Tag: Matthew 28

April 27th 2025: Rhodri Brady

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

April 27th 2025: Rhodri Brady

Matthew 28:1-10.
The focus for our thoughts today comes in verse 8:

“So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.”

The women hurried from the tomb with fear, but also with great joy! The Bible does not present us with false or two-dimensional characters. The Lord shows forth people in all their complexities of character. We have in verse 8 two features which all humans express and which are sometimes set in opposition. The women were afraid, but they also displayed great joy too. The fear they had was only part of what they expressed, for the joy formed the greater part of their emotional experience.

            It is a truism to say that everyone fears. Fear is part of the fallen nature, and part of this fallen world. But what do we do with our fear? Fear is a reality. The Bible does not skate over this aspect of human experience. But it does address this and demonstrates how we should act when afraid. The key point in this event is, of course, the resurrection. How did the resurrection affect and energise these women? Surely the news from the angel caused their joy! How then does the resurrection affect us? These women were left scarred by the arrest, the crucifixion, and the death of the Saviour, but now they were joyful and yet with fear. Our text therefore has these two themes: fear and joy, so let us consider each characteristic in turn.

Fear.

            The resurrection left these women fearful and yet joyful, so let us start by considering their fear. Jesus truly died. He was wrapped in a linen cloth and placed into a newly hewn out tomb. A huge stone was rolled over the entrance to block the way. Nothing happened on the Saturday following Christ being placed in the tomb, but then on the first day of the week there was an earthquake which was not natural, but supernatural. An angel came and rolled back the stone and sat on top of it. The angel’s appearance was “like lightning” and his raiment was “as white as snow” and as a result of this “the guards shook for for fear of him, and became like dead men” (Matthew 28:3,4). The angel then spoke to the women telling them not to be afraid, declaring that Jesus was now risen from the dead, and instructing them to inform the other disciples of this glorious truth (Matthew 28:5-7). From these details recorded in Matthew 28:1-10 we can see a great contrast. Whilst the guards: “shook for fear of him, and became like dead men,” the women, by contrast, “went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word” (Matthew 28:4,8). The guards only had fear, but the women had fear and yet “great joy” too.

            We must acknowledge the presence of fear. Both the guards and the women had fear. We are not talking about ‘holy fear’ here but the type of fear which all humans experience as a result of sin and the fall of this world. Matthew uses the same Greek word for fear in speaking of the guards and the women here. We see this type of fear expressed by the Israelites when the Lord came down on the mountain of Sinai in Exodus 20. God is awesome. No doubt His angels are fearful too. We learn this from a number of appearances of angels in the Old Testament. Now when the Lord descended on mount Sinai the people were afraid and distanced themselves from the Lord. But Moses went up into the mountain and into the cloud. What do we do when we are afraid? Do we run away from God and seek to dispel the fear by distractions? Or do we embrace the Lord even though we are fearful?

            In the New Testament, the priest Zacharias was sceptical when he met with Gabriel who announced that Elizabeth would have a son, but Mary accepted the word brought to her by the same angel. Both were, no doubt, afraid, but Zacharias withdrew and Mary embraced that which was spoken to her. In another event we read that Jesus drove out many demons from the man who dwelt among tombs in the region of the Gadarenes, but those who witnessed this amazing event were afraid and asked the Lord to depart from their place (Mark 5:15,17). Fear causes many to withdraw and retreat or to push the Lord away. Some are anxious about coming into a place of Christian worship. Their fear keeps them away. Often, in their fear, people look to sources of comfort other than the Lord, but this is a grave mistake. Some look to drink to quash their fears. But turning to drink leads us ultimately away from the Lord. Others turn to food as a comfort or to exercise, or to work, or to cleaning the house, or even to entertainments. All of these things are distractions to blot out or push away the fear we have. All of these things are fine in and of themselves, but are terrible as means to deal with fear.

            Note that the guards were so afraid that they “became like dead men.” This statement does not just mean that they became immobile and fell to the ground, it suggests their spiritual state too. In our estrangement from God, the apostle Paul describes unbelievers as “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1,5), and the posture of these guards intimate the state of their hearts. What do we do with our fear and in our fear? We ought to run as fast as we can to the Lord!

Great joy.

            The resurrection left these women fearful and yet joyful, so let us now consider their great joy. The word in Greek is ‘mega’ and the idea is that their joy exceeded their fear. They had ‘mega’ joy! These women would have heard the Lord Jesus preach on many occasions and their hearts would have been greatly warmed. For instance, in the sermon on the mount the Lord said that the ‘poor in spirit’ would be blessed and such would be possessors of the kingdom (Matthew 5:3). These women were probably very ‘poor in spirit’ and so would have been encouraged by such words. Perhaps, also, they would have heard from Peter the events surrounding the great storm on the sea of Galilee. The Lord was asleep in the boat and the storm that arose was fearful and not a natural one. They may have heard Peter tell about his fears in such a perilous situation, and yet Jesus was asleep! And then Peter would have related that this ‘Man’ Jesus spoke to the ‘weather’ and the ‘weather’ obeyed His command. Such, surely, would have elicited much joy among these women? And yet this incredible Man, their Saviour, died!

            The disciples all accepted that Jesus was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Moses concerning the coming prophet, but they had ignored or neglected the prophecies of the Messiah’s death (Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53). They wanted a victorious warrior king, and what kind of king wins by dying? And yet these women now had “great joy” because they had heard that Jesus was now alive.

            Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit and so is something all Christians must experience. We ought to be possessors of this “great joy,” but we must also recognise that we cannot manufacture this out of thin air. We are utterly dependent upon God who is our joy and our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). If we are lacking in joy the only answer is to seek the Lord in His word. The truths of God invading the heart lead to great joy! He is alive! He who did miracles, taught wonders, and who died, is alive forever more and reigns in heaven! He has reserved a place for us if we believe and He is coming again! Let your joy be full in the Lord.

June 9th 2024: Peace Choi

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

Matthew 28: 16-20. Keep Fulfilling

The Great Commission is one of the most well-known passages in all the Bible. All missional organisations have this passage somewhere. Today, I have two questions: why and how?

Why? Why did Jesus come?
There are three verses in Matthew’s gospel which give us clear answers:
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Mattthew 1:21). This is what the Angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph before his wife, Mary, gave birth to a son.
“Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13).
“Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28).

Jesus came to save sinners from their sins, to make us righteous before God. He came to make us right with God. He came to reconcile us to God. The purpose of Jesus’ coming was for you and me. He came for your salvation and for my salvation. He came to save us – not because we deserve it but because God loves us so much. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die.” (Romans 5:6-7). We were too powerless to save ourselves; we were ungodly.

We cannot stand before a holy God on our own. We were sinners, we don’t deserve to be saved or loved by God. But God lavished His love upon us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to save everyone who would believe.

How? How to Jesus accomplish the Purpose of His coming?
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:38-40).

The Scribes and Pharisees wanted to see a sign that Jesus would perform. But Jesus had already performed a miracle, but they wanted a sign from Jesus Himself. He answered, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” We see clearly here Jesus is referring to His death; the Son of Man will spend 3 days and three nights in the heart of the earth. He delivered His own resurrection.

“And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,[a] “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.” (Matthew 16:1-4).

In chapter 15 Jesus did another miracle, feeding thousands of people. But people again wanted a sign – a miracle from heaven. We see that first they wanted a sign from Jesus, then a sign from heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of God. The Jewish leaders wanted to see a sign from God Himself. We have a detailed explanation in chapter 12, but not in chapter 16. Why? It has already been explained in chapter 12. Jesus accomplished salvation for you and me through His death and resurrection. Nobody can miss the point Jesus is making. He will save people who believe in Him through His death and resurrection. Jesus did a lot of signs and miracles. The only sign which Jesus would show would be His death and resurrection – which will save people. This is God’s way of salvation for you and me.

In Matthew chapter 4 Jesus was tempted by the devil. In the first temptation Satan declared, ‘If you are the Son of God make these stones into bread.’ But Jesus did not do that. He said no to that temptation because feeding people is important, but bread alone cannot save people. That is why he said no. The second temptation was for Jesus to jump down from the highest point of the temple. He could do it, but he said no. The third temptation was to worship the devil and Jesus said, ‘No way!’ Why? Worshipping Satan was not God’s way to save people from sins. No! No! No! These were not God’s ways.

Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39b). Jesus accepted. Whilst He was on the Cross many people passed by. Some said, ‘Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God, then we will believe you.’ He did not come down. If He Came down, there would be no salvation. He stayed there because coming down from the Cross was not God’s way of saving you and me. We need to say Hallelujah! His death was not the end of the story. He was raised from the dead, conquering sin and death. The power of death could not hold Him (Matthew 12:16). Romans 4:25 confirms the same truth. We live our Christian life to please and glorify God, that is the purpose of our life.

Our passage of scripture today is Matthew 2816-20. What do you think this passage is all about? It is about taking the message of salvation to the world – to boys and girls, women and men, Korean, Welsh, everyone. What is this all about? It is the application of the salvation achieved only by Jesus’ death and resurrection. That truth should be applied to people individually. It is the work of God, of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus came to save sinners from sin. He achieved this through His death and resurrection. In the Great Commission Jesus sent out His disciples into the world. “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18). This is part of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. Why did Jesus send His disciples into the world? For your salvation and my salvation, for His Disciples to deliver, to share and to proclaim the message of salvation to others who needs to be saved. If you don’t have that application yet, come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness of sins, for Him to be your Lord and saviour.

When Jesus called His disciples, He said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples. He speaks to us through His Word. He still speaks to us even today for the application of salvation. We are to proclaim the name of Jesus as the only true name of salvation. He is everything to those who believe in Him.

If we are in Christ, we are the most valuable people to God’s Kingdom. God chose you and called you to apply the salvation which Jesus achieved by His death and resurrection. He does not need us, but He wants to use us, to save people through you and me. If you keep quiet about Jesus Christ, then how can people in this area hear about Jesus? All Christians are most valuable to the Kingdom of God. Jesus wants to proclaim the same message of salvation in the 21st century through you and me. Isn’t it exciting! May all of us be used mightily to fulfil the purpose of Jesus’ coming – until we breathe our last or until He returns with power and glory.