Matthew 28:11-20 The King: Given All Authority WC McCarter
Introduction
The Quran is
the only historically claimed document that denies that Jesus actually died on
the cross. Every other document acknowledges that Jesus did in fact die by crucifixion
on the cross. The Quran, of course, was written hundreds of years after Christ.
One of my favorite people, an internationally known Christian apologist,
scholar, professor, evangelist, and philosopher, Ravi Zacharias tells of a time
that he sat down and had a conversation in Damascus, Syria with the leading Shiite
cleric by the name of Sheikh Hussein. He says that when the over
three-hours-long conversation had ended, the Muslim leader looked at him and
said, “You know, Professor, I think that the time has come for us in the
Islamic world to stop asking if Jesus Christ died and to start asking why.”
Everything
about the Christian faith rests on the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead
on the third day. Matthew has reported to us the narrative of the resurrection
from the viewpoint of the disciples, and in today’s text Matthew gives us the
story of what the chief priests and guards did about the resurrection. The
guards were bribed by the chief priests to tell the people that they fell
asleep, and the disciples of the Lord stole His body. The question that Matthew
leaves us with is, Who will you believe? Which story do you find true? If you
believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, then you will be compelled
to submit to His Lordship and His commission to make disciples.
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
A Fallacy is Fabricated (11-15)
Remember
that everything took place just outside the city gates in a garden that was
near Calvary. As the group of women went into the city to report to the
apostles what had happened, the guards were also heading into the city to
report to the chief priests what had happened. The stories are somewhat similar
in the beginning but come to drastically different ends. Surely, both groups
report the appearance of the angels and their subsequent fear. At that point
the men passed out, but the women received a message from the angel and also
encountered the Risen Lord.
These guards
were apparently Roman guards delegated by Pilate to the Jewish rulers. This is
probably the case because the Jews asked Pilate to secure the tomb (Matt
27:64), there was a Roman seal placed there (Matt 27:66), and the guards
ultimately had to answer to the governor for what had transpired in the garden
(Matt 28:14). If these were Jewish temple police, the Jewish rulers would not
have had to bribe them but could have simply exercised authority over them and
even threatened their lives.
We see that
money can be an evil enticement. If a man has enough of it, he can do whatever
evil he wills to do. The Jewish rulers paid 30 pieces of silver to Judas
Iscariot to find the location where they could arrest Jesus. They bribe the
Roman guards here with a large sum of money. They are confident that they can
appease Pilate if the story gets back to him, presumably with money. Also
notice the power of lies. When a man begins to lie, he must continue to the
point that all he knows are lies. A person gets to the point that he/she is
telling lies simply to cover up previous lies. The rulers set up false
witnesses in Jesus’ trial, and now they seek to spread another lie about the
empty tomb. When does it end? As God told Cain back in Gen 4:7, “Sin is
crouching at the door, and it desires to dominate you.” These Jewish rulers
were dominated by sin. They were full of corruption, lies, bribery, and
rebellion. A heart full of lies and hands full of money are a catastrophic
combination.
Is it not
ironic that the very lie that the guards are told to say is the very thing that
they were sent to the tomb to prevent?! Now, let’s think about this false
report for a moment. If the disciples did plan to steal the body of the Lord,
(1) they would have risked the threat of the Roman guards who would have put
them to death for attempting such a thing. By the way, (2) the guards would
have risked their own lives by falling asleep because sleeping while on watch
was punishable by death. Not only would the disciples have had to deal with the
guards, but (3) they would have risked their lives by breaking the seal on the
tomb. Breaking a Roman seal was punishable by death. It was an offense against
the Empire. Even if the disciples could get past the guards and risk their
lives by breaking the seal, (4) there would have needed to have been a few men
in order to open the stone door of the tomb. (5) They would not have taken the
time to unwrap the Lord’s body and neatly fold the cloths to lay them in place.
(6) What is the incentive for claiming the Lord was risen if you knew He had
not? (7) What would the disciples have died (and many did) for what they knew
to be a lie? (8) Why record that women were the first eyewitnesses and
messengers of the Good News if women were not thought to be credible witnesses
by the Jewish culture? When all of the facts are considered, THE BEST
explanation is that JESUS was RAISED from the DEAD.
Although the
facts prove that the lie is implausible, the Jewish rulers found themselves
with only this option remaining. They do not even consider that what they were
hearing may be true, that Jesus of Nazareth may have actually been raised from
the dead. So, their utter rebellion forces them to immediately forge a lie to
explain away what actually happened. This lie became the oldest alternative to
the empty tomb known to man. It was circulated immediately after the tomb was
found empty; it was known several years later when Matthew was recording his
Gospel account; and it is even claimed today. Therefore, we are left with the
question, Do you believe that Jesus was literally raised from the dead, or do
you believe that His disciples stole His body? Consider the evidence and
determine a conclusion. The body of Jesus was gone. We only have two options as
to what happened.
The Risen Lord Meets His Disciples (16-17)
Matthew
challenges us to make a decision about what happened to the body of Jesus, but
his conviction is plain and certain. He knew Jesus to be alive. So, he picks up
the narrative where he left off with the women telling the disciples that the
Lord commanded them to meet Him on a mountain in Galilee. Verse 16 tells us
that the apostles left Jerusalem, headed north to Galilee, and arrived at the
mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. We cannot know which mountain is
referenced here. Mountains are seen in Matthew, and the whole Bible, as a place
from which divine revelation comes forth and communion with God takes place. A
special and significant thing takes place. The life and ministry of Christ has
now come full circle. The Lord was raised as a boy in the region of Galilee,
the majority of His earthly ministry took place in Galilee, and now He meets
His followers one last time in the hill country of Galilee. This is significant
because that region was known as “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Christ’s life and
ministry have been showing all along, and now His commission makes undeniable,
that what He has achieved is for all the peoples of the earth. Christ’s
accomplishments are to be shared with people near and far, even to the end of
the earth.
Jesus
appeared before them, just as He said He would. When they saw Him, they
worshiped but some doubted. The word “doubt” does not refer to unbelief. Many
scholars translate this word as “hesitated.” As one commentator says, “[The
word] refers not to intellectual uncertainty but to the disorientation produced
by an unfamiliar and overwhelming situation” (France). Can you imagine how
impressive and overwhelming this scene would have been? How do you respond to
the Risen Lord when He appears to you on the mountain?
The Risen Lord Commissions His Disciples (18-20)
Jesus does
not only show Himself, but He speaks. God has been speaking since the beginning
of time. He wants to reveal Himself to us, and He wants to have a relationship
with us. In keeping with the other resurrection appearance to the women, Jesus
gives a command in this passage. The Risen Christ is seen as a Commissioning
Lord. His command to the women was, “Go and tell. . . .” His command to His
disciples on the mountain was in essence the same thing, Go and tell, that is, “Go and make disciples. . . .”
But notice
what Jesus says first, in verse 18. Do you remember how the Bible starts in Gen
1:1? “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This is an
idiomatic phrase that refers to everything. Jesus says that all authority has been
given to Him for all places. It is because of this authority that Christ can
then command that His followers make more disciples of all the nations.
I fell into
the trap of thinking that Jesus meant, As
you are going into all the world, make disciples as if we only have to make
disciples if we go or I’m only responsible for disciple-making right here where
I am. That is not what Jesus said, and that is not what the original language
conveys. There are two chief commands here, Go
and Make; both are important and both
are necessary. To fulfill the Great Commission, as it were, both must be
undertaken.
The chief
end of these two commands is that there may be more disciples. The Lord wants
to see, and we do too, more and more folks coming under the power of His saving
work and under the authority of His Lordship. The two chief functions of
fulfilling this commission are baptizing and teaching.
Baptism, we
learn from the New Testament, is what a person does when they repent of their
sins and put their full faith in Christ for salvation. Baptism is what unites a
person with the death and resurrection of Christ. We are united with the Triune
God when we are immersed, which is why we are baptized in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. To be united with Him is to come
into a relationship with Him, and it is to receive His accomplishments as your
very own.
Teaching, we
also learn from the Bible, is the primary business of the church. We are a
people of the Book. Christ has made the leaders of the church “pastor-teachers”
and “elders who labor in word and doctrine.” We are disciples, that is, learners.
God is a speaking God, the God who reveals Himself. Therefore, we listen; we
study; we meditate; and we grow. We devote ourselves to the detailed study of
Scripture. We are equipped for life and ministry through an education in the
things of Christ. The Lord commanded His disciples to teach all peoples, “to
observe all things that I have commanded you.” All Scripture is God-breathed
and has come from the Lord of glory. We do well to obey His commands and
continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ
promises to be with us every step of the way, every moment as we Go and Tell. He wants us to make
disciples, so He will empower, embolden, and equip us with everything we need
to do so. Through it all, He will be present.
Conclusion and Christian Application
(1) Sin is crouching at our doors. We
must deny it and put our trust in Christ. Let me finish the quote I started
before as God spoke to Cain. He said, “Sin’s desire is for you, but you must
rule over it.”
(2) What will you do with the
resurrection? Do you believe? Do you know why?
(3) If you believe that Jesus is Lord
and God has been raised from the dead, you must heed His resurrection
commission. We are a people who have been commanded to Go and Tell, to Go and Make.