Yesterday I tried to show that the Religious Leaders of the Jewish Nation insisted on lies being told. The opposite of lying is telling the truth. In speaking to and about the Religious Leaders, Jesus had this to say:
Jn 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
Not telling the truth means telling lies and Jesus implies telling lies is murder. The great lie that leads to murder is to deceive people about Jesus and send them to eternal hell and everlasting damnation. That is the murder of the soul! This was true of the Religious Leaders. They rejected Jesus. They lied about Him. They sent many of their people to hell through their lies and deceit. On the flip side we have Jesus saying …
1) Tell the truth. Tell people the Truth and get them into the sphere of eternal life!
Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I have written about this passage before … but it is necessary to mention this content often because our Lord died to save lost souls and He requires us His people speak His Gospel to all.
2) Jesus’ post resurrection address is proof of His resurrection! There are many post resurrection meetings that Jesus had. The Gospels record them. This is one that proves He is both alive and active in His final days of ministry upon the planet. Are you are a person who believes the Bible to be God’s inspired, inerrant and authoritative Word? Then you have all the evidence you need to convince yourself and others that Jesus rose from the dead. 2) Jesus’ disciples worshipped, though some doubted. In obedience to Jesus’ instruction and His reminder to the eleven through the angels via the women who visited the tomb, they proceed to Galilee, away from the Religious Leaders and further persecution. There they meet their LORD and worship Him.
3) Jesus claims sovereign power and authority. Remember that after His resurrection He is called Lord! Now He declares to the disciples that … All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. He is no longer bound to this earth. Everything He came here to do as God incarnate has been completed and now His eternal Lordship with all its powers, majesty and authority has been returned to Him. Sovereignly, now He is Lord, God, Almighty. Because of His meritorious accomplishments at Calvary and the Empty Tomb …
4) Jesus instructs His disciples to evangelize. Essentially His words are “Go tell!”
(1) Go to people. People are lost in sin and people need salvation which is only possible through His Gospel. But notice … discipleship now switches from the Jewish Nation to all nations. Remember the Chief Priests and Elders and how they rejected Jesus? They wanted nothing to do with Him. They killed Him. Whether they know it or not and whether they like it or not … God is no longer the God of Israel! The Jews are no longer His favored people. Now believers are His people. Now there is a new “race” … the Christian race. They are people from all countries and nations and ethnicities and cultures and languages. They are a New Creation … created in Christ Jesus. The Jews as a nation rejected Him. Yes, some did believe and many do today … but the greater portion did not and do not. Therefore God wrenched His Kingdom from them and bestowed it upon all who believe and follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior. So … the objective of going was to …
(2) Make disciples. The word “make” controls the sentence for the emphasis is to make disciples. Disciples are not born … they are made. How are they made? Disciples are made when people are told the Gospel message carefully, fully and clearly so that they understand its content. This is the most important aspect of evangelism. Too many go and share “a gospel” to get converts but when the “Gospel” is watered down, changed or made to suit the hearers it is no longer the Gospel! The Gospel’s ingredient must be …
(a) God is good and He created everything good and this included man.
(b) Man rebelled against God in the Garden. He sinned and his entire offspring inherited and inherits a sinful disposition. Man is bent towards sin. His bias is against God. He is a rebel. The consequences of such evil towards a good, holy God is enteral punishment in hell.
(c) But remember God is good. He loves “man” whom He created in His image and likeness, so He comes to this planet as God incarnate, born of a virgin so that the sinful disposition was not transferred to Him. He lives a perfect, righteous, holy life teaching the Truth about God and His requirements.
(d) He alone is the suitable sin offering because He is sinless.
(e) He stands in our place at the Cross as the substitute sacrifice. No other man could … but He the Godman could and did.
(f) He suffered the full wrath of God for the sin of everyone who believes unto salvation.
(g) He dies, shedding His pure Blood as the Lamb of God, acceptable, meeting the full legal requirements of God and appeasing God’s anger, diverting wrath intended for us.
(h) He rises on the third day as promised, taking back His life and guaranteeing all believers a resurrection from the dead and a life with Him is glory.
(i) Although that is the Gospel and although people hear it, it does not mean they are saved. To receive the Gospel means to do and fulfil certain Gospel Requirements …
(1) believe the Gospel message. To believe means to receive it as truth that you accept and stand by.
(2) Confess all known sin.
(3) Plead God’s pardon and forgiveness.
(4) Commit to a repentant lifestyle. Here lies the proof of true faith and commitment.
(5) Live under the reign and Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow we will cover the rest of these last two verses of Matthew. We will get to your part in telling but for now, ask yourself this challenging question … “Am I truly part of God’s Eternal Family through Jesus Christ’s substitutional and sacrificial death?”
Lord, I believe and I have surrendered through faith and repentance. Amen.