Post-Resurrection Facts/Thoughts: Matthew's Gospel.
I thought it important to look at the post-resurrection accounts and encounters of Jesus prior to His ascension to Heaven and see what application we might discover. "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." (1 Cor. 15:17-19). We are all lunatics if Jesus didn't raise from the dead. The whole Bible points to Jesus death, burial, and resurrection. It's all about Him. The Old Testament was all leading to and predicting it. The New Testament is inspired because of it. Everything hinges on the fact that Jesus raised from the dead and what that means for those who believe in what He accomplished. Let's take a look at a few summaries. Interesting, how brief the post-resurrection accounts are in scripture. Things began moving quite rapidly, as this one event changed everything...
It's funny, even the chief priests and Pharisees remembered Jesus saying "after 3 days, I will rise again", so they sealed the tomb to prevent anyone from stealing His body and creating a deception. The disciple's memories seem to resemble my own, for some reason. How come they couldn't remember Him saying He would rise again? I certainly can relate to them doubting as well, even after seeing Him again. Why did they all flee at the crucifixion? Why did it come down to Joseph of Arimathea taking care of Jesus' body and putting it in the tomb? Where did the disciples go instead of to Galilee, as Jesus had instructed? Why was it Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the ones to go to the tomb on Easter Sunday? Perhaps the disciples feared for their lives and holed up in the Upper Room, then went fishing all night at one point.
Good for the two Mary's mentioned. They cared enough and were brave enough to go to the tomb early Easter morning. What an experience that must have been with the great earthquake and the angel of the Lord showing up, rolling back the stone. Why didn't the ladies faint like the Roman guards? Interesting, the angel told the women to go tell the disciples that Jesus would meet them in Galilee, but then Jesus suddenly appeared to them along the way. Wonder why He jumped the gun? Couldn't resist the joy? I think He honored those two women, and rightfully so. Their actions proved they deserved it. We should take note.
Of course, darkness continued to just be darkness. The evil chief priests and elders schemed up a plan to pay off the soldiers to lie, saying they fell asleep and someone had stolen the body. This story is still circulated among the Jews, evidently.
So the disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Amazing, I know, but isn't that what we do?
It behooves us to heed Jesus' words here. "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." (Matt. 28:18-20) It helps to be reminded that all authority has been given to Jesus. No matter what we are going through, we need to remember that. We are to go, take Him and His Word out wherever we are. We are to make disciples, not converts. It's not about how many salvations or how many prayers unto salvation we solicit from folks. We are all given very specific, divine encounters to be faithful with. We aren't called to save the world. That's His business. We are only called to do our part with who He puts in and around us. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are big deals. We need to know their purpose and character and how they work together in this thing. The baptism mentioned is about a true immersion and intimacy of relationship between our spirit and the Trinity. We are to be "in" them. We are to accept the truth and accuracy of the Bible and teach all of its contents, not cherry-picking out themes or topics we don't approve or won't accept. Preach the whole Word, even if we don't like it. It is a living Word, useful for all time. It will still be alive and well unto the end of the age. Oh, and we are to realize His continual presence with us. He is always with us, no matter what. He accomplishes that by the miracle of the Holy Spirit's capability to be omnipresent. Think of the difference it makes, when we realize He is with us constantly. It is a powerful reality to help us in offense and defense. We should enjoy and appreciate it. We should be thankful and take advantage of it. We should allow it make a difference in our situations. The question is, "will we be with Him wherever we go"?
