I feel truly inadequate and in awe!
This post started one morning when I remembered a verse in the Gospel of Matthew. I just don’t get it! Why this particular verse, and how does it fit with Matthew 28? What is the point between the two chapters, and why now? I have paraphrased verses from the ESV.
Gospel of Matthew Chapter 27:50-53
And Jesus cried out loudly and gave up his spirit again. Behold, the temple curtain tore in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks split apart. Tombs opened, and many bodies of the fallen saints were raised. After Jesus’s resurrection, they came out of the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many people.
Gospel of Matthew Chapter 28:19-20
Therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
This command to obey in verse 20 does not evolve into religious piety and a type of sacred work. Jesus here says to obey all He commanded, not do all He commanded. If we do without obeying what Jesus said, the effort is nothing but dead work because of the effort of self, but if we follow all He commanded, no sacred work is involved because our love for Jesus produces love for others in sharing the gospel. The issue of resurrection is also on my mind because if we are believers, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and obey all He commanded, we are resurrected since we are born anew from above.
So, since Jesus’s resurrection, all who believe in Him from that time until the present are also resurrected with Him. At least, this is my understanding of the verse in Matthew 27.
Consider the Apostles during Pentecost: Before the tongues of fire rested on all those in the upper room, none of them were “born anew from above;” they were still in a state of denial, evidenced by their amazement at the miracles performed by Jesus, and even after His resurrection they still had a difficult time accepting that He rose from the dead. However, after they received the Holy Spirit, everything changed for each person present, evidenced by their speeches to the crowds, who were amazed at what they were hearing. From that point, life was different for them, and then, during the ascension of Jesus, they were given the command to obey everything He commanded and to make disciples of all nations. They could not do this before Pentecost, just as we could not before we were born anew from above, or as some say, born again. In other words, if we do all he commands, the effort is our own. If we obey all He commanded and are filled with the Holy Spirit, we physically move forward while the Holy Spirit gives us utterance to lead others to Jesus. That is why I felt inadequate. I try alone without the Holy Spirit, which becomes disobedience. Today, it is different; I pray that the Holy Spirit guides and instructs me in the ways of the Lord. Now, I can teach others to do the same. Thank you, Lord, for your patience and mercy; I would remain disobedient without it.
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