Week Eleven · May 10, 2026
The Great Commission, the Shepherd's Charge, and the Promise of Power
Matthew 28:16–20 · John 21:15–25 · Acts 1:1–8
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, You who hold all authority in heaven and on earth, You did not abandon Your fearful disciples but met them on a mountain, restored the fallen, and sent the unworthy to carry Your Gospel to every nation. You charged Peter to feed Your sheep, and You promised power from on high to those who waited in faith. Open our eyes in this study to see Your sovereign reign, Your tender mercy toward broken servants, and Your relentless purpose to bring the blessing of Abraham to the ends of the earth. Grant us the Holy Spirit, that we may receive Your commission with joy, confess Your name without shame, and serve Your Church in humble faithfulness. You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
How This Session Works
This session examines the final commissioning scenes of the risen Christ: the majestic Great Commission on a Galilean mountain, the personal restoration of Peter on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, and the promise of the Holy Spirit before the Ascension. Together, these texts complete the arc from Easter to Pentecost: the enthronement of the Son of Man, the institution of the pastoral office through a fallen apostle, and the empowering of the Church for her global mission.
- Layer 1: Matthew 28:16–20 — The Eleven travel to a Galilean mountain where the risen Jesus declares His universal authority, commissions them to make disciples of all nations through Baptism and teaching, and promises His abiding presence to the end of the age.
- Layer 2: John 21:15–25 — Jesus meets Peter by the Sea of Tiberias and three times asks, "Do you love me?" Peter's threefold confession reverses his threefold denial, and Jesus charges him to feed and tend His sheep. Jesus then prophesies Peter's martyrdom and addresses the rumor about the Beloved Disciple.
- Layer 3: Acts 1:1–8 — Luke opens his second volume by summarizing the forty days of post-resurrection instruction. Jesus commands the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the "promise of the Father," reorients their expectations away from a political restoration of Israel, and commissions them as witnesses to the ends of the earth.
Your leader will guide you through each layer. Write your observations as you go.
The Great Commission on the Mountain
Matthew 28:16–20
Matthew uniquely concludes his Gospel on an unnamed mountain in Galilee, where the risen Jesus delivers the most comprehensive commission in the New Testament. The setting deliberately evokes the Moses/Joshua typology: just as Moses commissioned Joshua on the threshold of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 31; Joshua 1), the true Joshua now sends His new patriarchs to conquer the nations with the Gospel.
Read aloud: Matthew 28:16–20
The Mountain and the Mixed Response (28:16–17)
- 1. The Eleven travel to "the mountain where Jesus had directed them" (eis to oros hou etaxato). Throughout Matthew's Gospel, mountains are sites of divine revelation: the Sermon on the Mount (5:1), the Transfiguration (17:1), and the Olivet Discourse (24:3). What does Matthew communicate by placing the final commission on a mountain rather than in a room or on a road?
- 2. Matthew records that when the disciples saw Jesus, "they worshiped, but some doubted" (prosekynēsan ... edistasan). Jesus does not rebuke them for their hesitation; He commissions them anyway. What does this reveal about the foundation on which the Great Commission rests?
The Enthronement Declaration (28:18)
- 3. Jesus declares: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (edothē moi pasa exousia). The aorist passive ("was given") is a divine passive, meaning given by God the Father. This language directly echoes Daniel 7:14, where the Son of Man receives everlasting dominion from the Ancient of Days. What does this declaration establish about the timing and scope of Christ's reign?
The Scope: All the Nations (28:19a)
- 4. During His earthly ministry, Jesus restricted the Twelve to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" and forbade them from going to the Gentiles (Matt 10:5–6). Now He commands them to go to panta ta ethnē ("all the nations"). As the true "Son of Abraham" (Matt 1:1), what is Jesus fulfilling by shattering this boundary?
The Mechanics of Discipleship (28:19b–20a)
Key Greek Terms
- 5. The only imperative verb in the commission is "make disciples" (mathēteusate). This command is accomplished by two subordinate participles: "baptizing" (baptizontes) and "teaching" (didaskontes). What does this grammatical structure reveal about how disciples are made?
- 6. Jesus commands Baptism "into the name" (eis to onoma) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The word "name" is singular, followed by three distinct persons. What does this singular "name" for three persons reveal about the nature of God?
The Immanuel Promise (28:20b)
- 7. Jesus concludes: "I am with you all the days" (egō meth' hymōn eimi pasas tas hēmeras), to "the consummation of the age" (synteleias tou aiōnos). Matthew's Gospel begins with the name "Immanuel, God with us" (1:23). How does this final promise create a literary and theological bookend for the entire Gospel?
Summary — Matthew 28:16–20
| Element | Emphasis |
|---|---|
| Mountain Setting | eis to oros hou etaxato: Moses/Joshua typology; the true Joshua commissions new patriarchs |
| Worship and Doubt | prosekynēsan ... edistasan: commission rests on Christ's authority, not the disciples' faith |
| All Authority | edothē moi pasa exousia: divine passive fulfilling Daniel 7:14; Christ's reign has begun |
| All Nations | panta ta ethnē: eschatological expansion; the blessing of Abraham to the whole world |
| Make Disciples | mathēteusate: one imperative, two means (baptizing and teaching) |
| Immanuel Inclusio | egō meth' hymōn eimi: the abiding presence of God-with-us to the end of the age |
Record Your Observations on the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20): What does Matthew's mountaintop setting add to the commission? How does the Immanuel inclusio tie together the whole Gospel?
The Shepherd's Charge and the Beloved Disciple
John 21:15–25
John's Gospel concludes not with a majestic mountaintop scene but with an intimate, personal encounter on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. The risen Jesus restores the fallen Peter through a threefold exchange that mirrors and reverses his threefold denial. This reinstatement establishes the pastoral office, prophesies Peter's martyrdom, and addresses a persistent rumor about the Beloved Disciple's fate.
Read aloud: John 21:15–25
The Threefold Restoration (21:15–17)
Key Greek Terms
- 8. Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?" Each time Peter answers affirmatively, Jesus responds with a charge: "Feed my lambs," "Tend my sheep," "Feed my sheep." On Maundy Thursday, Jesus had told Peter, "When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32). How does this threefold exchange fulfill that earlier prophecy?
- 9. This conversation takes place immediately after a meal of bread and fish on the beach (21:9–14), a scene that echoes the eucharistic pattern of Jesus taking bread and giving it to them. What is the significance of placing Peter's pastoral commission directly after this shared meal with the risen Lord?
- 10. Jesus uses shepherding language throughout: "lambs" (arnia), "sheep" (probata), "tend" (poimaine), "feed" (boske). In John 10:11, Jesus declared Himself the "Good Shepherd" who lays down His life for the sheep. How does the commission in John 21 extend the Good Shepherd's work through human under-shepherds?
The Prophecy of Peter's Martyrdom (21:18–19)
- 11. Jesus tells Peter: "When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not wish to go." John adds that Jesus said this "to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God." Peter himself later recalled this warning in 2 Peter 1:14. What does this prophecy reveal about the nature of apostolic faithfulness?
- 12. Peter's earlier denials were motivated by fear of suffering and death. Now the risen Christ explicitly tells Peter that his ministry will end in violent martyrdom. How does this reversal illustrate the transforming power of grace?
The Beloved Disciple and the Parousia Rumor (21:20–23)
- 13. Peter asks about the Beloved Disciple's fate. Jesus responds: "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!" A rumor then spread in the early church that this disciple would not die. The Evangelist explicitly corrects this misunderstanding (21:23). What does Jesus' response teach about comparing one's vocation with another's?
- 14. Jesus' phrase "until I come" uses eschatological language the early church associated with the parousia (the Second Coming). Passages such as Matthew 10:23 and Mark 9:1 had fueled expectations that Jesus would return within the apostolic generation. How does the Evangelist's correction in 21:23 redirect the Church's focus away from calculating the timing of Christ's return?
The Eyewitness Guarantor (21:24–25)
- 15. The Gospel concludes by identifying the Beloved Disciple as the one "who is bearing witness about these things" and affirming that "his testimony is true" (21:24). John then adds that the world itself could not contain all the books if everything Jesus did were written down (21:25). What does this conclusion establish about the nature and purpose of the written Gospel?
Summary — John 21:15–25
| Element | Emphasis |
|---|---|
| Threefold Restoration | Three questions reverse three denials; fulfills Luke 22:32 |
| Eucharistic Context | Pastoral commission follows a shared meal of bread and fish |
| Shepherding Language | arnia, probata, poimaine, boske: the Good Shepherd commissions under-shepherds |
| Martyrdom Prophecy | Peter's ministry will end in death that glorifies God; fear conquered by grace |
| Parousia Rumor | Corrects misunderstanding; the Church's task is obedience, not calendar-watching |
| Eyewitness Testimony | The Beloved Disciple's witness guarantees the Gospel's historical foundation |
Record Your Observations on John's Account (John 21:15–25): How does the intimate shore encounter differ from Matthew's mountaintop commission? What does the eucharistic setting add to the pastoral charge?
The Promise of Power and the Witness to the Ends of the Earth
Acts 1:1–8
Luke opens his second volume by reframing his entire Gospel as merely a prologue: it recorded what Jesus "began" to do and teach. The book of Acts, therefore, is the account of what the risen, ascended Christ continues to do through His Church. Before ascending, Jesus commands the disciples to wait for the promised Holy Spirit, reorients their expectations from a political kingdom to an eschatological mission, and provides the geographic blueprint for the rest of Acts.
Read aloud: Acts 1:1–8
What Jesus Began (1:1–2)
Key Greek Terms
- 16. Luke writes that his first volume concerned "all that Jesus began to do and teach" (ērxato Iēsous poiein te kai didaskein). The word "began" (ērxato) implies that the Gospel of Luke was only the beginning. What does this word reveal about the role of the ascended Christ in the book of Acts?
Many Proofs and the Forty Days (1:3)
- 17. Luke reports that Jesus presented Himself alive "by many proofs" (en pollois tekmēriois) over a period of forty days. The term tekmērion signifies a demonstrable, undeniable proof. What does Luke's choice of this word establish about the nature of the resurrection?
- 18. The "forty days" of post-resurrection instruction echo Moses' forty days on Sinai (Exodus 24:18) and Israel's forty years in the wilderness. What pattern does this biblical timeframe establish for the period between Easter and the Ascension?
Wait for the Promise (1:4–5)
- 19. In Matthew 28, the immediate command is "Go." In Acts 1:4, the command is "Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father" (tēn epangelian tou patros). Jesus identifies this promise as the Holy Spirit, fulfilling Old Testament texts such as Joel 2:28–32. Why must the mission be delayed until this gift is received?
The Kingdom Redefined (1:6–7)
- 20. The disciples ask: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (1:6). Their question reveals a lingering nationalistic expectation. Jesus does not deny the reality of the kingdom, yet He declares that the Father has set the "times and seasons" (chronous ē kairous) by His own authority (1:7). How does Jesus redirect the disciples from apocalyptic calendar-watching to present vocation?
Power and Witnesses to the Ends of the Earth (1:8)
- 21. Jesus promises: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses" (lēmpsesthe dynamin ... kai esesthe mou martyres). The geographic expansion that follows (Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth) serves as the table of contents for the entire book of Acts. What does the word "witnesses" (martyres) reveal about the apostles' task?
Summary — Acts 1:1–8
| Element | Emphasis |
|---|---|
| "Began" | ērxato: the Gospel was only the prologue; the ascended Christ is still at work |
| Many Proofs | tekmēriois: demonstrable evidence; the resurrection is historical fact, not subjective vision |
| Forty Days | Biblical timeframe of preparation: Sinai, wilderness, now post-resurrection instruction |
| Promise of the Father | epangelian tou patros: the Holy Spirit, fulfilling Joel 2 and Isaiah 44 |
| Kingdom Redirected | chronous ē kairous: not "when?" but "what now?"; obedience replaces speculation |
| Witnesses | martyres: forensic testimony from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth |
Comparison — The Risen Lord's Commission Across Three Texts
| Feature | Matthew 28:16–20 | John 21:15–25 | Acts 1:1–8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting | Unnamed mountain in Galilee; Moses/Joshua typology | Shore of Sea of Tiberias; intimate, personal encounter | Jerusalem; forty days of instruction before the Ascension |
| Authority Basis | All authority in heaven and earth (Daniel 7:14 fulfilled) | The Good Shepherd commissions under-shepherds | The Father's promise of the Holy Spirit |
| Commission | Make disciples of all nations; baptize and teach | Feed my lambs; tend my sheep; feed my sheep | Be my witnesses to the ends of the earth |
| Recipient(s) | The Eleven as a body; corporate commission | Peter individually; personal restoration and charge | The gathered disciples; wait for empowerment first |
| Promise | "I am with you always, to the end of the age" | Peter's martyrdom will glorify God | "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come" |
| For the Church Today | Christ's abiding presence sustains the sacramental and catechetical mission | Pastors are called to shepherd through Word and Sacrament | The Church's mission depends on the Spirit's power, not human strategy |
Record Your Observations on the Promise of Power (Acts 1:1–8): What does Luke's word "began" reveal about the scope of Acts? How do the commands to "Go" (Matthew) and "Wait" (Acts) work together?
Theological Synthesis
These texts chart the path from the risen Christ's enthronement to the Church's empowerment: the King who possesses all authority, the Shepherd who restores and commissions, and the Lord who pours out His Spirit for the global mission.
The Threefold Portrait
Using the observations you recorded at the end of each layer, write them together here:
Matthew 28:16–20
John 21:15–25
Acts 1:1–8
Core Theological Questions
- 22. The Enthronement of the Son of Man: Jesus declares that all authority has been given to Him, directly fulfilling Daniel 7:14. He does not wait passively in heaven to become King at the Second Coming. How does this declaration shape the Church's understanding of Christ's present reign over the cosmos?
- 23. The Pastoral Office: Matthew records the corporate commission to baptize and teach. John records the personal commission to Peter: "Feed my sheep." The Lutheran Confessions cite both texts as foundational for the public ministry (Tractatus 30–31). How do these two commissions, taken together, define the purpose and scope of the pastoral office?
- 24. The Commission of the Unworthy: The Eleven include men who worshiped yet doubted (Matt 28:17). Peter denied Christ three times. The disciples in Acts still clung to nationalistic expectations (Acts 1:6). Yet the risen Christ commissions all of them. What do these texts reveal about the relationship between human weakness and divine calling?
- 25. Sacramental Mission: Matthew's commission specifies Baptism "into the name" of the Triune God and ongoing teaching. John's commission places the pastoral charge immediately after a eucharistic meal. What do these details reveal about the means through which the Church carries out her mission?
- 26. Go and Wait: Matthew 28:19 commands the disciples to "Go." Acts 1:4 commands them to "Wait." How do these two commands work together rather than in contradiction, and what do they teach the Church about the relationship between divine empowerment and human obedience?
Liturgical Connection
- 27. Matthew 28:19–20 is read at the very beginning of the Rite of Holy Baptism as the Lord's institution of the sacrament. It is also a foundational text for the Lutheran rite of Ordination, in which a pastor is authorized to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments. How does the Great Commission connect Baptism, teaching, and the pastoral office as parts of a single mandate?
- 28. John 21:15–17 ("Feed my sheep") is cited in the Tractatus de Potestate et Primatu Papae (Tractatus 30) as a text establishing that the pastoral ministry belongs to all who are called, not exclusively to Peter or his successors. How does John 21 shape the Lutheran understanding of the authority shared among pastors?
Lectionary Usage
- Holy Trinity, Series A: Matthew 28:16–20 is appointed as the Holy Gospel for the Feast of the Holy Trinity in Series A.
- Easter 3, Series C: The optional extended reading of John 21:1–14 (15–19) is appointed as the Holy Gospel for the Third Sunday of Easter in Series C.
- Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist: John 21:20–25 is the appointed Gospel reading for this festival.
- Ascension of Our Lord (all series): Acts 1:1–11 is the universally appointed First Reading for the Feast of the Ascension across all three series (A, B, and C), initiating a continuous reading of Acts through the Feast of the Holy Trinity every year.
Baptism and Ordination
Matthew 28:19–20 governs two of the most solemn rites in Lutheran practice. At every Baptism, the pastor reads the Lord's own institution before applying water in the Triune name. At every Ordination, the same text grounds the charge to preach and administer the Sacraments: the commission does not expire with the apostles but is passed on to their successors in the public ministry. The promise "I am with you always" is therefore not merely comfort; it is the guarantee that Christ Himself acts through Word and Sacrament when His called servants administer them.
Hymnody
On Galilee's High Mountain (LSB 835)
Directly inspired by Matthew 28:16–20, this hymn explicitly connects to Christ's Great Commission given to the Eleven disciples, calling the Church to carry the resurrection proclamation to the ends of the earth.
Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing (LSB 475)
The mandate to proclaim the resurrection "to the ends of the earth" is echoed in this Easter hymn, tying the joy of the risen Lord to the Church's ongoing missionary commission.
A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing (LSB 493)
The primary scriptural foundation for this Ascension hymn is Acts 1:1–11. The promise in Acts 1:8 that the disciples will be witnesses "to the ends of the earth" provides the theological framework for the Pentecost stanzas, bridging Ascension and the mission of the Spirit-empowered Church.
Baptized into Your Name Most Holy (LSB 590)
Listed as a foundational baptismal hymn rooted in Matthew 28:19, this text meditates on the Triune name into which the believer is baptized and the new identity that follows from that washing.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, You ascended to the right hand of the Father and received all authority in heaven and on earth. You restored the fallen, commissioned the doubting, and promised power from on high to those who waited in faith. We thank You that Your reign is not a distant hope but a present reality, that Your Church is sustained not by the worthiness of her ministers but by Your abiding presence in Word and Sacrament. Send us forth as Your witnesses: to baptize in the Triune name, to teach all that You have commanded, and to feed Your sheep with the bread of life. Keep us faithful until You come again in glory, and grant that we may hear Your voice say to each of us, "Follow me." You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.