Sermon preached by the late Rev. D. N. MacLeod, at Plockton
on Monday, 26th July, 1948
(taken down by a hearer)
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matt. 28: 18, 19, 20.
Before the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died He made an
appointment with His disciples to meet Him on a certain mountain
in Galilee after He was risen from the dead. He knew well that
death could not hold Him, that as He was going to die He was
going to rise again and live again and live after the power of
an endless life. He did not forget that appointment, for He told
the women to whom He revealed Himself after His resurrection
to go to His disciples, to remind them of it, and to be there
and He would meet them. The disciples obeyed the message
and went to Galilee, and the Apostle Paul tells us that there
were over 500 assembled on that mount. Matthew here tells us
that when they saw Him coming, some of them doubted. They
were not very sure who it was—was it He or not—(that is, when
He appeared at a distance), but when He came nearer they all
knew Him. It is one of the proofs of the veracity of God’s Word
that Matthew recorded that they had that doubt, for he was
not afraid to record it. If he were writing about one that he
was himself making a hero he would very likely have mentioned
nothing like this, that would happen to be true about him, but
he was not in the least afraid. He was recording things just as
they were, and he was not afraid to tell future generations that
some of them had this doubt when they saw Him, but that
afterwards that doubt vanished. Christ met them on the mount
and met them to set them apart for their work—the work that He was pleased to call them to—that is, His disciples.
We shall notice in the first place:
I. What He said to them about His own power.
II. The commission, and where they were to go—to all the ends of the world and what they were to do with men and women. They were to baptize them.
III. What they were to teach.
IV. His own promise to them and to the Church. He promised to be with them always, even unto the end of the world.
And Jesus came unto them saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and earth.” He is speaking of Himself as the God-man, the only Mediator between God and man, the only Saviour and the Captain of salvation, made perfect through sufferings. All power in heaven and earth is given Him, that is owned by Him, for He received a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father; that He has omnipotent power, that everything is possible to Him as the Head of His Church on earth. He has this power—all power in heaven and earth. The disciples were to remember that, that in sending them forth, He was behind them to defend them and to uphold them, to work with them. They were not sent forth in their own strength. They were sent forth in His strength, with all this power behind them, that is, all power in heaven and earth, and that is the same now as it was the first time. It has not changed. All His sent ambassadors have that power behind them. They are to remember that. They must not forget it. They must not cease to trust Him. It is meant to be their strength to enable them to do His will, no matter how things may be, no matter what you may think. No matter how hard the work may be or what it may cost themselves, that He is behind them with that power and that in order to prosper their work and in order to make them victorious over all the power that may be against them, and that over even the power of the gates of hell of which He spake on another occasion, “upon this rock I will build my church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Having spoken then of that power, He gave them this commission saying to them, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” It was, as the Apostle Paul refers to, it was to the Jews, and then to the Greeks. The middle wall of partition was entirely removed, not a stone left
upon another in it, and the Gospel of salvation which is the power of God and the wisdom of God was to go forth to all nations, kindreds and tongues. They were to go and teach them, that is, teach them the truth, teach them the doctrines of His own Gospel, and they were also to baptize them—to make disciples of them. The Church, that is, the Reformed Church, always insisted on this in dispensing the Sacrament of Baptism, that it would be connected with preaching or teaching the Word of God. That is one of the things they had against private baptism. The disciples here were asked to teach and to make disciples of such as would believe by baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; for, although baptism was observed before then and John the Baptist baptized in Jordan, and although His own disciples were sent forth to baptize in Judea, baptism or the sacrament was not instituted as a sacrament until this time when He gave them this commission. It is then that it was instituted as a sacrament in the Church—to continue in the Church to the end of time and to be observed once in the case of every person, for baptism is only to be administered once—baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost—that is, in the name of the three Persons of the God-head. The three persons have their own work in man’s salvation.
The great work of redemption was devised by God the Father, the plan of redemption is His. It was worked out by His Son, Jesus Christ, and it is applied by the Holy Spirit. It is the work of the Three-in-One—a great work in truth—a work that none could do but the Triune God. What should make us think much of it and should make us willing to receive it, apart from the effect and our need, that it is the work done by the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It also means that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are under an obligation to see that the salvation of every believer is not only begun but is carried on and finished. They are all concerned in it, they undertook that in the case of all the redeemed, in the case of all baptized persons to whom the sacrament of baptism is made effectual unto salvation. They are not left with the mere signs but are made partakers of the things signified by water and by the Word in the sacrament, for the salvation of that person will be assured—will not only be begun, but carried on and finished, for it is in the name of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Ghost. Teach them, baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Ghost. This is a great privilege. This is truly a marvel! Very little is thought of it as a rule, so little that people speak of it as putting the water on, that is all that it means to them, that the water is to
be put on and it is to be feared that many rest satisfied with that. If they are baptized, they seek nothing more than just the fact that cold water was put upon their person. The cold water, although it is the element used in the sacrament will never mean this—that the sinner is saved. He must be made a partaker of all that water signifies and seals, and that is what we have been trying to bring before you as what the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost undertook to do in the case of those who are redeemed. Baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. They were not to teach whatever they liked themselves or whatever pleased themselves. Some may think that they can preach anything, but they are confined to this, to what they were themselves taught, what Christ gave them, what they learned of Him—the doctrines He gave them they were to teach and carefully observe that they would teach nothing else but “whatsoever I have commanded you” which meant this, that they were to teach what He taught them, and what He gave them and nothing else, nothing of their own. Nothing belonging to man at all—only the doctrines that He gave—that is the Gospel.
We live in a day when Christ’s authority is quite overthrown. It is not only that the authority of the Bible is overthrown, both Testaments, but Christ’s authority is overthrown. It is not what He said at all that is true. It is not what He said that people are to believe and believe as the Truth and nothing but the Truth. Christ is given a low place in our day. Men are to be feared above Him. We are quite ready to do as we are exhorted to do and to give honour to whom honour is due, to give men honour due to them, but what we are saying just now is exceedingly sad—that the honour of men and the doctrines of men are given a higher place by far than the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sinners no longer come to Him as He lovingly invites them to come, saying, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” They do not come to learn of Him at all. There are many nowadays who are not ashamed to say that they would teach Him, that they know far more than He knows. A few years ago we read in the press of a minister in Galashiels who said openly at a meeting of their presbytery that they knew many things that Christ did not know and were able to teach Him things He did not know, but that is only a man usurping Christ’s place, taking His place from Him—taking away the authority from Him and overthrowing Him as much as lies in their power; but that does not interfere with Him in the least—
that makes no change on Him—He still has all power in heaven and on earth. He is still the Truth and His Word is still true. His doctrines are still the same. Not one jot or tittle of what He taught has fallen to the ground. Nothing has been changed of what He has revealed. It is still true what was taught by Him, and as it was put by one of His servants, the prophet, Isaiah, “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him:—Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him;” It is still true and still the same that he that believeth shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned; that, unless sinners will repent they must perish; that there is none other name given among men or in heaven whereby we must be saved; that, beside Him, there is no Saviour. There is no other salvation for lost sinners but the salvation He has wrought out for them; that that salvation is free and absolutely free, that it is without money and without price, that it is offered to whomsoever of the human race that is willing to accept it; that it is still true that whomsoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It is unto all nations, “whatsoever I have commanded you.” There is no Saviour beside Him, no salvation apart from Him. There is no other Gospel of salvation for poor perishing sinners, and perishing sinners must be given nothing else, nothing but what He commanded—that is the inspired Word, what we have in this book before us. “Whatsoever I have commanded you.” And He gave them this great promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” I am with you alway. You will not go anywhere but He will go with you as you go forth to all the nations of the earth. I am with you in this work that I gave you. I am with you. No matter where you be, I am with you. No matter how you are finding things, whether things are prospering with you or not, whether you are finding things difficult or easy, whether you are received yourselves or whether you are rejected—I am with you alway and I am with you night and day. There will not be a single moment in which this will not be true of you, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end,” and true to the end of time, even unto the end of the world. What a gracious, precious promise this is, a promise that He cannot forget, a promise that He does fulfil. He abides by it. We are to receive this promise in our own day. No matter how things are or may be, no matter how we find things, no matter what condition we may be in, or where our lot may be cast, whether we are welcome or not. But that does not interfere with His promise at all! We are to receive this promise, rest in it, in the fulfilment of it as being as true now as when He first spoke it, as true now of all His servants as it was then, of all
who are His people now as it was then; for it is to be to the end of the world, and that is that He is with us as we were singing, “God in the midst of her doth dwell. Nothing shall her remove.” That is what is true of His Church in the world, of His servants and of His people, that He is with them, and with them—they are to remember—with all His power. “All power in heaven and earth,” with them, as anointed with the oil of joy and gladness above His fellows, with the Holy Spirit above measure, for it was not by measure it was given to Him; with them to instruct them, to enlighten them, to quicken them when dead in trespasses and sins, to quicken them by way of enlivening them, when any decay sets in, or any falling away, to liven them again and give them fellowship with Himself and communion with Him, to give them, as the apostle John puts it, “Fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ,” to strengthen them and to equip them for their work, to work with them and to enable them to finish the work He gives them: to enable them to be faithful unto Him, and faithful even unto death; to enable to bear with hardships for His sake, to endure sufferings for His sake and to persevere to follow on to know Himself, to be victorious at last. He is with them always, “Lo, I am with you alway.”
The Lord’s people often feel like this, even when they have such a precious promise as this. They feel afraid to apply it to themselves. They will agree, very readily agree, that it belongs to the Lord’s people. It is true of them, but they cannot apply it to themselves. They are afraid to take it. We have reason to be afraid of that kind of fear. If our faith is in Him, our only hope is in Him, and our whole trust is in Him, if we have made choice of Him, if He is the Beloved of our hearts, if He is to us fairer than the sons of men, if there is none like unto Him, none that we can give His place to, if He has become all and in all to us, we are to take this promise with all the other promises. It is meant for us. It is given to us. If we do not take it we lose its whole benefit. If we go through this world in this way professing Him, professing to be His, and yet afraid to take such a promise as this, a promise of His own presence with us, of having Himself with us, what shall we be like? We must be as weak as water, ready to tremble at the least sign of danger. We shall lack the comfort of it, we shall lack the strength of it. Let us remember this. Christ knew His disciples needed this. He knows that His people need it still. He gave this promise to them because He knew they needed it. That is why He gave it. He knows His poor people need it. Let them beware of this—of allowing the unbelief of their hearts and the temptations of
the evil one to rob them of His precious promise and of all the grace and the strength and the comfort that is in it. It was never more necessary for everyone to have a firm hold of it than today.
How can we expect to persevere unto the end, how can we expect to get through all that meets us and all that confronts us every day inwardly and outwardly if not in this way, by Himself being with us, dwelling in us by His Holy Spirit? We cannot any longer have His bodily presence. He is no longer known after the flesh, but we have Him abiding in us and with us by His Holy Spirit and by His Word. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end.” No words of mine can convince anyone of the absolute necessity of this, of having a firm hold of this precious promise unless the Holy Spirit is pleased to confirm it; but it is one of the things that had been before my mind for a long time. Every year we are seeing some falling, some ceasing, some going back. We are also seeing this, we are seeing others weak and trembling, and some, perhaps, of very little use to Christ and His cause on earth because they have not got the strength. They are not leaning upon Himself, depending wholly upon Him. They are not going forth in His strength. They will not come unto Him for counsel, for advice. They are not setting Him before them in their ways. They are professing Him, and that publicly, but, nevertheless, they are doing it without Christ being in it at all. That is what we are trying to get at today. We are seeing it so plainly before us, and we see the evils of it. Some may be tempted to think it is godliness for them to give in wholly to this, that it could not be, as it were, true of them at any rate, although it may be true of others of them making the same profession of their faith in Jesus Christ, but they give in and depend upon it, if you give in, Satan will do his utmost to get the victory over you and it will not be difficult for him.
Let us see to this, that if we profess Him in the world and if we profess to be His people in the world that we are not going to go through the world without Him, that we are not making a step without Him, or engaging in any work without Him, because we cannot do it. “Without Me ye can do nothing.” We are not going to overcome by our own wisdom and strength; it is only by His grace being made perfect in our weakness that we can overcome. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end.” We must believe this, sad as it is, that He is fulfilling His promise even in this day of ours, even when we are seeing this, and it pains us and grieves us to see that His Word is not blessed, sinners are not quickened, the numbers of His people are
not increased, they are getting fewer. We are not seeing some added to the Church as it used to be. We are seeing that the Word is preached, the same doctrines are delivered and nothing is given but what has the authority of His own Word, and a special effort is made to have it so, that nothing be given to perishing sinners but His own Word and yet that is what we see; we are seeing that there are no conversions, (that is, so far as we can see,) and along with that we see little of this—signs of increase in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and we see but little signs of growing in grace and bearing fruit,—the fruits of the Spirit. Yet, notwithstanding all that, we must believe this.
Notwithstanding all that, this promise still stands true. Christ still abides by it and owns it as ready to fulfil it, and it is in His own wonderful way He is fulfilling it. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end.” And it would be well for us coming to the close of another Communion season, when we part, to have ourselves firmly rooted in the truth and it is a great promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” believing that the Lord is still with His Church, still with His people. He has not parted with them. He has not disowned them. He is still with them and with them the very same as He was from the beginning. It is Himself, the same person that is with them still.
Try and take that with you away home—that it is the Christ of God that gave the promise and abides by it. He is bound to fulfil it and is fulfilling it, and that is the Person Who is going home with you. It is the Person Who is to accompany you away from this Communion as you put your faith and trust in Him as you devote yourself to Him and give your whole heart to Him. That is the Person who is to accompany you and abide with you in your homes until the day of your death and will see to it that you will abide with Him through the endless ages of eternity.