Conclusion (Matthew - P 77)

We began our journey through the gospel of Matthew with the recognition that in this book, Jesus was portrayed as the King - King of his kingdom.  Matthew writes so much about the Kingdom of heaven. (Kingdom of God)  As disciples of Jesus, we are citizens of His kingdom ... subjects to King Jesus.

To conclude our journey, I want to share with you the lyrics to a song written by Jason Ingram and Robbie Seay.  To me they wrap up the message in this splendid gospel.  They speak the words that I could not form myself.  I offer them to God ... from me ... with thanksgiving that God has given some people the gift of words.  And I offer them to you ... perhaps you will choose to claim them as your own.

Kingdom and A King

My heart is beating faster in my chest

As I sing of where my loyalties will rest

To never wait on governments to move

As the broken and the poor cry out to You

For the Kingdom and the King

For His glory, we will sing

For the rescue of our souls

He has come

For the kingdom and the cross

Oh, the triumph and the loss

Love has broken through

And new redeemed

For the Kingdom and the King

Oh God may we be focused on the least

A people balancing the fasting and the feast

A call to give and to serve and to celebrate

For You are great, of my God, You are great

So I pledge to know

And love You above all

May we the hands

To free them we are called

For the Kingdom and the King

For His glory we will sing

For the rescue of our souls

He has come

For the Kingdom and the cross

Oh, the triumph and the loss

Love has broken through

And now redeemed

And our hope is not in this land

Oh, not in these laws

Not in these things

And rest, oh, knowing Your love

Has called us to move

Called us to sing, sing, sing

And the people will sing

They will sing, sing

Oh the people will sing

For the King, for the King

For the Kingdom and the King

For His glory we will sing

For the rescue of our souls

He has come

For the Kingdom and the cross

Oh, the triumph and the loss

Love has broken through

And now redeemed

For the Kingdom and the King

The King ... the King

The people will sing, sing, sing

For the Kingdom and the King.

So ... my friends ... sing ... and worship our King!

Thank you for journeying through Matthew with me.  May God give you eyes to see your King more clearly with each day.  May you learn what it means to be His subject more deeply with each passing day.  

Thy Kingdom come - Thy will be done

On earth (and in my heart) as it is in heaven.

Amen

Last Words (Matthew 28 - P 76)

We close our reading of Matthew today ...

Matthew 28: 16 - 20

Have you ever done the exercise of deciding, if you knew today were your last day on this earth, what exactly you would want the people you love to hear from you?  It is a sobering activity.  It requires you to decide what you really consider of utmost importance.  In these final verses from Matthew, we are privileged to 'listen in' on Jesus' last words to his disciples.  Some observations and some lessons as we close this study.

Observation #1:  Mary had told the disciples about Jesus' instructions to go to Galilee - and they went.  We are reminded one more time from the pen of Matthew that being a disciple means following Jesus' instructions.  Still does.  

Observation #2:  When they saw Jesus, they worshiped.  In verse 9, when the Marys saw Jesus, they worshiped.  It is the absolutely appropriate response to the presence of Jesus.  We are reminded one more time from the pen of Matthew that to be a disciple of Jesus is to worship him.  Still is.  

Lessons to learn from Jesus' final words:

Jesus makes some remarkable promises in these few words.  And while they were addressed to the immediate crowd gathered on that mountain, they have been preserved so that you and I can hear them and respond to them as well.  Jesus provides three things in these final words:

First, he addresses the issue of power and authority.  They are his.  The power plays and games of this world are only shams.  We can rest assured that all power and control is given to Jesus and rests firmly in his hands.  That does not explain away the horrific things that take place in our old world ... but it allows one to sleep at night.  It provides security and peace.  Real authority and power rests in hands that we can trust.  I need to know that!

Second, he leaves his followers with work to do.  We have a commission.  Jesus knows that work matters - it's important - and he provides a task for those who would walk after him.  We are to make disciples.  How you do that will depend on your particular gifts - on the way you are put together - on the opportunities that the Lord places in your path.  That's why formulas don't really work.  

One reason I know that Jesus expects us to be at work for him while he is away is because of the stories he told.  Remember the story of the talents? We studied it in Matthew 25: 14 - 30.  There was an expectation that the servants would be about doing the master's work.  Jesus told a similar story in Luke 19: 11 - 27.  Even with the different details, the main point is the same - the master expected work to be done in his absence.  Are you discipling your own children?  Are you discipling the people placed in your circles?  Make disciples, Jesus said.  It is our "work" - the harvest is in his hands.  

And third, he promises his very own presence.  He will not leave us.  His presence is a continual reality in the life of all believers.  In the presence of the Lord, the response is to worship.  If he is with us always, doesn't that mean that our entire lives are experiences of worship?  Worship is not an event.  It is not something we "go to".  It is our very lives.  I love Matt Redman's song: "The Heart of Worship".  The chorus from that wonderful song is:

I'm coming back to the heart of worship 

And it's all about You 

All about You, Jesus 

I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it 

When it's all about You 

It's all about You Jesus 

Paul explains is well for us in Romans 12:1

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

In the presence of God, one worships.  And what is worship?  It is the offering of myself - all of me - nothing held back - as a sacrifice to God.  

Jesus' final words?  1)  He assures us that power and authority are in his hands - so rest well, disciple.  2)  He assigns us a task - so be assured of your value and importance, disciple.  3)  And he promises that we will not walk alone - so breath deeply, disciple.  

May we be faithful to the one whose very name is Faithful and True.  

The Unimaginable (Matthew 28 - P 75)

Our reading today ...

Matthew 28: 1 - 15

Matthew gives us such an abbreviated account of this remarkable event.  We learn a little more from the other gospel writers ... but we still are left with a desire for so much more detail!  

As I write this morning, my heart is aching with a throb that you know as well.  The past few days have carried much pain ... and loss.  One of my daughters said 'good-bye' to a precious friend who died from cancer.  The sister of one of my dearest friends died yesterday.  And yet ... and yet ...

These few verses we read today give us a glimpse into the unimaginable truth of resurrection.  Death conquered - overcome - denied victory.

Allow me to make some observations from Matthew's account of this event.

First, notice it was Mary Magdalene and the 'other Mary' who were going to the tomb that morning.  It was these Marys who had walked the entire way with their Lord.  They stayed at the cross and did not run.  They sat by the tomb at the burial.  They were coming to the tomb on that Sunday morning.  And they were the first witnesses of Jesus - alive.  My name is not 'Mary' ... but I want to be in their company!  I want to be 'another Mary' - one who does not desert - one who walks faithfully all the way, even when I do not understand - one whose faith is stronger than anything this fallen world can hurl at me.  Join me, won't you?  Let's form a "Mary" coalition that covers the globe - the faithful ones!  

Second, look again at the description of their emotions in verse 8.  They were "afraid yet filled with joy".  Those two emotions can coexist in one heart at the very same moment.  Joy is from the God.  It is one of the remarkable gifts he gives his people.  Recall what Jesus told his disciples recorded in 

John 15:11

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Jesus followers are full of His joy.  And it is complete joy.  It does not depend on smooth circumstances.  It is from him - through him - and by him.  Our Marys were filled with joy.  But that astounding joy does not necessarily negate feelings of fear.  When we don't understand - when we don't know what is coming - when circumstances are beyond any personal control - when pain is hovering at our door - there can be fear.  I believe that is why the command, "Don't be afraid", is the most repeated command in all of scripture.  This old world is full of things that cause us to be afraid.  But in our "Mary Coalition", fear and joy can coexist.  

Third, we observe the pitiful attempt by the chief priests to cover up the truth.  The guards told them what had happened - and yet, even truth from eye witnesses would not turn their darkened hearts.  How many times have we seen that repeated in our own country - cover ups to hide the truth?  It seems to be humanity's way of handling what it does not like.  What tragedy - both then and now.

So what difference does this resurrection event make in our lives?  It makes all the difference!  Mary saw Jesus - alive.  He told her to go and tell his brothers to go to Galilee and they would see him also.  Jesus - alive.

Amy Grant sings a song titled, "Lay Down Your Burdens".  It is on her album, "Rock of Ages - Hymns of Faith".  I think that song speaks to the difference the resurrection makes for me - in my life - right now.  Listen ...

CHORUS

Lay down your burden I will carry you

I will carry you my child, my child

Lay down your burden I will carry you

I will carry you my child, my child

Cause I can walk on water ..

Calm a restless sea

I've done a thousand things you've never done

And I'm really watching

While you struggle on your way

Call on my name, Ill come

Repeat Chorus

I give vision to the blind

I can raise the dead

I've seen the darker side of hell

And I've returned

I've seen those sleepless night

And count every tear you cry

Some lessons hurt to learn

Repeat Chorus

Indeed, Jesus saw the "darker side of hell and returned".  

So the lesson for me ... for you ...

Call on His Name 

He will come!

The Body (Matthew 27 - P 74)

Our reading today ...

Matthew 27: 57 - 66

After crucifixion ...

          Roman law:  The law allowed the relatives of a criminal to claim the body for burial.  If it was not claimed, the body was simply left to rot until the scavenger dogs dealt with it.  Obviously, none of Jesus' relatives were in a position to step up and claim the body.

          Jewish law:  A criminal's body was not to be left hanging overnight.  It had to be buried on the day of the execution.  The law was based on Deuteronomy 21: 22 - 23:

If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight.  Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse.

To all those aware of these laws, there had to have been a fever pitch to deal with Jesus' body.

Who was this man, Joseph?  We learn from Matthew that he was rich.  We learn from Luke that he was a member of the Sanhedrin.  Wow.  That sets up all sorts of questions.  Where was he the night Jesus was railroaded through the mock trial?  Remember a quorum required that 23 of the 70 members of the Sanhedrin be present.  Could it be that the high priest only called the men he knew he could count on?  Perhaps Joseph was not even aware of what was going down that night.  We will not know this side of eternity.  We do know he was a disciple.  He did not support the Sanhedrin and their views and plans for Jesus.  And we see him step forward when he could.  I wonder what the "rest of his story" looked like?  

It seems that Pilate did not care - but Joseph risked the displeasure of the ruling governor by stepping forward.  I think we can assume that his position in the Sanhedrin was forfeited.  At the least, he would have triggered the hatred and rage of the ruling class in Judea.  There was an honorable man named Joseph at the beginning of Jesus' life on earth - his earthly father.  And there is an honorable man named Joseph at the close of Jesus' life on earth - a Jewish leader - a man of courage.  I have come to love the name "Joseph".

Look back at verse 62. "On the next day" - the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate.  What was the "next day"?  None other than Sabbath - and not just any Sabbath - the Sabbath of Passover.  These religious leaders were willing to break their own most sacred laws to get what they wanted.  Oh what a severe warning exists here for us!  James, the earthly brother of Jesus writes:

When tempted,no one should say, "God is tempting me."  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.  (James 1: 13 - 15)

We see that truth played out in dramatic fashion by these Pharisees and priests.  Their own evil desire led them to violate everything they considered sacred, Godly, righteous.  That leads us to serious and sobering questions.  Do we see the same thing in our world?  Listen to men and/or women explain why they violate their marriage covenants and  have affairs.  Listen to men and/or women who are in prison for fraud.  What are you willing to violate to get what you want?   What is "sacred" to you?  Will you ever set aside your own "desires" to guard what is sacred?  Hard lessons - but critical lessons for people who call themselves "people of God".

And so Jesus' body is laid in a tomb.  It would have been carved out of the rock, a small cave, with ledges upon which the bodies were laid.  And we observe two groups watching ...

From verse 61 ... Mary Magdalene and another woman also named Mary.  The faithful.  The believers. The ones whose hearts and lives had been forever altered by their encounters with Jesus.  Unwilling to leave because of love.

From verse 66 ... the guards.  The unengaged.  The indifferent.  They were doing their job.  Hired by those determined to kill and destroy faith in Jesus.  What they did not know was that anyone who would try to put bonds on Jesus faced an impossible task.  It is no different today.

Has your heart been forever altered by your encounters with Jesus?  Or are you going through the motions of religion without the life of the Lord?

In our reading of the last two chapters of Matthew, we have "watched the lamb".  Now it is time to "watch the tomb".

Jesus, Crucified (Matthew 27 - P 73)

We read today of the pivot point in all history.  Read carefully.  Read slowly.

Matthew 27: 32 - 56

Some observations to consider:

1.  Golgotha.  We are such products of our western art  - the painting of 3 crosses standing alone on a hillside.  We also sing; "On a hill far away ... " and I had always envisioned an isolated scene away from the masses of a busy city.  But that is not the way things happened in Jerusalem under Roman occupation.  Crucifixion was used as execution.  But crucifixion was also used as a deterrent to all people.  It said to the occupied territories, "Don't cross Rome or this very thing could happen to you."  The place of the skull marked one of the main thoroughfares that led out of the city of Jerusalem.  It was highly traveled.  It was not "far away".  Perhaps the writer of that hymn meant far away from our Western world.  But it was not far away from Jerusalem.  I live in Houston, TX.  It would be as if these crosses were put up on I 45 going out of the city ... seen by masses of humanity coming into and going out of the city.  And remember, it is Passover week.  Very public.  The humiliation beyond anything I can even comprehend.  

2.  Jesus refused the wine with gall offered him.  I read that some of the wealthy women of Jerusalem offered this drink as a drug - something to dull the pain - an act of mercy.  Why did he refuse that help?  Perhaps it was so that he would accept death at its most bitter and most grim - so that he would know physical pain at its most grim - so that he could stand by you when you must suffer physical pain.  

3.  Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  Why did he cry such a thing?  

     a.  Perhaps he cried out because he truly felt the weight of all human sin at that moment.  Perhaps  as he became sin he felt the inevitable separation from God that sin causes.  Paul expressed it well in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

     b.  Or perhaps there was something more human happening here.  Perhaps at this moment Jesus  felt that ache of abandonment that we often feel when we it seems that life cannot get worse - when we feel that God has abandoned us.  William Barclay expresses it well:

Here we see Jesus plumbing the uttermost depths of the human situation, so that there might be no place that we might go where he has not been before.

4.  The "loud voice cry" in verse 50 is further explained by John in his gospel writing.  He tells us in John 19:30 that Jesus' cry was "It is finished!"  In Greek, this is one word - tetelestai.  This word is a victor's shout.  It is the cry of someone who has completed their task.  It is the cry of someone who has won through a struggle.  Jesus died a victor - with the cry of victory on his lips!

5.  The torn curtain in the Temple and the opened graves.  Some scholars read this as literally happening.  Others believe it is figurative language.  If it is symbolic ... notice what is revealed:

     

     a.  The way to God is now open!  No longer a curtain, a barrier, between mankind and the  presence of God.  The life and death of Jesus show us what God is like.  We can know ... we can see.

     b.  Death is conquered.  The grave no longer holds terror and tragedy.  That door has been opened.

6.  The first fruit of the cross was a Roman centurion.  Jesus had said "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (John 12:32).  The way for the Gentile has been opened and we see evidence of the opening through a Roman soldier.  

7.  There was a band of women that did not abandon the scene - they did not abandon their master.  Why did they have the courage to stay?  We don't know for certain.  Perhaps they did not run because they were women ... and considering the insignificant place women held in that society ... perhaps they posed no threat and so had no reason to be afraid.  Or ... perhaps ... it is as John writes in 1 John 4:18:  "There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drive out fear ...".  Perhaps these women did not run because they loved Jesus purely, deeply, and, therefore, refused to be afraid.

Let's close this reflection by meditating on some questions for ourselves:

*  Do I look to Jesus when my own pain sears its way into my very being?  Do I hold His hand?

*  Do I recognize the incredible companionship that I am offered in Jesus?  There is truly

NOTHING I must bear that He has not already born.

*  How is my love relationship with Jesus?  Is it strong enough to "cast out fear"?  

What am I currently afraid of?  How can loving Jesus deal with that fear?

Lord ... we are stunned into silence at the foot of the cross.  Help us comprehend more fully.  Help us understand more deeply.  How can our lives express gratitude for this incredible gift?  Help us ...

The Roman Trial (Matthew 27 - P 72)

The Sanhedrin condemned Jesus.  His crime?  Blasphemy.  That offense was enough to condemn him to death.  However, the Jews did not have the power or authority to pronounce a death sentence.  Therefore they had to get the Roman authority to weigh in - only Roman authority could carry out execution.  So Jesus is dragged before Pilate, the Roman governor of the region.

Read Matthew 27: 1 - 2, 11 - 31

The Jews knew very well that Pilate would pay no attention to the accusation of blasphemy.  Pilate had disdain for the Jews and what he considered their irrational and fanatical religious practices and beliefs.  If they had approached Pilate with a charge of blasphemy, he most likely would have sent them on their way and told them to settle their own religious disputes elsewhere.  

Matthew does not tell us what the charges brought against Jesus before Pilate were ... but Luke does.  From Luke (Luke 23: 1 - 2) we learn what was officially charged against Jesus.  They accused him first of being a revolutionary.  Second, they accused him of inciting people to not pay their taxes.  And third, they said he claimed to be king.  

Pilate knew it was made up stuff.  He was warned - by his own impressions of Jesus and then by the troubled dream of his wife.  He tried to cause the whole mess to go away.  Then he tried to wiggle out of responsibility.  But he could not/would not stand against the mob scene in front of him.  

Listen to Michael Wilkins as he writes about this scene:

Pilate's infamous act of ordering Jesus' execution was carried out in the political backwaters of  first-century Palestine.  His actions were conducted in relative obscurity, wit no thought that they would have historical and spiritual consequences for all of humanity for all time.  But Pilate is know forever as one whose political machinations perverted his integrity. ...  When the opportunity presents itself, each of us must contend for what we know to be right and for those for whom we are responsible, regardless of whether we think that the outcome will ever be known by others.

Remember the words from Proverbs 21:1 - 3

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord;  he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.  All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.  To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Is there a price tag on your integrity?  It is a question worthy of much consideration.  

I learn a couple of lessons in this reading that I never want to forget:

•  God's will WILL be done.  The question becomes what part will I play in the scene.  Will I stand for what is right and just?  Or is expediency and comfort more important to me?  
• It is impossible to abdicate responsibility for something that you are responsible for.  It can't be done. I may want to walk away from a responsibility that I feel ill equipped for or that I just don't want to carry the consequences for ... but it can't be done.  Mothers.  Fathers.  Teachers.  Workers.  Bosses.  

As we close today, plant the following sentence firmly in your mind and heart ... never forget it ...

I am responsible for the purity to my motives

and the integrity of my behavior.  

Peter Collapses (Matthew 26 - P 71)

While the excuse for a "trial" was taking place inside the home of the high priest, Peter was in the courtyard.  Peter had been in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus and the others.  When Jesus was arrested, Matthew told us that someone drew a sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest (26:51)   John tells us in his gospel record that the one who drew a sword in the Garden was Peter.  And while all Jesus' companions fled from the scene ... Peter follows and we find him in the courtyard of the home of the high priest ... enemy territory ... dangerous place to be!

Read Matthew 26: 69 - 75

Jesus had warned Peter about this.  (26: 31 - 35)  Of course, Peter could not - in the furthest stretches of his imagination - believe such a thing could happen.  Not to him.  Courage was part of his make up.  Hadn't he been one of the first to be a disciple?  Hadn't he walked with Jesus for 3 years?  Wasn't it he who was willing to step our on the Sea of Galilee during a storm?  Wasn't he the first to say out loud that Jesus was the Jews' long awaited Messiah?   Others may deny ... fail ... run ... but not Peter.

However, as with all of us, we are most vulnerable when we think we are not.  And his courage fails him.  He cannot stand under the pressure.  And fear rushes in.  

Have you ever walked in Peter's shoes?  We deny Jesus as well whenever we want to be sure that no one knows to whom we belong.  Therefore, we don't want our words to give us way.  So we can be as worldly as the next guy with our language!  We don't want our look to give us away as being Jesus followers.  So we can copy the world with inappropriate clothing or ungodly behaviors.  Ever deny Jesus?  

Follow Peter's example ... weep over that failure!  Confess it ... take it to Jesus ... he knows your heart.

Let's not quit reading and thinking today until we go to ...

John 21: 15 - 19

Also, listen to Peter himself as he tells us how to deal with collapses of resolve and with personal failures:

1 Peter 5: 6 - 11 ( New Living Translation)

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.  Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.  Stay alert!  Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.  Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.  In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus.  So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.  All power to him forever!  Amen.