The Risen King's Commission (Matthew 28)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:04.080 If you're able, please remain standing in will and let's give our attention to 2 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:16.149 Matthew, Chapter Twenty eight. Matthew Twenty Eight, here Matthew accounts for us 3 00:00:16.390 --> 00:00:23.339 the resurrection and also the Great Commission that follows. Let us get us our 4 00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:30.140 attention to the reading of God's word. Now, after the Sabbath, towards 5 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:33.380 the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen and the other 6 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:38.369 Mary went to see the Tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, 7 00:00:38.570 --> 00:00:42.890 for an angel of the Lord descended from Heaven and came and rolled back 8 00:00:43.049 --> 00:00:49.130 the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and a clothing 9 00:00:49.369 --> 00:00:53.799 white as snow, and for fear of him, the guards trembled and became 10 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:58.320 like dead men. But the angel said to the women, do not be 11 00:00:58.439 --> 00:01:03.159 afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He 12 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:07.629 is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come see 13 00:01:07.670 --> 00:01:12.310 the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples that he 14 00:01:12.349 --> 00:01:17.150 has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to 15 00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:22.620 Galilee. There you will see him. See I have told you so. 16 00:01:22.859 --> 00:01:26.299 They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell 17 00:01:27.019 --> 00:01:34.329 his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said greetings, and they 18 00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:40.049 came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said 19 00:01:40.049 --> 00:01:44.730 to them, do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go 20 00:01:44.890 --> 00:01:49.280 to Galilee, and there they will see me. While they were going, 21 00:01:49.640 --> 00:01:55.120 behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests 22 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:59.760 all that had taken place, and when they had assembled with the elders and 23 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:05.030 taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said 24 00:02:05.709 --> 00:02:10.310 tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep, 25 00:02:12.150 --> 00:02:15.669 and if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and 26 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:20.819 keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they 27 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:24.580 were directed, and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. 28 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:30.449 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus 29 00:02:30.490 --> 00:02:35.770 had directed them, and when they saw him they worshiped him, but some 30 00:02:36.050 --> 00:02:40.889 doubted, and Jesus came and said to them all authority in Heaven and on 31 00:02:42.009 --> 00:02:46.199 Earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of 32 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:50.360 all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son 33 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:54.120 and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded 34 00:02:54.400 --> 00:03:00.789 you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the 35 00:03:00.909 --> 00:03:29.610 age. May God bless his word to us. Please be seated. I 36 00:03:29.729 --> 00:03:35.729 want to talk to you this morning about the Great Commission. This phrase, 37 00:03:36.090 --> 00:03:40.289 the Great Commission, is what we use to describe these last few verses here 38 00:03:40.370 --> 00:03:45.400 at the end of Matthew. Twenty eight. Go there, for Jesus tells 39 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:50.319 them, and make disciples of all nations. This command to go and to 40 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:57.110 make disciples, particularly through baptizing them and teaching them. This command that Jesus 41 00:03:57.189 --> 00:04:01.590 gives really tells us and gives to us the mission of the church. It 42 00:04:01.789 --> 00:04:06.629 really defines much of who we are and what it is we are called to 43 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:12.500 do. In another sense, it explains how it is we are here. 44 00:04:13.539 --> 00:04:17.939 These eleven disciples and others after them did exactly what Jesus said, and here 45 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:25.449 we are, disciples, having been baptized and learning to obey and know his 46 00:04:26.129 --> 00:04:31.889 commandments. But do we often think about the when we think about the Great 47 00:04:31.930 --> 00:04:38.209 Commission, this mission that Jesus is given to us. Do we think about 48 00:04:38.209 --> 00:04:43.639 it in terms of the resurrection? Don't think we often do. We often 49 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:47.600 think about it as isolated, something separate on its own. But when you 50 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:50.560 hear Matthew Twenty eight, you see that it's not that way at all, 51 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:56.790 is it? Jesus raises from the dead and immediately there are these commands that 52 00:04:56.829 --> 00:04:59.870 are given, first to the women and then to the disciples to go, 53 00:04:59.990 --> 00:05:05.230 go and tell this is why he wants to meet with them. He grazes 54 00:05:05.350 --> 00:05:08.899 from the dead and he wants to meet with them and he wants to tell 55 00:05:08.939 --> 00:05:14.420 them this thing, and the thing that he tells them is very much based 56 00:05:14.660 --> 00:05:18.420 on his resurrection. All Authority and Heaven on earth has been given to me. 57 00:05:18.660 --> 00:05:25.930 Go there for you see the connection there. When we think about that, 58 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:29.810 we think about the resurrection in general, we've come to see that the 59 00:05:29.970 --> 00:05:34.009 resurrection of Jesus from the dead is one of the most important things that God 60 00:05:34.129 --> 00:05:41.759 has ever done on the earth. Throughout history. There are these things that 61 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:50.269 happen, these moments the change everything, that make everyone's life different from that 62 00:05:50.550 --> 00:05:56.470 point forward. He might think about an invention, for example, or a 63 00:05:56.990 --> 00:06:01.389 certain kind of discovery. or You could imagine a whether events are like this. 64 00:06:01.550 --> 00:06:10.259 Sometimes imagine a hundred year drought how that event would affect everyone who is 65 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:16.100 who in that area, everyone who suffers under that drought. It affects daily 66 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:23.529 life, it affects the way we live. Or a forty day worldwide flood, 67 00:06:24.810 --> 00:06:28.209 it affects everything. Right. There are these moments in history, there 68 00:06:28.209 --> 00:06:34.000 are these things that happen in life that have a very big impact on humanity 69 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:41.720 as a whole and on our individual lives as well well. The resurrection of 70 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:47.470 Jesus is something like that, only on a much grander scale. Here we 71 00:06:47.670 --> 00:06:54.589 have, with the resurrection of Jesus, the binding of Satan, the defeating 72 00:06:54.750 --> 00:07:02.139 of death, the Eternal Kingdom of God inaugurated. All the miracles that Jesus 73 00:07:02.220 --> 00:07:09.139 did in his earthly ministry were leading up to this point. All of the 74 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:14.139 exorcisms that he did, the casting out of demons, the prophecies that he 75 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:18.649 prophesied, the commanding things that he did were all leading up to this point. 76 00:07:20.009 --> 00:07:24.290 In fact, all even all of the Old Testament, all of human 77 00:07:24.449 --> 00:07:30.839 history, had been leading up to this point. The flood included the promises 78 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:35.439 to the Patriarchs, all the sacrifices, all the battles, all the kings 79 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:41.560 that God had established and taken a raised up and taken down, all of 80 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:47.430 it was moving towards this point where Jesus, the king, would rise from 81 00:07:47.430 --> 00:07:53.829 the dead and all authority in Heaven and on Earth would be given to him, 82 00:07:53.829 --> 00:08:01.019 and by that authority he would establish, he would inaugurate and Eternal Kingdom 83 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:11.100 of grace and of glory. God, The Sun, son of man, 84 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:16.730 rising from the dead, victorious over all of these things. That's what this 85 00:08:16.930 --> 00:08:24.050 resurrection is about and that's the context in which Jesus speaks to his disciples and 86 00:08:24.170 --> 00:08:28.879 says go. Therefore, in light of these things I have done, in 87 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:33.639 light of the resurrection that has happened, in light of my victory over sin 88 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:43.029 and death, I want you to go notice the connections between this event and 89 00:08:43.269 --> 00:08:48.590 the commands in Chapter Twenty Eight. First we have it with the women. 90 00:08:48.710 --> 00:08:56.779 They go to the tomb to see the Lord Jesus and take care of other 91 00:08:56.419 --> 00:09:03.539 burial things of the other gospels mentioned, and when they get there they find 92 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:07.940 an empty tomb. Now this is very surprising for a number of things that 93 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:13.129 come out in this chapter, and we know about from other portions of scripture, 94 00:09:13.169 --> 00:09:18.090 but just focusing on the things here, we are reminded that previously, 95 00:09:18.330 --> 00:09:24.289 in Chapter Twenty seven, there was a great stone rolled up to seal the 96 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:30.519 tomb. You read about it in verses sixty two through sixty six of chapter 97 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:33.759 twenty seven. I'll read it to you just so you can hear it. 98 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:37.320 The next day, that is, after the day of preparation, the chief 99 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:43.350 priests and the Pharisees gathered before pilot, these leaders who had worked so hard 100 00:09:43.350 --> 00:09:48.470 to crucify Jesus. Now he's dead. That's taken care of. But they 101 00:09:48.509 --> 00:09:52.830 go before pilot with this concern and they say, sir, we remember how 102 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:56.820 that impostor said, while he was alive, after three days I will rise. 103 00:09:58.100 --> 00:10:01.899 So they're co concerned. They're concerned that even though they crucified him, 104 00:10:01.899 --> 00:10:07.490 even though he's dead, something's still going to happen, and they ask pilot. 105 00:10:07.649 --> 00:10:11.330 They say, therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until the 106 00:10:11.490 --> 00:10:16.330 third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, 107 00:10:18.610 --> 00:10:20.679 tell the people he has risen from the dead, and the last fraud 108 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.720 will be worse than the first. Pilot said, you have a guard of 109 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:28.440 soldiers. Go and make it as secure as you can. So they went 110 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:35.399 and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting the guard. So 111 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:41.269 there is Jesus placed in the tomb, a great stone set and sealed over 112 00:10:41.350 --> 00:10:46.269 the tomb, a guard, a Roman guard, standing watch over this to 113 00:10:46.389 --> 00:10:52.820 make sure that nothing can be done. So you can imagine the surprise then 114 00:10:52.940 --> 00:11:01.019 when Mary and the other Mary get there and the stone is rolled away and 115 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:05.409 the guards are there as though dead on the ground and there's an angel sitting 116 00:11:05.570 --> 00:11:11.850 on on the stone. Imagine coming into any portion of your life and finding 117 00:11:11.889 --> 00:11:16.250 people lying on the ground as though they are dead. It would be somewhat 118 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:18.679 of a scary thing. I think. When it says that they are afraid, 119 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:24.759 that makes some sense, doesn't it? They're seeing these terrifying things. 120 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:30.639 What's going on? And indeed, this angel, his appearance was like lightning, 121 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:35.149 his clothing white as snow, and for fear of him, the guards 122 00:11:35.269 --> 00:11:45.190 trembled and became like dead. So instead of finding guards and a tomb sealed, 123 00:11:45.230 --> 00:11:48.220 they find the guards on the ground, an angel on the stone and 124 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:56.779 the tomb empty. So the resurrection has happened, just as Jesus said. 125 00:11:56.820 --> 00:12:01.529 It was happened exactly as the the leaders were worried, exactly as the angel 126 00:12:01.649 --> 00:12:09.090 has said. Now what happens? We read in Verse Seven. Go quickly 127 00:12:09.330 --> 00:12:16.039 and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. That's the first 128 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:20.919 thing that they're supposed to do. Their reaction to the resurrection is to go 129 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:28.320 and tell. Go and tell. That's the connection. That's what God wants 130 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:33.470 them to do. To go and tell the disciples are very specific thing to 131 00:12:33.750 --> 00:12:37.389 actually one. He's risen from the dead and too, he's coming to meet 132 00:12:37.470 --> 00:12:43.620 you to tell you something else. And so they go. And then it 133 00:12:43.700 --> 00:12:48.139 happens a second time. Jesus meets them and sees them on the way and 134 00:12:48.259 --> 00:12:54.100 he says greetings, and they take hold of his feed and they worship him 135 00:12:54.139 --> 00:12:58.889 and he says, don't be afraid, go and tell, go and tell 136 00:12:58.929 --> 00:13:03.450 my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me. And then 137 00:13:03.570 --> 00:13:09.889 what happens when they get there? Jesus says, go and tell, he 138 00:13:09.970 --> 00:13:13.039 says go, he says to the disciples. Go, therefore, and make 139 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:22.759 disciples of all the nations. What is a disciple? What's involved in making 140 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:28.429 a disciple? Well, it involves a lot of telling. A disciple is 141 00:13:28.549 --> 00:13:35.350 simply a student, a pupil, a follower of someone else. Now, 142 00:13:35.710 --> 00:13:39.669 a disciple, though, is not a kind of take it or leave it 143 00:13:39.750 --> 00:13:43.019 kind of student. Perhaps you've been in classes where you just had to jump 144 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:46.019 through a hoop to get a credit or something, and you show up and 145 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:52.980 you sit there and you leave. That's not a disciple. A disciple is 146 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:58.889 someone who goes and is dedicated to this teacher, who wants to learn everything 147 00:13:58.210 --> 00:14:03.090 that the teacher has to say, that will do what they say, listen 148 00:14:03.210 --> 00:14:07.570 to what they have up to tell them, someone who seeks to learn whatever 149 00:14:07.649 --> 00:14:13.120 the master teaches to do whatever the master says. That's what a disciple is. 150 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:22.399 Interestingly, he gives this command to go and make disciples to the disciples. 151 00:14:24.830 --> 00:14:28.990 They know something about what it means to be a disciple, both the 152 00:14:28.149 --> 00:14:33.029 good and the bad. These eleven men are people that have done well and 153 00:14:33.309 --> 00:14:37.110 have done very poorly at being a disciple, mpele. They know what it 154 00:14:37.269 --> 00:14:43.340 means to follow the Lord, to hear his teachings, to obey his word. 155 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:50.100 For a few years now they have been following, listening, obeying, 156 00:14:50.539 --> 00:14:54.529 and that's what Jesus wants them to do. He wants them to go and 157 00:14:54.649 --> 00:15:01.570 make other disciples, and this is important, this disciple word. He's not 158 00:15:01.809 --> 00:15:05.730 interested in people that are just wanting to be famous in connection with the great 159 00:15:05.769 --> 00:15:13.639 resurrected Jesus. He's not seeking people who are wont to be onlookers or curiosity 160 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:18.519 seekers or people that just start looking for something to do or someone to follow. 161 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:26.789 He wants disciples and what they and that's what he wants them to go 162 00:15:26.070 --> 00:15:33.230 and do. That's going to involve calling people and or telling people about the 163 00:15:33.269 --> 00:15:37.259 risen Lord, about the things that he said, the things that he's done, 164 00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:43.820 the thing, the resurrection that has happened. It involves a kind of 165 00:15:43.220 --> 00:15:48.860 maximalist approach to Jesus's commands. Notice what he says in Verse Twenty. Teaching 166 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:56.370 them to observe all that I have commanded you. He wants those who follow 167 00:15:56.409 --> 00:16:02.809 him to understand everything, everything that he wants from them. That's a lot. 168 00:16:03.970 --> 00:16:07.519 Jesus doesn't tell the disciples. Boil it down to the bare minimum. 169 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:11.440 Boil it down to the bare minimum, give people a few bare facts and 170 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:15.320 and encourage them to do the best they can. He says. Teach them 171 00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:21.830 to observe all that I have commanded you, everything Jesus said about love, 172 00:16:22.629 --> 00:16:29.190 everything Jesus said about service, everything Jesus says about the sacraments and marriage and 173 00:16:29.389 --> 00:16:34.340 children and church, government and the workplace and how we call elders and enroll 174 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:42.100 widows and everything where. To be followers of Jesus, disciples of Jesus, 175 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:48.929 learning and desiring to know everything that he has commanded. This is the command 176 00:16:49.009 --> 00:16:55.690 that he gives its disciples. Go and make these kind of disciples, call 177 00:16:55.929 --> 00:17:00.519 them to make a commitment to me, baptize them in the name of the 178 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:06.160 father, the son and the Holy Spirit, teach them to observe all that 179 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:11.880 I've commanded you. So let's pause there for just a moment as we consider 180 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:18.029 this command, and I want to ask you, do you know everything that 181 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:26.349 Jesus has commanded? He's called his disciples to observe everything or to follow or 182 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:33.500 to obey everything that he has commanded. Do you do that? Do you 183 00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:37.660 know it? Do you know what he wants you to do? Does he 184 00:17:37.859 --> 00:17:41.339 know how he wants you? Do you know how he wants you to live? 185 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:48.049 That's what it means to be a disciple. And when we go to 186 00:17:48.170 --> 00:17:52.930 our family and our friends and our enemies and we seek to make disciples. 187 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:59.160 Are we teaching them these things? Are we telling them about Jesus? Do 188 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:04.599 we have a kind of maximal list approach to being a disciple of Jesus? 189 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:12.990 Well, it's obvious that there is a lot of weakness in that. Isn't 190 00:18:14.029 --> 00:18:18.549 there a lot of weakness in us and our own discipleship, a lot of 191 00:18:18.710 --> 00:18:22.190 weakness as we, as the church, do this thing that Jesus has commanded 192 00:18:22.309 --> 00:18:30.259 us to do? There's all kinds of reasons for that. One reason is 193 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:36.619 that it's hard. It's very hard. Jesus has called us to do amazing 194 00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:41.490 and beautiful and wonderful things, but things that are sinful. Nature fights against. 195 00:18:41.809 --> 00:18:48.170 You remember, Jesus is parable of the so or sowing seeds and the 196 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:53.410 seeds following falling in different places, some in rocky ground, some in places 197 00:18:53.450 --> 00:18:59.799 where birds kind of grab it and take it away, sometimes the sea needs 198 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.079 fall, and places where the weeds and the cares of the world choke them 199 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:11.509 up. It's hard for these kinds of seeds to grow. Jesus says part 200 00:19:11.549 --> 00:19:15.630 of the difficulty is the opposition that we face, both as his disciples and 201 00:19:15.869 --> 00:19:22.990 as disciple makers. Notice the opposition that's that we read of just here in 202 00:19:23.029 --> 00:19:29.180 this chapter. There's this going and telling, right, that Jesus commands, 203 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:33.380 but notice there's this other kind of telling, that the that the leaders tell 204 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:41.450 the soldiers verse thirteen. Tell people his disciples came by night and stole them 205 00:19:41.450 --> 00:19:44.410 away while we were asleep. That's what we want you to tell them. 206 00:19:45.170 --> 00:19:51.289 That's the lie we want you to spread. There is real opposition involved against 207 00:19:51.329 --> 00:19:57.039 the Gospel, against being a disciple, against making disciples, and opposition that's 208 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:02.160 not weak. These are the people that crucified the son of God. These 209 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:06.200 are the people that had the power to command a Roman guard to watch the 210 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:11.630 Tomb. These people are powerful. They have money. To notice, they 211 00:20:11.750 --> 00:20:18.509 give a sufficient sum to these soldiers to go and lie. Think about what 212 00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:22.779 that it doesn't say how much money that would be, but how much money 213 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:26.819 would do you think you would require, as a soldier who who's failed to 214 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:30.940 do his job and could be executed for that? How much money would it 215 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:37.890 require for you to go and lie about what had happened? Well, hopefully 216 00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:41.930 no amount of money would pay you off, but you can imagine people, 217 00:20:41.930 --> 00:20:45.930 even in their sin, would would ask a fair amount. Notice they're being 218 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:52.519 asked to even lie about being asleep. They're being asked to lie and say, 219 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:56.000 Hey, you know, we weren't doing our job. It's true. 220 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:02.240 We failed to stay awake and do the one thing that we were commanded to 221 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:07.750 do. And Yeah, his disciples came into stolen the exact thing we were 222 00:21:07.750 --> 00:21:15.430 supposed to not let happen. That's what they're being paid to say. And 223 00:21:15.589 --> 00:21:18.509 notice what they say. The first of all, they convinced the soldiers to 224 00:21:18.579 --> 00:21:21.339 say it. They give them enough money to do this. And then they 225 00:21:21.380 --> 00:21:25.900 say, and if all, if this happens to come to the governor's ears, 226 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:29.380 the one who could get you in big trouble for saying this and falling 227 00:21:29.460 --> 00:21:32.660 asleep on the job, and so on and so forth, don't worry, 228 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:37.529 because we'll satisfy him, we'll pay him a bribe to and we'll keep you 229 00:21:37.650 --> 00:21:41.730 out of trouble. You see what I mean when I say there's real money 230 00:21:41.849 --> 00:21:47.240 involved here. A governor is not going to take that lightly. He's going 231 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:51.559 to require something fairly serious, and the Jews are happy to pay it. 232 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:56.039 Happy to pay it, happy to keep this Qu I, happy to spread 233 00:21:56.119 --> 00:22:00.799 the lie. They're using their money, they're using their power to destroy the 234 00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:07.509 Christian message, to suppress the resurrection and to keep the Commands of Jesus about 235 00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:18.339 making disciples from not happening. Nothing has changed. There is still opposition to 236 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:22.420 the Gospel and they're always will be opposition to the Gospel. Being a disciple, 237 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:30.730 making disciples is a hard thing. It costs. It means not taking 238 00:22:30.930 --> 00:22:37.250 bribes, it means not cowering, it means having conviction and saying yes, 239 00:22:37.450 --> 00:22:44.089 I'm a Christian, even when it might mean being put to death. That's 240 00:22:44.170 --> 00:22:48.160 the kind of disciples Jesus once and that's why it's hard and that's why we're 241 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:59.509 afraid. But notice what Jesus says to you would be disciples and to you 242 00:22:59.549 --> 00:23:04.750 who already are. He says in his very last words here, the very 243 00:23:04.829 --> 00:23:11.109 last sentence of the book of Matthew, and behold, I am with you 244 00:23:11.269 --> 00:23:18.019 always to the end of the age, the resurrected Jesus, the one who 245 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:25.900 has conquered sin and Satan and death, he is with us, he is 246 00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:30.970 powerful. Notice how this all his book ended. This command comes with these 247 00:23:30.170 --> 00:23:36.690 two great statements on either end. One all authority in Heaven on an earth 248 00:23:36.730 --> 00:23:40.970 has been given to me, go, therefore, and on the other side, 249 00:23:41.329 --> 00:23:44.839 and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. 250 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:48.359 It's like the command is wrapped in a big bear hug, this big 251 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:52.319 promise, and Jesus says, I've got you, I'm going to protect you, 252 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:56.950 I will keep you. Do not fear, have courage, be strong, 253 00:23:56.549 --> 00:24:03.509 be people of conviction, because I'm the resurrected Lord. All Authority in 254 00:24:03.630 --> 00:24:10.019 Heaven on an earth belongs to me. Go be strong. This is the 255 00:24:10.059 --> 00:24:14.460 kind of promise that God gave the Patriarchs, that he gave Joshua when he 256 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:17.980 went into the land. This is the kind of promise God gives to his 257 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:22.180 people when he establishes his kingdom and he says, I've got you and I 258 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:26.609 will protect you and, as he says in another place, even the gates 259 00:24:26.690 --> 00:24:32.410 of hell will not stand against you. I will build my church. And 260 00:24:32.609 --> 00:24:41.319 he has, and he has, because here we are, and if you 261 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:45.519 don't know Jesus today and you are not yet his disciple, here you are 262 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:53.269 being made a disciple, being told about Jesus, hearing his promises, hearing 263 00:24:53.349 --> 00:25:00.269 of his power, hearing about the resurrection and being called to follow him. 264 00:25:04.630 --> 00:25:11.619 So God gives us this command, but it's a command that's rooted on this 265 00:25:11.859 --> 00:25:22.170 promise. So let us be courageous, let us not fear. Do you 266 00:25:22.410 --> 00:25:27.369 need to become a disciple of Jesus, and are you afraid? Don't be 267 00:25:27.410 --> 00:25:33.369 afraid, because all authority in Heaven and earth belongs to him. There's no 268 00:25:33.529 --> 00:25:37.720 one else to follow, there's no one else who can protect you and love 269 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:44.519 you and keep you and bring you into everlasting life like he can do. 270 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:48.400 You need to be a disciple, and are you afraid? Don't be afraid. 271 00:25:49.630 --> 00:25:55.589 Believe and trust in Jesus. And if you are a disciple and you 272 00:25:55.750 --> 00:26:00.029 fear being a disciple, you fear making disciples, you fear observing all the 273 00:26:00.150 --> 00:26:06.700 things that he has called you to observe, do not be afraid, have 274 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:14.059 courage, because it's not anyone who sends you, it's Jesus, the risen 275 00:26:14.819 --> 00:26:17.180 king. Amen.