Matthew 27:35–37, 45–50; 28:5–10, 18–20

Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile

Church: On Mission
Matthew 27:35–37, 45–50; 28:5–10, 18–20
In this lesson, we have two main purposes. First, we want our Bible students to understand that forgiveness for sin and salvation to eternal life come through the work of Jesus alone. Through His death, burial and resurrection, we gain our salvation as we place our faith in Him. Second, every believer has a responsibility to share the gospel of Jesus. Just as Jesus died as a sacrifice for sin, so we are called to be living sacrifices who bear good news.

Jesus Died for Us (27:35–37, 45–50)
David wrote Psalm 22 a millennium before Jesus quoted it on the cross, and Jews had sung it as part of temple worship for hundreds of years before Jesus’ crucifixion. Yet this time, it was misunderstood. When Jesus cried out, He was not reciting it in the monotonous way familiar songs can be sung. He was crying out in His heart language, Aramaic, and making it extremely personal: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He knew exactly why He was hanging on the cross, yet He cried out the first main line of this prophetic psalm. Jesus was certainly familiar with this song that anticipated His mockery (Ps. 22:6–8), the gambling for His clothes (Ps. 22:18), His unquenched thirst (Ps. 22:15) and His hands and feet being pierced (Ps. 22:16). Let the reader make sure to note also the work of the Savior in Psalm 22:27–28.

Jesus Rose for Us (28:5–10)
Many issues come to mind as we look at resurrection morning. First, Jesus fulfilled the Father’s promise and His own predictions by physically rising from the dead. Next, the first witnesses to His resurrection were women. This flies in the face of the attitude that Jesus or the biblical writers had a low view of women. Finally, in the verses that follow, we read of the conspiracy to deny the physical resurrection. Remnants of this stolen body theory extend even to our day.

Is the bodily resurrection significant in the Christian faith? All four Gospel writers, beginning with Matthew, were convinced that it was important. In the Book of Acts, both Peter and Paul identify Psalm 16:10 as a prophecy of resurrection fulfilled by Jesus. Paul also asserts the necessity of believing in the bodily resurrection of Jesus both in Romans 10:9 and 1 Corinthians 15. The latter passage provides the greatest defense of the resurrection anywhere in the Bible, addressing the scriptural, eyewitness, philosophical and theological reasons to believe.

Jesus Commissioned Us (28:18–20)
Jesus gave the disciples a panoramic perspective of the enormity of their task and the power behind its completion. All authority was given to Jesus. All ethnic groups were to be reached. All of Jesus’ commands were to be taught and obeyed. He would always be with them.

The apostles were given a singular imperative in this last passage of the gospel: make disciples of all the nations. Within the commission, there are three participles: going, baptizing and teaching. What were they to teach? Jesus said to pass on everything that He had commanded them. So the imperative to make disciples of all ethnic groups was to be a perpetual chain reaction.

Not everyone in church history has agreed with the assessment that successive generations are to carry on the commission of the apostolic era. In fact, not all churches today recognize the call to reach the nations, practically speaking. We are often unwilling to reach out to ethnic groups in transitional neighborhoods, preferring to relocate our churches instead. We frequently relegate our prayer for missionaries to our Woman’s Missionary Union and giving to two or three times each year for missions offerings. We send a handful of volunteers to construct buildings, sometimes with little evangelism taking place. We have been unwilling to release our children and grandchildren and send our best and brightest overseas, thinking the cost and hardship would be too great for them (or perhaps for us). What will it take for us to become all things to all men that by all means, we may seek and save some?

As a university professor, I have the privilege of helping students see that God is at work around the world and He is calling out workers for the harvest field. Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations so get your passport and get moving.