Recapitulation
So now we come to the end of Matthew’s version of the ‘good
news about entering the kingdom of God.’
It began with the birth of the King in Bethlehem just as it was
prophesied. But, the current leadership
had conveniently forgotten that they were just caretakers until the King should
come and claim what was rightfully His.
Herod the Great tried to kill Him when he was just a toddler but succeeded
only with the forerunner, John the Baptist, whose purpose was to prepare the
way of the Lord. The religious leaders, too, became increasingly hostile when
they saw Jesus denouncing their hypocrisy.
Eventually, they all colluded with the Romans to kill Him—not realizing
that this, too, was prophesied.
There was one more prophecy that they DID know about—His
resurrection on the third day. But, like
the disciples, they did not believe it would happen and to “prevent fraud” they
posted a guard. But, like His birth,
crucifixion, and burial, He DID rise exactly as predicted. This earth-shaking news was witnessed by the
women who had followed Jesus AND by the soldiers who had guarded His tomb. But
while the women welcomed the news, the soldiers and their employers, the
Sanhedrin, tried to spin the news that Jesus’ body was stolen while the
soldiers slept.
The Doubtful Worshippers
Matthew does not detail for us the way each disciple
received the news of Jesus’ resurrection, but he does eventually summarize it
in verse 17: “They worshipped Him but some doubted.” Matthew’s point seems to be that being a
disciple of Jesus is not the same thing as being spiritually mature. The parallel accounts in Mark, Luke, John,
and Acts tell us that Jesus appeared to the disciples and to the women a number
of times in different places. And even
the most devout required “many convincing proofs” as one gospel writer put
it. Jesus even had to demonstrate that He
wasn’t a ghost by eating a piece of fish in front of them and by letting them
touch Him and later by cooking breakfast for them.
Jesus’ Final Teaching
Luke tells us in Acts 1 that Jesus appeared to them over a
period of 40 days. He seemed to have
three main themes that He hit on over and over in those 6 weeks: 1) I am truly alive, 2) The Kingdom of God,
and 3) I am sending you to tell about the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Final Jesus Sightings
We also see, by comparing all the parallel accounts in the
Gospels, Acts 1 and 1 Corinthians 15, that the disciples saw Him at first in
the Jerusalem area (including the road to Emmaus), then by the Sea of Galilee and
on a high mountain nearby, and finally back in Jerusalem. Once again, Matthew is not concerned with the
details of these comings and goings. He
simply tells us that the disciples are in hiding in Jerusalem and are told to
meet Him in Galilee.
But even with all this traveling about the country, they
didn’t get away from Jesus. He found
them when they were in hiding, when they were on the road, or out fishing, or
having a meal. He showed up when they
needed Him most. When they doubted, He
convinced them. When they were hungry,
he supplied a huge haul of fish. And yet
Matthew summarizes the result with these words, “They worshipped Him but some
doubted.”
Wavering Faith
It is interesting that the original word for “doubt” here is
only used two times in the Bible. (Even
the passage in John about “doubting Thomas” does not use the word “doubt.” It’s the word “disbelief.”) But “doubt” is
used only here and in Matthew’s account of Jesus rescuing Peter in Matthew 14
when he attempted to walk on the water.
At first, Peter walked on the water at Jesus’ bidding. But he saw the waves and the wind and He
began to be afraid and to sink. And He
cried out, “Lord, save me.” And Jesus
took his hand and pulled Him to safety.
Then He said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
When we discussed this passage before, we pointed out that
Peter did have faith – a little faith, but faith none the less. It seems that his doubt was what kept his
faith small. This is the same word for
doubt that Matthew uses in chapter 28.
This is the word stasis meaning “steady” or “fixed”
plus a prefix meaning “not.” The idea is
someone or something that is not steady but wavers. This is not the doubt of rebellion but it is
the doubt of human understanding or human emotion wrestling with divine
revelation. Do we really believe God’s
promises? This is what the gospel
demands—belief. And there are those who hear it that fight against it because
they don’t want it to be true (like the religious leaders). And there are those who hear it but waver
because they are afraid it might not be true or perhaps they want to believe
the lies of the enemy more. This is the
case with some of the disciples. Being a
disciple, one who has studied God’s Word, has prayed, and even worshiped God does
not bulletproof us from doubt—from wavering in faith. Conquering this kind of
doubt is not just a one-time experience.
Two Kinds of Doubt
Jesus spent a lot of time convincing His followers—His
disciples—that He really was Who He said He was. He spent far more time convincing doubting
disciples than doubting Pharisees—because they had a different kind of
doubt. There is a place for apologetics
but those who are convinced against their will are still unbelievers. “Ya gotta wanna” or as the father of the sick
child in in Mark says, “Lord, I believe.
Help my unbelief.”
It takes some of us a while and it IS a process. This is why,
in Luke 22, Jesus said to Peter, “When you are converted, strengthen your
brethren.” Peter had already professed
his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but he had a problem with doubt—the
wavering kind. It plagued him even in
later ministry when the Apostle Paul had to confront and rebuke him before the
church for his hypocrisy. But in the
end, Peter (in his 2nd Epistle) wrote very kindly about Paul’s words
which “are difficult to understand” and “some will twist them” like they do
with the “rest of Scripture.” It takes time.
Great Commission
So even knowing what kind of worshippers He had (some
wavered in their faith), Jesus still said to them all—probably more than
once—to 1) Go, 2) Make disciples, 3) Baptize them, and 4) Teach them to observe
my commandments. Paul tells us in 1
Corinthians 15 that over 500 persons saw the resurrected Jesus at one
time—probably in Galilee. So, His words
are not limited to the original 11 disciples.
Paul applied it to himself as well as to those whom he mentored.
Great Omission
As late as the 1700s, there was a teaching spreading through
the church that said that because God is sovereign He doesn’t need us to “save the
heathen.” Thankfully, most believers
today understand that God also sovereignly commanded us to “Go.” He has chosen
to use people to spread the gospel.
The Goal in Going
The word “Go” here is a command in Greek even though it has
been translated by some as just “As you go.”
The important idea is that we as a body are to choose to DO something
that involves “all nations” or “the world” —but not necessarily a change of
address. It is a group action that
involves all of us. Making disciples all
over the world who are publicly identified with Him in baptism and taught His
commands—not just helped physically—is the goal. If you are a worshipper of Jesus, even if you
find yourself wavering in your faith sometimes, this is the goal that you are
to be involved in. We need a little more “Lord, help me in my unbelief.”
Empowered Witnesses
Once you understand the gospel and believe in it yourself,
you are supposed to see that it gets handed on.
None of us can do it all, but all of us together can do all of it. This is not a task given to supermen—but to
humans. It is a very human task. But notice that Jesus has all power and authority
and He is with us always. So, the
results will be the work of ordinary people empowered by a supernatural risen
Lord.
Application
What are some ways ordinary people can accomplish this task
that encompasses the whole world? What are some of the parts different ones can
play? What are some objections to going?
How long before you are ready to get your marching orders?
© 2018 Eric Thimell
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