All right, the Great Commission.
This comes at the end of Christ's earthly ministry, prior to Him
being taken up into glory. And we see that in the Book of
Acts. I've been thinking about what I'm gonna go into next week,
and I haven't settled on it for sure. I've considered the Book
of Acts. It's been a long time since I've
preached through that book. It's a historical book, just
like the Gospels. And so much of it, but you know
when he stood there with his disciples watching him, and he
ascended up into glory, up into the clouds, and the angel came
and said that he will return in like manner, we talk about
the second coming of Christ, gonna be talking about glorification
again as we end up, finish up 1 Corinthians 15 today, in the
11 o'clock message. But here our Lord appeared, look
at verse seven and eight, he says, he told them that, now,
remember in verse six, you know, the two women who were there
at the tomb, they left and they came back, and the angel appeared
at the tomb, and verse six said, he's not here, for he's risen,
and he said, come see the place where the Lord lay. And verse
seven, the angel went on to say, go quickly and tell his disciples
that he's risen from the dead. In other words, just like Christ
told him. And anytime he told him about what his mission was
on this earth, he said, I've got to go to Jerusalem, I've
got to be killed, I've got to be crucified, but I'll be raised
from the dead. And behold, it says in verse
7, he goeth before you in the Galilee, there shall you see
him, lo I have told you. raised from the dead, left the
tomb and went into Galilee. And verse eight says, these two
women, they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear
and great joy and did run to bring his disciples word. So
these two women who were faithful women that the Lord had given
the gift of faith. And you think about how privileged
they were. to be the first ones to hear
the actual resurrection when it happened. Like I said, all
through his earthly ministry, he told them about his death,
his burial, his resurrection. And you know the disciples were
very reluctant to receive it. And we'll talk about that in
just a moment. But the thing that impressed me about this
in verse eight, they departed quickly with fear and great joy. Those things seem to be opposite,
don't they? Fear and joy. But the kind of
fear that he's talking about is a godly fear. It's not fear
like being afraid or terrorized. You know, the Bible in 2 Corinthians
5 talks about believers, how in light of judgment, we know
the terror of the Lord. And what is the terror of the
Lord? It's the terror of appearing before God at judgment on your
own terms, without Christ. You see, the only thing that's
going to matter at judgment is how we stand with God, either
in Christ, again by the grace of God washed in His blood from
all our sins, and clothed in His righteousness for our justification,
Or if we stand there based upon our own works, like those in
Matthew 7 who said, Lord, Lord, haven't we prophesied in your
name? Haven't we cast out demons? Haven't we done many wonderful
works? You see, all of those things which seem good in the
eyes of men will not make you righteous. And that's the key.
How does a sinner, Like you and like me, how do we become righteous
in God's sight? It's not by our works. The best
person that has ever lived on earth will fall short of the
glory of God in Christ. That's what Romans 3.23, you
know everybody quotes what they call the Roman road. Romans 3,
23 says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. Well, what is the glory of God? It's Christ and His righteousness,
His blood. That's what we're gonna celebrate
in the Lord's Supper, the blood of Jesus Christ that took away
all our sins. Listen, we cannot make an atonement
for our sins. We can beg, we can plead, we
can feel sorry, we can cry, we can even reform. And let me tell
you something about it. Those are all things we should
do. We should be sorry for our sins. We should try to reform
our lives and be better people. But here's the point of the message
of the Bible, the theme of it. that all of that will never contribute
to making even one sinner righteous in God's sight. Because what
is righteousness? It's perfect satisfaction to
God's law and justice. And that's why Christ came to
accomplish that for his people. Grace reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life, not by our works, but by Jesus Christ our
Lord, Romans 5.21. So this fear that he's talking
about here is a godly reverence. It's like a fear of a child for
its parents, its father and mother. Not afraid you're gonna kill
them, but in respect to obey them out of respect and regard,
worship. This is a fear that comes from
faith. Faith in Christ. It's a fear that comes from assurance
of salvation. Hebrews chapter 4 talks about
it. He says, let us be careful lest we, like those who perished
in the wilderness, because they didn't fear God. You know, Romans
3 talks about man by nature having no fear of God before their eyes.
Now, you know, men and women by nature are afraid of the afterlife,
of judgment and all that. But that's not the kind of fear
this is. This is fear that brings joy, because it's joy in believing
in the risen Christ. Well, look at verse nine and
10. He says, and as they went to tell his disciples, behold,
Jesus met them, saying, all hail, and they came and held him by
the feet and worshiped him. That's what happens when Christ
reveals himself to his people, that's what we do. We literally
fall at his feet and worship him in our hearts, in our minds.
And it says in verse 10, then said Jesus unto them, be not
afraid, go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there
shall they see me. Now this is really special. I
think about Revelation 1 verses 17 and 18, you don't have to
turn there, I got excited in your lesson, but It's when John,
when he saw the risen Lord in his glory, he said, I fell down
like a dead man. Worship. See, this gets rid of
this modern day over familiarity, like God is some granddaddy or
the man upstairs. No, he's God. And Christ is God
manifest in the flesh. He's the second person of the
Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that's what happened.
When he reveals himself to you in the glory of his person and
the power of his finished work in the gospel, salvation conditioned
on Christ, and he fulfilled those conditions, that's what we do.
We worship him. We fall down with respect and
regard. But notice in that 10th verse
what he says. He says, don't be afraid. That's
a word of assurance. That's a word of comfort. He's
not saying, well, let's weigh your good works with your bad
works and see how you come out. Because we know if that's the
case, we're all going to be lost. Now, that's the case. But he says, don't be afraid.
He's the Savior. He's the Savior of his people.
One old preacher said this, you know there's that verse, I think
it's over in 1 Timothy, where Paul said, this is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came to save
sinners of whom I am chief. That's what Paul wrote. And one
old preacher said, I'm more confident of my salvation in that verse
when he talks about Jesus Christ came to save sinners. than I
am, and I'll use my name, than I am, if that verse, if that
said Jesus Christ came to save Bill Parker, I would have less
confidence because I know there's a couple more guys in this world
named Bill Parker. I'd be wondering which one he's
talking about. There was a teacher out in Lee County named Bill
Parker, William Parker. I used to tease him all the time.
I said, I said, I'll get your paycheck and I'll sign my name
to, But you know what I'm saying. But when he says, Jesus Christ
came into the world to save sinners, I know that's me. I know that
you, now did he come to save every sinner without exception?
No, he came to save his people, a sinful people. God chose them
before the foundation of the world and Christ died for them.
And he secured their salvation. And then the second thing that's
really impressive about this verse, he says, go tell who?
My brethren. Turn over to Hebrews chapter
two with me. Who are his brethren? And first
of all, this passage here describes who he's talking about in vivid
detail so that we don't have to wonder who this is. He says,
my brethren. Now we know from other scriptures
he's talking about those whom God chose before the world began,
who are adopted into his family by the adoption of grace. And
even though we fell in Adam into a state of sin and depravity
and spiritual death and darkness, he's gonna bring his brethren,
God's children into the kingdom of light by the preaching of
the gospel and the power of the spirit. Well, look at verse 10
of Hebrews 2. Well, look at verse 9. It says,
we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the
grace of God should taste death for every man. Now that word
man's not in the original language. Every child, every son is who
he's talking about. And it says, for it became him,
verse 10, it was fitting to the nature and glory and character
of God, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory." There's every son, every adopted
child of God, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings. That speaks of the completed
work that Christ accomplished in his obedience unto death,
signified by his resurrection from the dead. And it says in
verse 11, for both he that sanctified, he that set apart, and they who
are sanctified, those who were set apart, are all of one, now
listen to this, for which cause he's not ashamed to call them
brethren. He's not ashamed to call us brethren. And he said, go tell my brethren.
Now, who are his brethren? Look at verse 12, saying, I will
declare thy name unto my brethren. In the midst of the church will
I sing praise unto thee. They are those to whom he declares
his name. And how does he declare his name?
In the preaching of the gospel. He identifies himself and distinguishes
himself as the surety, the substitute, the redeemer of his people, the
one who accomplished that great salvation by his one offering,
to enable God the Father to be just and justifier. And so who are those, his brethren? Those who know and believe the
gospel. A person who goes through this life in unbelief and dies
in unbelief is not his brethren. Now we're all brothers in humanity
naturally, but this is a specific special brotherhood of grace
that God brings his children into by grace. This is the fellowship
of believers, the fellowship of sinners saved by grace, the
fellowship of those who are justified, sanctified, set apart. And he's
not ashamed to call them brethren. And you think about him, he's
the perfect God man. We're sinners and he's still
not ashamed to call us brethren. because He redeemed us. Verse
12, saying, I will declare, or verse 13, and again, I will put
my trust in Him, and again, behold, I and the children which God
hath given me. That's who the brethren are.
They're those whom the Father gave to Him before the world
began. You can read that in John 17. He said, I'm gonna give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given me. And you can read it
in John 6, 37. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will have no wise cast out. He said this, he said, this is
the will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath given
me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again the last day.
And so he says in verse 14, for as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, that's what we are, he also likewise
took, himself likewise took part of the same. He became flesh
and blood, yet he became flesh and blood not like us. He became
flesh and blood without sin, that through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death, that is the devil. And that doesn't
mean the devil has power of life and death, he doesn't. Only God
has that power. But what he's talking about here
is the devil as the accuser of the brethren. Think about it
this way. If you go before a judge here
on earth, and you're accused of the crime, and you're guilty,
and somebody says, or I'm an eyewitness, I accuse him of this
crime, you're going to jail or whatever you're gonna do. But
what if you're standing before God's court and the devil accuses
you. Remember, he did that to Job.
He accused him. And the Lord looks down and says,
there's no charges against this person. Well, that's us in Christ
because Christ was charged with our sins, the debt of our sin. And he paid it. He willingly
became our surety and willingly agreed to do what was necessary
to remove the charge. And what did he do? He died on
the cross. The charges were against him.
He was made sin, we've seen that. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. And so that's what he's talking
about. Go back to Matthew 7 now, or Matthew 28 rather. Verse 10, go tell my brethren
that they go into Galilee and there shall they see me. So he
told them to go to Galilee. And then look at verse 11. Now
when they were going, behold, some of them, some of the watch
came into the city and showed unto the chief priest all the
things that they were done. This is those who were guarding
the tomb and they fell asleep, like dead men. Well, they went
into the city and told the chief priest all the things that were
done. These are unbelievers now. These are the enemies of Christ
and his people. And when they were assembled
with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave large money
unto the soldiers saying, say ye, his disciples came by night
and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's
ears, Pilate, we will persuade him and secure you. So they took
the money and did as they were taught, and this saying is commonly
reported among the Jews until this day." Now what's going on
here? These unbelievers, they weren't
interested in knowing the facts. They didn't care. All they wanted
to do was protect themselves and their positions, and they
bribed these Roman guards to tell anyone if they're asked
that the disciples came and stole him away while they slept. And
what we see here, and I put in your lesson here, the fact is
the prejudice of blind unbelief. How far does it go? It's so great. It'll grasp, believe, and defend
the most ridiculous things. Lies, and these weren't, now
you understand, now these were religious people. They claimed
to know God. They claimed to be right with
God, but they claimed that based on their works and not the grace
of God in Christ. And they were so blind. They
deliberately rejected his truth, that's how blind is blind, how
dark is dark. Spiritually speaking, I put here,
always remember that if we truly see with spiritual eyes the glory
of God in Christ, and you remember he told his disciples that in
Matthew 13 about speaking in parables, he said, blessed are
your eyes for they see. Blessed are your ears for they
hear. When I stand up or sit up here and preach, everybody
can hear what I'm saying basically, but do you hear it savingly?
By the power of the Spirit to believe it and rest in Christ
for your whole salvation. That's the problem. And so you
remember in Matthew 13 when he told them about that, he said,
they've closed their ears and shut their eyes lest they be
converted. They did not want They didn't
want God's salvation. They wanted salvation their way,
which would give them room to boast, like the Pharisee and
the Publican we were talking about. The Pharisee said, haven't
I done many wonderful works? Haven't I fast twice a week? I give tithes? I do all this
stuff, you know? And what'd the old Publican do?
He beat on his breast and said, God, be merciful, which means
propitious to me, the sinner. He was looking for satisfaction
to God's justice for his sins. And that can only be found in
Christ. So if we truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, let's
understand that we're blessed. And we didn't earn it. And we
don't deserve it. I think about passages like Ephesians
1.3, blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. There's not one blessing or one
benefit of salvation. If we know the gospel now, if
we see Christ in his glory and what he accomplished, there's
not one blessing or one benefit of salvation that we can claim
that we earned it or deserved it. It's all of grace. We'll look at verse 16. It says, Then the eleven disciples,
remember Judas was dead by now, they went away into Galilee into
a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him,
they worshipped him, but some doubted. There's the 11 disciples, but
there were probably more, because we know, according to what Paul
wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, that he was seen of over 500 people. And that's 1 Corinthians 15,
6. And so they went into Galilee
to meet him, and when they saw him, they worshiped, but some
doubted. You know, the disciples are kind of an enigma, aren't
they? There's arguments about them, you know, how, when were
they actually converted to faith in Christ? Some say after the
resurrection. And if you read John's account
of this, you could pretty much easily conclude that. Remember,
John, I think he recorded, he said when the women came and
told him he's risen, they said, oh, it's an old wives' tale.
Now think about that. Now we know anybody who denies
the resurrection today, we'd say they're lost. So, and some
people say, well, that was an incredulous belief. You know,
we were talking about this past week. Somebody said they didn't
know. They knew, they just didn't believe. Because he told them
how many times as he went through. But I don't know. I know this. They were his sheep, and he brought
them together, and he kept them together providentially. until
he revealed himself to them. And I don't think we should get
into arguments about that because we need to understand that even
as sinners saved by grace who are truly born again, we still
have the flesh to deal with. And often that brings doubt.
When we go through trials, tribulations, and the Bible tells us what those
are now. They're not Punishments for our sins by which we pay
for our sins. They're the chastisements of
a loving father. And they're grievous. And I've
told you before, when I go through a severe trial, we're always
going through trials and tests. But God preserves us now. He
doesn't let us on our own. These aren't trials and tests
to see how faithful you are in order to keep your salvation,
as some denominations preach, no. These are the loving chastisements
of our Heavenly Father, teaching us, disciplining us, strengthening
our faith. And so I've told you that when
I go through a severe trial, and I've been through them, and
you have too, some of you are going through them now. When that particular trial is
over, And it can be over, but another one's coming, like Gary
Shepard said, standing on the beach. He said, the tide goes
in, but another one goes out, and another one's coming in.
That's the way it is. As long as we're on this earth
until we die and go to be with the Lord, we're gonna have trials,
tribulations, and temptations. But when that severe trial is
over, I never come out on the other side feeling good about
myself. Say, boy, didn't I really make
it that time. But Hebrews 12 tells us it's afterward it brings
about what the Bible calls the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
And what is that? That means I come out on the
other side of that trial looking to Christ even more, trusting
Him even more, resting in Him even more. God, thank you for
your grace. Isn't that it? Motivated by Him
even more. And so when you see this, understand
they were just sinful men. Maybe some of them were already
born again, maybe some of them later, we don't know. We just
go with what the scripture tells us. But look at verse 18. Now
here's where we come to the Great Commission. Jesus came and spoke
unto them saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth. Now, as God the Son, The eternal Son of God, the second
person of the Trinity. Christ always had all power. All power. It didn't have to
be given to him. It was his by nature. He's God.
God the Son. Not a lesser God. Co-equal with
the Father and the Spirit in every attribute of deity. How
do you know that? Well, the Bible says in beginning
was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
And all that was created, He was right there. He created this
world. All power that he had. But this is speaking of a specific
power that was given to him on the basis of his accomplishing
the work of saving his people. We can call it his mediatorial
power and glory. This is his power not as God
absolutely considered, which he always had, never gave up,
but his power given to him as God-man. as the savior of his
people. He earned this by his obedience
unto death to secure the salvation of his people. And you can look
over in John chapter 17. I mentioned this earlier. He
talks about this in his high priestly prayers. He opens it
up in John 17. When he says in verse one, these
words spoke Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,
Father, the hour has come, glorify thy son, that thy son also may
glorify thee, as thou has given him power over all flesh, that
he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. You see that? He says, and this
is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. And here's the basis of
this earned glory, mediatorial glory. Verse four, I have glorified
thee on the earth. I have finished the work which
you gave me to do. There it is. And then on that
basis, back here in Matthew chapter 28 verse 19 and 20, he gives
the command, the great commission, go ye therefore and teach all
nations, make disciples of what it says. Now we don't make disciples,
God does, but we're the instruments of preaching the gospel by which
God does make disciples. And he says, go ye therefore
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. There's the Trinity. We
recognize that salvation in its entirety is the work of all three
persons of the Godhead. And let me emphasize, it's not
three different gods. It's one God in three persons,
subsisting in three persons. The father is represented as
the source and originator of salvation. He is the father of
us all, of all his people. The son is represented as the
one who procured salvation by his work as our surety, our substitute,
our redeemer, our keeper, our intercessor, our glorifier. And
the spirit is represented as the one who applies the gifts
of spiritual life and glory to each one of his sheep. So we're
baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And this is not saying that baptism, this is believer's baptism, this
is the ordinance. You know, when you see the word
baptize or baptism in the Bible, it's not always talking about
water baptism like back here. where a believer confesses Christ
publicly. It's speaking of union with Christ,
and there's various aspects of that. But here he's talking about
the ordinance of baptism, believer's baptism, in which a believer
identifies with Christ publicly and confesses his unity with
Christ, his union with Christ, by going down into the water
and coming up out of the water. In other words, when Christ died,
I died. He's my substitute. When he was
buried, I was buried. When he arose again, I rose again.
That's what baptism is. Baptism does not save you. The
water of baptism does not wash away your sins. Christ saves
you and his blood washes away your sins. And when you get into
the pool to be baptized properly, not poured or sprinkled, not
babies, not at all. That's not in the Bible. When
you get into the pool and get baptized, you're confessing publicly
before men, this is an ordinance of confession, that you are with
Christ. He died for you. He arose for
you. And you believe it. Now the second
ordinance is what we're gonna do after the 11 o'clock service
in the Lord's Supper. That's a memorial service. Baptism
is a confessional service. This is a memorial service which
we remember what he did for us. So understand that. And somebody
says, well, how do you know? What does it say? Go into all
the world and teach all nations. Teach them what? The gospel.
How do I know that water baptism doesn't save me? Because the
gospel tells you it doesn't save you. The gospel you're confessing
tells you that salvation is by God's grace in Christ and not
by anything you do. So understand, in verse 20, he
says, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded
you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,
amen. When a sinner is brought to know
Christ, he or she is to be taught in the word of God. The commandments,
the words of Christ, following his word. Motivated not by law
or fear of punishment or loss of earned reward, but motivated
by grace, love, and gratitude. A bondservant, a bondslave of
Christ. You know what a bondservant,
a bondslave was? It was a person who was serving his master, not
by force and not to earn his way out, but he served his master
because he loved his master. His debt was paid, and that's
God's children. We serve Him. Our debt's paid.
We're not serving to pay a debt. That's already paid by Christ.
He's made us what we are. And we're motivated by love for
Him and trust in Him, all those things that God gives us in salvation. Okay.