STUDY THEME: ONE SOLITARY LIFE: THE LIFE OF JESUS 8-12-01

UNIT 7: JESUS IS ALIVE: “OBEYING THE RISEN LORD.”

MATTHEW 28: 16-17, 18-20. ACTS 1: 1-2, 3-5, 6-8.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO MATTHEW 28.

Each of the four Gospels introduce us to one event or another of the ministry of Christ after His resurrection, and each contains a command of Christ for the church. This command is called “The Great Commission..” (See also Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:46-49, John 17:18 and 20:19-23) and together we will also look at Acts 1:1-9.

In the 28^th chapter the Gospel of Matthew comes to its climax by describing the King of the kingdom of heaven standing on the victorious pinnacle of His resurrection glory, claiming all authority in heaven and earth. With regal majesty He commissioned His subjects to go and make disciples of all nations. He promised to go with His subjects as their King, even to the consummation of the new age He was instituting in the world.

Obedience to the risen Christ involves evangelism, for in this closing section of Matthew’s Gospel and in the opening section of the Book of Acts, the Risen Christ tells His people to take the Gospel to the whole world.

1. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 28: 16-17

In Matthew 26:32 on Thursday of Passion Week, as Jesus and the apostles moved form the upper room to Gethsemane, following the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said “After I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” The meeting with the seven disciples for the fish fry at the Sea of Tiberis was not the meeting Jesus had in mind.

The verses just read do not record Jesus’ last post resurrection appearance. Jesus’ ascension will occur at the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem in Judea., So other appearances occurred after the one mentioned here in Matthew’s Gospel. But these words of the Lord make a fitting closing to the Book of Matthew.

The disciples’ response to seeing Jesus was a mixed one. The greater part fell down upon their faces to do homage to the Risen Christ. Some, however, there were who held back, hesitating, doubting. What did the disciples doubt? There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus was really alive so doubting the resurrection is not in view here. After all, here He was!

The Greek word translated doubted can refer to hesitation about what to do as well as doubt about the facts. It is likely that Matthew meant that the disciples were hesitant to worship Jesus as God, others were not sure about what to do. Perhaps their Jewish scruples about worshipping God alone and their lack of understanding regarding the Trinity caused their hesitation. In any case, this doubt or hesitation would be erased in the days and weeks ahead as they saw Jesus more, and listened to Him more, and then received the Spirit at Pentecost. Some identify this appearance with the appearance to over 500 mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:6. If it was, Matthew didn’t tell us that.

2. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 28: 18-20

Jesus had authority during His earthly ministry. But now He has all authority in heaven and earth. The domain of His authority is absolute so that makes what He said a command. Our response to a command from Him is to obey. The ultimate authority in Christianity is that of Christ. His authority is the right to speak such a word that no man desires to appeal against it because he knows it is the final, absolute word. That is what Christ claimed. He now gives a command to His disciples that would have been absolutely ridiculous were such an authority not His. This authority is clear proof of His deity. The time of His humiliation was at an end, and God had exalted Him above all.

Phil. 2:9-11 says “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and give Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The voice in Vs. 19-20 is the voice of the King, just beginning His career of Worldwide Conquest; for it was to be by those primitive disciples and their successors that the whole earth would be brought under His beneficent sway. The imperative verb in the “Great Commission” is “Make disciples”. The other verbs—“going,” “baptizing,” “teaching” are all participles. These participles are important, but they are dependent upon the imperative “Make Disciples.” Soul winning, evangelism, and worldwide missionary conquest are all encompassed in this divine decree. Its fulfillment should be the imperative endeavor of every citizen of the kingdom of heaven, until “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ.” The kind of evangelism called for in this commission does not end with the conversion of the unbelievers.

In the words “I am with you” there is a touching echo of the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel 1:23 where Jesus is called “Emmanuel” which is translated, “God with us”---remains “with us” even to the end of the age”---or until He returns bodily to judge the world and establish His earthly kingdom. G. Campbell Morgan said he was reading this chapter to an aged saint of God, an old woman of 85. When he finished Vs. 20 he looked at her and said, “That is a great promise.” She smiled and replied, “That is not a promise at all, that is a fact.” Oh, if we the church could must remember that fact. “He is with us when we witness.”

3. PLEASE READ ACTS 1:1-2

The Gospel of Luke was the former account written by Luke to chronicle the life and teachings of Jesus, through His death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus taught the disciples by word and deed, the truth necessary to carry on His work. On the cross, He finished the work of redemption, but He had only started the proclamation of the its glories. He uttered three things: His claim, His commands, and His final declaration.

Both Luke and Acts were written to someone named Theophilus (meaning, “friend of God). We know very little about him; he has a Greek name and was likely Luke’s patron who financed the writing of Luke and Acts. At any rate he was a believer in Christ.

The implication of Luke’s words is that his second volume will be an account of what Jesus continued to do and teach after His ascension—no longer in visible presence on earth but by His Spirit in His followers. The Book of Acts begins where the Gospel of Luke ends---with the final teaching of Jesus followed by His ascension. Both Luke and Acts tell of Jesus command to be witnesses and of the coming of the Holy Spirit. In fact some have suggested the book should be titled “Acts of the Holy Spirit,” rather than “Acts of the Apostles.”

4, PLEASE READ ACTS 1: 3-5.

Only here do we learn the amount of time that the risen Lord appeared to believers before His ascension. During these forty days the crucified, risen Lord had several objective. For one thing, He wanted to convince the apostles that He truly had been raised from the dead. He did that by His appearances to them. Luke spoke of infallible or convincing proofs. These were not proofs in the sense that believers could prove scientifically that Jesus was raised from the dead. They were evidences enough to convince the early believers and any open-minded person who looked at what happened. Jesus appeared to them, talked with them, ate with them and challenged them to touch Him and see that He was not a ghost or spirit.

A second purpose was to instruct them in the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Specifically, this refers to Jesus’ opening the Scriptures so they might see how He fulfilled them. God has always been King. In Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, the reign of God was clearly revealed. We await the consummation of the kingdom at His second coming.

A third purpose for Jesus’ appearances during the 40 days was to prepare them for relating to Him through His Spirit after the ascension. Because they were sure of His resurrection and of His promised Spirit, they could return from the ascension with joy, as seen in Luke 24:50-53.

During His final appearances Jesus stressed two things: First, they were to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Spirit. Then they were to be witnesses of Him unto the ends of the earth. Only after they had been spiritually empowered by the Holy Spirit were the apostles prepared to witness to the ends of the earth.

While He was eating with them, Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. They had heard of this before from Jesus. The Lord then certified this promise of the Father with the fulfillment of the baptism of the Holy Spirit promised by John the Baptist in Luke 3:16.

We can only do our part in fulfilling the Great Commission and making disciples of people of all nations if we do it in the power of the Holy Spirit. I am so proud of the missionaries we have on the field today. These , who are home on furlough are a blessing to the many churches they attend while here.

5. PLEASE READ ACTS 1: 6-9.

For forty days the Risen Lord had been instructing the apostles about the kingdom of God, teaching them out of the Scriptures. One point He had left untouched, that is the time when he would restore the kingdom of Israel, hence the Apostles question. Observe that the Lord did not rebuke them for their inquiry about the restoration of the kingdom.

They still believe the Messiah’s task was to establish a kingdom like that of David. It would be an earthly kingdom ruled over by the Messiah-King. They wondered if now was the time when He would do what they expected Him to do--drive out the Romans and restore Israel to its former glory. They had this same misunderstanding during His ministry, and even His teachings to them after the resurrection had not caused them to realize that the Messiah had come to be the Savior of the world. Their questions showed a limited vision of the scope of His commission to them.

Another limitation in the apostles’ understanding is seen in the words “at this time.” They apparently expected the consummation of God’s purpose to take place immediately. This same misunderstanding had been dealt with in Jesus’ teachings about the fall of Jerusalem and His future coming in Matt. 24. In that teaching, Jesus made clear in Matt. 24:36 that no one knew the time of the Lord’s return except the Father. The time is God’s secret. Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 5:1-2 “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourself know that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.”

Jesus told them that rather than speculating about something unknown to them, they were to obey the command for worldwide witnessing. They were to do this after…the Holy Spirit came upon them. When that happened, they would be witnesses unto Jesus. The scope of their witnessing would begin at Jerusalem, extend into Judea, and move farther into Samaria, and finally include the uttermost part of the earth. Jerusalem was where they were and Judea was the area around Jerusalem.

Samaria was not far away, but, it was inhabited by people whom the Jews hated, and who hated them in turn. These represent to us the people nearby whom we reject because our history and culture make us prejudiced toward one another. Unto the uttermost ends of the earth means just what it says. This command, specifying the geographical areas to be evangelized, was carried out in exactly the order prescribed here. The work of evangelizing in Jerusalem began in Acts 2:1; in Judea and Samaria in Acts 8:5, and throughout the remainder of the world in Acts 8:26.

In the O.T., Gentiles had been welcome to come to Jerusalem and to its God. Jewish “evangelism” had been centripetal, with all its activity directed toward Jerusalem, the holy center. Jesus was changing things. His church’s missionary task was to be centrifugal. His people were to go out from Jerusalem to reach the world.

Jesus’ brief description of the church’s mission field is thought by some Bible students to serve as a rough outline for the Book of Acts. However, more than half of Acts is dedicated to the story of the church’s outreach beyond the immediate environs of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. Much of Luke’s Gospel had focused squarely on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and to His sacrifice for the sins of he world. The book of Acts, Luke’s second volume, focuses on the journey of the gospel’s witnesses from Jerusalem to the far reaches of the earth. On the way, sadly to say, the gospel was rejected by many of its Jewish hearers.

Since we have missionaries in our church a good question might be: “What is the difference between being a witness and being a missionary?” If there is any difference, it is that a missionary is a witness who crosses some barrier—racial, cultural, or geographic—to take the good news to those who have not heard. All believers are to be witnesses, who are to witness as they go. All of us at times are challenged to cross barriers—sometimes to people who live near us and sometime to become a missionary to people who live on the other side of the earth.

When our kids were in O.B.U. they very often brought foreign students home to eat with us. While most of these were Christians we had opportunity to share our faith with them. Last week two Brazilian students, friends of Grandson David, came from St. Gregory University to eat with the family. The dining hall was not yet open at the University. One of these students has been here for three years as an exchange student. She speaks English well.

The other, 6’5” student, has just arrived here from Brazil on a volley-ball scholarship. She speaks very little English but was eager to learn. These are both of Catholic faith but listened to what Baptist’s believe. Since Grandson David was leaving Monday for Vermont for a month long visit the student he had know for three years offered to pay half the gas for a ride to New York. She would fly back. He explained that while he wouldn’t go into New York City he could put her on a bus near New York so she could visit friends there. I pray that something in this experience will draw both of these young ladies to Christ. They did arrive at their separate destinations.

When we compare the Great Commission in Matt. 28:28-20 and Acts 1:8, we can draw forth these lessons: (1.) Jesus commanded us to be witnesses wherever we go. (2.) He calls all of us to cross barriers to go to lost people and some to cross barriers as career missionaries. (3.) He promises to go with us and empower us in His Spirit. (4.) Being a Great Commission Christian is not an option but a divine command. Our proper response is to obey. (5.) We are to see that the good news goes to all people near and far. (6.) The goal is not only to win people to Christ and baptize them; it is to make them full disciples by teaching them all that Jesus commanded His people. (7.) We are not to get sidetracked by fruitless speculations but to focus on our main task. We are to leave the future in God’s hands.

A hymn, “O Zion, Haste,” from our Baptist Hymnal by Mary Ann Thompson says:

Proclaim to ev’ry people, tongue, and nation

That God, in whom they live and move, is Love:

Tell how He stoop’d to save His lost creation,

And died on earth that we might live above.

NEXT SUNDAY UNDER OUR STUDY THEME TITLED “THE LIFE OF CHRIST” W E BEGIN A NEW UNIT TITLED “CHRIST AT WORK TODAY.” IN EPHESIANS 2 WE BEGIN WITH A LOOK AT “THE BODY OF CHRIST: GOD’S FAMILY.”

A.V.DAUGHERTY 8-12-01

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