The Living Christ & A Long-Term Plan | Matthew 28:16-20

Scripture

• Matthew 28:16–20

About this sermon

Introduction: The Bible is inspired. Matthew wrote exactly what God ordained for him to write. But if you understand inspiration correctly, then you know that his mind and his desires were at work in what he wrote. And so, I ask myself, “If you are Matthew, how do you end an account of the life of Jesus?” You are an eyewitness of many of the things you write about. You present the eyewitness accounts of others. You are presenting Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, as the Israel’s King, as the Savior for the world — how do you end your account of His life and work and promises? Matthew ends this account in a very short space. It almost feels abrupt. But he has made his case, and as he ends, he chooses to do so in a way that explains where we are at the present time. This is where Matthew’s emphasis is when he finishes. HE TELLS US WHY WE ARE WHERE WE ARE — WHY WE ARE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE ABOUT. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE DISCIPLES HAVE DONE AND ARE DOING SINCE CHRIST’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION? HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE FAITH OF THESE MEN WHO WOULD GO ON TO GIVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE TRUTHS THAT MATTHEW RECORDS? HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE CHURCH IS TO BE ABOUT FOR THE REST OF ITS EXISTENCE — UNTIL JESUS RETURNS. The answer is that our Lord’s meeting with His men, following His resurrection, SET THAT COURSE. Matthew ends by giving us the living Christ’s long-term plan for His disciples. It is a vital thing that we remember that genuine Christianity is not inventive, it is submissive. It is vital that we are always clear about the fact that any valid philosophy of ministry has not be created individually, out of the mind of man, but simply reflects the reception of revelation — that is, we have heard and believed what God has set forth in His word, and we are striving to obey it. SUBMISSION TO WHAT GOD HAS REVEALED EXPLAINS MINISTRY THAT PLEASES GOD AND IS POWERFULLY USED BY GOD. And all that goes back as far as the charge that Jesus gave to His disciples when He gathered them together in Galilee after His resurrection. We finish our journey in Matthew this morning by looking at Matthew’s close under two main headings. I. THE MEETING WITH JESUS (vs.16-17) Our Lord had sent news through the women — by the angel and from Himself personally — that His disciples were to meet Him in Galilee. The disciples obeyed. They made their way to Galilee and to a mountain which Jesus had designated. Matthew describes them as the eleven. He reminds us that Jesus chose these men for a special task. There were many followers of Jesus, many disciples of Jesus, but the eleven are now in a special class. They are the Lord’s apostles. It also reminds us that they are no longer “the twelve” because Judas had his good things, and threw his privileged place away for a lie. Matthew begins verse 16 with a mild adversative (de or but) and reminds us that this is the best answer to the lies of the council. THEY SAID HE IS STILL DEAD AND THAT HIS DISCIPLES STOLE HIS BODY, BUT HIS DISCIPLES MADE THEIR WAY TO GALILEE AND MET WITH HIM. The Lord is very much alive. The Lord’s choice to meet them in Galilee is instructive also. D.A. Carson — “Associating the Great Commission (vv. 18–20) with Galilee not only has nuances with Jesus’ humble background and the theme of Gentile mission (see comments at v. 10) but “ensures that the risen Christ and his teaching are not thought of as a substitute for, but as continuous with, Jesus’ ministry and teaching in Galilee” (Hill).

Topics

• Jesus Christ