Matthew 28 – Sunday School Preacher

Christianity, religion, Sunday School, Sunday School Lesson

Sunday School Lesson (April 28, 2019) Call and Commissioning / Called To Make Disciples Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:6-8

April 23, 2019 Sunday School Preacher

Call and Commissioning / Called To Make Disciples

Hello Sunday school teachers, preachers, and learners! Welcome to SundaySchoolPreacher.com. In this week’s Lesson, we continue in Matthew where we left off last week and then transition to the Acts of the Apostles. Jesus has been resurrected, he has left the women along the road who were going to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee and Jesus and the disciples are now in Galilee. While in Galilee, Jesus appears to the eleven disciples and after all they have seen, heard, and experienced some still doubt. Jesus gives the great commission to the disciples essentially telling them that the Gospel message is not just for Israel, but for all the world. When the lesson transitions to Acts, the disciples want to know if Jesus will now restore the kingdom to Israel. Again, He points them not to a worldly kingdom but to be witnesses to all the world. Stay tuned to learn about our call and commissioning and how we are called to make disciples.

Background for today’s text begins with The Gospel according to Matthew and then transitions to The Acts of The Apostles:

This is the fifth week we’ve studied the Gospel According to Matthew. This week I’ll simply reinforce a few of the central themes to remember and then cover the background of Acts. Matthew is written about 70 A.D. after the fall of the temple. It is written to Jewish Christians who are struggling with their own identity. They are not accepted in the mainstream Jewish community because they believe in the divinity of Jesus. Matthew writes to reassure them of God’s plan and God’s place in their lives. While writing to this group of Jewish Christians, Matthew provides sacred hope and guidance to a marginalized community that is every bit relevant today as it was when written.

The New Interpreter’s Study Bible explains that The Acts of the Apostles “is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke and continues the narrative account of the early church”. The author is the same and Acts is written with similar theological themes, and style. Whereas Matthew is written primarily to Jewish Christians, Acts is written “to a mixed community of predominantly Gentile Christians about 80 and 85 A.D. shortly after the Gospel of Luke”. Additionally, “Luke, presumably a Gentile Christian, helps his readers to know how to remain faithful to tradition while reinterpreting it for their new circumstances”. So the book of Acts continues in this theme. Acts helps these mostly Gentile believers to both understand Jewish customs but also to know that they are not Jewish. Nor are they beholden to Jewish customs and tradition.

Review of Last Week and How it Connects to This Week:

Last week two women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, went to see the sepulcher where Jesus was supposed to be. We discussed that perhaps Matthew was trying to tell us that:

1. It is women who first acted on the belief of the resurrection.

2. It was women who first saw the risen savior.

3. It is women who first proclaim that Jesus was raised from the dead.

You may also recall that there was a great earthquake, the earth shook. And the Angel of the Lord certainly delivered earth shaking news. The angle rolled back the stone of the sepulcher and told the women “Don’t be afraid; I know that you’re looking for Jesus who was crucified. And then the angel delivers perhaps the greatest news of all time. “He’s not here; for he has been raised, as he said”. Then the Angel tells them to “go quickly and tell the disciples that he is risen from the dead; he will meet you in Galilee”. The women leave to proclaim the resurrection and as they went to tell his disciples, Jesus met them along the way. Jesus tells them again “go tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they shall see me”. We noted how Jesus calls the disciples his brethren. He calls them brethren even after they have denied, rejected and fled from him in his time of trouble.

Finally, the text describes how the priests attempt to cover up the resurrection of Jesus by bribing the guards to say his disciples stole the body while they slept. We discussed the two different messages that left the tomb. Boyd’s Commentary mentioned “The women with a message of hope and victory for the disciples, and the guards with a message of confusion and failure for the chief priests”. Then the women go forth proclaiming the victory of Jesus. He lives! This week we pick up where we left off in Matthew and continue into Acts 1. We explore the ideas of Call and Commissioning in Townsend Commentary and Boyd’s Commentary and Called to Make Disciples in Standard Commentary. The Scripture text comes from Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:6-8.

What Takes Place in This Passage:

Verse 16 The text begins in Matthew exactly where it ended last week. The resurrection of Jesus has just occurred and now the eleven disciples have gone away to Galilee. The scene begins with Jesus now in Galilee after the resurrection. Verse 17 tells us when they saw Jesus they worshipped him but some doubted. After all they had heard, seen, and experienced some of the disciples still doubted. I suppose that can be said of many people today. After all God has done in and with and through, and for us, some still doubt.

Verse 18 tells us Jesus spoke to them saying “all power (or all authority) in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. Townsend Commentary explains this term from power or authority means “the power of influence and the right of privilege”. In other words, Jesus has all the right, all the privilege, all the freedom and all the license to stand as God has given him victory over death. After his announcement Jesus gives them instructions. He begins by telling the disciples to go. And let me just interject here that God is a sending God. He tells the disciples to go. But not just to go, but to go and teach. The Savior, who was once called teacher, now sends his disciples to teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

This is the great commission. This is the commission that Jesus gives the disciples and that commission applies to all who call the name of Jesus as their Savior. Townsend Commentary tells us that it is “after the death and resurrection of Jesus that the limitation of the Gospel to Israel is removed. In other words, the good news is not just for Israel anymore. The direct commission is given to take the message of Jesus to all nations. Only Matthew records the command of Jesus for them to baptize”.

It’s also interesting to note that entire denominations have been started based on whether people baptize in the name of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes we can make mountains out of mole hills. Trinity I also want to highlight the fact that verse 19 is one of the few places in scripture where we see mentioned the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in the same place. While you won’t find this term in the protestant Bible, the doctrine of the Trinity refers to these three distinct personalities as the same person.

Verse 20 closes with Jesus reassuring the disciples that “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” That is perhaps the second greatest news of all time. Knowing that Jesus is present with us in good times and not so good times helps us to bear the burdens and trials and tribulations of life.

Our text then moves to Acts chapter one verse six. In this scene the disciples are gathered together and they ask Jesus “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel”. The disciples are envisioning Jesus on the throne much like King David reined on the throne about one thousand years earlier.

Jesus tells them in verse seven, “it is not for you to know the times or the dates the Father has set by his own authority”. So Jesus plainly tells them you don’t need to know. There are some things that we simply can’t know and some things we just don’t need to know. There are some things that God is going to handle in God’s own good time.

But Jesus doesn’t leave them there. In verse eight he tells them “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. Again, in the book of Acts we see Jesus is a sending God. He sends his disciples into the entire world to become witnesses of who Jesus was and what Jesus means to the world. Again, this is our mission today, to be witnesses for Jesus Christ in our everyday living.

Context:

A few weeks ago I mentioned how a few decades ago several truly amazing young men and women and I were commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the United States Army. We swore the oath of office to support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That commissioning oath was our fundamental baseline purpose. Everything we would do over the next years and decades would be tied to that oath. The last time I took the oath of office was for my promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. I’ve been retired over a decade now, but hearing the words of the oath still holds special meaning to me. In today’s text, Jesus gives his great commission to the disciples. He empowers them and he empowers us to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is our great commission and the words of the commission should hold special meaning to every Christian today.

Key Characters in the text:

Jesus Christ – Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and according to the Christian church the incarnate second Person of the Trinity. He was crucified on a cross and raised from the dead by the power of God (Acts 3:15; 13:30). His followers (Christians) worship him and seek to obey his will.

Key Words (not necessarily in the text, but good for discussion):

Missionary – One who is sent on a mission, usually by the church, with a focus on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in some way.

Trinity, Doctrine of the – The Christian church’s belief that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three Persons in one Godhead. They share the same essence or substance. Yet they are three “persons”. God is this way within the Godhead and as known in Christian experience.

The Great Commission – The command of Jesus to his disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel, as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20. While some scholars dispute its authenticity as being Jesus’ own utterance, the passage has served as a warrant for the church to spread the gospel and for Christian evangelism.

Themes, Topics, Discussion, or Sermon Preparation Ideas:

God is a sending God
When God sends you, God is with you

Questions:

1) Does the great commission apply to all Christians today?

2) Some of the disciples doubted after Jesus appeared to them in Galilee. Discuss why they might have doubted.

Concluding thought:

The great commission is a charge to every Christian to make disciples. One does not have to be a preacher to do this. In fact, many fathers and mothers have discipled their children and children’s friends for Jesus Christ. The points is, we all should go forth into our own communities and make disciples for Jesus. It is our job to teach and train the words of Christ. It is the Holy Spirits job to do the rest.

Preview of Next Week’s Lesson:

Next week we begin a four week study in the book of Romans. Jesus has now been resurrected and he has given us the great commission. Over the next four weeks we will explore the spread of the Gospel in relation to our own calling. We will hear a very familiar passage in Romans 3 verse 23. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”.

Christianity, religion, Sunday School Lesson

Sunday School Lesson (April 21, 2019) Called To Proclaim The Resurrection / Called To Believe The Resurrection Matthew 28:1-15

April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 Sunday School Preacher

Hello Sunday school teachers, preachers, and learners! Welcome to SundaySchoolPreacher.com. In this week’s Lesson, two women rise early in the morning to see the tomb of Jesus. They arrive at the tomb only to find an Angel who gives them what is perhaps the greatest news of all time

“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said”.

Certainly these women had heard Jesus talk about his resurrection on the third day. Perhaps Matthew is trying to tell us that:

1. It is women who first acted on the belief of the resurrection.

2. It was women who first saw the risen savior.

3. It is women who first proclaim that Jesus was raised from the dead.

After receiving instruction from the Angel to go tell the disciples, the women leave but meet Jesus on the way. The first Easter morning is certainly an exciting one for these women, who first received the message to go and tell that the Savior is risen. Stay tuned to learn how we are called to proclaim the Resurrection and called to believe the resurrection.

Background: The Gospel According to Matthew:

The New Interpreter’s Study Bible explains that “although the name Matthew is linked with this Gospel about 100 years after it was written, it is not known who the real author is, when the text was originally written, or why this work is named Matthew”. An illustrated biographical dictionary explains that “although Mark is the shortest Gospel, Matthew and Luke substantially use the same text as Mark but supplement it with additional writings”. In this 28^th chapter, Matthew is writing to Jewish Christians after the fall of the Temple. They need to be reassured of God’s plan for them. They have been in conflict with their Jewish siblings about the teachings and divinity of Jesus. The Jewish Temple is destroyed and they are a distinct people of God separate from the Jews with a completely separate mission. Their mission is to “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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. “Matthew 28:19-20)”. And that’s what Matthew does so well. He takes a marginalized people, a people who are oppressed by the government and even their own brothers and sisters in the faith and he reassures them of God’s plan and points them toward a mission to save the world.

Review of Last Week and How it Connects to This Week:

Last week we began with Jesus in Bethany about two miles from Jerusalem. He was at the home of Simon the Leper when an unnamed woman anointed him with very expensive ointment for his burial. His disciples are indignant that such expensive perfume has been used when it could have been sold and the money given to the poor. While this was happening the Jewish leaders were plotting to kill Jesus. Jesus once again has to plainly tell his disciples that he will be crucified and this act of love and devotion from the unnamed woman was because of his upcoming crucifixion. Because of this unnamed woman’s great devotion and love, Jesus proclaims that she will be remembered wherever his story is told.

On a separate note, last week was Holy Week for us. Holy Week started Sunday, April 14, 2019 and ended Saturday, April 20, 2019. In Holy Week we celebrated Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. It is the last week in Lent, commemorating the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. It begins with Palm Sunday and ends on Holy Saturday, prior to Easter. This week we continue with the theme of being called. This week our call is to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus and believe the resurrection of Jesus in our day to day living. Townsend and Boyd’s commentary title this week’s lesson Called To Proclaim The Resurrection. Standard Commentary titles it Called to Believe The Resurrection. The Scripture text comes from Matthew 28:1-15.

What takes place in this passage:

This text begins with two women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, walking to see the sepulcher where Jesus was supposed to be. Significant for many Christians is that this was the dawn of the first day of the week. Many Christians worship on Sunday because of the numerous accounts of important events on the first day of the week. Most important of which is the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week. I think it is also significant that women are the first to seek and to see Jesus. Matthew records that the women came to “see”. Mark records that the women brought spices to anoint the body of Jesus. Certainly these women had heard Jesus talk about his resurrection on the third day. Perhaps Matthew is trying to tell us that:

1. It is women who first acted on the belief of the resurrection

2. It was women who first saw the risen savior.

3. It is women who first proclaim that Jesus was raised from the dead.

There was a great earthquake, the earth shook. And this is certainly earth shaking news. The angle of the Lord rolls back the stone of the sepulcher and tells the women “Don’t be afraid; I know that you’re looking for Jesus who was crucified. He’s not here; for he has been raised, as he said”. Note that the Angle of the Lord ignores the guards and speaks directly to the women. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary have arrived at the burial place of Jesus and find an angel instead of the body of Jesus. And this angel of the Lord announces perhaps the greatest news of all time

“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said”.

Furthermore, the Angle of the Lord gives these women instructions for the disciples to follow. The Angel tells them to “go quickly and tell the disciples that he is risen from the dead; he will meet you in Galilee”. The women leave to proclaim the resurrection and as they went to tell his disciples, Jesus met them along the way. They women hold him by the feet. By holding his feet perhaps they are saying “we won’t lose you again”. But Jesus reassures them by saying “don’t be afraid; go tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they shall see me”. This is twice now the women have been told about meeting in Galilee so it’s significance should not be overlooked. Matthew 4:13 tells us Jesus made his home in Capernaum. Capernaum is a part of Galilee and Jesus would go back to his home district to meet the disciples after his resurrection. Note also that Jesus calls the disciples his brethren. He calls them brethren even after they have denied, rejected and fled from him in his time of trouble.

Finally, the text describes how the priests attempt to cover up the resurrection of Jesus by bribing the guards to say his disciples stole the body while they slept. Boyd’s Commentary describes two groups leaving the tomb. “The women have a message of hope and victory for the disciples, while the guards have a message of confusion and failure for the chief priests”. The Roman Empire has crucified Jesus. They thought they had solved their problem. The Jewish religious leaders conspired and plotted to kill him. They thought they had won. Yet these women go forth proclaiming the victory of Jesus. He lives!

Context:

I’m a witness. A witness is “one who testifies of what is known to be true, especially in relation to the Christian gospel”. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the first witnesses of the risen Savior. We should be witnesses to the truth of God in each of our own lives. As witnesses we should proclaim that truth also and then “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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The good news is that Jesus is with us. He is risen and lives in and with us through the Holy Spirit. The Angel of the Lord told the women to go and tell the disciples. Our task today is to go and tell our neighbors, friends and acquaintances the good news of Jesus.

Key Characters in the text:

Mary Magdalene – She is named in all four Gospels as a witness to the crucifixion of Jesus. She accompanied Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem and is from Magdala, a town located on the Sea of Galilee. She had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary Magdalene stood by Jesus as he was dying on the cross, saw him buried, and came to the empty tomb.

Key Words (not necessarily in the text, but good for discussion):

Crucifixion – Method of execution used by the Romans and to which Jesus Christ was subjected. It was regarded as shameful and was extremely brutal.

Redemption – A financial metaphor that literally means “buying back”. Used theologically to indicate atonement, reconciliation, or salvation wherein liberation from forms of bondage such as sin, death, law, or evil takes place through Christ.

Gospel – The central message of the Christian church to the world, centered on God’s provision of salvation for the world in Jesus Christ. Also Gospel, one of the first four books in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Sepulcher – A term used in the KJV for graves or tombs. Most prominently it denotes that of Joseph of Arimathea in which the body of Jesus was placed after the crucifixion and which was empty on Easter morning.

Easter – The yearly Christian festival celebrating the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead three days after his crucifixion. It is preceded by Good Friday. Easter is the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or after March 21. The date varies between March 22 and April 25. Theologically it celebrates the victory of Christ over death and evil as well as Christian hope.

Themes, Topics, Discussion, or Sermon Preparation Ideas:

Be a witness / I’m a witness
Believe the women
Go tell that

Questions:

1) What does the significance of women as the first to see Jesus and proclaim his resurrection mean to you?

2) Even after the disciples denied Jesus and fled from his crucifixion Jesus calls them his brethren. Why?

Concluding thought:

The resurrection of Jesus brings hope to a world that seems filled with evil. When evil is present in the world we have hope that because Jesus arose; one day justice will arise also. Even though our present challenges may be tough and even if obstacles may seem insurmountable, there is always hope in a resurrecting Jesus.

Preview of Next Week’s Lesson:

Next week we close this study of Matthew’s Gospel and move into The Acts of the Apostles. Before moving into Acts we study the final pericope of the final chapter of Matthew with a focus on the call and commissioning of the disciples.