matthew 28:18

Jesus said to them, "All authority has been given unto Me in heaven and on earth." This means, "As God and Creator I have always had authority over all things." "For all things are Thy servants," as David says to God (Ps. 118:91). "But I …

(ubi sup.) This He speaks not from the Deity coeternal with the Father, but from the Humanity which He took upon Him, according to which He was made a little lower than the Angels. (Heb. 2:9.)

And Jesus coming, spoke to them. Here the instruction given by Christ is set forth. And three things are to be considered. First he announces his power; second, he enjoins the office; third, he promises future assistance. The second is at going therefore, teach all …

Note, Even among those that worship there are some that doubt. The faith of those that are sincere, may yet be very weak and wavering. They doubted, edistasan -- they hung in suspense, as the scales of the balance, when it is hard to say which preponderates.

Hereby he asserts his universal dominion as Mediator, which is the great foundation of the Christian religion. Observe, (1.) Whence he hath this power. He did not assume it, or usurp it, but it was given him, he was legally entitled to it, and invested in it, by a grant from him who is the Fountain of all being, and consequently of all power.

His incarnation was a mystery; so was this second incarnation (if we may so call it), this new making of the body of Christ, for his exalted state; it was therefore made in secret. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Christ gave such proofs of his resurrection as were corroborated by the scriptures, and by the word which he had spoken ( Luke xxiv.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And Jesus came and spake unto them,....

And Jesus came and spake unto them - It is supposed by some that the reason why any doubted was, that when they saw Jesus at first, he was at a distance; but when he came up, drew near to them, they were fully persuaded of the identity of his person. All power is given unto me - Or, All authority in heaven and upon earth is given unto me.

THE change from "the Man of Sorrows," before His crucifixion, to the "Lord over All" after His Resurrection is very striking. Before His Passion He was well-known by His disciples and appeared only in one form, as the Son of Man, clad in the common peasant's garment without seam, woven from the top throughout. But after He had risen from the dead He was, on several occasions, unrecognized by those who loved Him best. He is once, at least, described as having appeared to certain of them "under another form."

I INTEND chiefly to call your attention to this verse, but it will also be necessary to refer to the rest of the chapter—"Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen" Our Savior was always with His disciples until the time of His death. After His resurrection He was with them often, but not always.

These verses form the conclusion of the Gospel of St. Matthew. They begin by showing us what absurdities blind prejudice will believe, rather than believe the truth; they go on to show us what weakness there is in the hearts of some disciples, and how slow they are to believe; they finish by telling us some of the last words spoken by our Lord upon earth—words so remarkable that they demand and deserve all our attention. Let us observe in the first place the honour which God has put on our Lord Jesus Christ.

These verses form the conclusion of the Gospel of St. Matthew. They begin by showing us what absurdities blind prejudice will believe, rather than believe the truth; they go on to show us what weakness there is in the hearts of some disciples, and how slow they are to believe; they finish by telling us some of the last words spoken by our Lord upon earth—words so remarkable that they demand and deserve all our attention. Let us observe in the first place the honour which God has put on our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and ” This is a truth which is declared by St. Paul to the Philippians: “God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name” ( Philippians 2:9 ). It is a truth which in no wise takes away from the true notion of Christ’s divinity, as some have ignorantly supposed. It is simply a declaration that, in the counsels of the eternal Trinity, Jesus, as Son of Man, is appointed heir of all things; that he is the Mediator between God and man; that the salvation of all who are saved is laid upon him, and that he is the great fountain of mercy, grace, life and peace. It was for “this joy set before him” that he “endured the cross” ( Hebrews 12:2 ). Let us embrace this truth reverently and cling to it firmly. Christ is He has the keys of death and hell; Christ is the anointed priest, who alone can absolve sinners; Christ is the fountain of living waters, in whom alone we can be cleansed; Christ is the Prince and Saviour, who alone can give repentance and remission of sins. In him all fullness dwells. He is the way, the door, the light, the life, the shepherd, the altar of refuge. “He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not have the Son of God hath not life.” ( 1 John 5:12 ). May we all strive to understand this!

THE change from "the Man of Sorrows," before His crucifixion, to the "Lord over All" after His Resurrection is very striking. Before His Passion He was well-known by His disciples and appeared only in one form, as the Son of Man, clad in the common peasant's garment without seam, woven from the top throughout. But after He had risen from the dead He was, on several occasions, unrecognized by those who loved Him best. He is once, at least, described as having appeared to certain of them "under another form." He was the same Person, for they saw His hands and His feet— Thomas even handled Him and placed his finger in the print of the nails! But yet it would seem that some gleams of His Glory were, at times, manifested to them—a Glory which had been hidden during His previous life, except only when He stood on the Mount of Transfiguration. Before His death, His appearances were to the general public—He stood in the midst of Scribes and Pharisees, publicans and sinners, and preached the glad tidings. But now He appeared only to His disciples, sometimes to one, at another time to two. On one occasion to about 500 brethren at once, but always to His disciples and to them only. Before His death His preaching was full of parables, plain to those who had understanding, but often dark and mysterious even to His own followers, for it was a judgment from the Lord upon that evil generation that seeing they should not see and hearing they should not perceive. Yet with equal truth we may say that our Lord, before His death, brought down His teaching to the comprehension of the uninstructed minds which listened to it, so that many of the deeper Truths of God were slightly touched upon because they were not able to bear them as yet.

I INTEND chiefly to call your attention to this verse, but it will also be necessary to refer to the rest of the chapter—"Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen" Our Savior was always with His disciples until the time of His death. After His resurrection He was with them often, but not always. He came and He went mysteriously—the doors being shut, He was suddenly there when they least looked for him. Or He appeared to them as they walked by the way, or while they were fishing, or when they came to the mountain in Galilee, the appointed rendezvous. On this particular occasion—I am not quite sure whether it was when only the eleven were gathered together, or that more memorable occasion when He spoke to over 500 brethren at once, which many who have well studied the passage think is more probable—at any rate, on this occasion, the Savior made Himself very much at home with His disciples. According to the most proper translation of the text, "Jesus came and talked to them." There was a holy familiarity in His communications with His disciples. He spoke to them as a friend. He came into close contact with them in friendliest familiarity. The glory of that time to them was that He was there and that He spoke with them! It does not matter where it was, He was there, and wherever He pleases to be the center of the group, there is sure to be a memorable gathering. Brothers and Sisters, I wish that we were always on the lookout for our Lord.

All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth - The “Son of God,” as “Creator,” had an original right to all things, to control them and dispose of them. See Joh 1:3; Col 1:16-17; Heb 1:8. But the universe is put under him more particularly as Mediator, that he might redeem his people; that he might gather a church; that he might defend his chosen; that he might subdue all their enemies, and bring them off conquerors and more than conquerors, Eph 1:20-23; 1Co 15:25-27; Joh 5:22-23; Php 2:6-11. It is in reference to this, doubtless, that he speaks here power or authority committed to him over all things, that he might redeem, defend, and save the church purchased with his own blood. His mediatorial government extends, therefore, over the material world, over angels, over devils, over wicked men, and over his own people.