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.
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