Sunday, February 3, 2013
am
THE LIFE OF JESUS (45)
The Great Commission & Ascension
We are finally brining out study of the life of Jesus to it’s
conclusion. Over the past
two years we have examined various aspects of the life of Jesus from His
birth to His death and resurrection.
It is my hope that in this study we have gained a better
appreciation for the way He lived and what He has done for us.
Truly His example is worthy of imitation and His life is the
source of our hope.
In our lesson today we want to discuss the final event in the
life of Jesus. His Ascension
back to heaven and His final words to His disciples.
WE sometimes call this the great commission.
a.
Recorded in the first 3
gospels Jesus commissions the 12 to carry on His work.
As I read the above texts, I am not certain whether the
commission was given only as He was about to ascend to heaven or as He
appeared to the eleven the week after His resurrection.
I am inclined to believe that Jesus spoke to them on BOTH
occasions. A message of this
importance would warrant more than a single occasion.
Furthermore, this provides another explanation for the difference
in wording in the various accounts.
b.
The account:
After appearing to the 11 on the 8th day, Luke 24:44 begins,
“THEN He said to them.” Mark
16:14 speaks of Jesus appearing to the eleven “as they sat at the table”
and rebuked their unbelief because they did not believe those who has
seen Him after He had risen.
Vs. 15 says, “AND He said to them…”
The wording of these texts could be a reference to that occasion
OR some point later.
This is followed by instructions that are associated with what we
sometimes describe as the Great Commission.
Luke 24:44-45 finds Jesus
opening their understanding of
the scriptures so that they could comprehend.
He tells them, “These are
the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all
things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
This is a good passage to show how Jesus after He arose
demonstrated how He fulfilled prophecies from every part of the Old Law
(as Jews divided their scriptures).
We then find Jesus opening their understanding and we have
recorded Luke’s account of the Great Commission, saying “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (24:46-48)
Mark 16:15-16
gives the Great Commission in a summary.
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
HE who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does
not believe will be condemned.”
Following this He speaks of signs that would follow their
teachings – casting out
demons, speaking in tongues, taking up serpents and healing the sick.
Matthew 28:16-20
finds Jesus in
Galilee at a mountain He specified.
This is NOT the Mount of Olives from which He would ascend.
Some believe this was the occasion that Paul mentions in 1 Cor.
15:6 where Jesus appeared to more than 500 at one time.
On that occasion, Jesus came and spoke with them.
We have Matthew’s account of the great commission - “All
authority is given to Me in heaven and on earth.
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 things that I have commanded you;
And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Acts 1:4-7 finds Jesus back in Judea and about to ascend to heaven.
Luke tells us that Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for
the Promise of the Father, the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” (Ac. 1:5).
Still not fully enlightened they ask Jesus if He would at that
time restore the kingdom to Israel.
Jesus responds for them to go to Jerusalem and wait.
He also says, “But you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to
the end of the earth.” (Ac. 1:8)
This is a described as some as a brief outline of the book of
Acts. It is also a final,
mild form of the Great Commission.
c.
The great commission.
i.
Why is it called the Great Commission? Because it
is the call to take the gospel to all the world.
The execution of this command had
a direct bearing on the success and survival of the Lord’s church in the
first century. Furthermore,
it has a direct bearing on the success and survival of the Lord’s church
TODAY!
The immediate texts we have examined were directed primarily to the
apostles, but does it apply to us?
I am convinced that it does.
The preaching of the gospel began with the apostles on Pentecost and
following, but they could NOT take to the whole world by themselves.
Acts 8:4 tells us that after persecutions grew intense in
Jerusalem that the disciples were scattered and “went
everywhere preaching the word.”
They took the gospel with them and we have many examples of that
in Acts and other places (including Philip in Samaria – Ac. 8 and with
the Eunuch). In 2 Tim. 2:2
Paul told Timothy to take his message and commit it to others who would
teach others – 4 generations of teaching.
That’s how the gospel spread in the first century – without
electronic media, computers or our modern transportation.
Colossians 1:23 speaks of the gospel having been preached “To every creature under heaven.”
This happened in about 30 years (Colossians believed to have been
written around 60 AD). The
ONLY way that could be accomplished would be for the disciples to “go
therefore and make disciples” (BTW, what is a disciple?
A learner who seeks to imitate his master – cf. Lk. 6:40) thus
fulfilling the great commission (cf. Rom. 10:13-17)
IT is a responsibility that each
of us has. May each of us
see this as part of our duty as His disciples.
ii.
What is the great commission?
1.
It is the command to Go
and preach
(Mk. 16:15) – Matt. 28:19 says “make
disciples of all nations.”
Luke 24:47 speaks of the message being “preached in His name to
all nations.” NOTE
that this is a call to ACTION!
From an authoritative standpoint, it is a command that specifies
doing something (i.e. NOT going would be to disobey this command).
2.
Preach What?
The gospel message (Mark 16:15).
The word gospel means “good news” and is the root word from which
the word “evangelist” is derived.
In the 3 accounts we find the following:
Matt. 28:19 – “Make disciples…baptizing them in the name of the Father…”
Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.”
Luke 24:47, “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached…”
All three are descriptive of how one gets into Christ – Acts 2:38, Gal.
3:27, etc.
OUR MESSAGE is to seek, teach and convert souls to Him.
3.
To whom?
Every creature (Mk. 16:15), “all nations” (Matt. 28:29, LK. 24:47).
In Acts 1:8 we find the prophetic description (and directive) of
how the gospel was taken to all nations.
While the message began with Jews in Jerusalem, in time it was
preached throughout the known world to all nations and peoples.
4.
Continued faithfulness
– Matt. 28:20 - teaching them to observe all things I have commanded
you. This was more than a
one-time act. It was to be a
way of life which is implied in the term “disciple”.
The idea of observing all things commanded is not the need of
perfect knowledge, but an attitude that is always willing to learn and
to change when you do learn something that needs correction.
5.
For how long?
Until He returns, Matt. 28:20, “I am with you even to the end of
the age.” As long as this
world stands, it is our mission to continue the message that Jesus began
with His apostles. Can He count on us?
a.
The account: Jesus ascended back to heaven.
Matthew doesn’t record His ascension.
Mark 16:19-20 says after the Lord spoke to them He was received up into
heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
Luke 24:50-53 says He led them out as far as Bethany (near Jerusalem)
and having blessed them, He was carried up to heaven.
Acts 1:9-11 says Jesus was taken up in a cloud and received out of
sight. Vs. 12 tells us it
was at the Mount called Olivet (Mt. of Olives).
As the disciples looked toward the heavens as He ascended, two men stood
by in white apparel and said, “Men
of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so
come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
b.
Observations:
i.
What a privilege it must
have been for these chosen few to witness so much – 3 years of teaching
and wonderful works, seeing a terrible death and its victorious defeat,
and then to see Him as He is carried back to heaven with greater
understanding and hope and a real purpose for their lives.
ii.
His ascension – our
blessing! A few weeks
earlier Jesus told His disciples He had to go away for their benefit –
John 14:1-4 speaks of Jesus going to prepare a place for us and a
promise of a return.
Jn. 14:19-20, “A
little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see
Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know
that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
Jn. 16:7-8 “Nevertheless I tell
you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not
go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send
Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
These are just a sample of passages of hope associated with the
ascension of Jesus.
c.
Following His ascension, the disciples return to Jerusalem where they
praised God and waited for that which He had promised them.
It would come some 10 days later on the day of Pentecost.
I conclude this lesson
with John 21:25, “And there are
also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by
one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books
that would be written. Amen.” It
is my sincere hope that in studying the life of Jesus, we have a greater
appreciation of what He did for us and how following His example can
make us better. But that
will only happen if you in Him.
If you have never obeyed the gospel, do it today.
He did so much for you and me, what will you give Him in return?