WEBVTT

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 So, these closing words of Matthew's gospel are often called the Great Commission, and it is

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! The Great Commission is to go and make disciples of all nations.

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!

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 This Great Commission is preceded, and it's based on, it rests on a great claim made by

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 the Lord Jesus in verse 18, where Jesus says to the disciples, all authority in heaven and

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 on earth has been given to me.

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 That is the great claim that Jesus makes, and that's what we're going to look at for a few

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 minutes this evening.

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 I want to begin with just a couple of observations, and the first is that today, as we meet here

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 in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, more than ever before, there are groups of Christ followers

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 all across the globe in more nations, tribes, languages, people groups than ever before.

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 Just from my own experience, I've been privileged to experience a small part of that huge diversity.

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 I remember attending four-hour-long services in Nigeria, which featured a lot of dancing, or meeting a saffron-robed leader of Christ devotees in North India,

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 or taking part in prayer meetings where people prayed in Dari, Farsi, Sarani, as well as in English.

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 And I've got friends who have translated the language of a remote tribe in Papua New Guinea.

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 Another friend who's translated it into the language of a Himalayan nomadic tribe.

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 And in both these people groups, there are churches today.

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 I've also had the privilege of worshiping in multi-ethnic churches in the Gulf, and also services conducted in Nepali, Urdu, Hindi, Ladakh, Gaelic, Hungarian, Tamil, Malayalam,

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 and a number of other languages, too.

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 And of course, worshiping in many congregations in the Free Church of Scotland as well.

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 But all of these are centered on the same Lord Jesus Christ.

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 And that's just a tiny fraction of what's going on in the world today.

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 And that's amazing when you think of that it all began with a few very ordinary, uneducated folk in Galilee,

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 in a backwater at the edge of the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago.

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 But the second observation is that there are still huge areas of the world.

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 Peoples, languages, ethnic groups that are hardly reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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 There are still over 1,400 languages that have no part of the Bible translated.

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 Closer to home, there are villages, towns, parts of cities with very little in the way of access to the gospel

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 and widespread ignorance of the Bible's message.

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 And that's true of this city, too.

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 There are also people groups within our own nation with few or no believers among them.

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 And of course, every new generation needs to be evangelized, needs to be taught the gospel.

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 So there is still much work to be done.

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 So as we think of the Great Commission in Matthew 28, 18 to 20, perhaps the key word in that is the word all,

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 which appears four times in these few verses.

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 This is my own translation, which is slightly clunky, but it brings out the fact that this word all is there four times.

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 So the key word is all.

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 There's all authority, all nations, all Jesus' commands, and all the time.

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 But this evening, our time is short, so I just want to focus really on the first of those, all authority.

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 And this is the great claim that Jesus makes on which the Great Commission rests.

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 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ.

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 He's claiming universal kingship.

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 If you read any of the gospels, you'll soon realize that a phrase that Jesus used a lot was the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.

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 And the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, has drawn near with the coming of Jesus.

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 And here, at the end of Matthew, very clearly, Jesus is identifying himself as that king.

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 He is the king.

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 He is making that claim of himself.

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 And he's saying that it's been given to him, given to him by God the Father.

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 But that raises at least three questions for us.

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 And I want to look at those.

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 First of all, the question is, why should we believe him?

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 Second, when was this authority given to Jesus?

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 And third, what kind of king is Jesus?

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 First of all, then, why should we believe him?

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 You might read or hear this claim.

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 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

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 And you might think, hang on a minute.

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 How can this man, this first century Jewish peasant from near the margins of the Roman Empire,

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 who was also crucified in utter humiliation,

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 how can he claim to be the king of the whole world?

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 How can he claim to be the lord of the entire universe?

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 Why should his disciples believe him?

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 And why should we today believe him?

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 Why should we believe this claim?

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 Well, just to give a bit of context,

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 the Jewish scriptures, what we call the Old Testament,

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 prophesied a Messiah figure,

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 one who would come and reign with justice and righteousness.

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 And he would be the king of the Israelites,

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 but also his kingship, his authority would extend over all nations.

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 And here's just a sample of, there's more than this,

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 but this is just a sample of some of the passages in the Old Testament.

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 So first of all, Genesis 49, 10,

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 that the scepter will not depart from Judah,

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 nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

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 until he to whom it belongs shall come,

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 and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

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 Or Psalm 72,

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 which is, I suppose, like a prayer about the king

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 in the line of David and Solomon,

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 may he rule from sea to sea,

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 and from the river to the ends of the earth.

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 May all kings bow down to him,

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 and all nations serve him.

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 But there's one passage in particular

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 that Jesus is riffing off in this Great Commission,

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 and that is Daniel chapter 7.

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 And in that chapter, Daniel has this vision,

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 the prophet Daniel has a vision of

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 four ferocious beasts

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 that represent four kings and four empires.

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 And then Daniel sees heaven and the throne of God,

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 and God in this vision is given the title

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 the Ancient of Days.

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 And Daniel writes

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 that in the visions of the night,

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 this is Daniel 7, 13, and 14,

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 and you can listen to the resemblances

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 with the Great Commission,

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 these words from Matthew 28.

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 Daniel writes,

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 in the visions of the night,

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 I saw one like a son of man

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 coming with the clouds of heaven.

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 He came to the Ancient of Days

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 and was presented before him.

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 He was given authority,

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 honor, and kingship.

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 All peoples, nations, and languages

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 will serve him.

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 His authority is an everlasting authority.

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 That will not pass away.

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 And his kingdom will never be destroyed.

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 So not for the first time,

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 Jesus identifies himself

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 with this exalted figure

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 in Daniel's vision.

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 This one like a son of man.

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 And you maybe heard some of the echoes

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 of this passage in Jesus' words.

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 All authority given to him.

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 All nations serving him.

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 And all of the time.

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 That it would be an everlasting kingship.

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 So Jesus is claiming that he is this king.

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 He is this Messiah.

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 He is this son of man.

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 Now this meeting in Galilee

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 at which Jesus says this

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 takes place days,

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 or at the most weeks,

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 after Jesus was brutally crucified

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 by the Roman Empire,

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 having been mocked and ridiculed

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 for his claim to be a king.

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 And yet here he was,

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 that same Jesus,

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 who had been crucified,

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 now standing before them alive.

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 The tomb where his corpse

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 had been laid is empty.

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 Because Jesus has been raised

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 from the dead

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 by the power of God.

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 And that resurrection vindicates Jesus

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 and all the claims that he made.

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 We know about vindication,

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 cases of vindication.

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 For example,

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 in recent history,

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 there was the post office scandal

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 where many postmasters

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 were falsely accused

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 of fiddling the books.

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 And some of them were put in jail.

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 And then it was discovered

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 and came to light

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 that it was a computer system fault.

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 And those postmasters

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 have been vindicated.

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 Their innocence has been declared

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 and they have been vindicated

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 of all the wrong

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 that they were accused of.

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 will magnify that

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 by an infinite amount

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 and you'll see

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 what the resurrection

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 does for Jesus.

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 The human verdict on Jesus

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 was that he was a fake king,

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 that he was an imposter,

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 deserving only of rejection

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 and torture and death.

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 But God has utterly turned

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 that verdict on its head.

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 This rising from the dead

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 is the most spectacular

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 and stunning vindication

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 of Jesus

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 and of all that he claimed to be,

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 all that he claimed for himself,

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 including that he is the Messiah,

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 that he is the Son of Man,

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 that he is the King.

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 And this resurrection of Jesus

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 is something that these disciples

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 witness with their own eyes

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 on this occasion.

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 They are there,

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 they see him before them.

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 And on a number of other occasions,

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 they saw him alive

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 after his suffering,

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 after his crucifixion.

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 And it was something

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 that they gave witness to

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 in their preaching

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 and then later in their writing,

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 what we have in the New Testament.

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 Their message was that

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 we have seen the Lord

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 risen from the dead.

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 And many of those disciples

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 paid for that claim

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 with their lives.

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 And so that is why

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 we can believe

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 Jesus' claim,

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 because he was vindicated

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 through resurrection.

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 Second question is,

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 when was this authority

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 given to him?

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 Jesus is a divine person.

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 We see that in verse 19,

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 where Jesus commissions his disciples

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 to baptize the nations

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 in or into the name

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 of the Father

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 and of the Son

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 and of the Holy Spirit.

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 Now, you see there,

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 you'll notice that

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 there's only one name,

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 the name of God.

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 In the Old Testament,

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 it's the name Yahweh,

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 the Lord.

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 And yet there are three

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 who share that name.

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 It's the name of the Father

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 and of the Son

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 and of the Holy Spirit.

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 And of course,

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 the Son is Jesus Christ.

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 He is the Son.

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 So he shares in the divine name,

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 in the divine identity.

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 He is himself God.

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 And as God,

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 in one sense,

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 he has always ruled.

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 There's no,

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 in one sense,

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 he was never given authority

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 because he's always had authority

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 as God,

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 God the Son.

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 The one with the divine name,

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 the divine identity.

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 But in Jesus Christ,

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 God came to this world

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 in human form,

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 in human flesh.

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 And so it's now

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 as the one who is

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 both fully God

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 and fully human

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 that he has been given authority.

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 He is now the,

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 both fully God

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 and fully human.

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 He is the mediator

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 between God

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 and human beings

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 who has completed

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 his mission

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 through his death

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 and resurrection.

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 And as the one

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 who has completed

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 that mission

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 as the mediator,

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 as the,

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 as the savior,

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 as the,

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 as the man Jesus,

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 he has been given

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 all authority

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 in heaven

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 and on earth.

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 The third question is,

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 what kind

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 of king

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 is he?

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 Maybe the idea

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 of someone claiming

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 to be king

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 over all the nations

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 of the world

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 makes you an easy.

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 It might sound

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 to you

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 imperialistic

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 and throughout history

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 and today,

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 empire

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 is,

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 well,

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 to say the least,

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 it can be problematic.

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 But this king

00:15:12.560 --> 00:15:14.639
 is radically different

00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:16.160
 from all the other kings

00:15:16.160 --> 00:15:17.040
 and emperors

00:15:17.040 --> 00:15:17.519
 and rulers

00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:19.000
 that world history

00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:20.139
 has thrown up.

00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:22.019
 We see that

00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:23.460
 in words earlier on

00:15:23.460 --> 00:15:24.299
 in Matthew's gospel

00:15:24.299 --> 00:15:26.799
 in Matthew 20

00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:29.639
 verses 25 to 28

00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:31.039
 where we read

00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:31.919
 that Jesus called

00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:32.919
 the disciples to him

00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:33.360
 and said,

00:15:33.940 --> 00:15:34.879
 you know that the rulers

00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:35.720
 of the nations

00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:36.799
 lord it over them

00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:38.500
 and their great ones

00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:39.940
 exercise authority

00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:41.039
 over them.

00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:42.080
 That's,

00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:42.460
 of course,

00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:43.019
 all too familiar.

00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:43.659
 It's the world

00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:45.120
 that we know.

00:15:46.659 --> 00:15:47.120
 Then he says,

00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:48.159
 it shall not be so

00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:49.919
 among you.

00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:51.919
 But whoever would be

00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:52.799
 great among you

00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:54.339
 must be your servant

00:15:54.339 --> 00:15:55.879
 and whoever would be

00:15:55.879 --> 00:15:56.759
 first among you

00:15:56.759 --> 00:15:58.339
 must be your slave

00:15:58.339 --> 00:16:00.519
 even as the son of man

00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:02.639
 came not to be served

00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:04.120
 but to serve

00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:05.740
 and to give his life

00:16:05.740 --> 00:16:06.819
 as a ransom

00:16:06.819 --> 00:16:08.059
 for many.

00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:10.279
 Now when Jesus said

00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:11.100
 these last words

00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:12.179
 about giving his life

00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:13.699
 as a ransom for many,

00:16:13.779 --> 00:16:14.779
 that was still in the future

00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:15.980
 when he said these words

00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:16.819
 in Matthew 20.

00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:19.580
 It was still a prediction

00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:21.840
 but now it has happened.

00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:23.360
 Jesus has given

00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:25.900
 this ultimate service,

00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:27.580
 this ultimate act

00:16:27.580 --> 00:16:28.800
 for the benefit,

00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:29.480
 for the good

00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:31.200
 of others.

00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:33.580
 He has given his life

00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:35.260
 as a ransom

00:16:35.260 --> 00:16:36.460
 for many.

00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:38.820
 Jesus is the king

00:16:38.820 --> 00:16:40.220
 whose policy,

00:16:40.560 --> 00:16:41.940
 whose way of ruling

00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:43.600
 is service

00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:45.320
 and self-giving love,

00:16:45.420 --> 00:16:46.980
 of self-sacrificing love,

00:16:47.560 --> 00:16:48.180
 love that is,

00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:50.520
 that seeks the good

00:16:50.520 --> 00:16:50.980
 of the other

00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:52.780
 above his own good,

00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:53.600
 his own interest.

00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:55.340
 That's the kind of king

00:16:55.340 --> 00:16:57.000
 that Jesus is.

00:16:57.040 --> 00:16:58.160
 He is the king of love.

00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:00.320
 And so,

00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:02.120
 Jesus has all authority

00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:02.620
 in heaven

00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:04.000
 and on earth.

00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:05.019
 His reign is

00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:05.940
 universal.

00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:07.980
 He is the world's

00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:09.900
 true king

00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:11.080
 and lord

00:17:11.080 --> 00:17:11.900
 and rightful lord.

00:17:13.540 --> 00:17:14.780
 And the call of the

00:17:14.780 --> 00:17:16.360
 gospel today

00:17:16.360 --> 00:17:17.120
 to you

00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:17.380
 is

00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:18.920
 to turn to him

00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:19.800
 and to receive him

00:17:19.800 --> 00:17:20.460
 as your king,

00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:22.060
 to recognize

00:17:22.060 --> 00:17:23.700
 and acknowledge him

00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:24.920
 as the true king

00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:26.259
 and lord of all

00:17:26.259 --> 00:17:27.580
 and to give him

00:17:27.580 --> 00:17:29.180
 your allegiance

00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:31.299
 and your trust

00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:33.660
 and your love,

00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:34.299
 your devotion.

00:17:36.060 --> 00:17:36.460
 And,

00:17:36.539 --> 00:17:38.299
 if you have done that,

00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:38.680
 then,

00:17:39.820 --> 00:17:41.019
 your task

00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:41.920
 is the great commission

00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:43.680
 to go and make

00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:44.980
 disciples of all nations,

00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:46.100
 baptizing them

00:17:46.100 --> 00:17:47.120
 in the name of the Father

00:17:47.120 --> 00:17:48.380
 and of the Son

00:17:48.380 --> 00:17:49.180
 and the Holy Spirit

00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:50.500
 and teaching them

00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:50.960
 to obey

00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:52.519
 everything that Jesus

00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:54.019
 commands.

00:17:55.360 --> 00:17:56.060
 And his promise

00:17:56.060 --> 00:17:57.740
 to you is that

00:17:57.740 --> 00:17:59.160
 he will be with you always

00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:00.480
 to the very end

00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:01.259
 of the age

00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:02.220
 until that time

00:18:02.220 --> 00:18:03.319
 when the earth

00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:03.819
 is filled

00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:04.599
 with the knowledge

00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:05.640
 of the glory

00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:06.440
 of the Lord Jesus

00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:07.920
 as the waters

00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:09.440
 cover the sea.

00:18:10.819 --> 00:18:11.140
 Amen.

00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:11.779
 May God bless

00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:12.299
 his word

00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:13.279
 to us.

00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:14.279
 Amen.

00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:14.279


00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:14.779
 Amen.

00:18:14.779 --> 00:18:14.779