「イエス・キリストの遺言、その二」 四月第四主日礼拝 宣教 2025年4月27日
マタイによる福音書 Matthew 28章16〜20節 牧師 河野信一郎
Good morning. Golden Week started yesterday, and some of you have 11 days off. However, we thank the Lord for the blessing of being able to worship in this way with all of you who cherish the Lord’s day. We have heard that some of our church family members are not feeling well or are fatigued. We pray that the Lord will have mercy on them.
Two weeks ago, I gave a message titled “The Last Will of Jesus Christ, Part I,” which was left by Jesus as He was about to die an atoning death on the cross. This morning’s message is “The Last Will of Jesus Christ, Part II,” the last will and testament left by Jesus to his beloved disciples just before he was raised to heaven after being raised victorious in death. In the Christian church, it is called “the Great Commission”. This will is Jesus’ wish, which is given equally to all Christians and all churches. Let us listen together to hear what that desire is.
In last week’s Easter service, we listened to Matthew 28:1-10. An angel appeared to the female disciples, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, who came to the tomb where Jesus’ body was buried on the morning of the first day of the week, and said to them, “Go quickly and tell the disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He has risen from the dead. And he will go before you into Galilee. There you will see Him. Mary and the others reported to the disciples the angel’s declaration that Jesus had been resurrected, just as the angel had said, and that he was waiting for them in Galilee.
Verse 16 reads, “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee and ascended the mountain to which Jesus had given them directions.” And the disciples went up the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. Of course, Mary and the other women disciples would have climbed the mountain with them. Verse 17 says that they “met Jesus and bowed down to him”. Many of the disciples, men and women alike, rejoiced at being reunited with Jesus and bowed down before Him to worship Him. Their joy and excitement must have been great. All the anxiety and fear they had been carrying until then must have been blown away at once.
But the second half of verse 17 says, “But there were some who doubted.” If they had not seen the resurrected Lord Jesus, they would have no reason to doubt, but what does it mean that they doubted even after seeing the resurrected Jesus appear before their eyes? If we read the original Greek text, Matthew wrote “doubters” in the plural, so it is certain that there were more than one doubter among the disciples. Then, why did Matthew mention the existence of such doubters? I think it shows how unacceptable the event of resurrection is to us human beings with intellectual intelligence.
Most people are convinced that “humans and animals will die someday, and that will be the end of it,” so they believe that the resurrection of the dead is impossible, that it is a myth, and they do not accept the resurrection. These are the “doubters,” and we are told here that such people were among Jesus’ disciples. What Matthew is trying to convey is that it is very difficult to believe in the resurrection.
But if there is a way that a person who doubts the resurrection can turn into a person who believes in the resurrection, what is it? It is to not give up easily, but to keep on seeking. In Matthew 7:7-8, Lord Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. And you will find. Knock at the gate, and it will be opened to you. Whoever seeks will receive, whoever searches will find, and whoever knocks at the gate will be opened”. He encourages and promises us.
On the third day, God the Father raises Jesus from the dead, who died on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind, and gives Him all authority in heaven and on earth after His victory over sin and death. This Lord Jesus, King Jesus, and Jesus with authority, issues three commands to his disciples. I would like to understand them as the “last will and testament” of the resurrected Jesus.
The first is the testament, “Go ye and make disciples of all people my disciples”. It says to go out into all the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ and introduce Him to people, and connect them to Him and make them followers of Christ. Tell those who do not know who they are, what they live for, or where they are headed how deeply God loves them through Jesus. It is Jesus’ testament to encourage them that when they believe in and follow Jesus Christ, they will know exactly who they are, what they do, and where they are headed. How can people believe in Jesus and live in God’s love without being introduced to Him?
Here is the plan to salvation to receive God’s love. First, we need to hear the gospel of Jesus. Then, through that gospel, we believe in Jesus as our Savior and Christ. Before we can believe in and follow Jesus, we must admit that we have been living in disobedience to God, repent, and confess our sins before God. A person’s sins cannot be forgiven unless he or she admits his or her mistakes.
Jesus leaves a second testament to his disciples, telling them to “baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. When you believe in Jesus as your Savior, repent of your sins, and confess your faith, you are baptized. This is a public profession of your faith to God and to others. You become an official disciple of Jesus. It is a public declaration that you will entrust everything to God and Jesus, but will still take the initiative in doing what you can do, and will serve God and others.
Because they cannot make this decision, many people hesitate or postpone their baptism. Why is this? Because it is difficult to make up their minds. They weigh a life of following Jesus versus a life of not following Jesus and calculate which is better for them. But because they don’t know, they hesitate to believe in and follow Jesus. Satan, the devil, will do everything in his power to tempt those who want to believe away from Jesus. Our role as Christians who follow Jesus is to be there for them and support them in connecting to Jesus with love and prayer.
The third is the testament, “Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you”. Some people mistakenly believe that baptism is a sign of completed faith, but it is not. Baptism is a sign of the decision to follow Jesus and is the first step in becoming a Christian. It is not a goal, but a start. From there, we can begin to study Jesus’ words and teachings, become firmly connected to Him, grow as Christians, live a life that pleases God and Jesus, and continue to bear good fruit in our daily lives.
This walk of faith and learning will continue throughout the years. Certainly, we will encounter difficulties in life, but following Jesus will be a joy, a strength for living, and a hope. Why can we say that it is a life of joy? It is because of Jesus’ promise. He promised, “I will be with you always, even to the end of the world”. Jesus does not leave a will irresponsibly. Jesus is with us to help and guide us so that we can keep that will. That is why Jesus was resurrected. That is why God resurrected Jesus.
In the Gospel of Matthew, when the angel announces to Mary’s husband Joseph the birth of his son Jesus in a dream, chapter 1, verse 23, “Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son. And his name shall be called Immanuel.” The name means ‘God is with us,’” the declaration reads. And the Gospel ends with Jesus’ declaration and promise in the last verse of chapter 28:20, “I am with you always, even to the end of the world”.
This is not an accident, but a way of communicating to us that Jesus Christ is the Savior who fulfilled God’s promise in the Old Testament era that “God will be with you always”. The words of the promise, “I will be with you always, even to the end of the world,” express the truth of God’s love, that He will fulfill His promise through His Son Jesus Christ. Believing, thanking, and rejoicing that we are loved by such a true loving God and connected to new life through Jesus, let us together keep His will, his testament.