WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.339 has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples 00:00:05.339 --> 00:00:10.040 that he has risen from the dead. And behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see 00:00:10.040 --> 00:00:17.580 him. See, I've told you. So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to 00:00:17.580 --> 00:00:23.780 tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, greetings. And they came up and took hold of 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:30.420 his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:36.380 Galilee and there they will see me. While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city 00:00:36.380 --> 00:00:40.840 and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:46.060 counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people his disciples came 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:51.760 by night and stole him away while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:56.679 satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were directed. 00:00:57.559 --> 00:01:03.519 And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Now, the 11 disciples went to Galilee, 00:01:03.739 --> 00:01:08.259 to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, 00:01:08.420 --> 00:01:15.299 but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:21.739 me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:26.020 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:31.060 And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:37.760 So last week, we ended our series in the Gospel of Mark and we began a new series 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:41.920 on the resurrection of Jesus. And for the next few weeks in what the church has traditionally 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:46.020 called Eastertide, this sort of series of weeks after Easter, we're going to look at each of the 00:01:46.020 --> 00:01:50.360 four gospel accounts and look at the narratives in those gospel accounts of Jesus' resurrection. 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:56.120 Last week, we looked at Mark 16 and saw that the reality of the resurrection is something 00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:02.539 that actually makes us tremble. It makes our worldview tremble. It makes our view of Jesus 00:02:02.539 --> 00:02:11.439 tremble. And it even makes our view of ourselves tremble with that deep tremble of grace we saw last 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:16.740 week. And tonight we come to the Gospel of Matthew. And having just read Matthew's account, I'm sure you 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:22.640 already start to feel how Matthew has a different kind of feel than Mark, doesn't he? He has his own 00:02:22.640 --> 00:02:27.400 perspective to bring to Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. It's the same Jesus, it's the same 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:31.740 historical accounts that he's recounting, but both are speaking truthfully, but each bring out a 00:02:31.740 --> 00:02:37.140 particular aspect of Christ's life and significance. As we think about the relationship of the Gospels, 00:02:37.180 --> 00:02:42.400 you might think of it this way. Imagine two guys in the early 1920s sitting at a Yankees game. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:49.860 One of them an engineer and another of them a writer. And they see Babe Ruth get up to bat and just 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:56.319 crush a home run. Now imagine both of those guys, you know, they go to the pub afterwards and they 00:02:56.319 --> 00:03:02.560 start talking about the same event. And what do they start talking about? Well, what does the engineer 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:08.099 start talking about? There's a couple engineers in the room. You start talking about the exact distance 00:03:08.099 --> 00:03:14.259 that that ball probably flew and the velocity with which it needed in order to clear, you know, 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:20.939 the nosebleed seats in the West wing or whatever. And the statistical probability that Babe Ruth would 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:25.219 hit a home run against such and such a pitcher on such and such a day with such and such a forecast. 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:30.359 You know, great baseball statistics. But what's the writer talking about? He saw the home run. 00:03:30.740 --> 00:03:35.959 You know, he's probably thinking about how the crack of that bat sounded just like a tree trunk 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:42.460 exploding. And he kind of caught the fact that none of the outfielders even tried to go catch the ball, 00:03:42.540 --> 00:03:48.659 but they just watched it sail over their heads. Well, you get the idea, right? The Gospels are a lot 00:03:48.659 --> 00:03:53.439 like that when it comes to the life of Jesus. Inspired narratives of the life, death, and resurrection 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:57.620 that each tell us something important about the crucified and risen Christ. 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:05.900 Now, Matthew's Gospel in particular is known for being structured around five big blocks 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:09.700 of Jesus's teaching. And we're actually going to look at one of those big blocks later this summer, 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:14.980 the Sermon on the Mount, which is Matthew 5 through 7. And some commentators have seen in those sort of 00:04:14.980 --> 00:04:20.139 five blocks of Jesus's teaching in Matthew's Gospel an intentional parallel to the five books of Moses. 00:04:21.420 --> 00:04:25.139 Now, I don't think we can actually push that sort of comparison too far, but I do think what 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:31.680 Matthew is trying to show us is that in Jesus, God is renewing his covenant with his people. Because 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:36.979 after all, the five books of Moses were the covenant document between God and Israel. And now in Jesus, 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:43.819 Matthew wants us to see that God is bringing in a new covenant. And what will that covenant be like? 00:04:45.219 --> 00:04:48.699 Well, Matthew actually sort of lays the groundwork for it in his opening chapter. 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:55.060 In Matthew chapter 1, verses 1 through 18, Matthew begins his account of the life of Jesus 00:04:55.060 --> 00:05:01.699 with a genealogy. In fact, if you have your Bible open, turn back there. It's page 807 in the Pew 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:07.420 Bible. If you end up in a book called Malachi, if you went too far, or Haggai, or other names that you 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:14.060 can't pronounce, you're in the Old Testament, so come back forward. Matthew 1 through 8. Now, look, 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:20.620 a genealogy does not seem like a very exciting way to start a gospel, right? We're talking about 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:25.120 God entering into human history and changing the course of everyone's lives. How are we going to 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:29.759 start this story? How about a list of names? Not exactly how we would probably begin things, right? 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:35.340 But for anyone familiar with the Old Testament narrative and God's history of redemption, 00:05:35.819 --> 00:05:43.259 this genealogy that Matthew is giving us is simply electric. Matthew highlights three key moments. 00:05:43.259 --> 00:05:51.240 You see it in the last few verses. Abraham, David, exile. Abraham, the one through whom God would bring 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:57.480 his blessing to the nations, to the whole world. David, Israel's great king who would take God's 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:07.039 saving plan forward. Exile, the great disaster where because of their sin, God ejected his people from 00:06:07.039 --> 00:06:12.839 the land and allowed the temple to be destroyed. And it's hard for us to imagine how much of a 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:20.019 theological and spiritual crisis that event was, the exile, in every way, the exile put Israel's 00:06:20.019 --> 00:06:25.359 identity and purpose under deep question and doubt. If you go back into the Old Testament and read the 00:06:25.359 --> 00:06:32.579 book of Lamentations sometime, you see how utterly devastating that was to their own sense of purpose 00:06:32.579 --> 00:06:40.059 and identity and meaning and their relationship with God. And when God allows some of his people to 00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:45.819 return to the land in the sixth century, it becomes increasingly clear that that return wasn't really 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:50.259 the return that they were looking for. This wasn't the sort of great return that the prophets had spoken 00:06:50.259 --> 00:06:55.100 of. So in the first century leading up to Jesus's birth and in the centuries leading up to Jesus's birth, 00:06:55.879 --> 00:07:00.560 most, perhaps, you know, many, perhaps even most of the Jews would have thought and would have 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:06.420 considered themselves functionally, spiritually, to still be in exile, to still be separated from God, 00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:14.360 to still be living, not in some sense in the fullness of what God had in mind. Abraham, David, 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:22.259 exile, Matthew says. But then, and this is why Matthew's even writing his gospel in the first place, 00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:32.939 Christ, the long-awaited king, has arrived, Matthew says. And to make a point, he says that there were 14 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:37.959 generations from Abraham to David, and 14 generations from David to exile, and 14 generations from exile 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:42.740 to the Christ. Now, 14 is not a very biblically significant number, right? If you sort of scour 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:46.800 the Old Testament, you're not going to find a lot of talk about 14. And a lot of commentators will sort 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:51.159 of scratch their heads wondering what Matthew is up to. But if a number 14 isn't very significant, 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:57.300 you know what number is very significant? Seven. Seven is an incredibly significant number in the Bible. 00:07:57.300 --> 00:08:04.420 It's a number of completion. It's a number of creation. It's a number that speaks of Sabbath, of a rest. 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:14.000 And you see what Matthew is saying? 14, 14, 14. Six. Sevens, actually. And now, with Christ, 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:23.080 the seventh seven has dawned. In other words, now is the time when God's going to act. 00:08:23.079 --> 00:08:32.679 Now is the time of God's new creation, of God's kingdom coming to completion, of true Sabbath rest 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:42.240 finally being opened up. Now, God's purpose is not just for Israel, but for the whole world are being 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:49.659 brought to completion. And the rest of Matthew's gospel will continue to make good on that very claim, 00:08:49.659 --> 00:08:54.959 that in Jesus, the long-awaited Davidic Messiah has come, that this King Jesus is inaugurating God's 00:08:54.959 --> 00:09:03.039 new creation kingdom, and that at last, the exile is coming to an end. If you read a little further 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:09.199 into Matthew chapter 1, Matthew says, an angel comes to Joseph and says to him, you'll call his name 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:20.640 Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So when we finally get to Matthew 28, the whole book 00:09:20.640 --> 00:09:27.640 has just been buzzing with this kind of excitement. That the King is here, that God's new creation is 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:39.319 being unleashed, that men and women are being invited in. But the cross seemingly derailed all of that. 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:48.699 How could this King die? How could the bringer of God's kingdom be crushed by the kings of this world? 00:09:48.700 --> 00:10:00.080 And yet, this, this, the cross, is how Jesus would actually save his people from their sins. 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:07.680 As their representative, he undergoes the ultimate exile in their place, paying their penalty, 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:16.480 being crushed for their iniquities, as Isaiah would say, being excluded on the cross, 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:26.080 so that those in exile could come home. And on the first day of the week, when the Sabbath had 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:32.920 passed, though the authorities had done everything to seal the tomb and guard it, Christ arose. 00:10:35.180 --> 00:10:39.700 And Matthew has this great part about the angels. And the angels, you notice, didn't move the stone so 00:10:39.700 --> 00:10:45.220 that Jesus could get out, right? A lot of times we think that. Well, how else is Jesus going to get out of 00:10:45.220 --> 00:10:49.480 the tomb? He's got that big stone in the way. No, right? The angel moves the stone so that the women 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:57.379 can go in and see that he's gone. And so that when they meet him in person, they would know that 00:10:57.379 --> 00:11:04.180 they're not just having a vision of their former rabbi, but that it's him raised bodily to life again. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:12.700 So you see, in Christ's resurrection, God's new creation is breaking out into the world. 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:20.360 Matthew is saying the king lives, the exile has ended, and the homecoming can begin. 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:28.560 And once we see all that, that Matthew is telling us, we can focus with fresh eyes on the end of 00:11:28.560 --> 00:11:33.340 Matthew 28, verses 16 through 20, in what's been called the Great Commission. And that's where I want 00:11:33.340 --> 00:11:38.280 to kind of land for a little bit of the time that we have left. These verses point us to three 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:43.779 implication of Jesus' resurrection that aren't just true back then, but they're true for us today. 00:11:44.579 --> 00:11:49.039 And these three things are first, the authority of the king, second, the mission of the king, 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:56.019 and third, the presence of the king. It's a truth, it's a command, and it's a promise. And each one is 00:11:56.019 --> 00:12:06.519 punctuated by the word all. Authority, mission, presence. So let's look first at authority. Jesus 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:16.779 says in verse 18, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Not some authority, 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:25.980 authority, not even most authority, all authority, all of it has been given to him. In other words, 00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:33.360 there's no place where we can go where Jesus isn't absolutely in charge. The old Dutch theologian 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:39.360 Abraham Kuyper once said, there's no square inch of creation where Jesus doesn't look and say, mine. 00:12:42.019 --> 00:12:44.579 Of course, language of authority makes us feel a little uncomfortable today. 00:12:44.580 --> 00:12:50.700 We're used to seeing power abused, and we're used to people seeing, getting hurt through the use, 00:12:51.060 --> 00:12:56.820 improper use of authority. In fact, isn't our entire governmental system in the U.S. set up to 00:12:56.820 --> 00:13:06.720 ensure that no one person has too much authority? But Jesus, you see, is no ordinary person. After all, 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:12.680 why do merely human leaders often end up abusing their authority and not using it rightly? 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:21.599 Because they either aren't wise enough or they aren't good enough. They're either too foolish or 00:13:21.599 --> 00:13:27.859 they're too selfish. And yet reading the gospel of Matthew and having read the gospel of Mark, 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:38.819 what do we see? Here is one with wisdom unlike any we've ever seen, whose teaching seems to fit us 00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:47.140 like the key unlocking our very existence. And here is one with love unlike anything we've ever 00:13:47.140 --> 00:13:53.879 experienced. One who would pour out his life for his enemies, who would be willing to descend into the 00:13:53.879 --> 00:14:02.720 darkness of exile so that sinful people could be brought home. Jesus is the one who has perfect wisdom 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:09.240 and perfect love. And this is the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth. 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.639 Isn't that good news? 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:20.560 That the one who sits in the control room of the universe, who has rights over every square inch of 00:14:20.560 --> 00:14:27.639 creation, and every one of us sitting in this room tonight, is the one who is unquestionably good 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:36.340 and just and wise and loving. And if there isn't Jesus does have all authority, as he says, don't you 00:14:36.340 --> 00:14:42.419 see, you can't just sort of bring Jesus into your life as a mere advisor, right? You can't just have 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:46.899 Jesus as one of the many numbers in your spiritual cell phone that you happen to call when you run into 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:55.899 a problem. No. If Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, then you have got to give him everything. 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:03.240 That he's got to be first and he's got to be without peer in your life. If he has all authority, 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:09.840 then to bring him into your life is actually to bring your life under him. He's got to be Lord of 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:18.159 the whole thing. So that's the first thing we learn here. Second, authority. Second, mission. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:24.179 In verses 19 and 20, there is, and Jesus says, go therefore and make disciples of all nations. 00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:29.959 There's the second all of this passage. All nations. The heart of this command is to make 00:15:29.959 --> 00:15:36.079 disciples. That's the imperative in the sentence. Everything else hangs around it. Make disciples. 00:15:36.179 --> 00:15:44.679 And the church is to make disciples of all nations. You see, no one is excluded from this new creation 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:52.000 kingdom by their race. And no one is excluded by their gender. And no one is excluded by their class. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:58.899 And no one's excluded by their language or their culture or their ethnicity. No. Jesus is saying, 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:11.100 this gospel, this kingdom is for all. It's for any and all who would turn from sin and trust in Christ. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:19.240 And you see, God's saving plan was always a global plan. If you go back and read the Old Testament, 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:26.019 Israel's very reason for existing begun in Abraham was to worship God truly and to bring 00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:32.079 God's blessing to the nations. And the prophets over and over again spoke of a day when the nations 00:16:32.079 --> 00:16:37.879 would stream to Israel's God and when they would submit to him as their Lord and forsake all of their 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:45.039 false deities. And of course, as the story of the Old Testament continues, we learn that Israel too 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:54.620 needs saving. That they're actually part of the problem as well. But even Israel's weakness was a part of 00:16:54.620 --> 00:17:05.000 God's plan. Part of God's plan to demonstrate not just his grace, but the fact that he alone must rescue. 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:15.880 So when Christ comes, he comes as Israel's true king. And he does what you and I in Israel could never do. 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:20.839 He deals with our sins decisively on the cross. He ends our exile from God. 00:17:20.839 --> 00:17:29.439 And he inaugurates the age to come, new creation. So you see, the great commission, this call for us 00:17:29.439 --> 00:17:35.359 to go and make disciples of all nations is the fulfillment of an incredibly ancient plan of God. 00:17:36.179 --> 00:17:41.679 His plan from almost the beginning of the work of redemption to bring blessing to everyone. 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:47.579 No wonder Jesus said that the gates of hell won't prevail against the church. 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:53.799 Not only has the risen Jesus defeated death and hell, but how could the eternal plan of God ever be 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:59.859 stopped? It's like me standing on a train track and trying to push against a train. It's not going to 00:17:59.859 --> 00:18:08.199 work, right? I should probably get out of the way. So as we think about this mission that the risen Jesus 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:17.140 gives us, isn't it a wonderful privilege that you and I have, isn't it a great privilege to be included 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:26.080 in God's own mission to reclaim his lost image bearers and to bring them home to their rightful place of 00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:34.380 worship to the one true God and to show them how in Jesus our sins can be forgiven and our humanity can be 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:43.900 restored? Isn't this the adventure of a lifetime to be a part of this great work? 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:50.820 And you know the beauty of living in New Haven like we do? The world comes to us. 00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:59.440 Do you want to do something world-shaking with your life? Stay right here and be a disciple-making 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:05.700 disciple of Jesus Christ. Of course, if God tells you to go, by all means go. If God tells you to go 00:19:05.700 --> 00:19:11.259 back home or if God tells you to go on the other side of the world, go, right? But if you don't have 00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:19.059 a strong call to go to another part of the world, stay and watch how God will use you, impact the world 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:28.740 for Christ. And all this means that the Great Commission imbues, imbibes, fills our life 00:19:28.740 --> 00:19:36.039 with great purpose. We've got a part to play. Everyone in this room, you don't have to be in 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:42.599 full-time ministry. You don't have to have gone to Bible college. By virtue of the fact that you've 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:48.339 been redeemed, God has made you a disciple-maker. He's launched you out to be a part of his mission 00:19:48.339 --> 00:19:54.740 in the world. So be a disciple-maker right where you are, in your home, in your workplace, in your 00:19:54.740 --> 00:19:59.339 school, in your neighborhood, if you're thinking, I have no idea how to even begin doing that. 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:06.339 Pray. Start praying for the people around you. Get involved in this community and start building 00:20:06.339 --> 00:20:10.980 relationships where you can start doing good to one another spiritually, through word, through prayer. 00:20:12.120 --> 00:20:17.279 Start just talking about Jesus to your people you interact with. That's how the gospel spread in the 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:22.640 first century. They didn't have a lot of programs. They didn't have a big blimp that announced Jesus was 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:28.420 king. People just went out, and their hearts were so full of joy because they knew that they had been 00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:33.160 brought home to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus that they couldn't stop talking about this 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:41.120 one who was king. As everyone was sort of searching for God and searching for meaning and searching for 00:20:41.120 --> 00:20:48.360 truth, the Christians went out and said, he's found us. And then everyone was confused because they thought, 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:52.160 well, you don't have a temple, and you don't make sacrifices, and you don't have priests. How can you even be a 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:56.779 religion? And they're like, you don't understand. Jesus is our temple. He's where God meets us. He's 00:20:56.779 --> 00:21:02.200 our sacrifice. He's cleansed us. He's our priest. He brings us to God. We've got it all in him. And by 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:09.519 the way, he has all authority. So repent and believe. Now, you don't have to go to the water cooler and 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:13.759 say, repent and believe. I get it. That's not quite how you want to do it. But you talk about Jesus and the 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:20.960 goodness that he is. And you can come talk to me afterwards if you're wondered about how to get started 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:26.860 disciple-making and to be on this great mission that Christ has given us. I could point you to 00:21:26.860 --> 00:21:32.579 some resources. We could talk. We could pray. And of course, as we see in verses 11 through 15, kind of 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:37.980 right before the Great Commission section, we know that this mission that we're on is going to be 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:45.559 contested, right? As we move out into the world, there are going to be alternate ways of explaining 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:50.419 who God is. And we're going to encounter alternate ways of explaining who Jesus is. And we're going 00:21:50.419 --> 00:21:55.539 to encounter alternate ways of explaining what happened on the first Easter morning. Don't be 00:21:55.539 --> 00:22:03.399 surprised. But you know, the job of the church is to be the church, to speak the truth in love, 00:22:03.779 --> 00:22:09.599 and then to actually love, sacrificially, because that's how Jesus has loved us. 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:13.899 That was another reason why the church spread like wildfire in the first century, 00:22:14.399 --> 00:22:20.959 because they took care of people. Everyone that the upper-class Romans excluded, the Christians 00:22:20.959 --> 00:22:27.679 said, we'll love you. We're not afraid of loving people who are different than us. And people saw that, 00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:32.619 and they heard the message of Jesus, and it just changed people's hearts. 00:22:32.619 --> 00:22:41.599 And we can be sure that false narratives will not prevail. The church has spread and will continue 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:45.559 to spread. Isn't that why we're standing here? Well, I'm standing here. You're sitting here. Isn't 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:49.979 that why we're here tonight? Because there's an unbroken chain of disciple-makers that started 00:22:49.979 --> 00:22:54.479 from those very first apostles? It's because those first disciples went out and made disciples, 00:22:54.739 --> 00:22:58.000 and then that generation went out and made disciples, and then that one went out and made disciples, 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:04.359 that you and I are even sitting right here. An unbroken chain goes from them to us. And friends, 00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:10.779 that chain is going to continue from us until the kingdom is consummated. That we're a part of this 00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:20.079 story of God reclaiming his creation for his glory. Well, there's a lot more I could say about this 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:24.359 second point. I want to talk all night about these next two verses. I haven't even talked about the 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:27.799 Trinity, and I haven't talked about baptism, and all this other good stuff, but we're going to keep 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:32.799 moving. So there's the second implication of Jesus' resurrection. Worldwide mission. He has all 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:39.240 authority, therefore all nations are summoned into relationship with him as their Lord. Here's a third 00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:50.960 and last point. Presence. Jesus says in the last verse, I am with you always. Literally, the word is 00:23:50.960 --> 00:24:02.480 all days. Or the whole of every day. I'm with you. Can you imagine a greater promise that we have in 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:07.960 all of scripture than that? This is how Jim Packer put it in his book, Knowing God. It's kind of a long 00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:13.100 quote, but I like it, so I'm going to read it for you. He says, when the New Testament tells us that Jesus 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:20.259 Christ is risen, one of the things it means is that the victim of Calvary is now, so to speak, 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:27.359 loose and at large, so that anyone, anywhere can enjoy the same kind of relationship with him 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:33.980 as the disciples had in the days of his flesh. He goes on, he says, the only differences are that 00:24:33.980 --> 00:24:38.240 his presence with the Christian is spiritual, not bodily, so invisible to our physical eyes. Christ is 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:42.640 ascended. Second, the Christian building on the New Testament witness knows from the start those 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:46.940 truths about the deity and atoning sacrifice of Jesus, which the original disciples grasped 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:53.480 gradually over a period of years. And third, that Jesus' way of speaking to us now is not by uttering 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:58.900 fresh words, but rather by applying to our consciences those words of his that are recorded in the 00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:06.120 gospels together with the rest of the biblical testimony itself. Now here's the punchline, but knowing 00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:18.479 Jesus Christ still remains as definite a relation of personal discipleship as it was for the 12 when he was 00:25:18.479 --> 00:25:27.939 on earth. The Jesus who walks through the gospel story walks with Christians now, and knowing him 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:38.640 involves going with him now as then. So there's a lot there, but here's a summary. Because Jesus is risen, 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:46.059 you and I can have a definite personal relationship with him right now. Isn't it kind of funny what we do in 00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:52.000 Christianity? We walk around telling people to put their trust in someone who lived 2,000 years ago. Can you imagine 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:58.220 how strange that is? If it doesn't feel strange, think about it, right? We never walk around saying, 00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:04.539 you should put your trust in Caesar Augustus. Dude's dead, lived 2,000 years ago. Why would I ever do that, 00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:12.819 right? And yet, it makes complete sense to put our trust in Jesus. Why? Because he's bodily risen, 00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:19.339 ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of God, is risen and reigning, isn't bound by space or time, 00:26:19.339 --> 00:26:26.659 and you can speak to him, and he will listen. And you can believe in him, and he'll purify you from 00:26:26.659 --> 00:26:33.199 all sin and seal you with his spirit. And you can live each day in conscious dependence and communion 00:26:33.199 --> 00:26:40.299 with him. And the living reigning Christ will speak to you through the scriptures by his spirit, 00:26:40.299 --> 00:26:50.000 and you can speak to him in prayer. Right now, Jesus Christ is present by his spirit, 00:26:51.159 --> 00:26:55.759 beckoning us, speaking to us, calling us to himself. 00:26:57.940 --> 00:27:00.059 In Revelation 3, the risen Jesus says, 00:27:00.059 --> 00:27:21.399 Isn't that an incredible picture of the fellowship that we have with Jesus? Because Jesus is risen, 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:30.480 it means he's with us, and can be with us, and is with us, as he says, always, to the end of the age. 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:38.180 And there's the promise, that there's no time when the risen Jesus is not with you. 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:46.860 Even in your darkest day, when everyone else has left you, he has not left you. 00:27:46.859 --> 00:27:51.599 And this mission that he's given us, it's not as if Jesus simply says, 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:56.899 Okay, guys, here's the plan. Go everywhere and make disciples. Good luck with that. See you when I come back. 00:27:57.240 --> 00:27:58.079 No, right? 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.279 He says, I'm with you. 00:28:02.819 --> 00:28:07.819 There's our confidence in disciple-making, not our cleverness, or our intellect, or even our persistence, 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:10.619 but his presence with us. 00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:16.259 And friends, isn't that ultimately what your heart aches for? 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:19.379 Isn't it the presence of God? 00:28:20.899 --> 00:28:24.579 To know that he's with you in grace and favor. 00:28:26.459 --> 00:28:32.359 In the beginning of Matthew's gospel, in chapter 1, verse 23, Matthew, talking about Jesus, quotes Isaiah and says, 00:28:32.979 --> 00:28:39.539 And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. 00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:46.279 And here's Jesus saying, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:51.299 And isn't that a perfect conclusion to the gospel? 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:53.659 Jesus is God with us. 00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:58.200 And here he's making that promise saying, I am with you to the end of the age. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:00.480 The king has come. 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:02.139 The new creation has begun. 00:29:02.140 --> 00:29:03.780 The exile is over. 00:29:03.780 --> 00:29:06.360 And God is with us. 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:10.500 These are John Wesley's last words. 00:29:10.620 --> 00:29:13.060 The great 18th century evangelist and theologian. 00:29:13.540 --> 00:29:18.820 On his deathbed says, and best of all is, God is with us. 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:29.339 So amidst the angels and the earthquakes of Matthew 28, he leaves us with three things ringing in our ears. 00:29:30.339 --> 00:29:30.859 Authority. 00:29:31.879 --> 00:29:32.359 Mission. 00:29:33.399 --> 00:29:33.899 Presence. 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:38.980 All authority to all nations for all days. 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:43.680 But I think the best of all is, God is with us. 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:45.460 Let's pray. 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:52.140 Lord Jesus, we acknowledge tonight that you have all authority. 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:57.400 Lord, would you forgive us this evening for the way in which we've tried to live apart from that. 00:29:57.920 --> 00:29:59.940 Lord, it's hard for us to trust. 00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:06.200 So we pray that by your spirit, you would grant us a fresh glimpse of your goodness and your wisdom. 00:30:06.860 --> 00:30:10.299 So that we might gladly embrace you as the authoritative one. 00:30:11.259 --> 00:30:14.500 And Lord, thank you for this great promise that you are with us. 00:30:15.220 --> 00:30:19.360 Lord, how often we forget the fact that your presence is near. 00:30:19.860 --> 00:30:23.000 And that you're in our midst, even in us by your spirit. 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:25.980 So that your purposes might be carried out. 00:30:25.980 --> 00:30:29.940 God, help us to be disciple-making disciples of you. 00:30:30.620 --> 00:30:32.420 Lord, help us to overcome our fear. 00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:37.180 Help us to overcome our, Lord, seeming inadequacy. 00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:38.500 And help us to be confident. 00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:45.900 Lord, that in your authority and in your presence, God, we are safe and loved. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:52.180 And that nothing can prevail against the goodness of the gospel. 00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:56.120 Lord, Jesus, that you've come to bring us home. 00:30:57.120 --> 00:31:01.460 Help us to see ways in which we might communicate that effectively to those who don't know you. 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:05.299 Lord, and help us to know how we might be building one another up in the faith. 00:31:06.460 --> 00:31:10.460 Lord, that we might truly be disciples who make disciples of others. 00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:14.259 God, we trust in your grace to see this out in our midst. 00:31:14.920 --> 00:31:16.320 And we pray in Jesus' name. 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:16.880 Amen.