37. Matthew 28:16-20

Before [child] is baptized this morning, I would like you to turn to Matthew 28:16-20. Baptism was instituted by our Lord in several places in the Gospels, but this is the most famous of them. Let’s read it together.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

He tells us in this passage of two things that must be done as we seek to disciple the nations: first we are to baptize the nations and second we are to teach these nations. That is the normal order for discipleship. Now it’s true, when people come to Christ out of heathenism like Abraham did, they are taught first and then baptized. But God then commanded Abraham to include all his household in the covenant after the children had come to the age of 8 days. The normal order from that time on was “circumcise and teach” and in the time of Moses it was circumcise/baptize on the eighth day and then teach. Christ is not changing anything in terms of the order. We have seen many times in the past that infant baptism continues in the New Testament and is treated as circumcision because blood rites have been done away with. Infant baptism continues, circumcision is done away. Christ welcomed such infants in His arms and said, “Do not forbid them, for of such is the Kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14).

The new thing that happens when Christ establishes the kingdom of heaven at His ascension is not the inclusion of children. The new thing is the inclusion of non-Israelite families. Christ didn’t talk here about discipling Israel. He said, “make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). The covenant is intended to extend as far as mankind extends. As family unit by family unit comes to embrace Jesus, eventually Christ’s goal is that the entire nation be in covenant with the King of the Church, and that they stay in covenant with Jesus. When God established His covenant with Abraham, He restricted the sign of the covenant to Israel. But when John the Baptist came Baptizing he warned Israel that the time had come when God would raise up sons of Abraham from non-Israelite sources. He said, “God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Matt. 3:9). This family covenant would no longer be restricted to Israel.

Zaccheus was a good example of this. Though he would have been excommunicated from Israel for being a renegade and a tax collector and treated as a Roman, Christ declares upon his profession of faith: Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; Luk 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:9-10). When Gentiles become believers, salvation comes to the whole household because God has promised to be a God to us and to our children after us. That is the promise held forth in Baptism.

Paul told the Philippian jailer: “‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved; you and your household’… and immediately, he and all his family were baptized” (Acts 16:31,33). As you children view this baptism, remember God’s promise and claim it for yourselves. And you parents must be sure to take the order of the Great Commission seriously as well. Once your family is baptized, you must trust God for their salvation and begin from the earliest times to teach them to observe all things that Christ has commanded. One of the excellent tools for such teaching is the catechism, and if your children are not memorizing the catechism, they should be. But you should teach them by your lifestyle, by your words, through music, Sunday School, and all the means that are at your disposal. God’s promises do not come in a vacuum. They come to parents who take the covenant seriously and by faith instruct their children in the way of the Lord.