When the End Is the Beginning (Matthew 28:1–20)

Oftentimes an end is also a beginning. The end of summer signals the beginning of autumn. The end of childhood means the beginning of adulthood. When life as a single person comes to an end that typically means life as a spouse is beginning. Trusting Christ for everlasting life marks the end of separation from God and the beginning of the process of becoming like him. Oftentimes an end is also a beginning.

Such is the case with Matthew’s gospel. The evangelist didn’t write this book to simply entertain or preserve history. Rather, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he wrote it to move his readers to action, to thrust them into the trenches, and to send them into the world on fire with an assignment. As Matthew’s account comes to an end, his readers are shown how it’s just the beginning of something amazing—a great commission to be undertaken, in spite of great imperfection, fuelled by the power of great provision.