MATTHEW 28

Three days after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (most likely Mary of Clopas referenced in John 19:25) went to the tomb where His body was being kept. While they were there, an earthquake occurred as an angel of the Lord came and rolled back the stone in front of the tomb. Some people think that the angel did this so that Jesus could leave the tomb, but the fact was that Jesus had already risen! He wasn’t trapped in that tomb by a stone or any other barrier.

The angel was so frightening that the burly guards trembled and ultimately passed out. Interesting how the two ladies were not as affected by this angel. While verse 5 and 8 help us to understand that the two Mary’s were afraid, they didn’t pass out from fear. Even in this oddest of circumstances, God was helping these ladies to control their emotions in order to hear what the angel would have to say.

The first words of the angel? “Do not be afraid”. (I will come back to that)

Next, the angel tells the ladies that Jesus isn’t there any longer, He was risen. Much of our faith hangs on this verse. Jesus Christ was resurrected! He was no ordinary man. He conquered death. He paid the penalty for my sins, for your sins, for all of our sins when he died on that cross. His resurrection is an essential element in my faith and trust in Him as Lord and Savior.

As the ladies ran from the tomb to go tell the disciples what they had seen, they encountered Jesus Christ. As He greets them, they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. That should absolutely be our response to encountering Jesus today. If what He has done for you doesn’t move you to the point of wanting to drop to the ground and worship Him, you might need to really search your heart on what you believe and why you believe it. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins so that we can have a personal relationship with God for eternity. Mary and Mary recognized that. They recognized the fact that He was their Lord and Savior. They didn’t just talk about it like a fad. They believed it. They committed their lives to it. When in His presence, they got as low as they possibly could and gave Him praise.

After He greets them, His first words to them are “do not be afraid”. Now, the ladies have heard this message from an angel and directly from Jesus Himself. He repeats the instruction to them that they should go to the disciples and let them know what has happened. Matthew doesn’t tell us about their emotions after this encounter, but could you imagine the joy in their hearts? Could you imagine an angel of the Lord and then Jesus Christ, in the flesh, appearing to YOU and giving you instructions? I would be simply overwhelmed with emotion. I could not wait to complete whatever task I was instructed to do. I wouldn’t sleep well or think of anything else until I completed what I was told to do. Why is that any different today? Because I haven’t seen an angel or Jesus in the flesh? How small my faith is! How fickle my heart. Jesus tells Thomas (one of the disciples) in John 20:29 “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”.

While Jesus was appearing and talking to the two Mary’s, the chief priests were hearing the news from the guards that fainted. They had no clue what to say or do but were more worried about their position, title, influence and role within the Jewish community. They couldn’t be proven wrong by this man that they just crucified! Instead, they further exploited the greatest cover-up known to mankind. They gave the soldiers money and told them to lie about what happened. You have to wonder… how much money were they paid? I mean… these guards just fainted from seeing an angel. They had to be pretty scared at this point and considering that Jesus was who He said He was. However, it was apparently enough money, because they go out and start telling the lie to the population.

Finally, when Jesus is able to meet with the disciples, the first thing that they do is worship Him. Again, I can’t reiterate this enough. If you believe you have encountered Jesus Christ but have not gotten on your knees and worshipped Him for His glory, His majesty, His honor, His power… for what He has done for you… I would challenge you to spend some time in prayer and ask God if your heart has truly been turned towards Him. Maybe it has… maybe it hasn’t. Either way, you need God to break your heart for Jesus. You need God to help you to love Him more than you have ever loved anything in your entire life. I assure you that once you get there… you will want to worship Him. You will want to do nothing more than change your life to serve Him in whatever way possible.

I really appreciate how Matthew adds “but some doubted” in verse 17. He could have just as easily left that out but he didn’t… and for good reason. Jesus Christ walked the earth with these years for several years. He then died on a cross. They had to be skeptical that He could truly be resurrected. I mean… they expected Jesus to solve all of their problems from a political perspective, an economic perspective, a military perspective… Jesus was going to be a Savior who brought the Jews out of persecution and into power and honor. Right? That is what they believed. But, Jesus wasn’t going to save them from the politicians or the military or persecution. In fact, He told them to expect more of that! He came to save them from their sins for eternity. Oh man… praise God!!

Then the closing three verses. Some of the most memorized Scripture in the bible….

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Three commands: (1) Make disciples of the nations, (2) Baptize them, and (3) Teach them to observe all of God’s commandments. The Teacher’s Bible Commentary states:

It is interesting that in the Great Commission the first command in the English versions is to “Go!” In the original Greek, the word for “go” is a participle, meaning “as you go.” The first imperative, or command, is “Make disciples!” This states the priority in the mission of the church. The next command, to baptize, is the visible sign and public declaration of that discipleship. The final command, to teach them the commandments of Jesus, is the content and the continuing task of the church in the world.

If you aren’t living any of this Scripture out in your life today, I would ask you to stop and pray again. Ask God what He would ask of you today. Ask Him who He wants you to build a relationship with for the purposes of living out this commandment. This isn’t an optional suggestion. This isn’t a theoretical discussion point. This is a commandment for your Lord and Savior. If you profess Jesus Christ as your Lord, this commandment should be affecting your heart right now. You should be thinking of the people that you are discipling… the people you need to be discipling… the people you need to be talking to in order to help you learn more of the commands of Jesus. This is a commandment of God that we are called to obey.

PRAYER

Father, I thank you for your plan. A plan that I could have never imagined or dreamed of but that You put into action. Sacrificing Your only Son, on a cross, so that my sins would be paid for. He took the punishment that I deserved. God, thank you for your mercy and your grace. I deserved hell but You have a different plan for me. Thank you for that! Father, I pray that you would convict me and others of this Scripture. Father, I pray that you would change my life, not just my thinking, as a result of this passage. I pray that you would lead me to trust you where my faith has no borders or limits. I pray Lord you would help us to put your faith into action and be the church to those who are lost and to those who are found. We all need Jesus. In His name I pray. Amen.

  JASON WORTHEN | Elder

 Jason and Larissa were part of the founding members of Hutto Bible Church in 2007. Previously, they attended Hill County Bible Church Pflugerville for nearly six years. They have been married for 16 years and have three daughters: Elisabeth, Sarah and Rebekah. Jason is employed by General Motors and Larissa is a stay-at-home mom who works three times as hard. Jason put his trust in Christ in 2003 when he was attending Bible Study Fellowship in Austin. Both Jason and Larissa have served in Children’s Ministry, Student Ministry and in an elder capacity.