Matthew 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
GO!
Well ladies and gentleman, this announcer has never seen such a lopsided game in all my years of broadcasting. At the kickoff… it looked like it would be a very interesting match up as the Jerusalem “Roman Soldiers” arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane Ball Field to take on Jesus’ “Devastating Disciples” in this championship battle for all the marbles!
The Disciples looked like they would take a very early lead as their star player Simon “The Rock” Peter struck out with a devastating aerial attack. But in a very stunning move that I’m sure will be debated for centuries to come… Jesus benched Peter and allowed the Roman Soldiers to take the field on Offense.
Since then, it has been one offensive strike after another as the Roman Soldiers have really run up the score on Jesus. They have pounded him with their ground attack and they have literally crucified him with their aerial attack.
It has been a brutal match up to watch. I would never have guessed that the events these past days would be so entirely lopsided as the Jerusalem “Roman Soldiers” have completely shut out Jesus’ “Devastating Disciples” six to nothing.
As the final seconds of this game run down, I would like to take a moment to thank our broadcast team… Pliny of Damascus our Head of Production, Simon of Arimathea our Road Team Manager, Mary of Capernum our Director of…. HOLD ON ONE SECOND LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! The last nail was in the cross… Jesus was dead and buried… the tomb was sealed… BUT now an entire host of angels have taken the field!
I DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT I’M SEEING. It’s a HAIL MARY PLAY! HERE’S THE PASS! THEY CAUGHT THE BALL!!! At the 40… the 30… the 20… the 10… 5… TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! In a stunning turn of events this team has been resurrected!!!
Ladies and gentleman… you have just witnessed the greatest upset ever in the history of the world! THE DISCIPLES ARE STORMING THE FIELD!! THE DISCIPLES ARE STORMING THE FIELD!!! What an amazing come from behind victory. I still can not believe it. Jesus WINS! Jesus WINS!
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While this is a very contemporary dramatization of what Jesus’ last days were like, I think it really helps paint us a picture… of the kind of emotion that the disciples must have been feeling following such an amazing event. Can you imagine the excitement following Jesus’ resurrection? Can you imagine all the electricity in the air? Can you imagine what the disciples must have been feeling? It would be like your team winning the Super Bowl, or the World Series. It would be… simply… amazing.
Now… it is really, really interesting to me what happens right after Jesus’ resurrection in the book of Matthew. Matthew doesn’t say much at all about Jesus appearing to the women, or about Jesus appearing to his disciples… what we have is this morning’s scripture text.
Let’s read it again starting with verse 18. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
You know what I hear when I read this mornings scripture text? You know what this reminds me of? Jesus is leading his disciples in what could easily be described… as a pep-rally!
I think it’s brilliant. With this one small paragraph… he takes this miraculous event and turns it back onto the disciples… turns it back onto every single one of us with this pep-rally.
You know… a good pep-rally can be an extremely useful tool. I remember the rallies from my high school days. We would all come together… dressed in the school colors… a large sea of red, white, and black. We would gather at the high school parking lot and have ourselves a gigantic bonfire. The pep band would play the school song, the cheerleaders would lead us in a few cheers, then… Coach would speak, and the entire town would get fired up… blood pumping… energy overflowing… ready to charge into the football season to have the best season ever!
And it worked! Noone ever walked away from our pep-rallies saying “Well… there’s always next year!” “Looks like we’re in the middle of another rebuilding phase!” We always left with a great sense of… “WE CAN DO IT!” “We can do ANYTHING!”
And this is the same thing Jesus does with his disciples… the same thing he does with us. Following his remarkable win… they gather - filled to the brim with excitement, energy, and enthusiasm… their very own little pep-rally… and the great Coach… Jesus calls us in close for his speech saying “My season is over, but yours is just beginning.” “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore GO… GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely… surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
And the crowds went wild!
I don’t know about you, but Jesus gets me just a little fired up here, he makes me think that yeah… we can do this… we can do anything with Christ at our side. And it’s a very good thing, because the task in front of us is gonna take a bit of work. Within these words of encouragement… are also some words that are extremely challenging.
Look a little closer at verse 19… “Go and make disciples”… you notice how Jesus doesn’t say “Go and make Christians?” He says, “Go and make disciples.” And I think there is an important challenge in that for us. It is easy to be a Christian… isn’t it. What is the requirement for being a Christian? What is the bare minimum to being a Christian?
Think about what a big difference that makes. We are called to make disciples. Not just Christians who just sit on the bench and do nothing… but disciples who get in the game… make a few big plays... really – become part of the team. And you wanna know the real rub of this verse… it applies to you and I too. WE are encouraged in these verses to be more than just Christians… WE are called to be disciples.
And really… we should all want to be disciples. When we really know what God has done for us… when we realize all that God has done and is doing through us… when we truly look at Jesus and see him as the resurrected savior who died for us all… our only response should be to service… and to discipleship.
And that is the lesson that Matthew is trying to get across to us today in our scripture text. Right on the heals of Jesus’ overwhelming victory… in the midst of that celebration… Matthew directs the story back to the disciples and asks the question, “What are you going to do?” In the light of all of the amazing things Jesus has done for you… “What are you going to do?”
Brother’s and sisters… that is the question. “What are you going to do?” Are you content to be just a Christian… riding the pine… warming the bench? Or are you moved by Jesus… pumped up by his words… willing to take to the steps to become a disciple and get into the game?
And really… there is not better time for you to get into the game. We need good disciples to step forward as leaders, as servers, and as workers. Very soon we will need volunteers to become Elders, Deacons, and committee members, and any one of them is an excellent way for you to get in the game. We have a mission trip coming up, monthly food drives, a Christmas giving tree… again all excellent opportunities to get in the game.
Every once in a while pastor likes to switch it up a bit and call on a few talented individuals to step up as actors, as singers, as readers, as musicians… again excellent opportunities to get in the game. I could go on and on and on about all the excellent opportunities that this church has for you to get into the game. So if it is time for you to get into the game… I invite you to find something you are passionate about and step up.
Today is our Great Fall Kickoff… today is our church pep-rally. As our year begins, let us remember what Jesus has done for us… let us remember the strength that Jesus has offered us, let us remember his words of inspiration to us… and in this pep-rally esque environment… let us remember the words of our coach, saying… “GO, GO and make disciples of all nations!” So let’s GO… let’s do it… let us be more than Christians – let’s be disciples… and let’s have the best season ever!
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
