Marching Orders

“MARCHING ORDERS”

Matthew 28.16-20

Two months ago, we celebrated the birth of Christ. Come Easter time, we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ. But after the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead in a glorified human body, and before He ascended to His Father’s right hand on high until His enemies be made His footstool, He showed Himself alive with many infallible proofs to hundreds of witnesses.

Over several weeks following His resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ seems to have made about a dozen appearances to different combinations of believers and apostles before His final miraculous ascension. On that dramatic occasion, which I think is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel and Mark, and referred to by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians 15, the Lord Jesus appeared to some 500 people.[1] That is real history. Those things happened.

In Matthew chapter 28, we read of that occasion when the risen Savior spoke to His eleven remaining apostles in the hearing of all those other witnesses who had gathered to see their Master:

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

There are three divisions to this passage.

First, THE APPOINTMENT

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

In verse 16, we see the disciple’s obedience. Their risen Savior, whom they had seen several times since the resurrection had occurred in Jerusalem, had directed them to meet Him somewhere up high, someplace out of the way and remote. So they went there. And if comparing different verses provides a clue, they told some other people who went along with them and referred to in First Corinthians 15.6. But the focus of our text is on the surviving eleven apostles (Judas, the betrayer, having killed himself, and his replacement not yet being selected). They obeyed. They followed their Master’s directions. They met Him at the appointed place at the appointed time.

In verse 17, we see the disciple’s obeisance. When they saw their risen Savior, they “worshiped” Him. The word translated “worshiped,” prosekύnhsan, is found in 54 verses in the New Testament, usually referring to a person prostrating himself before God. So, there is little doubt that the disciples recognized the deity of Jesus Christ and sought to pay Him homage. “But some doubted.” Who were these “some?” Perhaps there was still lingering doubt in the hearts of the eleven. But it is likely this refers to those few in the crowd of 500 Paul referred to who would not be satisfied by even the most solid proof of the resurrection of Christ. Don’t forget that the Lord Jesus Christ’s intimates were initially quite difficult to convince of His resurrection. They were not easily sold on the idea at all. But by the Day of Pentecost, with the predicted outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God, they were all so supernaturally convinced that what they had seen with their eyes was true truth, that Jesus really was indeed risen from the dead, that they gave their lives to spread the Gospel.[2] So, we should not be terribly surprised to find some who “worship” Christ still have doubts about His resurrection. Just keep in mind that anyone who is not firmly convinced of the resurrection’s reality is not truly converted, since the resurrection is one of the three legs upon which the saving Gospel message stands.[3]

Next, THE AUTHORITY

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

First, the phrase “And Jesus came and spake unto them.” Perhaps this is what dispelled the last remaining doubts; Jesus drawing near. They had all worshiped Him from afar, though some doubted. But now, as He drew near, the remaining doubts took flight, never to return. Each one had seen Jesus closely, intimately, personally, memorably, undeniably, unmistakably ... alive![4]

What did He then say to them? “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” But He already had all power, all authority, by right of creation. After all, from John 1.3 we know that

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Here, however, the Lord Jesus speaks of a different authority, an authority bestowed upon Him by the Father to function as Redeemer, to execute His office of Reconciler and Mediator. And in that office He exercises absolute and undisputed sovereignty.

Third, THE ACTIVITY

Based on His undiluted authority, His sovereign power, the Lord Jesus Christ then sent His apostles on a mission they would give their lives working to achieve. I read the words of A. T. Robertson, famed Southern Baptist scholar of days gone by:

“It is the sublimist of all spectacles to see the Risen Christ without money or army or state charging this band of five hundred men and women with world conquest and bringing them to believe it possible and to undertake it with serious passion and power.”[5]

What was Jesus Christ's mission to those men that we call the Great Commission? There is a command that is followed by a commitment.

The command is to make disciples. Though slightly obscured by our English translation, there is only one verb in the command Jesus issued, the command to “make disciples,” maqhteύsate. The command is not to “get sinners saved.” The command is not to “get professions of faith.” The command is not to “count baptisms.” Requiring something more than a sinner’s prayer or a quick dunk under water, the Lord Jesus Christ commanded those eleven men to make disciples, which can only realistically be expected to occur after someone is truly converted. Accompanying the single verb “to make disciples” are three modifying participles. The three phrases establish the guidelines along which the eleven and those after them were to function in accomplishing their task. They were to “make disciples” as they would go, by baptizing them and by teaching them to observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded. Much time could be spent elaborating on these three guidelines, but suffice it to say this: The Great Commission is a unified whole accomplished by engaging in three discreet activities. There is the going activity that necessarily involves Gospel preaching and evangelism. This is because after that is baptism, which only those who are converted are qualified for. Then, once a likely convert is baptized, he is to be taught to obey all things whatsoever Christ has commanded, which must mean that such instruction is not to be provided to someone not baptized. This isn’t rocket science. But if there is a breadth and depth of instruction and training that is reserved for baptized Christians, then does it not make sense that what the lost are exposed to is somewhat narrower and shallower? I submit this to you in the hopes that you will see that Bible exposition is not always what’s best for reaching the lost. Every bit of evidence in the Bible suggests that the apostles resorted to topical preaching and teaching to reach the lost. That is, they dealt with topics and subjects that were especially appropriate for the unsaved, rather than teaching them in a verse-by-verse fashion as is so often the case today. So now, with this command, the apostles have their marching orders.

Our text closes with a commitment:

20b ... and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Understand that this Commission the Lord Jesus charged the apostles with was a great honor, an awesome responsibility, a profoundly dangerous mission, and an unimaginably inconvenient task. When Simon Peter’s kids got sick his wife would have to stay home with them. In order to reach the lost they even had to give up their weekly dinner at the restaurant, their round of golf, and time on the play station. There were occasions when the kids got to supper and bed a bit late. Excuse my sarcasm. The fact is, the Great Commission is a dangerous assignment. It sometimes leads to unparalleled dangers. All but one of the apostles would suffer martyrdom, and they would each suffer beatings, persecutions, and trials we can only begin to imagine. But they were unconcerned about those dangers and the obstacles they met along the way. And how were their fears allayed, their concerns put to rest? They had a commitment. Not that they were committed to the task, mind you. Though they certainly were committed. But they had a commitment from the Lord Jesus Christ that erased all concerns, that dispelled all doubts, that allayed all fears:

“and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

To which commitment, to which comfort of the soul, to which communion for their souls, Matthew comments, “Amen.” It was enough for him. It was enough for them all. It ought to be enough for you and me.

The Great Commission was given to eleven men. But those eleven men were joined by another 500 who assumed the responsibility and shouldered the task of collaborating with the eleven and following their lead. As time passed and the apostles were martyred and died the baton was passed on, not to individuals but to congregations. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and then pastors and teachers, Paul told the Ephesians.[6] And now, in our day, the task falls to us. The Commission is ours, but so is Christ’s commitment. Calvary Road Baptist Church is something more than 47 years old. Over that almost half-century, the ministry has experienced a significant transition that we’ve not yet completed.

It’s a transition away from Charles G. Finney’s approach to evangelism that has wrecked Baptist and Protestant Churches in the West and which left our own Church with an almost empty shell of a congregation populated by mostly lost Church members back in the day. We’ve seen numerous Church members and even those from outside our congregation come to Christ and experience the miracle of the new birth, though many are still unconverted. We’ve not yet arrived, and things have not always progressed smoothly, but God has given to us wonderful progress. To Him be the glory. Great things hath He done.

It’s now time for us to take to heart like we have never taken to heart before the Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are without doubt in the last days. Therefore, let us wipe the sleep from our eyes, splash the cool water of truth in our faces, and look about us. What do we see?

First, WE SEE OUR OBLIGATION

The obligation that rests upon us as Christians and as a Church can be summed up in two words, directive and debt.

The directive we are already aware of. It’s the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”

In Mark 16.15-16 we see,

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

In Luke 24.46-47 we read these words:

“Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

In John 15.16 we see an oft neglected version of the Great Commission, where Jesus said,

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

In Acts 1.8 we read the Great Commission yet again:

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Is it not evident that the Lord Jesus Christ wants this Commission we have been charged with tackled? Is there any doubt that the Gospel, which this Great Commission charges us with, speaks of the only solution for the need of the hour, the sinner’s need of a living Savior? This is reflected in the number of times and occasions in which the Great Commission was proclaimed by our Lord, in each of the Gospels and the book of Acts.

But it is not the directive alone that compels us to carry out the Great Commission. It is a duty as well. I read from Romans 1.14, where the Apostle Paul wrote of his compelling reason for involvement in the Great Commission:

“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.”

To be sure, Paul was a chosen vessel, a God-called apostle of Jesus Christ, created and saved specifically to labor in the Lord’s vineyard. But so are you and I. What moved Paul, however, was not only Christ’s directive but also his own duty. He who had been so poor had been made so rich by Christ. He who was so profoundly lost in his sins had been recreated to be so marvelously found in Christ. He who sins had so fouled was now so very clean by the blood of Christ that he was weighed down, not by Christ’s command, but by his own conscience, not by Christ’s directive, but by his own perception of the debt he owed to the unsaved. Should it not be the same with you? How is your obligation to serve God and bring sinners under the sound of the Gospel less than Peter’s, Paul’s, and John’s? How does Christ’s blood less cleanse you than they were? How are you any less a new creature in Christ than they were? And though they were given grace and gifts that you and I have not been given, our obligation is no less than theirs ... only the fruit we will produce as we labor for the Master. So, for reasons related to both Christ’s directive and our own perception of duty, the debt of obligation we have to reach the unreached, each of us needs to join with others here at Calvary Road Baptist Church as we work to bring the lost to Jesus Christ.

Second, When We Look, We See OUR OBJECTIVE

Two things:

First, what is an objective? An objective is a goal, something one’s efforts are designed to accomplish. Implicit in any objective is the requirement that your objective be within your power of determination. That is, I cannot reasonably establish an objective beyond my reach of accomplishment. Thus, I cannot set as my own objective something which only God can do. This doesn’t mean I can’t pray for it, or plead for it. It only means that if only God can do it then it is not a legitimate objective that my efforts are designed to accomplish.

Then, what is our objective? In First Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul reestablishes for the Corinthian congregation what their God-ordained objective ought to be, by showing them what his objective and Apollos’ objective in their midst had been:

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

Notice, from this passage, that Paul’s job was to plant the seed, while Apollos’ job was to water the seed. The seed is the Word of God, the Gospel. Paul first preached the Gospel to them, and Apollos came along later and preached. But who gave the increase? Who was responsible for people being saved? In verses 6 and 7, specific mention is made that “God gave the increase.” Getting people saved is not a valid objective for either a preacher or a Church member. Paul’s objective was to preach the Gospel. Apollos’ objective was to preach the Gospel. And God rewards Church members, as we see here, for accomplishing our objectives. Our objective as a Church, if we are to learn from Paul, is not to give the increase. That’s God’s prerogative that decisionists wickedly attempt to usurp.[7] But we recognize that our objective is to be a Gospel preaching Church and to work to get folks under the sound of the Gospel ... so the seed of the Word can be planted and watered. If you are working to achieve such an objective then God will bless and reward you. But if you do not participate in the achieving of this objective then you are in sin and God will not reward you.[8]

Finally, OUR OPPORTUNITY

We live during a critical time in human history. Do we not live in the last days? Do we not see end time scenarios unfolding? Is not the world a rapidly changing place? Is there not an acceleration in the rate that knowledge is being acquired, in the rate that technology is being advanced, in the rate that wickedness is assaulting? Let me ask you some things, my friend, concerning your service to Christ and our involvement as a Church in His cause: If not us, then who? And if not now, then when?

A critical time in history, we also live in a critical place in the world. The most important country in the world is the United States of America. No country has the cultural, or the economic, or the military clout this presently country has. But the most important state in the most important country in the world is California. Whether it be fads or finances, innovation or investment schemes, amusement or entertainment, California so obviously leads this country that no honest observer of the culture denies it. And yet, in this most important state in the most important country in the world there is a single city which dominates and overshadows all the others ... Los Angeles, where we live. If there is anywhere in the world where something needs to be done for God, if there is anywhere in the world where the Gospel needs to be firmly planted and watered, it’s here. Paul went to Rome, though there were Christians already there because he knew the importance of that city's spread of the Gospel. We see that reflected in his letter to the Romans. And there is a parallel with this monstrous city called LA. You and I and this Church are in a special place, with a special message.

Which makes us a significant ministry in God’s plan. There is no Gospel preaching Church which does not occupy a special place in God’s unfolding drama of redemption, but some ministries show promise of becoming more crucial in the realization of God’s plan than do other ministries. The Church in Ephesus was more significant than the Church in Hippo. The Church in Jerusalem was more significant than the Church in Wheeler, Texas. Our Church might be more significant than we realize. We are in a significant time. We are in a significant place. We do have a significant message. Will God choose to use us in a significant way? That’s His business. Our business is to meet our objectives, to execute as best we can the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have our marching orders. Those of us who were here last Sunday night were wonderfully challenged. Though the phrase was not voiced at the time, Brother Milton’s ministry is an outworking of the principle that “The light that shines farthest shines brightest at home.” Do you have lost loved ones? Consider that the most effective means for reaching those closest and dearest to you is by reaching out to those who are the farthest away and at present unknown to you. We have been challenged to step up. Let’s step up.

Little did he know, when he got on the plane twenty-two years ago, that Todd Beamer would make a mark on American history as a result of the choice he made about how he would die. Rather than sit back in his seat on that plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, he decided to act, he decided to do something. Somehow people found out what he did.[9]

He didn’t have a choice about dying or not dying. He did, however, have a choice about how he was going to die. And he died well. I suppose that as long as there are Americans there will be the cultural memory of 9/11 and a man on a plane who said to others who along with him refused to die passively at the hands of terrorists, “Let’s roll.”

The entire course of his life was summed up for others in his choice of how he would die. Let me tell you something, folks. You are dying. Right now, you are dying at a rate that is greater or less than those sitting next to you. You may be young or you may be old, but you are dying. You have no control over whether or not you will die. You will die. Make no mistake about that.

But how will you die? How you live the remainder of your life is how you will die. The eleven remaining apostles and the man later selected to replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle died right, preaching Christ, knowing that their Savior had made a commitment to them that He kept through all.

Jesus made that same commitment to you and me. So, let’s die right. Let’s live out the rest of our lives, heading toward eternity’s door, seeking to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.

__________

[1] 1 Corinthians 15.6

[2] Matthew 3.11-12; Acts 2.1-4

[3] 1 Corinthians 15.3-4

[4] 1 John 1.1-3

[5] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures In The New Testament, Vol I, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1930), pages 244-245.

[6] Ephesians 4.11-12

[7] Decisionists believe that a person is saved by coming forward, raising the hand, saying a prayer, believing a doctrine, making a Lordship commitment, or some other external, human act, which is taken as the equivalent to, and proof of, the miracle of inward conversion; they believe that a person is saved through the agency of a merely external decision; the belief that performing one of these human actions shows that a person is saved.

Conversion is the result of that work of the Holy Spirit which draws a lost sinner to Jesus Christ for justification and regeneration, and changes the sinner’s standing before God from lost to saved, imparting divine life to the depraved soul, thus producing a new direction in the life of the convert. The objective side of salvation is justification. The subjective side of salvation is regeneration. The result is conversion.

[8] Romans 14.10; 2 Corinthians 5.10

[9] https://www.history.com/videos/the-todd-beamer-story-lets-roll

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Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church