MATTHEW 28
OPENS WITH...A RISEN LORD JESUS AND HIS COMMISSION
JOHN MACARTHUR says of this chapter, "This is the great cornerstone of the Christian faith. Everything that we are and have and ever hope to be, all that we believe in is predicated on the reality of the resurrection. There would be no Christianity if there were no resurrection. Conversely because there is a resurrection, all elements of our faith are affirmed as true in every sense. The resurrection then is the cornerstone of our faith. The world knows that, for the most part, if they know anything about Christianity or anything about Christian history or heritage. There's little question in our own culture that we believe that Jesus rose from the dead."
But there are MANY possible reactions to the resurrection. Let me suggest some of them to you.
FIRST REACTION is, there is the reaction of RATIONALISM.
Rationalism says that the resurrection must be rejected on the basis that it cannot fit into human reason. This is a humanistic view that says because the mind of mind is ultimate, only that which man can perceive and explain can therefore be true and since the resurrection is inexplicable by human reason, it did not happen. And so rationalism rejects the resurrection as it rejects all other miraculous elements of redemptive history.
A SECOND REACTION and similar is the reaction of UNBELIEF.
Unbelief doesn't reason away the reality of the resurrection, it just refuses to believe the plain truth. Simple unbelief is a denial of what is a fact for the fact of the resurrection is perhaps the most indisputable fact of all of ancient history, based on evidences and testimony from eye witnesses. But unbelief denies the facts.
THE THIRD REACTION is the reaction of DOUBT.
That's to question the resurrection. There may be such a thing as HONEST doubt, a true seeker wanting to have questions about the resurrection resolved. And then there is HYPOCRITICAL doubt which simply continues to question long after available evidence is made clear. But there are those who doubt the resurrection, whether genuinely or hypocritically.
THE FOURTH REACTION is the response of INDIFFERENCE.
That is the response that says it may be true or in fact it is true but I just don't care. It makes no claim on my life, it's not something on my agenda, I don't see it at the top of my priority list whether it happened or not, I'm not particularly interested.
THE FIFTH REACTION is the response of IGNORANCE.
There are those people who are just not familiar with the facts of the resurrection. They may not even know about it and if they do it may be a rather whimsical passing vague thing for which they have no real attestation and so they are in ignorance.
THE SIXTH REACTION is the reaction of outright HOSTILITY.
There are people who are just hostile to the resurrection. It is more than a rationalistic rejection based upon the supremacy of human reason. It is more than just a willful unbelief of the facts. It is more than doubt and more than indifference and more than ignorance, it is anger. It is hostility. It is a vocal vociferous effort to discredit the resurrection. And there are those people who have felt it was their place in life and role in history to write against the resurrection.
And sadly, all of these are wrong reactions and wrong responses and unnecessary. The proper response is the response of faith, of belief, of affirmation and application of the reality of the resurrection to the life of the one who is exposed to its truth.
Verses 1-3 tells us Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany find an angel at the tomb.
"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow."
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb...
They came to finish the preparation of Jesus’ body, which was cut short by the Sabbath (Luke 24:1-3). So after the Sabbath on Sunday (the first day of the week for Jews), they came to the tomb – fully expecting to find the dead body of Jesus.
There was a great earthquake...
Matthew ALONE notes this earthquake. The earthquake did NOT cause the stone to be rolled away; if anything, the angelic rolling of the stone PROMPTED the earthquake.
TRAPP adds, “The earth shook both at Christ’s passion and at his resurrection; then, to show that it could not bear his suffering; now, to show that it could not hinder his rising.”
An angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it...
When the women came to the tomb, they saw the stone rolled away and an angel sitting on the stone. The door to the tomb was wide open.
Verses 4-6 tells us The angel’s message.
"And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men...
EVEN these battle-hardened, scarred warrior Roman soldiers responsible for guarding the tomb were terrified. The angelic presence made these professional soldiers tremble and faint.
CLARKE adds, “The resurrection of Christ is a subject of terror to the servants of sin, and a subject of consolation to the sons and daughters of God; because it is a proof of the resurrection of both, the one to shame and everlasting contempt-the other to eternal glory and joy.”
He is not here, for He is risen...
For the first time, the followers of Jesus – these faithful women – heard what they did not expect to hear. They heard that Jesus was not in the tomb, but risen to resurrection life.
FOR BIBLICAL CLARIFICATION...
THERE ARE THOSE WHO WRONGLY TEACH, PREACH, CLAIM AND BELIEVE THAT JESUS WAS NOT THE FIRST RESURRECTED, THAT THERE WERE OTHERS BEFORE HIM.
There are several examples in the Bible of people being RESUSCITATED before this, such as the widow’s son in the days of Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Lazarus (John 11:38-44).
Each of these was resuscitated from death, but NONE of them were resurrected.
Each of them was raised in the SAME body they died in, and raised from the dead to eventually DIE AGAIN.
Resurrection is NOT just living again; it is living again in a NEW body, based on our old body, perfectly suited for life in ETERNITY WITH OUR JESUS.
Jesus was not the first one brought back from the dead, but He was the first one resurrected.
We should also say that Jesus STILL is risen. He ascended into heaven and continues to reign as resurrected man, still fully man and fully God.
In Israel, one may see many graves and tombs – there is an ocean of tombs on the Mount of Olives, and vast sea of graves outside the eastern wall of the temple mount. You can see the tomb of Rebekka, the tomb of David, the tomb of Absalom – but you won’t find the tomb of Jesus anywhere. He is NOT here.
As He said reminded these women – and all the disciples – that they should have expected this. It was just what He promised.
Come, see the place where the Lord lay...
The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out. John 20:19 tells us that Jesus, in His resurrection body, could pass through material barriers. It was rolled away so that others could see in and be persuaded that Jesus Christ WAS raised from the dead.
The invitation to see the place where he lay is appropriately addressed to the same people who had watched the body being deposited – so there is no possibility of a mistake.
The fact of the resurrection is clear enough. We must also grapple with the meaning of the resurrection. Simply, Jesus’ resurrection proved that His death was an actual propitiation for sin and that the Father had accepted it as such.
The cross was the payment, the resurrection the receipt, proving that the payment was fully accepted.
Those women were later grateful that the angel told them to see the place where they laid Him. It would have – it should have – been enough to merely hear the testimony of the angel. Nevertheless, when they saw it, it gave them ground to stand on even more solid than the testimony of an angel.
· When we see the place where they laid Him, we see that the Father did not forsake Jesus.
· When we see the place where they laid Him, we see that death is conquered.
· When we see the place where they laid Him, we see that we have a living friend in Jesus.
Verses 7-8 tells us The angel’s instructions to Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany.
“And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word."
Go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead...
The angel commanded them to be the FIRST messengers of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. Since these women were some of the FEW people courageous enough to publicly identify themselves with Jesus, stay with Him, bury Him, it was an appropriate HONOR.
REMEMBER THIS...IN THAT DAY, WOMEN WERE LOWLY, THEY COULD NOT GIVE TESTIMONY IN COURTS, THEIR OPINIONS DID NOT MATTER TO MANKIND...BUT JESUS HONORED THEM AND TRUSTED THEM WITH THE FIRST MESSAGE...THE LORD JESUS IS RISEN!
He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him...
This assured the women they would see the resurrected Jesus. He wasn’t simply raised from the dead; He was raised to continue His relationship with them.
Conceivably, the angel might have said: “He is risen, and has ascended to heaven!” That would have been better than knowing He was dead; but the truth was far better. He was risen, and risen to have and CONTINUE A REAL RELATIONSHIP with His disciples.
Ran to bring His disciples word...
The women – filled with fear and great joy – did exactly what the angel told them to do. He told them to go quickly and they did.
Verses 9-10 tells us Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany meet a risen Jesus.
"And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
As they went to tell His disciples...
The women met Jesus as they obeyed the command to tell the news of the resurrection.
Jesus met them, saying “Rejoice!” What else could Jesus say to these women? What else could they do other than rejoice?
So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him...
When the women met Jesus, they felt compelled to worship Him. An hour before, they thought everything was lost because they thought Jesus was dead. Now they knew everything was gained because Jesus was alive.
Notably, Jesus received the worship of these ladies. If Jesus were not God, it would have been terribly sinful for Him to receive this worship. But being God, it was good and appropriate for Him to receive it.
Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me...
Jesus told the women to do the same thing that the angel told them to do.
My brethren...
This is the first time our Lord called his disciples by this endearing name: they no doubt thought that their Lord would reproach them with their past cowardice and infidelity; but, in speaking thus, he gives them a full assurance, in the most tender terms, that all that was passed was buried for ever.
AND THIS SCRIPTURE RIGHT HERE SHOULD REMIND US ALL TOO...WHAT WAS PAST IS PASSED AWAY...BURIED FOREVER. JESUS CALLS US FRIEND, BELOVED, BRETHREN, HIS OWN.
Verses 11-15 tells us The cover-up of the resurrection begins with the bribery of the guards.
"Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."
Tell them, “His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept”...
This cover-up attempt shows the DARKNESS AND PURE EVIL of these priests. They knew the truth of the resurrection, yet they rejected that truth.
While we slept...
The cover-up also shows their foolishness. If it was true that the guards were asleep, they could not know that it was His disciples that stole the body of Jesus.
To believe this, we have to believe:
· All the soldiers were asleep – all of them!
· All the soldiers violated the strict law of the Roman military against sleeping on watch, punishable by death.
· All the soldiers slept so deeply that none of them were awakened by the work and exertion and noise necessary to roll away the stone and carry out the body.
· All the soldiers were so soundly asleep – yet they knew who it was who did this.
This saying THIS LIE, is STILL commonly reported among the Jews until this day...
Through the years, there have been many objections suggested to the resurrection of Jesus.
Some say:
He didn’t die at all, but just swooned or fainted on the cross and spontaneously revived in the tomb.
Others say He really died, but His body was stolen.
Still others suggest He really died, but His desperate followers hallucinated His resurrection.
A plain, simple understanding of these evidences of the resurrection of Jesus answers all of these theories, and shows they take far more faith to believe than the Biblical account does.
We sometimes sing: “You ask me how I know He lives; He lives, He lives inside my heart.” But that is not the best way to prove Jesus lives. He lives because the historical evidence demands we believe in the resurrection of Jesus. If we can believe anything in history, we can believe the reliable, confirmed testimony of these eyewitnesses. Jesus rose from the dead.
Verses 16-17 tells us The disciples meet Jesus at Galilee.
"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted."
The eleven disciples went away into Galilee...
Matthew doesn’t tell us about the Jerusalem appearances of Jesus to His disciples, as John does. Matthew was more interested in showing that the promise of Jesus in Matthew 26:32 was fulfilled.
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him...
This was not their first meeting with the risen Jesus; but it was an important one. At this meeting, they received their apostolic commission.
They worshiped Him; but some doubted...
The natural reaction to encountering the risen Jesus is worship, even if some had to overcome uncertainty and hesitation – probably from feeling it was too good to be true, and lingering shame from having forsaken Jesus during His suffering.
The fact that some of the disciples doubted argues against the theory that their seeing Jesus was simply a hallucination born of a desperate desire to see Him.
Verses 18-20 tells us Jesus instructs His disciples regarding their duty after His departure.
"And 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.” Amen."
JOHN MACARTHUR adds, "this is the purpose articulated for which all of Matthew is written and for which Jesus Christ came. It is a passage that we must understand. And deep down in my heart, I only wish that every person in our church fellowship and every person in the church around the world could hear the truth of this passage that I want to share with you this Lord's day, and next. Not because I have so much to say, but because our Lord has so much to say and because I feel that so many people do not apparently understand the mission of the church. And when I say that, I mean people who are in the church. For many of the people who don't understand the mission of the church, there isn't even a thought along that line. They don't even give a consideration to what the mission of the church might be. They seemingly show up whenever it is convenient or even frequently to enjoy all that is provided for them, to take whatever they feel like taking, to leave whatever they feel like leaving. They seem to want to be involved in the church to the degree that it serves or meets particular needs in their own lives. And it somehow escapes both their understanding and even their curiosity as to what the mission of the church really is...much less are they wholeheartedly dedicated to the fulfillment of that mission.
Now if we were to survey people in the church, even in our church, and ask them what they felt the primary purpose of the church was, we might get some answers like this:
Some might suggest to us that the purpose of the church is fellowship. That the church is a place to make friends with good people, honest people, godly people who strengthen your life. It's a place to provide activity for the family, enjoyable activity, meaningful activity. It's a place to enjoy music, the best of music, recreation, to cultivate relationships. It's sort of a place to hang out at until the Rapture. It's a place where love is cultivated and shared.
And all of that is certainly important because Jesus Himself said if we have love, all men will know that we are His disciples. But one step higher than that attitude would be the attitude of those who suggest that the mission of the church is teaching, that the primary objective of the church is to put out doctrine, to strengthen believers, to articulate theology, to give principles for practical Christian living, to train people for various responsibilities in the church, to instruct children and young people in obedience to the law of God with an objective of bringing them to maturity in Christ. And that certainly is a very important part of the church's ministry because those who are given to the church are given for the perfecting of the saints which occurs through the Word.
But even a step higher than that would be those people who suggest to us that the real purpose of the church is praise to God. That the church is really a praising community, a community of people who exalt God for who He is and what He has done. And obviously they suggest to us that this is the central activity of heaven and that is praise and adoration and honor and reverence and awe and homage being given eternally by all the saints redeemed and all the angels who are holy forever and ever and ever. Therefore if that's the primary responsibility of those in heaven, it certainly must be the primary responsibility of those on earth. In Revelation 4 and 5, we find that heaven is occupied with praise.
Now the fact is that fellowship is an absolute essential in the church. And teaching is equally essential and so is praise. But none of them and not all of them in combination are the mission of the church or the purpose of the church or the goal of the church or the objective of the church. None of them is why we are here. None of them.
You say, "Well then, what is the mission of the church?" Well, we have to start, first of all, with what is the motive of the church...what is our motive? The answer to that is very simple. We are what we are and we are to be what we are to be for the glory of God, is that not true? We have articulated that through the years that the primary greatest single unified motive of the church is the glory of God. In Ephesians chapter 1 verse 6, "All of this is to the praise of the glory of His grace." In verse 12, "That we should be to the praise of His glory." In verse 14, "Unto the praise of His glory." And over in chapter 3, "By Him is to be glory in the church."
The primary motive of the church is to glorify God. Jesus even came into the world for that purpose and gave us an example. He came to show us the Father's glory. He came to reveal the glory of the Father, John 1:14 says. He was the express image, the effulgence, the glory of God manifest, says Hebrews 1:3. So, Christ came into the world with one motive, basically, and that was to glorify God. And that motive has been passed on to the church. We are to give God glory, that is our reason for being. As the French would say, that's our razon detra(?), that's our reason to be...to glorify God in terms of a motive.
But what about a mission? What is the mission that flows out of that motive? Now the answer will become clear to us as we take a look at redemptive history. Listen very carefully because this is, as I say, the ultimate message in Matthew because it is the climactic one. When man fell in sin in the garden, because of man's fall, all of the human race was condemned to death in hell. The whole human race died, in a sense, in the sin of Adam. But immediately, God set out to redeem man back to Himself out of gracious love."
The point is this, and I want you to get it, there is only one reason we are here and one reason alone, and that is that we may seek and save those who are lost. It is as the Father sent the Son that the Son sends us. If the Father wanted fellowship with the Son, He would have kept Him in heaven. If the Father wanted perfect knowledge with the Son, He would have kept Him in heaven. If the Father wanted the perfect praise that was His, He would have kept Him in heaven. He wouldn't need to send Him to earth. But if the Father wanted to redeem fallen men, He had to send Him to this earth. That's the only reason we're here. There is no other reason.
Now, to understand that is to be able to come to the passage in Matthew chapter 28 and I call your attention back to it, with understanding. Here is the purpose of the church. So simply stated. Everything Christ did when He was here on earth was for this, everything we're to do is for this, and what is it? Verse 19, and the verb should read, "Go ye therefore and MAKE disciples." That's all I want you to grasp for a moment. That's the main verb in the last two verses, MAKE disciples..MAKE disciples. That's our calling. That's our calling. That's why we're here. And the only reason why we're here. We are left here to make disciples...to bring people to Christ...to cause people to become followers of the Savior...to seek and to save those that are lost.
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth...
This commission that follows is given in light of the authority of Jesus. This indicates that this is an authoritative command, not a suggestion. It is the same idea as if an officer reminded a private of his rank before he gave the order. Because He has this authority, He can send whomever He wills to do whatever He pleases.
We do not seek any other power.
· We defy every other power.
· We know our powerlessness will not hinder the progress of His kingdom.
· We give all our power unto Him.
Go therefore...
Because Jesus has this authority, we are therefore commanded to go. It is His authority that sends us, His authority that guides us, and His authority that empowers us. His work and message would continue to the world through His disciples.
Make disciples of all the nations...
The command is to make disciples, not merely converts or supporters of a cause. The idea behind the word disciples is of scholars, learners, or students.
Make disciples reminds us that disciples are made. Disciples are not spontaneously created at conversion; they are the product of a process involving other believers. This making of disciples is the power of spreading Christianity.
Of all the nations...
In His previous ministry, Jesus deliberately restricted His work to the Jewish people (Matthew 15:24) and previously sent His disciples with the same restriction (Matthew 10:6). Only in rare exceptions did Jesus minister among the Gentiles (Matthew 15:21-28). Now all of that is in the past, and the disciples are commissioned to take the gospel to all the nations. There is no place on earth where the gospel of Jesus should not be preached and where disciples should not be made.
Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...
Significantly, when Jesus told them to go to all the nations, He did not tell them to circumcise those who became disciples. Instead, they were to baptize them, DEMANDING the break with traditional Judaism.
The words and context certainly indicate that it is disciples who are baptized, those of age who can be taught and who can observe the things Jesus commanded.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...
The experience of God in these three Persons is the essential basis of discipleship. At the same time the singular noun name (not ‘names’) underlines the unity of the three Persons.
Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you...
Disciples are made through teaching. This teaching is not with words only, but with the power of the always-present Jesus. He will be present with His people until the job of making disciples is done – until the end of the age.
The content of the teaching must be all things that I have commanded you. The followers of Jesus are responsible to present THE WHOLE counsel of God to those who are made disciples.
Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age...
Jesus sent His disciples with a mission to fulfill, but He did not send them alone. The promise of His constant presence was more than enough to strengthen and guide the disciples as they obeyed Jesus in making disciples of all the nations.
The promise of His presence is complete. The English adverb ‘always’ renders an expression found in the New Testament only here – strictly, ‘the whole of every day’. Not just the horizon is in view, but each day as we live it.
His presence means privilege, because we work with a Great King.
Paul understood this principle well in 1 Corinthians 3:9, where he wrote: "For we are God’s fellow workers. Since Jesus promised, “I am with you always,” then we work together with Him in all our service. We certainly work for Jesus, but more than that, we work with Jesus.
His presence means protection, because we are never out of His sight or supervision.
His presence means power, because as we fulfill this great command, we work in His name.
His presence means peace, because it always reminds us that the church belongs to Jesus. It is His church, and His work. How, then, can we worry?
TRAPP adds, “When Christ saith, ‘I will be with you,’ you may add what you will; to protect you, to direct you, to comfort you, to carry on the work of grace in you, and in the end to crown you with immortality and glory. All this and more is included in this precious promise.”