Go Tell It on the Mountain Matthew 28:1-20

Welcome to the Panhandle and the last day of 2018. I guess if you live in an area that is ahead of us time wise then it maybe 2019 already or close to it, so Happy New Year!

Today I am posting the last sermon from the Christmas Carol series that I preached this Christmas season. Again a big thanks to David Jenkins for originally authoring this series.  “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” but what are we suppose to tell and why are we telling it?

”When I was a seeker
I sought both night and day,
I asked the Lord to help me,
And he showed me the way.

”Go tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere,
Go tell it on the mountain,
Our Jesus Christ is born.

”He made me a watchman
Upon a city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.”

The Story Behind the Song: During that dark and shameful period of slavery in our country, unknown African American slaves, a largely uneducated people often humiliated and cruelly treated, longed for freedom. In spite of their plight, God seemed to inspire them to produce songs of incredible majesty and haunting beauty. Many of them could neither read nor write, and their songs were preserved only in the oral tradition—from the fields to small slave churches, and eventually to white churches and concert halls.

Many of these songs have been saved, however, because of the devotion of John Wesley Work, an African American church choir director in Nashville, Tennessee. One of the few educated African Americans in the South, Work decided that the new generation of blacks needed to know and learn the songs their ancestors sang during the days of slavery. Work’s brother, Frederick, is credited with being one of the first to recognize the power and potential of the song, Go Tell It on the Mountain.

The folk song captures the feeling of an unknown slave from whose heart these words sprang. Probably unable to read the Bible, this anonymous poet imagined the reaction of the shepherds as the great light from heaven shone around them. Little did the slave know that this song, expressing the wonder in his own soul, would eventually touch the hearts of millions. (Source: Ace Collins, Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, Zondervan, 2001, pp. 47-52)

This morning we focus on the visit of the wise men to the house in Bethlehem where Joseph, Mary and the Child Jesus were staying. We are not told specifically what these men did after they left Bethlehem to return to their homes by another route (Matthew 2:12). Because they worshipped Christ Jesus and gave Him gifts, we can assume they were convinced, because of the miraculous way in which God guided them to Him, that He was indeed God’s Messiah. Consequently, as they were on their journey home they likely took every opportunity to share the Good News about Christ Jesus. On this Sunday after Christmas, the emphasis on sharing the redemptive nature of Christ Jesus' coming is very appropriate.

Before the days of the artificial Christmas tree, it was a common sight to drive through a residential area of town on the day after Christmas and find the street lined with old Christmas trees, used and spent, sitting all bent and askew, some of them still bearing the residue of their decorations—stands of tinsel, a few pieces of metallic rope or colored ribbons. We can envision that they were once in someone’s living room all ablaze with lights, flanked by brightly colored packages. But now, in their humiliation, the discarded trees are silently proclaiming the fact that Christmas is over for another year. Many people quickly abandon the warmth and love of Christmas for another year, and return to business as usual. In doing so we are set to abandon the message and the spirit of our Lord’s first Advent. God did not intend for this to happen we should carry the saving message of Christ Jesus throughout the year. The message of hope, love, and salvation.

Go Tell It on the Mountain, provides inspiration for my sermon this morning. But where does the story end? Did it end when the shepherds went back to the fields, or when the wise men returned to their country? Where does it end for you and me? Christmas isn’t over at midnight on December 25th. What began at Bethlehem continued and reached a seeming climax 33 years later with the death of Christ Jesus. The Gospel Jesus proclaimed during those years, and confirmed with His death and resurrection, is the message you and I are to go and tell on the mountain and every where!

Matthew 28:1-10

28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: `He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

I. The Fact of the Resurrection (vs. 1-10)

Bethlehem signaled that the promised Savior of the world had arrived. John the Baptist confirmed His mission when, upon seeing Jesus approaching him, said, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Christ Jesus’ work on earth culminated at the cross where, in shame and humiliation, He paid once for all time the entire price for mankind’s sin. He became the sacrifice which would do away with all other offerings of animals on the temple altars.

Because Christ Jesus perfectly satisfied God’s requirement in His Law, God acknowledged the success of Christ Jesus’ mission by raising Him from the dead. In doing this God made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). Christ Jesus’ resurrection, in accordance with His prediction that on the third day He would rise again, confirmed His claims and proved that His death was an actual payment for sin and that God had accepted it as such.

Matthew began his account of the events of Resurrection Sunday with the story of the two Marys coming to the tomb. Even though one was the mother of Christ Jesus and the other was Mary Magdalene; a devoted follower of the Lord Jesus, they did not expect to find the tomb empty. In coming to complete the hurried burial of Jesus, theirs was not an errand of faith, or even of hope. It was one of love. But God intervened with an earthquake, rolled back the stone, and sent an angel! In our moments of deepest despair, God’s earthquakes and angels often save the day.

As the women left the tomb to find the disciples and tell them the good news, the risen Christ suddenly appeared before Mary, who had stayed behind; with the simple greeting, “Rejoice!” No dramatic fanfare, just a typical, Jewish “Good morning!” Yet there never was a greeting so sweet and wonderful. Immediately and instinctively she fell down at His feet and worshiped Him.

But not everyone believed the great news of Christ Jesus' resurrection.

Matthew 28:11-15

11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, "You are to say, `His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

II. The Denial of the Resurrection (vs. 11-15)

The scene and the mood changes in verses 11-15. Already the denial of the resurrection of Christ Jesus was being planned and perpetrated in Jerusalem. Not only had the women joyfully proclaimed the good news, but the Roman guards “came into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened” (vs. 11). In spite of these confirmations, the priests did not verify the facts for themselves. The last thing the Sadducees wanted was proof of a resurrection, and especially of Christ Jesus, because they viciously attacked any belief in the resurrection. The decision of the Sanhedrin was not to investigate the matter, but try to squelch it by bribing the soldiers with large sums of money.

Denying the resurrection of Christ Jesus did not die with the first century. It is still with us today. The most widely held theory among skeptics today is the spiritual resurrection theory. This concept is attractive to those who want to embrace Christianity as a religion, but do not care to deal with its miracles. This explanation concludes that Christ Jesus did not rise bodily, but that His Spirit continues to live. This is contrary to the meaning of the word resurrection, which means “a standing again.” For someone to be resurrected, they must first be totally dead.

So what is the answer? It is simply that we either accept the bodily resurrection of Christ Jesus, or we do not. The three-fold foundation of the Christian faith is built on the virgin birth of Christ Jesus, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. Remove any one of these, and Christianity is powerless. The greatest proof of the reality of the resurrection of Christ Jesus is a personal relationship with Him.

Nothing can appeal above and beyond the experience of the human heart. Those who have trusted Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior know that He was born of a virgin, was crucified, bodily resurrected from the grave, and lives and reigns forever.

For those of us who have a relationship with the risen Christ Jesus, we have been given an important commission.

III. The Authority of the King (vs.16-20)

The final section of this wonderful passage deals with the marching orders Christ Jesus left—not only with His disciples, but with every believer who would follow in His steps.

You have to wonder what the reaction of Tiberius Caesar might have been in Rome had he heard Christ Jesus speak these last words to His disciples, commissioning them to “go therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (v. 19). Likely he would have laughed in ridicule! And yet, three centuries later, as a result of the Great Commission, one of Tiberius’ successors, Constantine, not only embraced Christianity himself, but established Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.

What was it that caused rapid growth from that tiny, inconspicuous beginning? Some would say it was good Roman roads. Still others might say it was because of the universal use of the Greek language. And while these surely did contribute to the spread of the Gospel it is the authority of the living Christ that caused the rapid growth. Christ Jesus said to His disciples that day on the Mount of Olives, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (v. 18). Christ Jesus possessed full, complete, and total authority. It was His will and purpose that His Gospel be communicated to the world through His followers, who would make up His church.

On the basis of that authority, Christ Jesus gave His disciples what we have come to call the Great Commission: “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, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you” (vs. 19-20). This commission from our Lord, Christ Jesus contains specific orders. We are to go—we are not to wait until the world comes to us. Then, when we go we are to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them.

The thrilling promise that accompanies this commission is that we are never on our own. Christ Jesus quickly added this word of assurance for His disciples, and for us: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (vs. 20).

Conclusion:

In the sixteenth century, the Great Commission Jesus gave His disciples was interpreted by the Reformers as applicable only for the first century. Yet the Anabaptist Believer’s Church considered the commission so seriously that they spread its evangelistic message across Europe. During this time an imperial knight named Leonhardt Dorfbrunner was converted and subsequently ordained as an evangelist. During the four months from September 1527 to January 1528 (when he was burned at the stake), he had won to Christ and baptized three thousand persons. (Source: Myron S. Augsburger, The Communicator’s Commentary, Matthew, Word Books, 1982), p. 332.)

Every believer in the Lord, Jesus Christ has the responsibility to Go Tell It on the Mountain. None of us is exempt. Whether we walk next door or go around the world to do it, we have the double assurance of the authority of Christ Jesus behind us, and the presence of Christ Jesus with us. While we celebrate His first Advent once a year, the sensitive, alert Christian celebrates the anticipation of His second Advent every day of the year. This is what prompts us to Go Tell It on the Mountain that Christ Jesus is Lord.