Baptismal exhortation

Matthew 28:19: 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 commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Jesus gives this commission as the greater Cyrus, the new world emperor, whose authority extends not only to every kingdom under heaven but to heaven itself. He commissions His church to make disciples of the nations, and tells us that we do this by baptizing in the Triune Name and teaching the nations to observe His commandments.

Both the context and the phrasing here indicate something of the nature of baptism. To be baptized "in the name" means to come under another's authority. That's the way the phrase is used in ancient Greek. And the larger context also indicates that as well: Being baptized means becoming a disciple of Jesus, the Jesus who has all authority in heaven and on earth. To be baptized means to come under His command, under His Lordship.

The rest of the commission fills this out. When the church baptizes, it makes disciples of those who are baptized. Baptism, of course, is not the end of the process, but the beginning. The baptized are disciples of the great Lord, Jesus, and as disciples the baptized are to learn the commandments of the Lord, Jesus. Being a baptized disciple means learning Jesus' commands, and not only learning them but learning to observe and do what Jesus commands. Baptism places Jesus' easy yoke on our shoulders.

One of Jesus' commands is the command to "Go" and "make disciples." Baptized disciples of Jesus are to obey this command along with all the others. When we are baptized, we not only come under the authority of the Lord of heaven and earth, but we are commissioned to participate in His mission. Baptism is a kind of ordination that commissions us as servants of the world for Christ's sake. The waters of baptism are the living waters that flow from the temple of God, and in baptism we are caught up in the current that takes us to the ends of the earth.

We take up this commission with the promise of Jesus' presence. We go, as the baptized disciples of Jesus, obeying His command, and the Lord of heaven and earth, the one who has all authority, is with us always. We don't go in our own authority. We need not be our own defenders. We need not fear any enemy. Jesus, the Greater Cyrus, is with us.

Though the two being baptized today are in a different stage of life, baptism essentially means the same for both of you. Both are becoming disciples of Jesus, and must be diligent to learn and observe all that Jesus commands. Both are being caught up into the mighty stream of the church, and will be carried by the waters of baptism to play a part in spreading the gospel of Jesus to the nations.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, April 22, 2007 at 08:01 AM

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