Knowing the Actual Presence of Jesus Everyday (Matthew 28:20).Sunday May 17, 2026
Open:
This first book of the NT, ends with a declaration of power and a promise of presence from the risen Christ.
The Great Commission has a sandwich structure. It opens with His declaration that He, the resurrected Jesus, has all power in heaven and earth. It closes with an astounding promise: I am with you all your days until the end.
They are like His two hands in which you sit. His power bids us to go and make disciples. His presence makes us successfully achieve it.
Main Idea: The total authority and continual presence of the resurrected Lord will give any disciple the desire and courage to go and make disciples of all others.
Mat 28:16-20 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
1. The Constant Presence of the Resurrected Christ
The Great Commission closes with one of the most remarkable promises in all of Scripture: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Notice three powerful features in this promise:
“I Myself” (ego) — Jesus emphasizes His own person.
“I am” (ego eimi) — Present tense. He does not say “I will be with you,” but “I am with you.”
“all the days… to the end of the age” — It extends to every disciple in every place until Christ returns.
The resurrected Jesus (just as He was then on that mountain), is all the days be with you.
This is the same divine “I am” (ego eimi) we hear throughout John’s Gospel:
“I am the Bread of Life… the Light of the World… the Good Shepherd… the Way, the Truth, and the Life… the True Vine…”
“Before Abraham was born, I am!” (Joh 8:58).
I am with you all the days…
Because Jesus is both fully God and fully man, and because He is now glorified at the right hand of the Father, distance is no obstacle.
This promise also brings the whole Trinity to us.
Joh 14:16-24 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 "After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20 "In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. [baptism into the name of the Trinity; all are here in this paragraph] 21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." [teach them to keep all I commanded you] 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?" 23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.
The disciple who obeys Christ therefore enjoys the real presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2. The Commonest Expression of God’s Encouragement When He Sends People Out: “I Am With You.”
Old Testament Examples:
To Isaac: “Do not fear, for I am with you” (Gen 26:24) To Moses: “Certainly I will be with you” (Exo 3:12) To Joshua: “Just as I was with Moses, I will be with you” (Jos 1:5) To Gideon: “Surely I will be with you” (Jud 6:16) To Jeremiah: “Do not be afraid… for I am with you to deliver you” (Jer 1:8)
To all fearful servants: “Do not fear, for I am with you” (Isa 41:10)
We even see this with Joseph in prison: “The Lord was with Joseph” (Gen 39:21).
In the Life of Jesus:
The Father was with Him: “I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (Joh 16:32)
From the very beginning of Matthew: “They shall call His name Immanuel… God with us” (Mat 1:23)
Elisha and his servant (2Ki 6:16-17) — “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes.
3. Conclusion:
You are the next in line of commissioned shepherds sent out by the Lord of the harvest.
Knowing that your discipling means:
1. Entering into the fold of the local church (baptism). 2. Teaching all that Christ commanded (death to antinomianism, i.e. no lip service, no giving into weakness and claiming grace makes it okay).
This uncompromising discipling will surely bring insults and persecution (Mat 5:10-12).
Blessed are you because you are obeying Him.
Those who reject you and persecute you and insult you will not overcome you.
“Look, I am with you every day.”
The Trinity is with you the whole of every day of your life. If you are a disciple you will know their presence regularly, but even when you neglect it, they will be with you all the days (of your life). |