Matthew 28:16-20 “The Great Commission
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Mark 16:14-20 “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
Luke 24:50-53 The Ascension of Jesus
“When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”
This morning I saw a meme on Facebook that read, “Jesus said, “It is finished.” He didn’t say he was finished, because Jesus was just getting started!” When reading the Gospels, all these different points of view can be frustrating unless we realize that these are the perceptions of first-hand witnesses to the events. Pick any event and begin soliciting different views of it and you might wonder if those you are interviewing have even witnessed the same occurrence. That’s part of the reason for the difference among these Gospel accounts. Yet another difference is very simple: the Holy Spirit has guided each of the writers in a slightly different direction to give the fullest picture possible.
John ends his Gospel with the lovely story of Jesus restoring Peter to his calling as a leader on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Undoubtedly, John witnesses the ascension of Jesus into heaven; however, he is the only disciple who is a party to Jesus’ private dealings with Peter. God inspires John to include this account as an encouragement to all of us. Matthew, the former tax collector, is a detail man and a practicing Jew who wants all the columns to add up correctly. If Matthew were alive today, he would be a CPA in the U.S. or a Chartered Accountant in Ghana or the U.K.
Matthew gives one of the fullest accounts of Jesus’ last words to his disciples, including the less than positive response of some of them as well! “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” As an accountant, Matthew can probably tell you exactly how many disciples have doubted and name them. Matthew quotes Jesus’ words as he gives his disciples what we now know as The Great Commission.
Mark has gotten his information from Peter, and Peter isn’t about to describe that scene at the Sea of Galilee. But Peter, bless his heart, gives a fisherman’s description. “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
Some sources do not accept Mark 16 as being true; however, this certainly sounds like information Peter might have given. Peter is all about action, and these statements are action-packed.
Luke, who has gotten his information from a variety of sources, is amazingly concise. “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”
Why doesn’t Jesus hang around after his resurrection? Simple. Jesus has already trained the disciples and fulfilled that part of his ministry. If Jesus remains, the disciples will continue to rely on him and refuse to step out in faith themselves. There comes a point in the life of every parent when the parent must stop helping and allow the child to go forward, even if the child makes mistakes. Many people only learn from their mistakes, refusing to act on someone else’s advice. And there’s another aspect to the situation. Jesus has already promised that when he withdraws, the Holy Spirit will come. Jesus must ascend so that the Holy Spirit will be free to work in the lives of the disciples.
We all wish that someone else would do the heavy lifting when it comes to facing problems. It would be lovely if we could hand our lives to a problem solver, only for them to return them to us all shiny and peaceful. But God has not designed either the world or us in that fashion. We must learn the same lessons the disciples did. We must learn to trust in God and be guided by His Holy Spirit. Our next Bible studies will help us see how the disciples learned these practical lessons. May God help us, so that we will trust in Him at all times and be guided by Him!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust where we cannot see and help us to believe even when things look dark. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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