Matthew 28:16-20, the Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
 
Here we have it...The Great Commission. After 28 chapters the Gospel is distilled down to this:
1. Jesus is the boss. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me".
2. We are the workers  "Go and make disciples of all nations".
3. Obedience is standard "Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you".
4. The presence of Christ is our life's blood "And surely I am with you always".

This should settle it, but it doesn't for many...

We have tried to fiddle with this formula from the very beginning...which is foolish. We've tried to be christians on our own terms which defies all four stipulations. Most of the parables of the Gospel surround these points...
1. Our agreement is not necessary ("I don't believe it") - Truth prevails without our help
2. Our deference is not optional ("I don't want it") - There is no such thing as "kind of a disciple"
3. Our ideas are not relevant ("I don't like it") - The demands are not suggestion
4. Our ability is not sufficient ("I don't need it") - Spiritual life is found only in the blood of Jesus

If we are still debating the finer points of Christ's demands it proves we have failed to comprehend the most essential ingredient: It's not about us. To borrow an old sports axiom, "there's no "I" in atonement". As soon as I try to put it there, the next axiom holds true: "there's no "me" in eternity".

Live boldly out there today...

Matthew 28:11-15, The Guards' Report

11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

I've been in the military. I've even pulled guard duty. During my Army days in Vietnam guard duty was a common task. It was easy to fall asleep...but the penalty was severe. I recall soldiers being sent to Long Binh Jail (affectionately known as LBJ) for falling asleep. One night four of our guards actually got their throats slit.

Very serious business...so, this had to have been an awfully lot of money.

Which lets us know how far people will go in their collaboration against the claims of Jesus. This is the ugly side of humanity that cannot be ignored. It's easy for us to get caught up in this idea of benign neglect...the notion that unbelievers are quite pleasant folks who simply have never gotten around to declaring faith in Christ. "It surely doesn't make them bad people!" Which of course leads to the most common complaint against God: "How could a loving God send perfectly nice people to hell?"

You see how the devil got us to change the subject? Salvation has never been about God. It has always been about us...predicated by our own sinfulness. This exchange between the guards and the Pharisees declares the notion of innocent sinners to be a lie.

I am stepping out here and suggesting that every unbeliever has made a deal with the devil against God. They are not innocent. They are not poor unfortunates. They are sinister collaborators of the worst kind. It's what killed Christ

Think not? Look at Romans 1:18-25

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.  Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen

So where does this leave us? It leaves us with the ugly reality that our unbelieving "friends" are probably not our friends. Given the proper circumstances they are not different than the guards and Pharisees...which means we could find ourselves hanging on a cross by their hand.

A natural tendency would be to run to the sanctuary...to the safety of God's family. But we can't. You see, God loves every one of them (and of course, we were "them" at one time). He has tasked us to live among them and declare the truth of Christ...even if it kills us.

As Easter approaches, our lesson this morning firmly declares the truth. We are in a battle with Satan over the lives of every unbeliever. Calvary declares ultimate victory but the battle rages until Christ returns.

So, now, we're the guards. The difference is, we're collaborating with Christ.  We are to stand against the influences of Satan that make it so hard for unbelievers to recognize the truth. It's life and death stuff. Please don't fall asleep!

Live boldly out there today...

Matthew 28:1-10, Jesus Has Risen

 ¹ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

 ² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

 ⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

 ⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

A story built upon lies eventually is crushed by the weight of its own deception.

So much for the guards…we know at this point the Pharisees had to have been getting nervous. Some things cannot be undone. This was surely one of them. Panic and terror couldn’t be far behind…for the smart ones.

I’ve seen it in the eyes of the dying Pharisees in my hospital…You know, the ones who feel smugly secure about their own righteousness…up till the last minute.

On the other hand, both the angel and our Savior told the women “Do not be afraid”.

I like their message better. It’s one I should share more faithfully with those around me.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 27:62-66, The Guard at the Tomb

 ⁶² The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³ “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

 ⁶⁵ “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

“Bush lied and people died!”

Few things get me more irritated than this tired old saw. Mostly, because in jumping to an unwarranted conclusion, it levels very serious allegations of misconduct. It doesn’t stop unscrupulous people from raising the allegation, however.

More precisely...”Bush was wrong”.

Mind you, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask questions or be skeptical. We always have a right to pursue truth. What we don’t have a right to do is assume we can read what is in the heart of another.

This is more than simple semantics. We can be wrong without being fraudulent. Deception is “intent” to fraud. It’s hard to prove because we have to be able to determine motive. Which is why we should be very careful about calling anybody a liar.

So this brings me to the Pharisees… I understand imputing motives serves to strengthen their own position. It’s still wrong.

The purpose for requesting a guard at the tomb was predicated on the claim that Jesus was a deceiver…so he most likely would perpetuate his fraudulent claims of Messiahship by having his disciples steal his body. The most offensive thing about this is the implication that they knew the heart of Jesus and found it filled with deceit. We know both to be untrue.

The relationship Jesus had with the Pharisees is instructive. Everything Jesus said was assumed to be a lie by the Pharisees…even when miracles served to prove Christ’s claims. This can strain the best of relationships.

Some people simply don’t want to believe…

Our relationships are far more subtle, but we know the dynamic holds true. At some point we have to trust the other person if the relationship is to survive. As in…our relationship with Jesus. The old song says “Every promise in the book is mine” (which means “every promise”). When I don’t live that way I’m either calling Jesus a liar or I’m saying I don’t trust his judgment.

Much like the Pharisees.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 27:57-61, The Burial of Jesus

 ⁵⁷ As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

This is interesting…since the Hebrew understanding of Life after death was a little muddled. As we know, Pharisees believed in a bodily resurrection. Sadducees believed in no life after death. Philo, the great Jewish philosopher championed a more Platonic view of “disembodied bliss”.

We can say with little doubt that Ancient Israel was conflicted on this subject. Generally, when this happens, people go to great lengths to plan for all contingencies. At any rate…Joseph was planning for his eternity at least to the point of carving out a tomb for himself.

Here’s my speculation. If Joseph was part of the “bodily resurrection” faction he could “loan out his tomb” knowing it would be empty again once he needed it (however briefly). Of course, this takes a great deal of faith. If he was wrong, he would have no place to “sleep with his fathers” when he died.

What I like most about Joseph is that he stepped up without being asked. He may have deliberated internally, but when the time came he willingly put his own plans for eternity in jeopardy so our Lord would have a resting place.

We say our eternity is in God’s hands…do we live like it? Do we strip ourselves of all the contingency plans we’ve built and trust fully in God’s benevolent grace? As Joseph built his tomb, we build our lives so in the end we bring hands full of good works to influence God’s judgment.

Through faith, Joseph was going to die without a tomb. We are going to face God with empty hands. Is our faith up to it?

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 27:45-56, The Death of Jesus

Matthew 27:45-56, The Death of Jesus

 ⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[c] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[d]

 ⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

 ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

 ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

 ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

 ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

 ⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,^[f] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

We can be thankful for those who are stalwart in principle because we all benefit. This quality does not come without cost.

“What if I’m wrong?” Jesus was a human. You know the thought crept into his mind. And as the sin of the world was being piled upon his shoulders he could feel the comforting presence of his father diminish. So, he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Can you imagine the panic Jesus must have felt? There’s no coming back from a mistake this huge. Jesus and Judas would have been eternal roommates.

But, by the grace of God, the divine Jesus prevailed and offered salvation for the world. My point is…it surely wasn’t easy. I doubt the dying part was the hard part. I’m sure it was the fear that when he crossed that threshold into eternity he would find that God was not there.

It should make the strongest man tremble…

We see glimpses of it through history. Martin Luther was excommunicated. We have to remember the time and place. There wasn’t another church down the block. The Roman church was it. If you weren’t a member you were eternally lost. We owe a great debt to a man who was bold enough to risk his own eternity for the sake of our own.

Or Jim Elliot and Nate Saint.

I want to be counted among these giants. Not so my name goes down in history, but so my life has the same kind of meaning. Thank you Jesus, for setting the example.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 27:32-44, The Crucifixion of Jesus

 ³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 ³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

I wonder if there’s a lot we can learn from today’s text, but then, it’s the bible…

I can’t imagine the audacity. Would you dare wrap an adversary to a chair…using a roll of duct tape…and then taunt them unmercifully to get loose? Only if I were absolutely sure they couldn’t do it…or they would never find me once they did.

These taunters lose on both counts. Jesus got loose and he knows where they are…

I remember the bull slapping contest from Wild Hogs…the bull wins.

Plus, they showed their complete ignorance. They had no clue that Jesus had no intention of stepping down from that cross. Foolish and ignorant: A bad combination.

But, we’re not taunters or bull slappers. This doesn’t really apply to us. One thing we have in common with them, however, is a natural tendency to marginalize or separate those who are not like us. The difference is really only a matter of degree. This tendency is what brought us Calvary.

Think not? I wonder why there are over 1500 distinct Christian faith groups in America. Have we had to break fellowship that many times just to keep our doctrine pure? Or do we just feel uncomfortable around folks who think differently? I’m sure the Pharisees started out with a simple discomfort with Jesus. It grew into hatred when they couldn’t “talk sense” into his head.

This is rather nuanced because every division is not a bad thing. I’ve learned over time that the best way for me to check my heart is to check my attitude when something bad happens to a perceived adversary. If I rejoice…I’m wrong. If I’m smug…I’m wrong.

Jim Baker…Jim Swaggart…Jerry Falwell…Ted Haggard. Do we remember how we felt about their troubles? Did we grieve for them? Did we pray for them? If we did, that’s a very good thing. Did we cluck like old hens in disapproval? Not so good.

My prayer is that people would view me as a “Good Samaritan” who demonstrates compassion toward the most unlovely people. I know it’s a stretch…but if God answers that prayer I can be sure I’ll never be party to hurting others.

Live boldly out there today…