---
title: Matthew 28:18
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/matthew-28-18/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/matthew-28-18.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Matthew 28:18
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Matthew 28:18

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: 'All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth.'"

## JW Usage

The Watchtower reads Matthew 28:18 as describing authority granted to Jesus by Jehovah at his exaltation — delegated authority, not intrinsic divine authority. "All authority… has been given me" is taken to support the JW Christology in which Jesus exercises power on Jehovah's behalf without sharing the divine nature. The verse is also read alongside the 1914 framework: Christ's authority was granted at his ascension but his Kingdom rule began invisibly in 1914 with limited scope, awaiting the future earthly extension at Armageddon.

## Protestant Usage

Take Jesus's claim at face value. He has been given "all authority in heaven and on earth" — a comprehensive declaration that excludes nothing. Pair Matthew 28:18 with Acts 2:30-36 (Peter at Pentecost: "God has made him both Lord and Christ"), Ephesians 1:20-22 (Christ "seated… far above all rule and authority and power and dominion"), and 1 Corinthians 15:25 ("he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet"). Christ already reigns with all authority — his enthronement happened at the resurrection-ascension, not in 1914, and there is no "heaven authority now / earth authority later" partition the text supports. The JW-specific 1914 framework requires Christ's authority to be partial during the so-called Gentile Times, but Matthew 28:18 declares the authority complete already at the ascension.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Christ Is Already Reigning](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/christ-reigning-now.md) — Acts 2:30-36 / Ephesians 1:20-22 / 1 Corinthians 15:25 [Eschatology]
- [The Kingdom Was Already Here in Jesus's Ministry](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/kingdom-already-present.md) — Matthew 12:28 / Luke 17:21 — the King among us, the kingdom upon us [Eschatology]
- [We Didn't Invent the Trinity — We Summarised What God Revealed](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-from-revelation-not-deduction.md) — A summary of three biblical revelations, not a philosophical speculation [Deity of Christ]