The Commission To Go

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing in Psalm 130,

in the Sing Psalms version, Psalm 130, page 173 of the psalm books.

We'll sing the whole of this psalm, Psalm 130.

Lord, from the depths I call to you, Lord, hear me from on high, and give attention to my voice

when I for mercy cry. Lord, in your presence who can stand if you our sins record?

But yet forgiveness is with you that we may fear you, Lord.

So we'll sing the whole of this psalm to God's praise. We stand to sing.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I quit my soul, wait for the Lord.

My hope is in His word.

For that the watch and wait for dawn, my soul is for the Lord.

Oh, it shall do your hope in God.

Our mercy is within.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Our gracious Father in heaven, we come anew before you this evening, thankful for these

words that we have sung, thankful that we are able to approach you, that we are able

to cry out to you as our Lord, our Lord, and as our God.

We thank you that as we sing from this psalm, we see the psalmist crying from the depths,

and sometimes that is our experience, Lord.

We feel that we are in the depths of life in so many different ways.

Yet we thank you, too, that there are so many other occasions when we are reminded that a

cry comes from on high, a cry comes from different circumstances.

When it's high or low, Lord, we thank you that you are the God who hears and is able to deal

with us according to all our different needs.

And we thank you that this psalm reminds us of one of our greatest needs, that we realize in these

words, O Lord, the depth of your love towards us, that you are a God with whom there is rich

forgiveness.

For forgiveness.

We thank you, Lord, that we could not stand in your presence if you did record our sins.

But forgiveness is with you, as the psalmist says.

And we thank you that we can wait upon you, that we can put our hope in your word, and that you are

our hope, that you are the one with whom there is full redemption.

These wonderful words, Lord, encourage our hearts and remind us of the need of coming back to you

again and again. For prayer is not offered once or even twice, but daily, Lord, as we come to you,

we come in prayer, we come in dependence upon you. We come thankful for the instructions to pray

and how your word guides us in our prayers. Even the Lord's prayer itself, as we have said it together

this morning, we thank you for the great instructions and truths that there are in that, how we are reminded

that we begin looking to you as our Father in heaven, and the privilege that we have to call you

by that name, the privilege that is ours to come and approach the creator of the heavens and the earth,

and yet to come and call you our Father. And we thank you, Lord, that it's a prayer that reminds us,

too, that our dependence is upon you for all things. Even when we feel that we can satisfy ourselves,

that we are a people who provide for ourselves in so many different ways. Even today, as we have

set our tables, as we have eaten our food, as we have enjoyed the comforts of our homes, as we have

been gathered together around your word and peace and security here, as we have enjoyed fellowship,

Lord, we can think that these are all of our own making. But yet, Lord, they are all from you.

They are all gifts from above, from the one who does not change. And so this evening, Lord, we come

with so much to be thankful for. We come to praise your name for your blessings to us, rich and new each

day. And we thank you for the blessings of this day as we have gathered in worship and as we continue

to worship you, that you are with us, for that is your promise. You have reminded us this morning,

Lord, of how you are one who calls our people, that although we might put out invites to come,

that you are the one who works, that apart from you we can do nothing. And so we pray and thank you

for the encouragements that we had this morning of seeing so many gathered here, young and old alike.

We thank you for all who came and pray, Lord, that the gospel will have borne fruit, even in the midst of it

all and bear fruit in the days and weeks and months ahead. We thank you for the promise that you are

building your church. And we pray, Lord, that we will see it in our midst here and throughout our lands.

And we thank you for the command that you give to us as a people. Even as we have come today and heard,

we are to be a people who go and tell. And this evening, as we come to your word, may you encourage

us in that. May you encourage us and strengthen us, Lord, as we seek to be salt and light in all the

different places that you place us. And as we go into this week, oh Lord, may you help us to be

courageous, to be bold, to be a people who bear your light to all around us. We pray and thank you

for opportunities that you give us, whether it's in the home and among our own families, something that

can be so difficult at times. And yet, Lord, we thank you that you promise to be with us in the workplace,

in schools, in our communities as we go about our day-to-day lives. Lord, we thank you for all we come

into contact with. And we pray, Lord, that as we talk about so many other things in life,

that we would be a people who talk about the gospel, who talk about your goodness to us, who talk about

the wonder of your truth, the wonder of your grace, your grace that we see all around us, that

grace that we see in creation and in the sky and in the universe around us, Lord. We marvel at so many

things. We marvel at the northern lights as we see them in the nighttime. We marvel at the beauty of

the sunshine and the creation all around us. And yet help us to see you in it. We thank you for these

grace, the grace that you give us in these things. But we pray too, Lord, that we would see your special

grace to us, the wonder of the grace that is salvation in Jesus Christ, a gift from God.

And as with any gift, Lord, that we would rejoice in and share with others, we pray that the gospel

would be something that we would share and share with all around us. We thank you for your spirit

who is with us to that end to help us and to be with us. We thank you for your word, how powerful it is.

It is described as a sword that is, the word is sharper than any two-edged sword and how it cuts into the

very core of our being. And we pray, Lord, that even tonight and each time we hear it, that your word

would not just brush over us, that it would not just go in one ear and out another, but that it would

resonate in our hearts and in our very being. That it would be a word that would give us assurance,

give us confidence, give us grace for each day, give us that conviction of sin, as it speaks of.

If we are away from you, Lord, if we have not yet trusted in you, that the arrows of your word would

pierce deeply, even this night, and to give us that conscience of our need of you and not put it off.

And so we pray, Lord, that you will be with us, that you will bless us in our time together,

bless us as a people, as a congregation here, as we commit one another into your hands.

In all our different needs, Lord, comfort those who mourn, be with those who are going through these

times of sorrow and sadness. Thankful for your promise as a great comfort to your people,

that you would be that. Remembering those who are in hospital, both locally and away from here as well,

we pray for your healing hand upon them, for your goodness to follow them. Thankful for recovery and

mental health for some and praying for others who are maybe waiting surgery or treatment. Lord,

we pray to surround each one in all their different needs. We commit our congregations to

you as well. We thank you for this time of communion season, and we pray that where your people are

gathered over this weekend and this evening hour, that you would have been pleased to be in their

midst to bless. We think of the congregation of North Tolstown, Shabbos and North Uist, as they have

gathered around your word this weekend and around the Lord's table. We pray for encouragement. We pray

for strengthening. We pray for blessing in the midst of it. We thank you too, Lord, for the upcoming

induction of the Reverend David Ferguson to North Uist. We pray for that coming in a fortnight's time.

We thank you for David and Catherine and the young Duncan. We pray for them, Lord, that they would

settle in well to their new home and surroundings and congregation, and that together, Lord, with the

congregation, you would use them, that you would bless them, that you would watch over them. We pray that,

Lord, for our church near and far. We thank you that you are one who blesses your church. We thank you that

when your truth is proclaimed, that it is mighty and powerful. And so we pray that to all ends of the earth,

even anew this night, that your word would go out with power, that we go out, Lord, to build up your people and

challenge those who are in darkness, that they would call them into your wonderful light. And so we pray, Lord,

for your kingdom to come with power. May you bless us as we continue in our worship this evening. May you

guide us as a people in the week ahead as we think of all the different activities going on. We thank you

for the Explorers Group as it resumes this week, both the young ones and the older ones. May you bless

them as they start once more in a new term. We pray, Lord, that we will see a time of real

encouragement among our young people. We thank you for the Big Questions Study Group to resume as well.

We pray for invitations to go out and for many to come, to come and have fellowship with one another

and to hear your word and to enjoy that time of growing in our knowledge and understanding of you.

So may you bless that. And may you bless the preaching of your word and our fellowship around it in all the

different ways. May you go before us now, Lord, in this week ahead. May you guide us and keep us,

draw us close to yourself, be our constant companion. And may you be the Lord who gives us

courage and boldness to stand up for truth and to honour you and to serve you with all of our hearts.

So hear our prayers, Lord, and go before us now,

pardoning all our sin as we ask it all in Jesus' name for the sake and glory. Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise this time in Psalm 71 in the Scottish Psalter.

Psalm 71. We'll sing from verse 14 down to verse 18.

Psalm 71 at verse 14, page 311 of the psalm books.

Singing at verse 14 there, we see in these words that hope that is in the Lord,

but I with expectation will hope continually, and yet with praises more and more I will thee magnify.

And then verse 16 speaks about going on constantly in the strength of the Lord,

which is what we need. And then verse 18, as we even go into old age,

that there is that hope and confidence that the Lord will not leave us.

So we sing from verse 14 to 18 to God's praise, and we stand to sing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll turn together to reading God's Word in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

I'm going to read the whole of this chapter.

Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

Find it around page 1006, the end of the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 28 at the beginning.

Now after the Sabbath, towards the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.

And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men.

But the angel said to the woman,

Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.

Come, see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.

Behold, he is going before you to Galilee.

There you will see him.

See, I have told you.

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.

Behold, Jesus met them and said, Greetings.

And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him.

Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid.

Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place.

And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said,

Tell people, his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.

And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.

So they took the money and did as they were directed.

And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

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

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

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,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

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

Amen. And may God bless that reading from his word.

Before we come back to look at this passage, we're going to sing in Psalm 67.

In the Sing Psalms version, page 84 of the psalm book, Psalm 67, we'll sing the whole of this psalm.

God be merciful and bless us.

Shine upon us with your face, that the earth may know your actions and all lands your saving grace.

A psalm that reminds us of the power of God's word going out into the midst of all the nations and bearing fruit.

So we're going to sing the whole of this psalm, Psalm 67, page 84.

Stand to sing to God's praise.

Amen.

God be merciful and bless us, try not follow us with your grace,

and the earth may know your actions and all lands your saving grace.

O God, may the people praise you, may all people sing your praise.

Are you just the nation's justly, who they know every grace?

May they sing with joy and gladness, may they all rejoice as one.

O God, may the people praise you, as they all unite in song.

Then the land will yield its harvest, God will pour his gifts abroad.

God and God will surely bless us, all the earth will fear our God.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

We can turn back together to our reading in Matthew 28.

We're going to read again at verse 19 to the end there, just these last two verses.

But the whole chapter is connected together.

You see it's split into three different sections in the Bibles.

Here you have the section verse 1 to 10 called the resurrection.

And then you have the report of the guard, verse 11 to 15.

And then the last section, the great commission, verse 16 to verse 20.

But I want us to see that the whole chapter is connected because what we have here is actually

not just one commission.

We have the great commission at the end.

But you have another commission that was given to the soldiers in verse 11 to 15.

15.

They were given a message to tell the people.

And the disciples, the church was given a message to tell the people.

But they're opposing messages.

And the messages are linked to the resurrection.

One message of the soldiers is telling people that his body was stolen away, that he is not

risen.

And the other message of the great commission is that he is risen and that he is with us.

So in verse 19, we read these words.

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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

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

When you have been to maybe the cinema or to a show, when you've seen something that leaves

you amazed and astonished, what do you do afterwards?

Do you just forget about it?

And you go on in the wake and maybe say nothing to anybody about it?

Or more likely, if you've seen something that's left you amazed and you think other people need

to see this, they need to go and see this or they need to hear this, you are going to talk

to others about it.

You're going to tell others about it.

Go and see it for yourselves.

That's what happens when something leaves you excited and amazed.

Go and see it for yourselves.

What about when we think of what we have called today, back to church Sunday?

Is that it?

Are we done?

Do we take the banner down that's up outside, put it away in the box and forget about it?

That's it.

We've done our duty.

Maybe until the next time.

Do we put the invitations away?

We don't have to give them out anymore for people to come to church.

Do we forget about these kinds of things?

Surely not.

And it shouldn't just be based around one Sunday that we're calling back to church Sunday.

It should be based around every time we meet together in this way of coming to worship God.

That we'll be astonished and amazed at what the word of God is saying to us.

Astonished and amazed by the love of God towards us.

Just like we saw with the prodigal son this morning.

That even though he had gone away from home, even though he had squandered everything that his father had given to him.

Yet still he was welcomed back.

It's astonishing.

It's astonishing to think of what God has done for us through Christ Jesus.

As we sang in Psalm 130.

As we think of the forgiveness of our sin.

Of the cost.

Of the price that has been paid.

Let us never lose our amazement and our wonder at that.

The wonder of having sat at the Lord's table last Sunday.

Of having remembered the Lord's death.

And the bread and the wine that we shared with one another.

As we partook in the Lord's supper.

Remembering his death.

Do we lose our wonder and amazement at that?

Every time we come and hear the gospel.

It should never leave us unmoved.

And yet we know ourselves.

Our hearts can be hard.

Our hearts can be cold.

But yet let us keep that fire in our hearts.

The joy of salvation as the psalmist calls it.

The one.

The two on the road to Emmaus.

Who say did not our hearts burn within us.

As he walked on the way.

As he opened up the scriptures to us.

They were amazed.

They were in wonder of what they were hearing.

And what it made them do was go and tell others.

So this morning we were looking at that idea of the invitation to come.

To come and hear of the wonder of all that God has done for us in Christ.

And we broke down the word come in each letter.

Giving each letter a word of itself.

Come.

Christ offers me everything.

That's the invitation that we have in the gospel.

Tonight we're looking at it in another way now.

We're thinking of the go part.

We've come.

We've heard.

So what do we do with that now?

We go.

We are to go and tell others.

To share with others the wonder of this news.

And I want to break go into two words by itself as well.

And take the letter G and the letter O.

And it's great opportunities.

Great opportunities.

We are to go because there are great opportunities around us.

Because there are people all around us.

And that's the wonder of what we see here in this closing chapter of Matthew's gospel.

We see the Lord Jesus giving this commission to the disciples, to the church.

That we are to be a people who go.

And why do we go?

We go because there's others who are going into the world and telling people lies.

That's what we see in the report of the guard in verse 11 to verse 15.

And it says in verse 15, they took the money and did as they were directed.

They told lies.

They told a false story.

And it says, and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

In the days of the gospel being written, maybe about 20 years after the event.

But even to this day, this same story is still being spread among people.

But Jesus is not real.

That he never rose from the dead.

That the resurrection was just some kind of made up story.

They're saying others are telling the lies.

We have the truth.

The truth is they stole his body.

But Jesus is risen.

That's what we see in the account of the resurrection.

And you can almost say that there's a commission already being given before these two.

In verse 7 of this chapter, when Jesus met with a woman at the tomb, he says,

Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.

And behold, he is going before you to Galilee.

So there's already been this commission given to them.

You go and tell the disciples he has risen.

He has risen from the dead.

And he is going before you into Galilee.

And then you come into the contrasting commissions as we see them in these next two sections.

And so we're going to think about these things this evening together.

When Jesus spoke these words at the end of chapter 28 to the disciples,

He was speaking directly to them, but also indirectly to us as we have it through his word.

He was giving the church our marching orders.

Even though he was going away to be with the Father.

He says at the end of this chapter, I am going to be with you always.

Through his spirit he is with us even to the end of the age.

And that's what these disciples knew in their own ministry.

And that's what we know with us today as well.

There is this powerful message.

It's a message that the world needs to hear.

It's a message that as you were to go into the book of Acts,

which follows the gospel accounts,

the acts of the apostles as the church began to go out

and to be the witnesses of Jesus beginning in Jerusalem to Judea

and to all the ends of the earth.

There was this promise that he was with them.

And it says in Acts chapter 17 verse 6,

Acts 17:6

the effect of this message of this gospel was turning the world upside down.

There was a power in this message.

And it's a power that is still there today

because he has all authority on earth and in heaven

has been given to our Lord Jesus.

He has all power.

And so he gave this great commission.

In the midst of the lies that were being spread,

there is a commission to the church.

But it can easily turn into the great omission.

The part that we forget about.

The part that we neglect.

The part that goes undone.

And so as we think of ourselves here today,

as we have had this back to church Sunday,

as we've come,

we are to remember to not to neglect

our commission going forward.

It's not job done.

That's not the end of the matter.

Because there are still souls all around us

who need to hear the gospel.

So we don't leave it neglected.

We come and we go.

Because there's great opportunities all around us.

Somebody once described it in this way,

how the church has almost gone backwards

over the generations.

It said,

instead of taking the gospel to all the ends of the earth

as the Lord commanded,

the modern church won't even take the gospel

to the end of the street.

That's a sad reflection on us

if that was true of us.

That we wouldn't be a people

who are reminded and remember

that this is our commission.

That this is our duty,

our command as a church

to be a people who go.

Salvation belongs to God.

But God has entrusted his church,

his people,

with taking this message

to all the ends of the earth.

So just three things we want to take

from this portion tonight.

I want us to see,

first of all,

the contrasting commissions.

There's a contrast between the guards

and the disciples

and what they are told to do.

And then there's the courage

that's required.

And then finally we'll see

the confident trust

that we need to have as well.

So first of all,

there's contrasting commissions.

We see this, as I say,

between the guards

and the disciples

and what they were told to do.

And it's a powerful reminder

to us of the world

that we still live in.

You see,

when Jesus had risen

from the grave,

not everybody believed

and even wanted to believe

that this was true.

And the soldiers,

the guards

and the chief priests

who had heard of this,

they assembled,

it says in verse 12,

with the elders

and taking counsel

and they gave sufficient

sum of money

to the soldiers

and said,

tell people.

His disciples

came by night

and stole them away

while we were asleep.

So they are given

this commission.

This is their commission

given from their supervisors,

their managers,

if you like,

the ones who are over them.

tell people.

And really,

that's what this world does.

The world is always

telling us a message.

The case is,

who do we believe?

The soldiers,

we're told,

tell the people

that the disciples came

and stole his body away.

In other words,

he's not alive,

he's dead.

And they stole the body.

And that's what the world

believes to this day,

that Jesus may have been

a man who lived

in this world,

but he's dead.

It's got no meaning

for us now.

So this is their commission.

But the disciples

have a very different commission.

And when they had gone

to Galilee,

to the mountain

to which Jesus

had directed them,

they saw him.

Not a body.

They saw him.

They saw Jesus.

And they worshipped him.

And Jesus came

and said to them,

spoke these words to them,

all authority in heaven

and on earth

has been given to me.

Go,

therefore.

This is your message.

Go and tell the people

my message,

teaching them to observe

all that I have commanded you.

What a contrast.

A message that is meaningless

and hopeless.

Jesus is dead.

Or the message

of the power of the gospel

and the wonder

of a risen Savior.

When you look at

the soldiers here

who were given

this message,

tell the people

that the disciples

came and stole

away his body.

What hope is in that?

It's a bit like

an army commander,

one who was over

an army,

saying,

go to battle.

Go and fight.

Follow my commands.

So the order

has been given

from on high.

And yet,

instead of listening

to that,

the soldiers

in this battalion,

they listen to the cook.

He says,

I don't think

that's a good idea.

I think we should

just hold back.

Just stay where we are.

Don't want to listen

to the one who's over us.

Let's just do

our own thing.

Does that make sense?

It doesn't.

It would never happen.

It should never happen.

And yet,

that's what they are doing.

They are listening

to those who are over them

in worldly things.

And yet,

if they had listened

and seen

to what they had seen

and heard of the cross,

which many of them

would have observed,

even seeing,

perhaps,

the risen Lord,

they wouldn't have gone

in this way.

But they're blinded.

Just like the world

in which we live,

so much

of the messages

that we hear

are just blind.

They don't know

what they're telling us.

They don't know

what they're saying.

And yet,

so many

will listen.

There is this

hopeless commission

that they were given,

this foolish commission.

Tell the people

that he's dead.

It's just like

what Paul speaks

to the Romans.

And it goes on

down through

every generation.

It's the same thing.

They've exchanged

the truth about God

for a lie.

And worshipped

and served

the creature

rather than

the creator.

It's the ongoing battle.

It's a battle

that we are in.

As a church,

as a people,

we are in this

same battle

that people today

have exchanged

the truth of God

for a lie.

It's ongoing.

They believe it

to this day.

But yet,

what a contrast

we have

in the truth.

What a contrast

there is

in the fact

that Jesus

is risen.

He has been

crucified.

He was put

in the grave,

but he rose

from the grave.

That message

the woman

received

in verse 6

of this chapter

about the resurrection.

He is not here

for he has risen.

And as he said,

come,

see the place

where he lay.

Then go quickly

and tell his disciples

that he has risen

from the dead.

This brings excitement.

This brings,

yes,

fear on one hand,

but joy

on the other.

As well,

the Lord

is risen.

risen.

And

he says

to them

in verse 10

there,

Jesus said,

don't be afraid.

Go and tell

my brothers

to go

to Galilee

and there

they will see me.

There's this

power in this

message.

He is risen.

The truth

is

that he

is risen.

And that's

what we need

to hold

onto.

And so

this is what

they are to

go

with.

What a

contrast

in these

messages.

And so

as Jesus

is saying,

go

therefore

into the

world,

making disciples

of all

nations.

He is saying,

keep going.

And as you

go,

share this

message

with others.

There are

plenty who

will tell

lies in

this world,

but you

have a

truth.

We have

a truth,

a wonderful

truth,

that he

is risen,

that he

is a

savior,

that he

is able

to forgive

our sins

and to

give us

hope of

eternal

life.

And we

are to

go into

the world

and tell

the people

all of

these

truths,

teaching

them to

observe

all that

I have

commanded

you.

All that

I have

commanded

you.

The only

way to

salvation

is through

faith in

him.

So,

we are

to be a

people

who go.

you

think of

the woman

of

Samaria

in

John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4,

who

met

Jesus

at

the

well

outside

the

town

by

herself.

Again,

someone

else

who

was

far

away

from

God

in

many

ways

and

cast

out

by

society

in

her

day.

And yet

Jesus

met

with

her.

And

she

met

with

the

Christ.

And

what

did

she

do?

She

went

to

the

town.

She

went

back

to

the

people.

People

who

had

shunned

her and

neglected

her and

said,

come,

come see

a man

who knows

everything

about me.

Could

this be

the

Christ?

She

came

to him

and she

went

to tell

others.

There was

an

opportunity

for her

to go

to them

and she

did.

And

Jesus,

as you

read in

this part

through the

Gospels,

he so

often

discipling

his

people

in

this

way

of

how

we

are

to

live.

Someone

has

described

the

book

of

the

Gospels

as

just

Jesus

discipling

his

church,

showing

us

how

we

are

to

live

and

how

we

are

to

behave

in

this

world.

And

he

often

gives

us

reminders

about

how

we

have

a

message

to

share

and

where

we

are

to

share

it.

Christ

met

unbelievers

where

they

were.

And

someone

has

gone

through

the

Gospels

and

counted

the

number

of

places

where

Jesus

met

with

individuals

or

with

people.

And

they

counted

132

contacts

Jesus

had

with

people.

And

where

were

they?

Where

were

the

places

that

Jesus

met

with

them?

Well,

they

broke

it

down

into

this

six

were

in

the

temple,

four

in

the

synagogues,

and

122

were

with

people

in

just

the

ordinary

place

of

life,

in

their

homes,

out

in

the

countryside,

down

by the

sea,

in

their

workplaces,

in

all of

these

kinds

of

places.

That

is

where

he

met.

122

of

the

132

occasions

recorded

in

the

scriptures

for

us.

He

met

with

them

in

the

ordinary

places.

And

there's

a

word

in

that

for

us,

that

as

we

have

this

commission

to

go

and

tell

and

to

tell

the

truth,

it's

for

everywhere

that

we

go,

in

the

ordinary

places

of

life,

so that

as

we

go

into

this

week

ahead,

that

we

are

to

go

because

there

are

great

opportunities

everywhere

we

go,

in

the

homes,

in

our

communities,

in

the

workplaces,

in

the

schools,

wherever

we

go,

that

is

our

field,

that

is

where

we

are,

that's

where

God

has

put

us,

and

we

have

this

truth,

and

we're

speaking

this

truth

in

the

midst

of

a

world

that

hears

the

lie

that

Jesus

is

dead.

So

we

have

contrasting

commissions.

The

second

thing we

see

here

is

something

we

so

often

need

as

well

as

the

courage

that

is

required.

When

you

look at

the

soldiers

here

as

they

were

given

this

lie

to

tell,

they

were

in

fear

for

their

lives.

They

were

afraid

of

what

might

happen

to

them

if

the

truth

got

out.

But

they

were

calmed

by

their

elders

who

said,

don't

worry,

in

verse

14,

if

this

comes

to

the

governor's

years,

we

will

satisfy

him

and

keep

you

out

of

trouble.

Yet

there

was

still

a

fear.

They

were

still

afraid

because

they

failed

in

their

duties.

And

if

they

were

found

out,

they

would

more

than

likely

be

put

to

death.

So

there

was

a

fear

in

them.

They

had

to

be

courageous

to

stand

up

for

a

lie.

But

what

about

the

disciples?

When

you

look

at

the

disciples,

they

were

afraid

of

failing

their

master.

What

kept

them

going

in

all

of

this

and

as

they

would

go

on

to

minister

for

the

Lord

throughout

their

lives

was

obedience

to

the

Lord.

Their

commission

was

dangerous.

Some

would

lose

their

lives

in

it,

but

yet

they

were

obedient.

They

went

on

courageous

in

the

Lord.

And

we

need

to

be

courageous

too.

We

need

to

be

courageous

ourselves.

We

need

to

remind

ourselves

of the

wonder

of

God

with

us.

So

that

as

we

go

we

have

this

promise

behold

I

am

with

you

always

to

the

end

of

the

age

to

the

very

end.

I

will

never

leave

you.

The

soldiers

they

couldn't

have

that

confidence.

They

couldn't

have

that

assurance

that

the

was

that

were

over

them

over

them.

If

news

comes

to

the

governor

they

said

we

will

satisfy

them.

Well

if

the

elders

were

in

fear

for

their

lives

they

wouldn't

have

protected

the

soldiers.

They

would

have

passed

the

buck

and

said

no

it's

their

fault

they

weren't

doing

their

duties.

So

the

soldiers

would

always

be

in

fear.

But

we

have

the

Lord

on

our

side.

We

have

the

Lord

with

us.

That

is

the

promise

that

he

gives

us.

If

you

look

at

verse

17

you

see

there

though

if

you

are

of

seven

some

worshipped

him

but

some

doubted.

And

you

think

but

yeah

look

even

the

disciples

here

they

weren't

courageous

they

weren't

bold

doubted

can also

be

translated

hesitated

and

it's

probably

closer

to the

right

word

they

hesitated

they

saw

Jesus

but

it was

almost

unbelievable

this

is the

one we

have

just

seen

crucified

this

is the

one

who

hung

on

the

tree

this

is the

one

whose

body

was

taken

down

and

placed

in

the

tomb

is

it

him

they

hesitated

they

were

unsure

but

only

for

a

time

and

who

wouldn't

be

in

many

ways

you

think

of

Thomas

how

he

would

say

well

I

will

believe

it

when

I

see

him

when

I

am

able

to

touch

him

and

put

my

hand

and

my

finger

in

the

hole

the

mark

on

his

hands

and

his

side

or

the

two

on

the

road

to

Amaze

who

were

downcast

they

were

just

dismayed

that

the

Lord

was

dead

that

he

was

gone

that

their

hope

was

all

but

gone

all

kinds

of

different

reactions

and yet

in

them

all

Jesus

gives

the

answer

to

Thomas

he

appears

to

him

Thomas

says

my

Lord

and

my

God

to

the

two

on

the

road

to

Amaze

he

comes

alongside

them

and

opens

up

the

scriptures

and

their

hearts

burn

within

them

there

is

that

assurance

there

is

that

confidence

he

is

with

them

with

the

woman

at

the

tomb

here

the

angel

appears

to

them

and

then

the

Lord

himself

appears

to

them

in

verse

9

he

met

them

and

said

greetings

they

came

up

and

took

hold

of

him

and

he

said

don't

be

afraid

there

is

this

wonderful

assurance

and

Jesus

is

always

giving

instruction

he

is

always

giving

guidance

you read

verse

16

there

and

it

just

seems

like

an

insignificant

little

verse

there

now

the

eleven

disciples

went

to

Galilee

to

the

mountain

which

Jesus

had

directed

them

and

yet

you

see

the

key

here

there

was

obedience

they

were

listening

all

along

in

chapter

26

verse

32

it

says

to

them

there

but

after

I

am

raised

up

I

will

go

before

you

to

Galilee

so

he's

told

them

even

before

the

crucifixion

after

I

am

raised

up

I

will

go

before

you

to

Galilee

and

then

in

verse

7

of

chapter

28

he

is

going

before

you

to

Galilee

there

you

will

see

him

and

then

in

verse

10

then

Jesus

said

to

them

do

not

be

afraid

go

and

tell

my

brothers

to

go

to

Galilee

oh

you see

it

a few

times

go

to

Galilee

there

you

went

to

Galilee

to

the

mountain

to

which

Jesus

had

directed

them

they

were

being

obedient

they

were

being

obedient

and

so

we

are

to

be

obedient