Great Commission
Original sermon given on The Holy Trinity, May 31, 2026 written and delivered by seminarian Nick Vukalovich at First Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church.
Watch the sermon live.
“Great Commission”
Matthew 28.16-20
Sermon on the Great Commission
Trouble in the World
Genuine question – What is so “great” about the Great Commission? According to Open Door’s Watch List in 2026, 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted worldwide. 1 in 5 Christians are persecuted in Africa. And 2 in every 5 Christians are persecuted in Asia.[1] Think for a minute about the absurdity of what Christ is asking of the church.
In America, western society is currently on the verge of moralistic collapse, and Judeo-Christian values are currently being blamed. Even in our own families, we feel the strain the gospel places upon our relationships. “Father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”[2] If we are honest, the world of the Great Commission is not so great.
Hence the psalmist asks, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his Anointed.”[3]
Again, I ask, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” Maybe Shakespeare was right, “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”[4] You have heard it said, “go to hell,” and I say, it is not too far of a walk. Yet dear Christian, walk you must. Walk you must into this very world, full of suffering and resistance to those whose feet bring the good news, to carry out this Great Commission.
Trouble in the Text
“Go, therefore,” Christ commands, “and disciplize all nations, by means of baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by means of teaching them to keep all that I have commanded you.” The very nations which the psalmist spoke concerning, “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet – I can count all my bones – they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots,”[5] to these the church has been sent.
Yes, dear Christian, even to those who hate and despise you does your Lord still send you. Think for a moment about the parable of the vineyard. About the wicked tenants. Although the owner knew the tenants to be wicked and hard hearted, He still sent His own Son to them. And as the owner of the vineyard sent his own Son to the wicked tenants, so Christ sends the church to those who hate her. Who would wish her harm. Who would wish for her misfortune. And yes, even beat and kill her.
Worse yet, this world does not know Christ. “[They say in their hearts], ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. [6] They are not Christ’s disciples. They do not fall down and worship Him as God. They are not baptized. They have not been taught His commands. They do not have the promise of Christ’s presence.
Does your heart not burn for them, dear Christian? As the owner’s for His vineyard? Yes, dear Christian, it was love, love divine that the owner sent His Son, His only Son, into the vineyard, knowing what was to become of Him. And it is this love, love divine that enflames our hearts when they are weary and burdened by suffering to continue on.
Grace in the Text
“And behold,” Christ promises, “I myself am with you all the days until the completion of the eons.” “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”[7] Christ chose the eleven. Christ chose the church. Through baptism, this gracious promise is with the eleven and the Church as they carry out this Great Commission. As they go out to all nations to disciplize them, “by means of baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by means of teaching them to keep all that [Christ had] commanded [them],” Christ is with them. And although “the grass withers, [and] the flower fades,”[8] this very promise endures forever.
Think of St. Stephen. Think of St. Paul. Even to the end, Christ was faithful. As St. Stephen was being stoned on behalf of Christ and the Great Commission, he saw the heavens opened, the glory of God, and Christ Jesus standing at the right hand of God. In his last breath, St. Stephen cried out “’Lord, do not hold this sin against them,’”[9] at which he fell asleep in the promise of Christ, and his spirit received by Him as it awaits the resurrection of the flesh.
Notice even in his dying breath, St. Stephen, confident in the promise, still had the Great Commission in mind, which is that all nations might receive the forgiveness of sins. Interestingly, St. Paul, formerly Saul, was there and approved of his execution. Yet, St. Paul himself was baptized soon after, and forgiven of his sins, receiving the promise of Christ. Later, finding himself even before Nero, proclaiming the same gospel in which he once persecuted.
Amen Lord! May this beautiful irony be ours also.
Grace in the World
And it is, dear Christian. For once we, like the world, acted as the wicked tenants. But now, you are made heirs of the blessed promise through the Word of God in baptism and are being taught the faith. Christ Jesus is surely with you. Even though you are persecuted on account of His name, abandoned by those whom you love, despised by husband, wife, father, mother, or child, mocked at work, you are worthy of being called Christ’s, for you “were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God,”[10] through the baptismal waters. Therefore, husband, wife, father, mother, child, and worker, as you fulfill the Great Commission, you are not alone. Even though “hell is empty and all the devils here,”[11] Christ Jesus is with you until the completion of the eons. It is the Great Commission because it is His Great Promise. His Great Promise for you.
May Christ’s Great Promise ever continue to enflame your hearts to burn for your neighbor as you labor in your Father’s vineyard, until the day you are called home to your heavenly abode.
Through Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, one God, eternal. Amen.
Footnotes:
[1] “World Watch List 2026,” n.d. https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/.
[2] Luke 12:53, ESV, Revision 2016.
[3] Psalm 2, ESV, Revision 2016.
[4] Shakespeare, The Tempest, 1611.
[5] Psalm 22, ESV, Revision 2016.
[6] Psalm 14, ESV, Revision 2016.
[7] John 15:18-19, ESV¸ Revision 2016.
[8] Isaiah 40:8, ESV¸ Revision 2016.
[9] Acts 7:60, ESV¸ Revision 2016.
[10] John 1:13, ESV¸ Revision 2016.
[11] Shakespeare, The Tempest, 1611.
