Therefore what, exactly?

Trinity Sunday       May 31, 2026

A united service with
Cornelius, Forest Grove and Hillsboro United Methodist Congregations

The texts for this sermon are Genesis 1:1-3, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 and Matthew 28:16-20.

Christians have managed to mangle a lot of biblical texts, but few so much as what we call the Great Commission.

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 lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.

Now I’m not going to presume to give you the definitive interpretation of this text, but I do hope to offer some thoughts that open up a different perspective than the all-too-common interpretation, particularly in light of the expanding tide of fundamentalism.

Have any of you been asked if you were sure you were going to heaven? Or have you wonder if someone you loved was going to heaven? Are any of you acquainted with Christians who have expressed worry about whether or not someone they love is going to heaven?

This question, and the doubt it implies, is based on a verse we’ve all heard: John 14:6, I am the way, the truth the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.

Many Christians, especially those who are Evangelical take this to mean that going to heaven to be with God for eternity, to be ‘saved’ in other words, is accomplished only by naming the name of Jesus. So when they consider the Great Commission that Jesus gave to his disciples, they believe that disciple-making begins with persuading people to repent and name the name of Jesus. 

It goes something like this: People who have repented and named the name of Jesus go out and tell other folks they are sinners and need to repent and name the name of Jesus. In the tradition in which I was raised, this was called Evangelism. One way of setting about this was to ask people: friends, family and strangers: “If you died today, where would you spend eternity?”

So, for many Christians, they believe that living into what Jesus says in Matthew 28:20 begins with persuading folks they must acknowledge they are a sinner and must claim Jesus as their savior. 

Many Christians today genuinely believe this is what we’re to do in obedience to Jesus’ commission, and because this approach has actually caused many to rebuff this approach including other Christians, I thought we might find it helpful to consider more closely what Jesus is saying in Matthew 28. And why this text is included for Trinity Sunday.

To begin, let’s remember that this is the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel. It’s a post-resurrection meeting of Jesus with his eleven primary disciples. (Though Matthew only mentions the eleven, the gathered group was likely much larger.)

Note first that the text says that these disciples worshiped him, but some doubted. 
Some of them doubted? really? after all that had transpired? Matthew makes provision for doubt; some doubted, some of those original disciples who had seen Jesus and eaten with him as the resurrected Lord several times, doubted. Note too, that there’s no evidence that Jesus reprimanded them for their doubts.

Instead, in this mix of worship and doubt Jesus declares to them All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Nothing is outside the scope of Jesus’ authority. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul lists what’s included in this scope: rulers, authorities, power of the dark world, spiritual forces of evil.

Then Jesus says the most astonishing thing: Go therefore. Because all authority is given to Me, you go. If the word “Go” stood alone: Go, make…  it would have one meaning but Jesus says  Go, therefore…or Therefore, go. Because I’ve been given authority over all, therefore, you go. Jesus links his authority to our going. We go with Jesus’ authority. So that’s the first part of the Great Commission. We are to go, accompanied by Jesus’ authority.

“Make disciples” the second part of the Great Commission, and to my way of thinking, the trickiest or hardest part.

According to the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language a disciple is 

one who follows attends upon another for the purpose of 
learning from them.

In other words, someone comes to the attention of another in such a way that that other person wants to spend time with them, pay attention to them, learn from them. 

Have you ever been in a setting however small or large where someone you had not met caught your attention and you thought to yourself, umm, they’re interesting. I get a good feeling from them, I’m intrigued. (I’m not talking here about love-at-first-sight with the meeting of the eyes across a crowded room.) 

And who do we know made disciples that way? Who went out and said interesting and sometimes controversial things, did unusual but good things all of which caught the attention of folks, twelve of whom decided they wanted to get serious about knowing this person. 

Now Jesus did call for repentance and announce that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand. And he did extend personal invitations—like to Peter and Andrew, James and John. But his first word to them was not ‘repent.’ He said I can help you do more than catch fish. I can lead you to a richer, more meaningful life. He had a kind of authority that felt compelling. They were intrigued enough to attend to him, follow him, learn from him.

And then he set about nurturing a relationship, a friendship, with them. A relationship of acceptance that made room for questions, even stupid questions, for mistakes, for puzzlement and perplexity, and yes, doubt, but also encouragement, commendation, opportunities that bolstered confidence. 

Jesus didn’t limit membership to his discipling school; the outcasts were as welcome as the elites. Jesus tells his disciples, Go, go everywhere and to everyone. Go in my name, with my authority, establish discipling relationships in all tribes and nations; Even those you now consider ‘other’ 
or ‘unworthy’.

And baptize them; art three of the Great Commission.

Go, make disciples of all tribes, baptizing them (an on-going verb). I don’t think Jesus is talking just about water baptism here though that certainly was expected because baptism bound the new believer to the one into whose Name they were baptized: bound to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

But I venture to think that Jesus might be talking also about continually baptizing these who embrace Me by drenching them with the love of God the Creator, of God-with-Us, and of God the Holy Spirit.

Go, make disciples of all tribes, baptizing them and teaching (also an on-going verb) them to heed, observe, imitate, to live into all that I’ve taught you. This is part four of the Great Commission.

Jesus is not telling his disciples to indoctrinate folks—to spout theology or insist on repentance and then give them a list of dos and don’ts. No, they were to draw folks into a relationship just as he had drawn them. Repentance will come as people comprehend Who it is seeks relationship with them. And when they do, we are to help them enter a way of life in keeping with Jesus—love God first and foremost; love your neighbor as yourself, live out the blessed-are-theys of the sermon on the mount, the good news of God’s love and grace; welcoming any and all, leaving no one out. 

This kind of engagement is in keeping with John 14:6 is it not? Living in devotion to the Way, the Truth, the Life as revealed in Jesus does indeed lead to God. 

Thus far, I’ve been referencing the Gospel. I want to turn now to today’s Psalm for I see a connection here with verse 2 of Psalm 8:

From the mouth of infants and nursing babes God has established strength  

If that isn’t a paradox I don’t know what is. What infant and nursing baby has strength, let alone the ability to speak of it. But that’s an image we can carry into the Great Commission for the Commission actually calls us into a paradox: to be as vulnerable as an infant yet empowered by the authority of Jesus the Christ.

Now we come to that last part of the Great Commission where Jesus says: And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Another translation is:

Behold, I am with you All the days, to the end of time

God will be a constant presence with us in this endeavor.

There’s a pattern in the original that we miss in English: Jesus repeats the word 

“ALL” 4 times:

All authority

All tribes

All that I’ve taught

All the days - until the end of time   

God’s presence will be with us throughout this endeavor.

Let us note this: Jesus first announces his all-encompassing authority; Jesus then says to baptize in name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The authority Jesus manifests is the authority of the three-fold Godhead. Jesus said the Father is in me and I in the father. Matthew is telling us that Jesus is reassuring his disciples that the intimate, relational and equivalent nature of his relationship with Father and Holy Spirit and the authority that flows from that relationship belongs to them and to us as well.

They were–as are we–to embrace and accept that potent, authority-conferring relationship in a way that draws in, that nurtures a relationship, that accompanies another toward and into meaningful relationship with God. Repentance will come as people comprehend Who it is seeks relationship with them. This is not a commission that instructs us to knock on doors and ask, “If you died today where would you spend eternity?” It isn’t our job to ‘save’ people. That’s God’s job. Our job is to draw people toward God.

Now, here is what I’d like us main-line Methodists to consider. Christians within what we call the main-line denominations in contrast to evangelical denominations generally do not talk about sin and repentance and such. We don’t think it’s the right way to go about helping people find God. But are we any better at living out the Great Commission? We design programs meant to forward that effort, forgetting that it’s to be a personal, one-on-one engagement that yes, can coalesce into a communal one, but only if each disciple disciples if you see what I mean. 

I’m not denouncing teaching Sunday school or conducting Bible studies. They are important means of spiritual nurture. I’m talking about owning that we each are called to draw people’s attention toward and awaken their own desire for God by owning that Jesus has conferred on each of us His authority – not to make us bossy, but to irradicate our fear, our shyness, our false humility; by living the joy of our relationship with God out loud as it were, in plain view of others and when given the opportunity receive them first as friend and then as a teacher by example, confirming for them that they too are drenched in God’s love whoever they are, wherever they come from, whatever they do or don’t do.

This is a demanding, even intimidating Commission—no question about that. But if we could ignite ourselves with the gloriousness of this, the wondrousness of what has been given us we might actually shake the foundations. 

May we not allow this that Jesus has done, this that Jesus has given to us, this that Jesus has laid out for us lie dormant in us.

Rather may we now eachGo and make disciples–with the guilelessness of nursing babies, the innocence of infants, as people who are joyfully open to life and to others; radiating welcome, solace, reconciliation and peace. May we give this kind of company to everyone we meet, everyone with whom we engage even in the midst of stress, disagreement, unfriendliness, criticism, rejection. Isn’t this how Jesus made his disciples? So is it not how we are to make disciples?

May it be so.

Linda Quanstrom, Pastor

Cornelius UMC

Cornelius OR