I am with you always, even to the end of the age

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

- Matthew 28:11-20

Yesterday we read that, after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  My study bible calls this an absurd lie.  Christ's disciples were afraid and had gone into hiding.  Moreover, most of them would go on to suffer terrible persecution and martyrdom.  That they would willingly endure such sufferings over a known fallacy is simply not worth consideration. 

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  This declaration means that the authority that was Christ's by nature in His divinity is now possessed by His glorified human nature.  My study bible says that this human nature has now trampled the final enemy -- death (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; . . .."  This command is called the Great Commission; it is the Lord's final commandment given on earth.  It is to be lived out in the Church until His Return.  My study bible tells that to make disciples cannot be done in the strength of man, but rather only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection therefore isn't for Jesus Himself alone, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission. 

" . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.   This is a solemn promise that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always.  This is true both personally and in the Holy Spirit.  Neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age doesn't indicate that we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  As is often heard in the refrain of prayers, He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

My study bible tells us that where Christ is, so is the Holy Spirit.  John's Gospel reports that Jesus tells the disciples at the Last Supper, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23).  Therefore what we are to understand is the depth of faith:  to love Christ, to keep His word, is to invite the indwelling of Father, Son, and Spirit.  This is not our job, but is the work of grace and the promise of Christ.  It is something we can count on, in which we therefore trust -- as faith is akin to trust.  The Greek word for faith is indeed the word that means "trust."  We trust in His promises, we count on the things he says He gives us for our support and sustenance.  In this we walk and take our certainty, our confidence in our own mission in the world, given by Him.  There may be many ways in which church outreach seeks to make disciples, but all of them must start with this as the first thing:  the reliance on the promise of Christ that "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."   Without this reliance, we fail in our mission, because we fail truly to understand the real nature of our faith, a reliance and dependence upon God.  We also fail to understand God's true nature, that, as Spirit, God dwells within and lives with us, and we are able to grow in spiritual virtue as we, too, possess a spirit given by God.  This is a basic understanding of growth in spiritual virtue and in a life of prayer, without which we do not have the relationship that we need and rely on with God.  Furthermore, Jesus gives us one more clue in this ongoing, synergistic life with God.  He commands the disciples that are to "make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . .."   That baptism is an integral part of discipleship furthermore cements this need we have for reliance on God, for it is the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to truly do this work, to know and understand His commands, to allow into the depths of the heart the indwelling of Father, Son, and Spirit so that we may live as He asks us to live.  So many are tempted to simply say that our faith is replicated through a series of conscious "good works" or principles which we can intellectually extrapolate from His teachings.  But our faith isn't merely an intellectual exercise.  It is in the fullness of who we are and how we live, and moreover, indwells in the depths of the heart,  engaging body, soul, and spirit in each of us.  Without this mystical completeness, we don't truly live our faith.  We can't experience the promise of what it is to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  We don't really know the fullness of discipleship.  Our faith engages us as full, whole persons, created in God's image.  Without this spiritual understanding and engagement, we don't "get it."  We aren't fully there with Him.  Let us remember and rely on His promise and His indwelling, with us "always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.