The Risen King’s Commission

You realise. So chapter 28, verse 16.

And of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

All right. Good morning, church. How are you all doing?

Good.

Good.

And hello to those part of our church who's also on holidays and watching YouTube.

Very welcome.

My name is Kelvin. For those that we haven't met, I'm Cindy's husband.

And Cindy's over there in the back.

And we are one of the helpers here at Grace Church.

Yeah, would you please bow with me as we come to God's Word?

Yeah, let's pray.

Yeah, Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that every year we get to have this special season to think about your Son.

Not that it should be done once a year, but it should be done every day.

But you really allow this to be something that we can just refocus.

Look at his birth.

And today, as we come to your Word and looking at how he has overcome death and has come to life,

the hope that brings and the purpose that brings for your world.

Lord, help us have open hearts and minds and hands and feet and just the whole of us that we can be open to you.

Please give your people the years to hear your Word and not mine.

And if there are anything, Lord, that are not pleasing that I speak, please forgive and please protect.

And all these things we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Yeah, so...

Yeah, I want to start with this little analogy, and that is whales.

Just as whales are made to live underwater, we are made to live under God, right?

We need whales to survive.

I mean, we need water to survive.

So when Adam and Eve went autonomous, which literally means self-rule, we as a race basically became beached whales.

We separated ourselves from our source of life and took the entire creation that God has put under us with it.

Although we might be loving it on the beach for a while, and I noticed last week many of us did,

soon we find ourselves struggling for breath, and eventually we all die, both physically and spiritually,

unless there is a plan of rescue.

The entire Old Testament shouts that God has a rescue plan.

Time after time, God promised Israel that he will send his anointed king, a Messiah,

a descendant from the line of David, to restore everything that is broken, including you and me.

And his plan is not just for Israel, but for all humanity.

The good news Matthew reported in this book called the Gospel of Matthew is that the promised king is here,

and his name is Jesus, which literally means Yahweh saves.

Israel should be the first to repent, followed by the rest of humanity,

because the kingdom of heaven is here.

But no matter how amazing and awesome this king's Jesus, his teaching and his miracles were,

Israel's leaders just wouldn't budge.

They took the good news as fake news,

and rejected Jesus as God's anointed king,

and he even killed him on the cross.

So imagine, you're one of the remaining 11 disciples.

You've been following Jesus for three whole years.

Your rabbi and friend has died,

but now he really came back to life.

You've seen him, you've touched him, you've eaten with him.

Incredible.

What question would you ask him if you were one of those disciples?

Here's the question the disciples, his disciples asked Jesus,

and we can see that in Acts 1.

What's happening with that kingdom God has promised Israel?

What's happening with that kingdom?

In other words, what is next, Lord?

Today, through Matthew 28, we will look at what's next with God's kingdom under three headings.

Authority, assignment, and assurance.

These are in your bulletin.

Let's hear them together, because we, the church, God's kingdom people,

can only make sense when we know who is in charge,

what Christ came for, and once done, and how.

Are we ready?

Yes?

All right.

Let's begin.

First, authority.

In Australia, people might debate who is the greatest cricketer there ever existed.

Right?

I don't know if you're Shane or Steve or whatever, you know.

I've got a book on some of them.

I've never read it yet.

Among the Jews, the supremacy of Moses' authority

was really not a subject of debate.

He was not only the lawgiver, but he was also the supreme judge.

His power, his authority, actually lasted for generations, even after he died.

So when God was preparing this guy Joshua to succeed Moses,

this actually became a bit of a problem.

In Numbers 27, and we printed that little snippet in your bulletin as well,

God had to tell Moses to do an in-person handover commissioning ceremony

in front of the entire nation of over a million people.

So imagine the MCG, right?

Filled with people.

I don't know how many of that.

Like all that people needs to come together and look at and see this ceremony.

Why?

Because God knew that unless he made it really very public,

this commissioning,

Israel would not obey Joshua when Moses was gone.

And part of the text is printed in the bulletin, so please check it out.

Fast forward to Jesus' time,

God actually gave some of the Jesus' disciples a preview

that Israel must start listening and submitting to Jesus, not Moses.

Do you remember that transfiguration story that we saw in Matthew 17?

They were on a high mountain.

Jesus was glowing like the sun in front of Peter, James, and John.

And then Moses and Elijah also appeared chatting with Jesus.

And of course, Peter was making a fool of himself.

And then God spoke through a bright shining cloud.

And what did God say?

This is my beloved son,

with whom I'm well pleased.

Listen to him.

Listen to him.

Who need to listen to Jesus here?

Surely, Peter, James, and John, right?

But wasn't Moses and Elijah also up on that mountain at that time?

Jesus is the one Israel must obey,

past, present, and future.

When Jesus summoned the eleven disciples up on the mountain

and said to them in Matthew 28,

all authorities on heaven and on earth has been given to me,

this is not like Jesus had some missing authority

and just picked up a new badge and said,

here you go, this is my new one.

Jesus was telling the eleven disciples

that they need to put some new glasses on, like I have,

and be able to see who is actually in charge all along.

Not Moses, for Jesus is the ultimate prophet.

Not Caiaphas, for Jesus is the ultimate high priest.

And definitely not Caesar or Herod,

because Jesus is the ultimate king.

As Christ's disciple, have we put on these new glasses on?

Does the way we spend our time, energy, and worries

reflect that Jesus is truly in charge?

Or are we letting our screens and our own desires take that place?

Another thing the eleven needed to learn

is that the kingdom of heaven is not exclusive to Israel.

In Matthew 10, Jesus did tell his disciples,

do not go to the Gentiles and Samaritans,

but go only to the Lord's sheep of Israel

to announce the kingdom of heaven.

Why?

Because God had different plans for different parts of Jesus' mission,

before and after his death and resurrection.

Do this before the cross and do this after the cross.

Plan was different.

Jesus was nailed as the king of the Jews,

but he rose as the king of heaven and earth.

From the highest to the lowest,

to the greatest to the nearest,

to the tiniest,

the nearest to the furthest,

from invisible to visible,

all things in the universe answers to Jesus.

Include those ones, those weird ones,

who do not like doughnuts.

That's me, by the way.

All authorities on heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus.

There is no exception.

That is the new perspective the 11 disciples needed.

But what's Jesus doing with all this massive power?

He says,

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.

With the greatest power ever that anyone had ever in the whole universe,

Jesus sends out his disciples,

not to start a global war,

but to all the people groups of all the world

to call them into his kingdom.

No one is excluded,

for God so loved the world of which all peoples are part of,

that he gave his only son.

Christ's disciples are not called to form an exclusive local club

with people who are just like them by their own initiatives.

They are commanded to make disciples of people regardless of their backgrounds,

wherever they are at.

That is how our risen king wants disciples to exercise his universal authority.

What a job it is.

Once upon a time,

there were three guys

who was on a game show interview,

and the first guy was asked,

Who do you work for?

And this guy dressed in this fancy black suit says,

I work for Elon Musk,

the richest man in the world.

And then he turned to the second guy

and says,

Hey, what do you do for a living?

And he says,

Oh, I work for Taylor Swift,

the most popular musician there is

over paper probably in all times.

And then the host turned to the third guy.

He says,

How about you, mate?

The guy stood tall and answered,

I'm a Christian.

I work for Jesus,

the most powerful person in the entire universe.

Jesus' disciples are divine, royal ambassadors,

representative servants of the highest king of heaven and earth,

not mere volunteers.

Their mission is to make disciples for the king.

And what is making disciples?

That brings us to our second point,

the assignment.

In God's kingdom context,

discipleship is not a course you finish,

it is a life you enter.

Verse 19 says this,

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.

Very familiar words, right?

For almost 40 years,

I've always thought,

when you baptize someone,

you have to call on the name of the Father,

the Son,

and the Spirit,

because that's what this verse says.

I was baptized that way,

and I've baptized people for years that way.

But having searched through the Bible recently,

I discovered that no one in the New Testament

actually used that wording

when they're baptizing people.

I'm not saying,

don't get me wrong,

I'm not saying this Trinitarian wording

so many churches have been using

for God knows how many years is wrong.

But if you look at Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

8,

10,

and 19,

where people were all baptized,

they were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,

without mentioning the Father or the Holy Spirit.

When I saw this,

I was really struggling.

I had to go back to check again and again.

I did it over a month,

just to make sure I'm not seeing things wrongly.

And even more interestingly,

we go deeper into Acts 19,

and please take a look in your spare time.

In 19, Romans 6,

and Galatians 3,

they all say believers are baptized into Christ.

Not in Christ,

into Christ,

or into the name of Christ.

Which gives us kind of like a sense of a movement thing.

And when I looked at the Greek,

I don't really like Greek,

but I have to look at it.

That's what Jesus is saying here in Matthew 20, 18.

Baptizing them into the name of the Father,

and so on.

And some of you,

if you have an ESV Bible or other version,

it actually has a footnote saying,

you know,

all into kind of thing.

So what does that mean,

into the name of the Father?

To baptize someone,

and many of us already know,

what is it?

It is to wash,

or to dip,

or to dunk,

or to plunge,

you know,

something into liquid.

You know,

hopefully it's clean water, right?

But into the name,

what's the technical phrase?

Like used in legal documents,

like John would love.

You know,

that signifies a transfer of ownership,

of allegiance,

or identity.

Like if I sold my car,

and I don't want to sell my car yet,

I need to go to Services New South Wales

and do what?

I need to transfer my car's name

into the name of the new owner.

So when Jesus told his disciples

to baptize people

into the name of the Father,

of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit,

what's happening?

He's referring to lives

being transferred,

being plunged

into God's new ownership.

Not so much about the ritual,

or the ceremony,

which other verses actually

talks about in the Bible.

Romans 6 says that

we are baptized

into Christ's death,

and resurrection,

with the new purpose

of living a new life.

Matthew 28 says,

discipleship is a complete transfer

of identity,

ownership,

and new relationship.

These are overlapping

biblical truths.

They don't conflict,

but with different emphasis.

Or emphasis?

Emphasis.

But why Father,

Son,

and Spirit?

Why didn't Jesus just say God?

Well,

some of our brothers

sitting up the back there

actually reminded me last week,

salvation is indeed

from the Father,

through the Son,

by the Holy Spirit.

One God,

three persons.

Being co-equal,

they coexist

in self-giving love

centered on,

not themselves,

but the other person

in the Trinity.

Some Christian authors

have described the Trinity

as like a three-people dance.

No one ever claims

the center.

They're just dancing

around each other.

Is it like a bush dance

kind of thing?

Yeah,

a little bit like that.

The Father and Son

and Holy Spirit

would never say,

I'm here,

you go around me.

No.

So,

this is basically

what the disciples'

new life is,

centered on God

and others,

which is pretty much

the opposite

of autonomy,

separation,

and death.

being baptized

into our new identity

and life with God

then is being transferred

into God's

own divine community,

the Trinity,

Father,

Son,

and Spirit.

1 John 1 says

that the apostles

were the first

to enter

into this divine community

or dance

or fellowship.

Then,

the church

follows them

into this same

community.

being immersed

into community

with our real

source of life

is the essence

of Christian discipleship

and kingdom citizenship.

With the new identity

comes a new way

of living.

So,

how?

Our Savior King

says this in verse 20,

teaching them

to observe

all that I have

commanded you.

Although disciples

are 100% God-made,

who are plunged

into their new kingdom

identity,

sorry,

although disciples

are 100% God-made,

all who are plunged

into their new kingdom

identity

need to be taught.

To our westernized minds,

it sounds like

endless lectures,

sermons,

and Bible studies.

All that I have commanded you,

that's what Jesus said,

also sounds like

mission impossible,

doesn't it?

Who on earth

can remember

all that Jesus

has ever commanded?

If we teach

or learn

Christ's commands

by just listening

and reading,

some studies

have shown,

and all you teachers

out there

can correct me,

that our retention rate

is about 5% to 10%.

Just sitting there

listening,

listening,

that's 5%.

So,

by the end of today's sermon,

that's what you're going to get,

5%.

Not so great.

But,

if you're part of a small group

and engage in a group discussion,

what happens?

Retention rate would go up

to how much?

What's it, Alex?

6%.

Oh, dear.

Mate,

you're killing me here.

Well,

the study that I looked at

by the NTL.org,

no,

says it actually can go up

to 30% to 50%.

It's a lot better,

isn't it?

5%,

you know,

30%,

you know.

But still not great,

right?

Who wants a 50% ATAR

if you're doing your HSC,

right?

But,

if we do what Jesus did

with his disciples,

okay,

so,

besides teaching them,

a lot of teaching,

you know,

there are five big chunks

of teaching in Matthew,

he also taught through

practical training,

sending them out,

and then maybe,

you know,

coaching them afterwards.

Studies have shown

that retention rates

can go up

to how much, Alex?

That's good,

right?

He gave up.

Yeah,

80% or 90%.

But,

if you actually go do it,

you know,

try it out,

do it,

it goes up a lot.

You know,

that's how you,

oh,

this past is amazing,

you know,

how can they remember so much?

Because they actually do it,

I mean,

you know,

and not just pastors.

Many,

many godly Christians,

like,

you know what John Patterson says,

good Protestants out there,

you know.

It's,

you know,

it's great.

It can't go up.

So,

in Jesus' culture,

once a disciple

is accepted by the rabbi,

he would follow the rabbi

everywhere,

often without asking

the rabbi

where he's going.

You can see that

in Matthew 8,

19.

The disciple,

the usual disciple,

is the deepest desire,

is actually just to follow

the rabbi

so closely

that he would become

like the teacher,

like a mini-me,

you know,

following around.

And Jesus says this

in Luke 6,

40 as well.

Jesus says,

a disciple

is not above his teacher,

that's the rabbi

or master

he's referring to,

but everyone

fully trained

will be like

his teacher.

So,

a disciple

would rarely

leave his rabbi's side

because they don't

want to miss out

copying his teacher.

They follow him

everywhere

and they copy

everything they do,

the way they drink tea

and whatnot,

you know,

that's what they do.

And that's why

when Jesus

walked on water,

what did people do?

Peter do?

You know,

he had a bit of a FOMO,

you know,

like a fear of missing out moment,

you know,

so he tried copying Jesus,

you know,

oh,

you walk,

I walk,

you jump,

I jump,

you know,

that's what the disciple do.

Not because he was an idiot,

you know,

but that isn't just

the way,

you know,

the way of the old days,

you know,

nobody does that anymore,

you know,

it's an Israel thing,

you know,

it's like 2000 years ago,

how can we do it?

Life's busy here.

To become a qualified electrician

in New South Wales,

and we've got

a couple of them here,

where's Brendan?

I'm sweating.

Yeah.

In New South Wales,

to become a licensed electrician,

the current requirement says

you need to complete

an apprenticeship,

is that right?

Yeah.

Okay,

good.

It typically requires

about four years of training,

yeah,

roughly,

yeah,

and approximately 8,000 hours

of not lectures,

but supervised on the job

practical experience

alongside formal classroom trainings.

That's today in New South Wales.

Why so many hours

of practical training?

Well,

because this way,

hopefully,

we have more electricians

that can remember

and actually do,

you know,

what the law of physics

actually says,

and,

you know,

we have less dead electricians,

I guess.

The same way it goes

with Christian discipleship,

formation on top of information,

on-the-job training

and off-the-job training

are equally important.

Listening to God,

the gospel-centered preaching,

reading books

and study Bibles together

are all very,

very,

very good things.

We must do them

and continue to do them

with vigilance.

But the more we live out

Christ's commands together,

repenting,

forgiving,

seeking the fathers

in prayer together,

loving enemies together,

giving to the marginalized together,

calling the unreached

and sending out

the equipped together,

the more we become

like Christ.

Students,

disciples,

becoming our ultimate

rabbi,

Jesus.

Discipleship is not

a course we finish,

it is a life we enter.

So in Matthew 28,

our king has given

his authority,

has given us

his assignment,

but what can we,

but can we really do it?

That's where

our king's assurance,

our third

and final point

comes in.

In God's kingdom,

the king's assurance

is both mission

and also comfort.

Jesus says,

and behold,

I am with you always

to the end

of the age.

That's in verse 20.

This is not

a rugby coach

giving his team

a pep talk

before a big game.

Go get them,

boys,

you got this.

This is not

what it is.

This is our king

declaring to his

first kingdom people,

look,

I'm here,

I got your back.

Christ has

all the authority,

wants people

of all backgrounds

discipled,

and has given

orders to get them

trained

to live according

to all his commands.

None of this

universal kingdom

mission depends

on our strength

or stamina.

Christ is the one

who works

through his people,

and it says here,

always,

which is translated

from the Greek,

all the days.

all day,

every day.

There was an ad

called Hayong Day,

actually.

Always.

Jesus never calls

in sick.

He doesn't even

pretend to work

from home.

Though our king

has surely

ascended physically,

his spirit

remains present

in us,

in the church,

individually,

collectively,

and we

are his kingdom

people.

The king

is really here.

When Jesus says,

I'm with you always,

he means

every ordinary,

messy,

fearful,

painful,

but also

hopeful day.

This matters

because human effort

alone

can only produce

hype,

not fruit.

When the right skills,

with the right skills

and the right charisma,

you can easily

fill a stadium

with cheers,

with tears,

with applause,

and even sinners'

prayers.

But unless Jesus

is present,

doing all the inner work,

the seed

can just

not grow.

when Jesus

said to his disciples

in John 15,

apart from me,

you can do nothing,

it was not a threat,

that is the gospel's

realism.

Discipleship

is not an

eight-week course.

It is the spirit

of Jesus

forming kingdom

people

through his

kingdom people,

turning taught

truths

into transformed

hearts.

And don't miss

the death

of this promise.

When Jesus

says,

I am with you,

the words

is basically

Emmanuel,

God with us.

Matthew

begins

and ends

his good news

with that

awesome name.

Sin

had driven

God and humanity

apart.

Adam was

kicked out

of the garden,

the pillar of fire

in the wilderness

with Israel.

It was,

yes,

bright and warm

at night,

but it tells

Israel to keep

a distance.

Mount Sinai,

the big one,

became a kill

switch,

touch it

and you die.

The tabernacle

and the temple

invites Israel

to worship,

but massive

thick curtain

says keep up,

keep out,

holiness is inside.

Without Jesus,

there can be

no Emmanuel.

Because of

Jesus,

God is with us.

God says,

keep out.

With Jesus,

God says,

come in.

So the king's

assurance is both

commission

and also comfort.

Commission

because his mission

is not primarily

about our strength.

It's about

Christ's presence

working through us.

Comfort

because he draws

us in

and near

and we are

never sent

out alone.

Matthew 28,

17 says

that the

11 disciples

were doubting.

If you look at the verse,

it says

they were doubting.

What were they

doubting about?

They've seen the

recent Lord already.

Thomas has also

seen him

in the room.

So what are they

doubting?

Well,

the word also

translates to

hesitating.

They hesitated

in bowing down

to worship Jesus.

But our king

did not hesitate

to assign them

to his kingdom's

mission.

Jesus

is not

looking for

perfect Christians

to be rock stars

in his kingdom.

He's calling

for the weak,

the unworthy,

the broken

jars of

unclean clay

through which

his presence

and power

are revealed.

Authority,

assurance,

and assurance,

all these things

hold together.

Our king

rules,

our king

reigns,

our king

works

in and

through us.

Isn't he

wonderful?

Yes,

he's

wonderful.

Is there

anything

on earth

that is

more

purposeful?

Why are

we doom

scrolling?

Why are

we watching

Netflix?

It's okay,

actually.

Do a little

bit of

relaxation.

But it

kills a lot

of time

and a lot

of life.

How much

life have

you got?

I don't

know.

I often

say to my

wife,

if I die

next week,

here's the

bank account.

Get your

access.

Someone says,

if you lay

your life

out,

the number

of days

left on

a spreadsheet,

that thing

called Excel

or Google

sheet,

whatever,

and all

the boxes,

there's actually

not that many

boxes left.

You can

actually see

it.

We are

very,

very

incredibly

privileged

to be

called

to become

a royal

ambassador

for him.

Very

privileged.

And so

this week,

I want us

to ask

ourselves

and also

ask God,

what small

step can

I take

to enjoy

more of

him and

his presence

first,

and then

be sent

to do

his kingdom

work right

here or

wherever he

wants us

to go?

The question

is not,

hey God,

I'm great

at this,

would you

send me?

No,

don't ask that

question.

It's like,

Lord,

my hands

and feet

and arms

and hearts

are open.

Would you

please send

me?

Just

whatever you

want us

to do,

give me the

spirit,

give me the

skill,

I've got

your word,

I've got

everything I

need.

Let's

pray.

O

King

Jesus,

may your

authority

reorder

our

loyalties,

your

assignment

shapes

our

priorities,

and your

assurance

gives us

comfort and

courage to

serve you

and obey

you every

single day

and every

single moment.

Amen.

Yeah.