Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted! ¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

As we continue in our series, “Living in the Reality of the Resurrection” we come to the great commission, that moment when Christ called and commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and share the good News of Jesus Christ. It’s here that we not only see God’s plan but also His power and provision to carry it out. This is a tough passage because most of us have already heard it and yet only a few of us are heeding it. Which means many of us have already dismissed it.

1. Went to the Mountain

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.”What is significant to note is that this is not the first time that Jesus had disclosed His plan to meet on the mountain with His disciples. He had actually told them about this mountaintop meeting before He was crucified in Matthew 26:32: “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”Then, after He was raised from the dead, an angel gave the women this message to give to the disciples: “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him”(Matthew 28:7). As the women were going to give the message to the disciples to go to Galilee Jesus met them and gave them the same directions: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (Matthew 28:10). Jesus made His plan to meet on the mountain perfectly clear. His plan involved leaving Jerusalem, getting away from the noise of the capital city, and wait for Him on a mountain. Notice that the disciples didn’t just hear Jesus they heeded Him. They went to the mountain, not because it was what they wanted but because it was His Will. Their movement was based on the Messiah not on the mountain. So often we make our decisions based on our wants not God’s Will. We let our circumstances dictate our decisions instead of Christ. Today Christ’s call to leave the city and go to the mountains sounds appealing. But in order for the disciples to obey and go from Jerusalem to Galilee they had to travel about 70 miles, several days on foot. In order to obey Christ they had to leave the comfort and convenience of the city, step out of their comfort zone. You can’t play it safety and serve the Savior. Jesus was calling them to leave the distractions behind, so they could get alone with God. Today we say we want the mountaintop time but in reality, we don’t have time for God. We are so tethered to technology that we don’t have time to get alone with God. We are so busy clinging to our worldly comfort that we don’t come and obey Christ.  The truth is that we are more connected to our smart phones than we are to the Savior. We spend more time in technology than we do in truth. What is dictating and driving your life, is it the voice of the Christ and His conviction or the voice of the city and its comfort and convenience?  Are you going to listen the voice of the Master or the voice of the masses? The mountain represented more than just a majestic place, they were the site of so many miracles and ministry, it would have brought back memories of the time when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount and when Peter, James and John went up on a mountain and saw Jesus transfigured before their eyes. It would have been a reminder of the many times when Jesus withdrew to the mountains to spend time with His Father in prayer (John 6:15). If we want to hear God’s Will we have to come and spent time in His presence. If we want further revelation, then we have to respond to His already revealed Will. Are you being obedient to what God has already revealed? Many of us say we want to know more of God’s Will yet we are unwilling to be obedient to what He has already revealed. This call to come to the mountain was a step of faith. Jesus told them to step out in faith and travel out of their comfort zone to an inconvenient place where He would meet them on the mountain. They chose to obey what was revealed to them and they were rewarded with time with the Redeemer. Many of us are missing the Messiah, we are missing what is most important because we are not being obedient to the bible. Are you obeying God’s already revealed revelation? Getting alone with God requires giving up other things. What is it that you need to leave in order to spend time with the Lord? What is it that is crowding out Christ in your life? It’s not easy to get alone with God, it requires both faith in His Word and forsaking the world. But we desperately need to come away to the mountain and meet with the Messiah. To get away from hustle and bustle and busyness of life so that we can hear God’s business. We need that moment on the mountain with the Master where we trade our busyness for His business.

John 21:15-22

¹⁵ After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.¹⁶ Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.¹⁷ A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.¹⁸ “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”²⁰ Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” ²¹ Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”²² Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

Lastly we are called to:

3. Follow Faithfully

Verse 18 prophetically points to how Peter was going to die: “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”Many commentators believe that the phrase, “you will stretch out your hands” is a reference to crucifixion. Tradition tells us that Peter was crucified with his hands stretched out on a cross. Verse 19 tells us that in his death Peter would “glorify God.” We are to follow no matter what happens and the command, “follow me” in verse 19 is a present imperative, which means “keep on following me.” Even knowing how he was going to die, Peter was called to faithfully follow Christ. What about you are you going to be a fair-weather fan or a faithful follower? Fans follow based on feelings, but followers make it about faith. Peter had been following his feelings because he was focused on his failure instead of Jesus faithfulness. The words follow me are the same words Jesus used when He called Peter the first time in Matthew 4:19-20. Are you going to focus on your feelings and follow your failures only to repeat them over and over or follow the Father? Jesus is calling us to leave our failures behind and follow Him. But notice Peters response, he immediately wants to know about John. We like to focus on what others are doing, don’t we? I love the answer Jesus gave in John 21:22: “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Our responsibility is to make Jesus #1 in our lives, and not get distracted by what others are or are not doing. Our job is not to compare and contrast ourselves with others but to follow Christ. We always end up with a mess when we meddle in matters that don’t concern us. Our job is to be obedient to what God has already revealed. Jesus made it clear to Peter what he had called Him to do and yet look how quickly Peter got sidetracked. How much like Peter are we, he had been restored and recommissioned, and yet rather than getting busy with Gods business he got busy being a busybody. Right on the heels of Peters recommissioning Jesus is having to redirect him. While Peter is no longer focused on his failures now he is focused on others. You will never faithfully follow if you are not focused on Jesus. When you stop focusing on Jesus you falter and fall, and you end up right back at failure.  But were we fail God is faithful. You see its all really the gift of His grace. One of my favorite verse in this passage is verse 10 when Jesus says, “Bring some of the fish you have caught.”Jesus already had some fish frying but He invites the disciples to share what they have. He asked them to bring the fish they have caught but the disciples knew that they didn’t do anything to catch the fish, it was the Lord that had loaded up their nets. He calls us to serve and to share what we have but it’s not really ours that we are giving it’s God’s grace, the question is will we serve or be selfish? Jesus calls us to partner with Him and participate in the blessings. He longs to rebuild what is broken and the emphasis of this passage is not on the fish; it’s on the fishermen. They needed to be restored and the only way that was going to happen was through spending time with Jesus. Jesus invites us to come in our brokenness and failure and have breakfast on the beach. It’s in the presence of His forgiveness that our failures fade. Are you going to respond to God’s grace that calls you to come and deal with those areas of your life that limit and lead you to failure or ignore the Father and keep follow your feelings? This is an invitation to come and commune with Christ instead of continuing in your mess.