RESURRECTION (2) OF CHRIST in MATTEW 28

The bible lives in the midst of the exciting, spiritual drama of the resurrection. ‘While the disciples were going to Galilee to meet the risen Lord, the guard came into the city, staggerng the chief priests with news of the magnificent resurrection, whose hearts fluttered fearfully at ‘All the things that had happened’. Reeling under the earthquake, hearing news of the stone rolled away, the angels, finding the grave clothes undisturbed. Shame, humiliation, conviction gripped them, considering His triumph after the ill-devised slaying of their Messiah.

They convened an emergency meeting. Servants scurried on foot and donkey, demanding all elders attend. The high priests took counsel’ to hide the most breathtaking event in the history of mankind: Christ’s resurrection. They bribed; a base, unscrupulous, massive concealing of the stunning, supernatural event of Christ’s overcoming death. The devil , trounced at the cross, was baffled.

The chief priests lied; ’Tell them His disciples came at night and stole HIM away while you slept.’ Revelation 21:8 solemnly states, ’All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’ The chief priest had torn his priestly garments; the veil of the temple had been torn from the top to the bottom; the high priest’s ministry had ended.

They offered cold comfort to the soldiers, ‘ If this comes to the governor Pilate’s ears, we will appease him, and make you secure.’ ‘the love of money is the root of all evil’; The Lord’s treasury would be plundered to silence the governor’s concern. Tradition substantiated this, (v15) ‘For they took the money and did as they were instructed, and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.’

This sordid incident revealed the degeneration of religion in our Lord’s day.

Eleven men obeyed the angel’s direction, ‘The disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.’ Mountains signify soaring truth in scripture; for example, the ark (salvation type )rested on Mount Ararat; while the eternal One met Moses at Mount Sinai; Abraham prepared to offer his dear son ( also typical of our Lordis sacrifice) on Mount Moriah, which King David purchased to offer sacrifices to appease the wrath of the eternal God; the Lord had been transfigured in Shekinah glory on the Mount. Yet, no mount eclipsed Calvary, where God’s Son suffered and bled and died.

‘They saw Him’ was the pithy description of the stunning moment, when the Lord in His risen form stood before them. They vividly remembered the marred form on the cross only days previously; now in a heavenly, beautiful, and risen body he commanded their worship and appraisal. Every wound had been perfectly healed; dislocated joints functioned precisely; His blood had been shed. His eternal life motivated Him. Was this the moment when more than 500 at one time saw Him?

‘They worshipped Him; just and reasonable that they should do so. (v16) However, to our amazement, ‘some doubted.’ I cannot understand how they beheld Him and doubted the miracle od His rising again. He did all to confirm their faith in the risen Lord. If the Lord had first appeared at a distance, ‘He came‘, suggesting that He drew near to them,’ They recognised His ringing voice, echoing among the mountains, with rousing memories of His sermon on the mount, near Capernaum.

He boomed out His risen password, ’ALL AUTHORITY has been given to Me in heaven and earth.’ (v18) Not from satan, but from the Father. His ’authority’ is the right and might, His power and liberty, heavenly jurisdiction, or executive ability. Our Lord released His qualifications to proclaim our great salvation, when he received the Father’s total authority. Please observe that the citation refers both to heaven and to earth. Therefore, the believers could anticipate that their risen Lord would qualify them for all that He chose to grant.

Then the Lord of glory commissioned them: no effects as lightning or thunder, no trumpet blast, or peals of music with that amazing direction. ’Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ They must proclaim His majestic death and glorious rising again to the ends of the earth. No limitations, for the world must hear this glorious news. They must disciple, never entertain. They must reach every nation on the face of the earth, regardless of language, culture, isolation or distance.

Have we not lost this desperate insistence, which our Lord demanded?

The Lord Jesus Christ searchingly - not superficially, demanded that they ’Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you.’ (v19) Teaching is hard work, constantly restating the precious truths until they are embedded in the hearts and minds of every believer. During out stay in South East Asia, my dear wife and I taught ‘all things of Christ’ to the children, some toddlers through to teenagers.

47 years later, we cheered to hear one such wee child, now a grandmother, visiting our nation for the first time, said, ’You planted special seed during those years. The germinating seed produced a precious harvest. We are the fruit of teaching.’ ‘Lydia, her name, told of 15 believers in responsible positions ( The word of God released them from primitive village limitations; 2 are pastors, teaching the Word of God, while another is married to a pastor. Seed planted, prayed over, brought forth fruit. With tears coursing down , we thanked God for unsolicited encouragement.

Our Lord finished His Commando call, promising ‘Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ The final bugle sounded ‘Amen.’ Oh, how precious the guarantee, applicable only to those who follow the Lamb wherever He leads. This striking pledge sustained me deeply during my army hospital separation and loneliness in Egypt during WW11. Have you steeped yourself in this promise?

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