Let's Get Ready to Go for Jesus Christ
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 28:11-17
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared June 7, 2023)
BACKGROUND:
*Today in Matthew 28 we will continue to explore what happened after Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. And one of the words that stands out the most in this chapter is "go." The Lord's followers were on the move in those days. And Jesus still wants His followers to be on the go. But how can we get ready to go for Jesus? Today's Scripture gives us some answers. Please think about this as we read Matthew 28:11-17.
MESSAGE:
*"Go" is a great word. It's a great little word that packs a whole lot of punch. It's one of the first things we want to do when we are kids. "Can I go?" "Can I go in the car?" "Go faster!" "Go higher, go swimming, go to the store, go to the game, go to the woods."
*Going can be good. But the best kind of going is going for God. How can we get ready to go for Jesus Christ?
1. FIRST: WE MUST WATCH OUT FOR THE DEVIL'S DECEPTION.
*We will see the worst deceiver at work in today's Scripture, but first, remember the background. On that first Easter Sunday morning, some of the women went to the Lord's tomb to finish preparing his body for burial. Then the most unexpected, wonderful things happened!
*Matthew 28:1-10 says:
1. Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
2. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
3. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
6. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.''
8. So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
9. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!'' And they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
10. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.''
*This is the greatest news the world has ever heard! But then God's Word shows us one of the most destructive lies ever told to deceive humanity. And we see it in vs. 11-15:
11. Now while they (the women) were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.
12. When they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
13. saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'
14. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure.''
15. So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
*Why do people lie? A lot of times it's for money, just like we see here. Those guards got a large sum of money to lie about what happened at the tomb. And some of the wealthiest people in the world today got their money by lying. But it won't do them any good in the long run. That's for sure, because in Matthew 16:26 Jesus asked, "What is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
*Why do people tell lies? Sometimes it is to get money. But a lot of other times people spread lies, because they believe in the lies. That's also what happened here. The wicked chief priests never believed in Jesus. They were Sadducees, wealthy aristocrats who rejected almost all of God's Word. These skeptics denied God’s involvement in everyday life. They denied the spiritual dimension of life. They believed life ended at death. So in the Sadducees' minds there was no afterlife, no heaven or hell, and no resurrection of the dead. Acts 23:8 tells us that they also denied the existence of angels. (1)
*The Sadducees strongly rejected the clear teaching of the Scriptures. And their rejection of Jesus was so strong, that they were willing to make up another lie to protect what their deceived hearts believed to be true.
*Those unbelieving Jews had been deceived by Satan, and you can be sure that Satan is doing everything he can to deceive people today. It's one of the devil's main weapon against mankind. It's the way he got Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden, and ever since then, the devil has been using deception with great success.
*In John 8:44-45 Jesus was talking to some of the hard-hearted, unbelieving Jews, and the Lord told them:
44. "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
45. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me."
*The devil is the father of lies, so through ungodly leaders, atheistic teachers, false friends, false religions, cults, and false messages on today's media, Satan tries to deceive as many people as he possibly can. And there is great power in his lies. Do lies have a lot of power in American entertainment and education today? There's no doubt about it. Do lies have a lot of power in our politics and government today? No doubt about it.
*But the worst power of lies is the power to deceive people about Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." That is the absolute truth, but most people in the world don't believe it today. Many of them have never heard the truth about Jesus. But many others have chosen to believe the devil's lies. So in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, the Apostle Paul wrote, "But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."
*That is the most awful, destructive power of lies, and Christians, we must beware of the devil's deception. What kind of lies can keep us from going for Jesus Christ? One is the lie that we can't make a difference. We know that's a lie, because in 1 Corinthians 15:58 Paul said this to Christians, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
*Another lie is that we will say the wrong thing. But God has promised to give us wisdom, and He will! Another lie is, "They'll never believe." But some of them will. Maybe the biggest lie is that our going for the Lord doesn't matter, when the truth is that nothing matters more! Don't be discouraged by the devil's lies.
*Dr. Wray Ivey was one of my mentors, and an outstanding man of God. In the late 1970s and early '80s, Wray was our pastor at First Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia. He gave me some very wise guidance when the Lord was calling me to preach.
*One Tuesday night, Wray and I were out visiting, and I was discouraged about our lack of results. There are so many lost people out there, and we were reaching so few. It almost seemed like, "What's the use?"
*But Wray said, "Suppose you were standing next to the ocean, and you saw thousands of people drowning. You have a life ring in your hand. What would you do? Would you give up and say, 'What's the use?' -- Or would you try to save as many of them as you possibly could?'"
*Of course, we would do everything we could do to save those drowning people. And God wants us to do everything we can to reach lost people for Jesus Christ. So we must watch out for the devil's deception. That will help us get ready to go for Jesus Christ.
2. WE ALSO MUST FOCUS ON FOLLOWING THE LORD.
*Verse 16 says, "Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them." This must have been a very important meeting, because in vs. 7 above, the angel at the tomb told the women to "go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.'' And in vs. 10 Jesus told the women, Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.''
*This must have been an important meeting. There is no telling what these Christians would have missed if they hadn't followed the Lord's directions. And I'm sure they are thankful they did. They went where Jesus had appointed them or assigned them to go. They focused on following the Lord, and that's what God wants us to do! Jesus had places for these early believers to go, and Christians, God has places for us to go too. The Lord probably won't send you to a mountain in Galilee, but there may be some other mountains He wants you to climb. And it is always a good idea to go where Jesus tells you. The trip may not be easy, but we should always strive to go where the Lord wants us to go.
*The disciples followed the Lord's directions, and something wonderful happened. They got to spend more time with our risen Savior, and they continued to be transformed by Jesus.
*Also think about Jesus meeting with Peter, Andrew, James, and John back in Matthew 4. It was after they had been at work fishing in the Sea of Galilee. This was not the first time Jesus had met these men. But He met them at work to call them into His service. Matthew 4:18-22 says, "Now Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Then they immediately left their nets and followed Him. And going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. And He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him."
*Jesus had promised them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Did Jesus fulfill that promise? Did He make them into fishers of men? We know that He did, and there was an amazing catch! In fact Christians: You and I are part of their catch! Of course, lots of other people helped along the way. And now Jesus wants us to follow Him too.
*Also think about Matthew Levi, the man God used to write this Gospel. Matthew was a much-hated tax collector for the Romans. He was considered to be among the worst of the worst sinners, but our merciful Savior died for all sinners! And Matthew was saved by Jesus Christ. His sins were all forgiven, and his life was transformed when he put his trust in the Lord. In Matthew 9:9 Jesus "saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' And he arose and followed Him."
"Follow me." The original word picture there is "to walk the same road." It's the same word Jesus used in Matthew 16:24 when He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
*In Ephesians 5:1-2, Paul tells Christians to "Be followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."
*Jesus urges us to follow Him. And one of the wonderful things about following Jesus is that it turns us into what Bill Hybels called "contagious Christians." Following Jesus makes other people want to follow Him too. That's why in Matthew 4 Jesus told Andrew and Peter, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
*This is also why Paul was able to write these great words to the church in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-8:
2. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers,
3. remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,
4. knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
5. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.
6. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
7. so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.
8. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.
*Following Jesus turns us into "contagious Christians" who draw other people to Christ. Richard Wurmbrand was a Christian hero who served the Lord during the dark days of Communist oppression in Romania. Richard was put into prison by the Communists simply because he was a follower of Jesus Christ. He was released from his first imprisonment in 1956, after eight and a half years.
*Although he was warned not to preach, Richard resumed work in the underground church. He was arrested again in 1959 and sentenced to 25 years. During this imprisonment, he was beaten and tortured. Richard later told of having the soles of his feet beaten until the flesh was torn off. The next day, his feet were beaten again to the bone. Richard never fully recovered from that torture.
*At some point in prison, Richard shared a cell with a young Communist. At first, that young atheist wanted nothing to do with Christianity. But food rations were very low in the prison, and Richard began to share his bread with that young man. One day Richard was telling his cellmate about a Christian man who was like Jesus. Then the young man turned to Richard and said, "If Jesus is like you, I would like to know Him." (2)
*That's what happens when we follow Jesus Christ. We become more like Him, and people begin to see the Lord in our lives. So keep focused on following the Lord.
3. AND KEEP WORSHIPING THE LORD.
*Verse vs. 17 tells us that when the disciples saw Jesus, "they worshiped Him." And Jesus Christ is certainly worthy of our worship!
*Melvin Newland gave one of the best explanations of worship I ever heard, and he started by asking, "What do we mean when we say we have come to worship the Lord? Well, the English word 'worship' means 'to give the highest worth to.' So when we worship, we’re saying, 'God, you’re number one in my life. You come before anything or anyone else.'
*The Old Testament word that we translate 'worship' means 'to bow down, to humble ourselves, to recognize His sovereignty, and to express reverence in His presence.' God’s favorite word for worship in the New Testament, the word He used 60 times, is 'proskuneo,' which has the word picture of an affectionate dog licking his master’s hand. This word expresses the ideas of love, loyalty, and undying gratitude.
*Now when you put all those together, you come up with this: 'Worship is when we come to God and recognize who He is. We say, "God, you are number one in my life." We humble ourselves before Him. We recognize that He is Sovereign and the source of authority. We express our love, loyalty, and undying gratitude to Him." (3)
*And Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship. He is worthy because of who He is: -The Almighty Son of God, Creator of all, King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is the true and living God, one with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. But Jesus is also worthy of our worship because of what He has done. He came to earth for us, suffered and died on the cross for us, took the guilt for all of our sin, and rose again in everlasting victory over sin and death. For these and hundreds of other reasons we should worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
*But how should we worship Him? In John 4:23 Jesus said we should worship God "in spirit and truth." But we should also worship Him with great joy, -- joy over His resurrection, and joy over His saving power. Worship Jesus with the same joy the women had when they rushed from the tomb to tell the disciples the good news about Jesus.
*Worship the Lord with the same joy the disciples had when Jesus was about to return to Heaven. Luke 24:50-53 tells us that, "He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen."
CONCLUSION:
*Christians: We know that God wants us to do everything we can to help reach more lost people for Jesus Christ. So watch out for the devil's deception, keep focused on following the Lord, and keep worshiping our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! That's how to get ready to go for God. Then go for God. However you can, wherever you can, keep going for God.
*But if you have never put your trust in Jesus. If you have never received the crucified and risen Christ as your Lord and Savior, call on Jesus to save you today, and He will! As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 10:13: "Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
*Put your trust in Jesus Christ. He loves you. He died for you. He rose again. And Jesus will surely save you, if you will open your heart to Him. You can do it right now, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Adapted from:
-BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES (NT) by William Barclay, Revised Edition (C) Copyright 1975 William Barclay - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - William Barclay - "Blind to the Signs" - Matthew 16:1-4 - https://bibleportal.com/commentary/chapter/william-barclay/matthew/16
-GotQuestions.org - "Who were the Sadducees?" - https://www.gotquestions.org/Sadducees.html
(2) SermonCentral sermon "Abide in Me" by Martin Dale - John 15:1-17 - 05/18/2003
(3) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Worship Is More Than That" by Melvin Newland - Psalm 95:6-7
