Monday, October 28, 2024

PT-2 "Availability" (Matthew 28:16)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/28/2024 8:42 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                 Focus:  PT-2 “Availability”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matthew 28:16

 

            Message of the verses:  “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.”

 

            I want to begin with talking about what the last recorded appearance of Jesus in Jerusalem, which was eight days after the resurrection, and this was when Thomas saw the resurrected Lord for the first time:  26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you.’”  Now the journey from Jerusalem to Galilee would have taken a week, and then after they arrived there in Galilee some of the disciples went fishing, during which time the Lord again appeared to them, as He provided a large catch of fish for them which were too heavy to haul into the boat.  Then, after having breakfast with His disciples Jesus would ask Peter three about his love for Him, and then gave the commission to feed the sheep.  This can be found in John 21:1-17, and this is a very important passage.  Now that event would have occurred at least fifteen days after the resurrection and perhaps even twenty days after the resurrection.  Now we know that Jesus would ascended from the Mount of Olives in the presence of His disciples, which means that they had to take another week to travel back to Jerusalem.  I remember seeing a movie that I thought was fairly accurate about the soldier who was at the crucifixion of Jesus and was asked by Pilate to find the body of Jesus.  The story shows that this soldier would become a believer in Jesus and run away from his job at the end, but the part that I did not like was that he and the disciples saw Jesus go back into heaven from Galilee. 

           

            Now because Jesus’ postresurrection appearances covered a total of forty days, “To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God, (Acts 1:30), His giving of the Great commission on the Galilean mountainside would have had to occur sometime between twenty and thirty-five days after His resurrection.

 

            MacArthur writes “We are not told who was present when Jesus gave the Great Commission, but it seems probable that it was the group of more than five hundred that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 15:6.  That has been the view of many biblical scholars throughout church history.”  Now this is something new to me as I thought it was only given to His disciples, but it makes more sense to have been given to the 500+ people Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 15:6 which states “6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep.”

 

            MacArthur then goes on to write:  “The fact that Matthew specifically mentions only the eleven disciples does not limit the gathering to them.  The angel’s message for the women to give to the disciples seems to imply that the women would also see Jesus in Galilee (see Matt. 28:7).  There would have been no reason for Jesus to send the eleven to Galilee, only to have them return a few days later to the Mount of Olives for His ascension.  It seems more reasonable that the Lord assembled a large group of believers and that He chose Galilee for the meeting place because most of His followers were from that region.

 

            “Because the Great Commission applies to all of His church, Jesus would surely have wanted to deliver it to the largest possible group of His faithful followers.  Not only were most of Jesus’ followers from Galilee, but that region was secluded and was a safe distance from Jerusalem, where most of Jesus’ enemies were.  And because the commission extends to all the world, Galilee, often referred to as Galilee of the Gentiles, also was appropriate for that reason.”

 

            Again I have to say that all of these things MacArthur is writing about are new to me, but I believe they make a lot of sense in the timeline of what happened after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

 

            He goes on to write “Wherever the mountain was, it became a place of great sacredness, where more than five hundred of Jesus’ disciples came with their weaknesses, confusion, doubts, misgivings, and fears.  They were not the most humanly capable people in the world, nor the most intelligent or powerful or influential.  But they were where the Lord wanted them to be, and that obedience gave evidence of their willingness to be used in His service.  Like Isaiah after his vision in the Temple, they said, in effect, ‘Here am I.  Send me’ (Isa. 6:8).”

 

            The truth is that it was because they were there, they met Christ.  Also because they were there, they were commissioned, commissioned to go and tell the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, which is the greatest thing that has ever been witnessed on this earth.  Also because they were there they received the Lord’s promise of His continual presence and power as they ministered to the world in His name.  Now here is a great point as MacArthur writes “It all started with being available.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life:  Being available means not to be involved in the things of the world, but making sure as the story of the young mountain climber told in an earlier SD, that I have to drop the things of the world and make my way to the top of the mountain in order to serve the Lord, to be available to serve the Lord.

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Holy Spirit will fill me in order to serve the Lord in the ways that He has called me to serve Him.

 

10/28/2024 9:19 AM

 

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