The Gospel According to Matthew - The Risen Christ and Mission of the Church [July 12, 2026].m4a

Thanks Kathleen. I thought it was really fun.

I can't think of the last time I went to a baseball

game. We have a baseball team right here in town.

The slogans that you guys came up with, we were

chatting about it a little bit ahead of time

because they are these like. Public service announcements

that all you have to do is sort of give a little

start to it and then everybody else can pretty

much pick it up I was asking the the group of

us that were here. I don't know about 30 minutes

beforehand About ones that they remember and

immediately Andy goes And then he was like, this

is your brain What's the rest? Any questions

which was Like the drug, Kayla and I were just

saying, the drug campaign in the 80s went hard,

right? Like, just say no. That's all you have

to do is just say no. But then this is your brain.

Just for context, for those of you who are like,

what happened just now when you guys all just

said that? There was like a guy, all he did was

come out with a frying pan. It was already heated

up. He said, this is your brain, right? It was

like, oh, the egg was your brain. This is your

brain. And then he craps it and puts it into

the frying pan, and it goes, shh. He's like,

this is your brain on drugs. And he throws it

on the counter. Any questions? Also, the other

one that I was thinking about was the milk campaign.

Not a brand. Just milk. Just milk. Which was

like we thought it was because like vitamin D

is gonna make our bones stronger It was like

no the farmers just really needed the dairy industry

to succeed and so They worked with the government

and then they were all of a sudden we were like

we all gotta drink milk That's what we got to

do guys and then those folks who have like dairy

intolerances are like So anyway, these are some

of the messaging campaigns. The question at first

is kind of like, oh, gosh. And then all of a

sudden once you get going, you're like, oh, I

got these, so many of them. So we'll get into

messaging in a little bit, but today is the series

end. This is the last Sunday in a three -month

series we've been doing on the Book of Matthew.

I love it when we can get into a whole book and

just spend time going right through it. We get

a full picture, which is how I encourage us to

engage with the Bible, reading full books, getting

full context, getting a full sense of a whole

picture. The Bible can feel very, well, fractured

if we're finding the verses that make us feel

good. or feel really nice for like whatever the

moment needs. And there is a place for that,

but if that's all we're doing, then the Bible's,

it's not gonna become the living word of God

in us. It's not gonna become something that helps

shape our worldview and helps form how we interact

with others and care for others and the compassion

that we have or the way that we understand the

bigger picture. And so getting to dig into the

whole book has been really good. And y 'all,

we've been on a journey. We have kind of crossed,

I mean, like every bridge you can cross. So quick

summary, we began this series back in April with

the start point of Jesus' public ministry in

Matthew 4, Jesus having just come out from his

40 days in the wilderness. We went on to visit

the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 and learned

who the blessed were in God's upside down kingdom.

Alex took us through passages in Matthew 6 and

reminded us that our service to the kingdom is

not performative, but is to be humble. In the

same chapter on another week, we talked about

investing in what matters in this life. Matthew

7 encouraged us that God is available to all.

Matthew 12 gave us time to reflect on the impact

our words have. In Matthew 14, we heard the story

of Jesus calling Peter out on the water, Jesus

knowing that if Peter kept his eyes on him, he

could meet him there. Matthew 16 reminded us

that following Christ will cost us something.

In Matthew 18, we stepped inside the parable

of the unmerciful servant and learned about grace.

Matthew 23 takes us into the beginning of Holy

Week and Jesus encountering those who would not

observe justice and mercy. We moved ahead to

chapter 25 to understand that caring for the

least of these is not an option. And in chapter

27, we find ourselves front row to the preparation

of and onto Christ's crucifixion. And though

we don't focus on it because we are a different

audience than the original and intended one,

what would have been present in all of these

passages throughout the whole gospel, is the

writer would have been sticking to a very specific

messaging. We've talked about this. We've reviewed

this a few times. This book is largely to a Jewish

audience. The book emphasizes that Jewish tradition

should not be lost in an increasingly gentile

church and presents Jesus as the Jewish messiah

who fulfills prophecies written in the Jewish

scriptures. However, It is also a book that consistently

conveys to its readers that Christ's message

of love is one that goes beyond the law that

the Jewish religious leaders love to not only

cling to but rule over others with. And it was

written for people who would have grown up hearing

the stories or come into communities of people

that potentially had firsthand accounts. But

there were now many who would have been second

and maybe even third generation followers of

Christ. And the firsthand account folks were

thinning out. And it was written for a church

that was getting more and more spread out at

a rapid, rapid pace. And it reached as far as

Rome and Carthage across the Mediterranean from

it. And potentially even as far east as India.

If you think about the Roman Empire, the groundwork

that was laid before it was Alexander the Great's

conquest. And it went as far west as Rome, as

Carthage, even close to Spain, and definitely

hit the western side of India. And so that was

the infrastructure in place for the spreading

of this message. The message, the movement having

followed well -established trade routes in the

well -developed empire, This would be like, just

to give you a sense of scope, traveling from

Washington D .C. to New Mexico or Nebraska or

going in the other direction imagining Jerusalem

was L .A. and Mumbai in India would be a city

on the east coast of the U .S. So what I'm saying

is it reached far at a time when a movement that

began in a small rural area of Palestine really

shouldn't have amounted to much more than a local

fandom. And the government certainly worked very

hard to keep it that way. And so, as far as movements

go, you're sort of in and even almost beyond

them before you're realizing there's something

here to hold onto. You don't always know, and

quite frequently you don't know, until you're

far down the line that something important is

happening. and something to maintain and manage.

And so Matthew had to get very specific things

distributed to very specific people before time

ran out to do it. And you know how quickly a

message can change from its original, right?

Did anyone grow up playing the game telephone?

I need six to eight volunteers. I'm not kidding,

come on up. I wanna show how this goes, yeah.

Adley Wallace, need a few more. Bradley. Kayla.

She doesn't even go to church here, guys, if

she's volunteering. Aw, look at this. Okay, this

is good. All right, so I need to not have my

mic on. Jake, can you mute my mic for a second?

Okay, not bad. Where can I find the squirrel?

That's what it was. So it didn't change too badly.

Thank you guys. But that's the idea of telephone,

right? There's sort of like a message that you're

like, what? I don't quite, I don't know if I

have all of that. And so when it gets passed

on to the next person, you might not remember

every detail or the syllable may not come across

as clearly as you had hoped. And eventually,

by the time it gets down the line, you're like,

that's not what I said. That was a weird interpretation.

And so this is, I mean, imagine this is like

a very micro scale, right, of how a message that

needs to go over a large range of space can potentially

change. So that is a challenge. Messages have

a way of getting out of hand quickly, right?

Also, this is just like a story because it's

really funny. You know when you're young, you

think lyrics of songs are something and then

they're definitely, you grow up and then you're

like, that's not it. One of my favorite ones

is there's a Barbra Streisand song that a friend

of mine and Cindy and Greg's If you grew up in

the 70s and 80s, you knew the song The Way We

Were. And so there's a line that goes, scattered

pictures can be beautiful and yet. And until

college, a friend of ours thought it was, cats

in pictures. And it is, I hope I never, ever

forget it. Like, when I am, If my mind leaves

me at some point in my life, I hope that that

stays in there somewhere. I really need it to.

But hearing things and carrying things, we just

aren't always great at capturing exactly what

that message was. And so as I said, messages,

they can just get out of hand quickly. Honestly,

if we had done the telephone game in the room,

like started over here and just sent it right

on across, it would have gotten chaotic. But

also it would have been really fascinating to

track how and where those changes occurred. Like

even if we sent like two different streams going,

like the front row and the back row, we would

have gotten something very different by the time

we got over here. And I think that that is, that's

a, way to think through, like this message going

from Jerusalem, and going east, and going west,

and going southwest, and going southeast, sorry

that's the reverse for you guys, this is northeast,

this is north, southwest, or southeast. So thinking

through how messages change, this was fraught

from the start, I think. And so I've been talking

a lot about Matthew's messaging here and the

challenge he had in making sure, like, OK, we've

got to capture this message now. It has to happen.

And this is the moment. We've got to have it.

But even by then, you're really fighting against

time. And it's. you're talking like 25 to 60

years of separation from the events of Jesus.

And so already you wonder how much of the message

did we, I mean, do we have everything? I believe

that we have what we need, but it is now that

we finally come to the messaging here in Matthew

28, we have come to the end of the gospel. We've

come to the end of what Matthew needs to tell

us. I think we can also safely say that we have

come in a very real way to the beginning as well.

So we're gonna read Matthew 28, 16 through 20.

Here at the house we have a tradition of standing

if you are able, but giving the scriptures our

full attention. So Matthew 28, 16 through 20.

If you're in the New Testament, it's the first

book and it's gonna be the very end of it before

you move on to... So Matthew 28, 16 through 20,

there are Bibles on the table. You can also use

your phone. It's not a very long verse. And I'm

reading from the New Revised Standard version,

updated edition. It says, now the 11 disciples

went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus

had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped

him or fell down before him. But they 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

the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them

to observe everything that I have commanded you.

And remember, I am with you always to the very

end of the age. God, I pray that these words

settle deeply into our hearts. That they become

not just truth to whole, but truth that leads

us, encourages us, challenges us, and sends us

forward. That we would open our ears, that our

ears would be open, that our hearts would be

open, that our eyes would be open to what it

is that you have for us. And that. As individuals

and as a community, we would respond with open

hearts. I pray this in your name. Amen. Maybe

seated. So if you've been around the church,

not just this church, but the church for a while,

you might know this passage as the Great Commission,

which is a 19th century tack on for a passage

that became. fuel for the modern global missions

movement and sent people from local churches

in order to fulfill the Great Commission But

let's be clear. It is not that it is part that

but it is not only that This call is for all

people who follow Jesus We're gonna go backwards

through this verse But I just want to say it's

kind of risky business to, on Jesus' part, to

simply just say go and tell. Because surely he

must have known how convoluted that message could

get in a short period of time. Surely he must

have known somewhere far ahead in the 20th century,

and I did say 20th century, I am referring to

the mid to late 1900s, someone would invent the

game telephone to illustrate this perfectly.

And yet, he entrusted this message. not to people

who would organize themselves really well and

have a highly detailed org chart and take really

good notes in the moment and get them distributed

to all related personnel by the end of the workday.

He entrusted this message to scrappy people and

rough people and the meek and those who were

going through some stuff. And he told them, bring

others along. Tell them, what you know about

me. Help them on the way. Talk about hope and

justice and mercy and faith. Help them when words

land hard and they injure and care for each other

when you're not doing well. Practice forgiveness

and turn from the things that are hurting others.

And when they go out from where you are, tell

them to keep the message going so that others

may know. And that could be a little irresponsible,

to just send people off with good news and hope

that it won't turn into something fluffy and

feel goody, or on the other end, ferocetical,

where it's like, this is how you have to live.

He didn't just give them a message and send them

on their way. At the end, it says, and remember,

I am with you always to the very end of the age.

He sent them off with him himself. And so, Bradley,

when you move in a few weeks, keep the message

with you. Keep what you experienced here and

take it with you to share. And Liam, when you

go to school in this fall, take the message with

you. It also has been shared and entrusted to

you to share with others. Take it with you where

you go. For those who still have vacations this

summer, Jesus goes with you, take the message

with you, share it, invite people to the message.

Jesus is with you. We all go together with him.

Jesus sent them off with himself. because the

key reality of why this message is so much more

than just good vibes and immaculate energy is

because it is rooted in a living Christ. It is

not a message of fandom where we all still get

together to obsess over and steep in the writings

of Mary Shelley, though I would be here for that.

It is a transforming message of life and hope

for all who hear it. to all that it has been

extended to. And it is sustained not by us, but

by the living Christ who sent us and lives within

that message. Which is greatly encouraging. These

decades after Jesus' resurrection were potent,

they were dense, but they were fragile. So many

things. could have snuffed this message out.

So many things tried. There were plenty of other

compelling ideas at the very least. For example,

there is a single sentence tucked in at the end

of the paragraph previous to this one at the

end of verses 11 through 15 in chapter 28. And

I want to note here that I think it is like really,

really, really important to keep at the forefront

of our minds, though it's already been implied,

the book of Matthew is not an account of things

happening in real time, right? We do often read

scripture as though we're dropping into the events

as they unfold, almost like we're watching a

movie. We are not. We are dropping into events

as they are remembered. And in this case, As

I said, anywhere from 25 to even maybe 60 years

after the event. And so for this passage, we're

dropping back into when the resurrected Jesus

shows up, we're remembering that, so that preceding

this, the Mary's head to the tomb, this is where

we are, understandably assuming to find a not

living Jesus. That would be reasonable. There

was an earthquake, which was not uncommon for

the area, except that it ended up coming complete

with an angel messenger. The one you seek is

not here. His appearance, it says, was like lightning,

and his clothing white as snow, and the guards

that were there shook and fell to the ground,

whereas the woman kept their chill. So picking

up at verse 11. Presumably after the guards have

picked themselves back up again and dusted themselves

off, it goes on to say, some of the guards went

into the city and told the chief priests everything

that had happened. After the priests had assembled

with the elders, they devised a plan to give

a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling

them, you must say, his disciples came by at

night and stole him away while we were asleep.

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,

in spite of what they saw, in spite of what they

knew. And the last sentence in this section says,

and this story is still told among the Judeans

to this day. The Judeans are the Jews. And so

it is part of the competing messaging. Keep the

Jews believing this is a hoax. Perpetuate the

message that this was all a sham. Jesus resurrected,

never happened. This was advantageous to the

authorities in Jerusalem to perpetuate this message.

But what I'm saying is, Matthew's relating events

to us in remembrance, but he just takes a quick

aside and says to his audience, by the way, this

is still a message that's occurring. 60 years

later, potentially. He all of a sudden just sort

of like steps out of the story and reminds them,

we still have this message in front of us. This

is still happening. And Matthew is saying, but

don't take it in. Don't believe it. Don't let

it change what you know to be true. And I think

what it comes down to for these OGs at the time

is like we can't let this message fade. I think

that that's what they were watching happening.

They were watching this message get integrated

and convoluted and changed, and they were like,

we can't let that happen. We need to address

this. We may not be ahead of it, but we can at

least maybe staunch some of it. We can't let

it drop out of sight. We can't let history or

competing ideas overwrite this. And so this is

where the final message in this book is really

important, because now that the church, at this

time of reading, is entirely decentralized, used

to be Jerusalem. That's where you knew your center

of spiritual worship was. So while the Jerusalem

church still held a foundational place of honor

in the early decades, Other regional epicenters

quickly developed in cities like Antioch, where

this gospel was likely written. It's in southern

Turkey and the border of Syria. Ephesus. Alexandria

and the northern coast of Egypt, where tradition

holds that Mark founded the church and led there.

And eventually Rome, which operated, these all

operated independently. People needed to know

how to go forward and what to do when Jesus had

not yet come back like how they thought he would.

You know, right after Jesus ascended into heaven,

the idea was, we're just gonna hang tight. And

he's coming back soon. He's coming back real

soon. And then the groceries have to get bought.

And the kids gotta go to school. And Jesus hasn't

come back yet. We got to figure out how to live.

In fact, we got to figure out how to do this

thing decades and decades out. What was it, he

said? What was it we're trying to remember? What

do we hold to? What are our tenets? What are

our core? What is it about Jesus that we need

to hold tightly to? People needed to know how

to go forward and what to do. when Jesus had

not yet come back, like how he thought he would,

goes on to say, baptizing them in the name of

the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. For

all new followers of Jesus, this is interesting

because again, if this is a Jewish audience,

the thing that identifies you, like specifically

if you're male, covenant with Abraham and God

was circumcision. And what Matthew is saying

is nothing about that. He's saying, you can go

and baptize people in the name of the Father

and the Son and the Holy Spirit. They would have

understood that only special people did this.

Only special people had disciples, learned or

sometimes crazy, like John the Baptist, who lived

out in the Forreston ate a lot of honey. Only

a certain people had disciples, not regular people.

And here, Matthew was saying, you are gonna go.

Jesus has told us, it's us. He's relaying. Jesus

has said, you will now go and baptize in the

name of the Father and Son and the Spirit. I

would also like to mention I find this very interesting.

This isn't just the first time this specific

statement is given, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

as far as how you baptize. It is the only time.

It is the only time in scripture that it is said,

baptize in the name of the Father and the Son

and the Holy Spirit. Not even Peter or Paul give

this full statement. Both of them talk about

being baptized, but they say just in the name

of Jesus. Matthew is doing something unique here.

Matthew is highlighting that this is the way,

because not only is this Jesus the resurrected

Messiah that the Hebrew scriptures talked about,

again, he's always trying to speak to a Jewish

audience that may not have fully grasped this.

Not only is this the Jesus that, is the resurrected

Messiah that the Hebrew scriptures talked about,

but that Jesus is equal to the Father, and the

Spirit is equal to the Father and the Son. His

audience needed to hear this as loudly as it

could be said. This was unique. This was very

specific. The thing about this message is, or

this passage is most of us, if we've been around

the church for a minute, have heard this passage.

It is not, you could probably quote it, you learned

it at some point. It's very straightforward and

it is very simple. But having heard what we have

heard these last few months, we have now been,

I would say, differently equipped, we have been

built up, we have been challenged, we have been

reminded and we've been redirected. And we end

up here saying we are to make disciples. Us.

Not just the pastors or the elders, but we do

this. And I'm encouraged that it like, sure,

I went through special training to become a pastor.

That is what I did. but you don't have to go

to special training to be a follower of Jesus.

None of us do. We just get to follow Jesus. And

we just get to learn about him and tell others

what we know and share and then teach them along.

I've taught piano lessons for 25 years, but I

love it when I try to encourage my students to

also teach lessons. And over the years, a number

of them have. But I've told them, you just have

to know one more thing than they know. Just one

more, right? Just each week, just know one more

thing than they know, and that's great. But I

think that's how it goes, too. When you disciple

somebody, that's like, you know, the rabbinical

tradition is, like, you have somebody who has

some knowledge, and then you have people that

follow along. And I'm not saying come up with

a fan base, guys. This is not what I'm looking

at. But I'm saying that's the idea. Just know

a little bit more along the journey. If you have

a little life experience, if you've known Jesus

for a little bit of time, just share them. Share

what you know with others, and then lead them

along. God is with you. Jesus walks with you.

This is not you, again, making your own fan club.

This is you sharing about the Jesus you walk

with, who is with you always to the very end

of the age, and sharing that Jesus with somebody

else. And then you walk along together. And then

you share what you know. And eventually somebody

else is sharing what they know with you. And

then you're like, oh, I'll come along with you.

That's how this works in the kingdom. And I love

that aspect of it. It is very ordinary people

based. What a good word for us. That Jesus is

with us to the very end of the age. We're not

doing this by ourselves. We're not meant to.

Heaven forbid we should. Heaven forbid we do,

right? But again, this message, this thing that

Jesus leaves us with, it is clear and understandable

in every era, in every context. There's a lot

of stuff in scripture that you're like, Well,

because we didn't live then, we don't know the

context of it. We don't get, and that is true.

I do encourage a lot of contextual understanding.

I encourage us to ask questions when the Bible

says something that we're like, I don't get it.

But this message in particular is very straightforward.

I think you could drop into any era in time,

any context, and I think it could make sense,

because it is that simple. And that is the last

thing Jesus left us with. is this really simple

message of sharing. Just share him. Just tell

others. Just let others know. Baptize them in

the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy

Spirit. Let them know that I am with them too

until the very end of the age. What a joyful

idea. I love that. So as we wrap this up, I don't

know. think about what that means for you. I

think for some that can feel like a very like,

oh gosh, you know, the idea of like this spiritual

life and helping others along feels very like

somebody else does that, that's not me. But I

think we've all certainly, we can all think of

opportunities that have come our way in which

sharing was in front of us to do. Whether you

did it or not is, I don't know, but like the

opportunities have certainly been there. And

I just want to encourage you to take heart, because

Jesus is with you. Jesus is with you. You just

get to talk about somebody you love, somebody

who's been good to you, somebody who's cared

for you. You can share about the way God's provided

for you or the way God's transformed you. There's

so much we get to say. There's so much we get

to share. And I rarely find when any of that

stuff is done with genuine love towards another

person, it is rarely met with hostility and grumpiness

when people are hearing. I think people like

hearing people talk about something they love.

And so the more you learn about Jesus and the

more you spend time with the Lord, I think that

that is something that comes out of us joyfully.

Let's take a moment to pray. We'll have an opportunity

during communion here in a moment to even think

further on these things, just in the quietness

of reflection, but let's pray together. Jesus,

thank you for your words that you shared with

us. I'm grateful that the last thing you said

was not complicated. It was very straightforward.

It was encouraging to know that you were with

us always. That's a great joy. Help us take heart

in that and be encouraged and lifted up and bolstered

by that. Help us be mindful too of what it might

mean to live in a way that recognizes that others

might be interested in coming along as well on

the journey. And how to be open to others learning

about you through us. and what that could look

like. It would be really special, Lord, to see

if this community alone grew simply because we

as a community understood, I just really love

Jesus and I just wanna talk about what I love

and who I love and the way God is always with

me. So for some of us, we may need new boldness

or bravery and courage, and I pray that you provide

that. I believe you will. You are with us always.

Some of us, our hearts need to be more open and

loving others big and more. But you are with

us always. If we are people who are, we just

tend to be quiet. Give us the words when we need

them, knowing that you are with us always. I

pray that your kingdom would be known and the

love that you have for others would be known

from the way you transform our hearts and our

minds and our whole selves. would be something

that we would be joyful about sharing. So yeah,

we ask for your help with these things, God.

Amen.