In the Garden
Nobody ever expects much to happen in a cemetery, do they? After all, the residents of a cemetery don’t
make much noise. I’ve often heard that a
cemetery makes for a great next door neighbor.
Even I have to confess that I’d be a little disturbed with that one.
So imagine the surprise of the guards when this new tomb starts to
rattle and the earth shakes. Imagine
what is going through their minds when an angel appears and single-handedly
rolls away the stone. Imagine their
disbelief when the angel sits upon the stone as if watching the events
unfold. No wonder they played dead out
of shock!
We don’t expect cemeteries to be places of power, but often they
are. In this case, the garden of the
tomb of Joseph of Arimathea was a place of incredible power. In this light, what is the message that the
angel of the Lord brings to Mary and Mary?
“Do not be afraid.” When human
beings come in contact with power, fear is a natural experience. When we come in contact with the
life-changing power of God, fear is a given.
We need to be reassured. We need
to be told that it will be okay.
The angel’s message may start with reassurance, but it ends with a
command. The angel tells the women to
come and look where Jesus had been laid.
Remember, these women were watching when Joseph of Arimathea and
Nicodemus laid the body in the tomb.
They would have seen it all take place.
They could verify what was happening under the power of God.
In fact, this was precisely what the angel told Mary and Mary to do. They were to verify. Then they were to go. They were to tell the disciples that Jesus is
raised and is not present among the dead any longer. Mary and Mary are essentially told to tell
the disciples that God is the God of the living, and Jesus is proof of eternal
life!
In the midst of the command, the women are given an incredible
promise. They are told by the angel that
they will see Jess again when they return to Galilee. What an incredible promise. These women who had followed Jesus like their
male counterparts would see the savior that they had just watched being
crucified. What an incredible
experience. I even find myself a bit
jealous of these women. They got to see
Him again and touch Him and hear Him. I
can’t wait for the day when I can fall at His feet and literally, physically
reach out and touch my savior. What a
glorious and joyful day that will be.
Knowing all of this, these women do go. These women become the first ministers of the
resurrection. These women become the
first apostles of the resurrection. {Remember that the word “apostle” simply
means “One who is sent to accomplish the mission of another.”} Does God care that the first people who proclaim
His work are women? No. In Christ, there is neither male nor
female. In Christ, there are simply
people who have submitted to Him. Amen.
Lies
There is always a counter to the truth. Deception is never far behind truth. Charlatans are never slow in capitalizing on
a great moment.
When the guards go back to tell the Jewish leaders what happened,
the Jewish leaders pay them to keep their mouths quiet about the truth. In fact, they are paid to spread a lie. They are paid to tell people that Jesus’
disciples came and took the body.
My heart breaks for the Jewish religious leaders. Imagine being confronted with the truth that
Jesus could not be kept dead. You would
think that news like that would break you.
If you had just crucified someone and God saw it fit to bring Him back
to life, wouldn’t that make you think?
How hard the heart must have been that could stand in the face of that
truth and still choose to not see God’s hand at work!
I don’t mean this in judgment, because the Lord knows I’ve had my
own fair share of times where I have been blind to God’s hand at work. I simply mean this as a time for me to pause
and reflect about how humbleness and submission is really important. It is so easy to miss seeing God’s mighty
hand. It shouldn’t be, but it is! The only way to truly be in a place to see
God’s hand is to constantly be mindful that we are to submit and be humble
before God.
The Great Commission
Before we get to the great commission, notice Matthew’s
account. They all see Jesus. But even seeing Jesus some doubt. The human heart is skeptical to its very
core! When the power of God is in
full-on display, we can always find room to doubt. It’s human nature. It’s reason to repent. But it’s not the end. Even though some of Jesus’ disciples doubted
even here, He still continues to use them.
The church will grow even through those who find themselves doubting
from time to time. God doesn’t require
perfection, simply repentance.
Volumes have been written on these final five verses. These are some of the last words that Jesus
physically says to His disciples before leaving them. These have to be some of the most important
words that Jesus ever said. That point
has been made before by others and I think it is worth repeating. It’s not hard to accept that Jesus would save
the most important message for the last thing He says before leaving His
disciples.
So what is this message?
- Go into the world. Don’t stay at home. Interestingly enough, in the Greek this word is not a command. It is a participle. Literally, it reads: “After going, make disciples…” Going into the world is an assumed behavior that disciples do. The stuff of God happens after going. Don’t keep this message to yourself. Your faith may be personal between you and God, but it was not designed to be private. There is a difference between personal and private. Jesus is telling us that a private faith is not a faith that is submitted to God’s calling.
- Make disciples. This one is huge. A few years ago – after I was ordained as a pastor, even – I woke up one day and realized I didn’t know how to make disciples. Sure, I could talk forever about God. I can pontificate again and again on scripture. I can preach for longer than most people can sit and listen. But the truth was that I didn’t know how to make disciples. My method for making disciples was akin to shooting with a shotgun. If I just put enough stuff in front of people, surely something will strike true! There’s a problem with this approach, though. Jesus doesn’t make the process of making disciples seem hit-or-miss. Jesus tells His disciples to do it. When I woke up with that realization, God told me, “Make it happen. Get a plan; then live it. Find people who want to buy in to what I’m teaching you and teach them everything that you can.” It’s easier said than done, I know. But it led me to a very humbling question. How many disciples have I been a part of the process of making? When I stand before God, I want that number to be more than zero. So does Jesus.
- Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the mark of submission. We aren’t baptized into the name of our pastor or even our parents. We are baptized into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From the moment of baptism, it is clear to whom we submit.
- Teach them to obey. Again we hear words of submission. We are to obey. We are to obey Christ. We are to obey what Christ has commanded. It’s not up to me to decide if “I think Christ was right.” No, it is up to me to obey. That is what I am called to do.
As an aside, it is here at the end of this Gospel that I want to
now tackle the term “disciple.” The
Greek word disciple is probably best approximated by the English word “apprentice.” Jesus is telling us to go and make
apprentices of ourselves – of God living in us and through us.
Apprenticeships require a master.
As the Twelve apprenticed themselves to Jesus, so they are to have
others apprenticed to them. Once
trained, those new apprentices are to become masters and have others become
apprentices. That literally is the
process of discipleship. Jesus isn’t
talking about going to church once a week as “discipleship.” Jesus isn’t talking about reading your Bible
as “discipleship.” Jesus is talking
about partnering up with someone who can teach you and proactively apprenticing
yourself to them. Then, discipleship is
about making yourself available for other people to apprentice themselves to
you so you can teach what you’ve been taught.
That’s what Jesus means when He uses the verb “make disciples.”
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