The First Initiative: Assignment to Empowerment

The Post-Resurrection Discussion

Luke 24:44–49 “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.””

Introduction

While most would consider the week of our Lord’s passion (e.g. Passion Week) to be the conclusion of His earthly ministry, this would technically be incorrect.

Yes, Jesus accomplished His assignment, fulfilling all that was indicated in the law, as well as the Prophets (in excess of 1200, to be precise), but I believe we should include His “temporary 40 day post-resurrection” ministry along with His previous time on earth as well. But unlike His previous 3 year public ministry, this 40 day period was essentially focused on “in-house” work.

Today, I want to call your attention to the very first instructions that the Lord gives the disciples, after showing Himself alive to His disciples. This “1st Initiative”, better known as the Great Commission, given by Christ still applies to His Church today.

In verse 36, Jesus in the midst of some disciples. 2 of these disciples (of which only Cleopas is named) had just encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus, although they did not initially recognize Him. Similarly, in verse 37 when Jesus appears in their midst, they initially thought they were looking a t a spirit. Additional details are fleshed out (no pun intended) in Jn 20:19-31. John records their latter rejoicing upon the realization that this was the resurrected Jesus (Jn 20:20), but Luke points out that they were frightened t first. Clearly they could not fully grasp that they had seen- and spoke to- the risen Christ.

As I read this, the following thought occurred to me:

How many of God’s people are missing Jesus as He reveals Himself in different seasons, and in different ways? The 3 year ministry of Christ was an introduction; it told us who Jesus is and what He accomplished- what theologians refer to as the “Person and Work of Jesus Christ”, but just like the disciples, we cannot capture all that Jesus is in a brief encounter. We are meant to walk with Him, and learn more about Him every single day of our existence.

Don’t limit your relationship with God to your conversion experience and the early days of your relationship. It’s no different than trying to keep you marriage in the honeymoon phase. Yes, the newness of any relationship is typically wonderful- and I’ll even say it is important to memorialize our experiences- but we cannot “live” there. We are meant to have new experiences, ones that enrich our relationships, and deepen our appreciation for God’s blessings.

*Use examples of Ranekka year 1 vs. year 16 of marriage, and Gabrielle as an infant vs. a teenager.*

Time adds value to your relationship with God; His unrelenting expressions of love, His grace, mercy and forgiveness....His spotless track record of never failing should increase our sense of worth for everything that God is to us.

In verse 38, seeing their fear and doubt on display, Jesus even gives them the opportunity to touch Him, and see for themselves that He is real This leads me to the first aspect of this initiative:

Christ calls His Church to provide the world with the opportunity to “touch” Him, to prove that He is real. In Matthew 5:13-16 we are called the “salt of the earth” (V.13) and the “light of the world” (V. 14). We are told that as with salt and light, we have a distinct purpose: through us, the world should sample the “flavor” of God’s Kingdom, and through our lives we “illuminate” the way to salvation through Jesus Christ alone. So again, “salt” is for tasting, and “light” is for seeing. I believe that David prophetically spoke about this when he said in Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

Jesus further demonstrates His love and patience for these men and women who are struggling to grasp this astonishing event.

In verse 40, He shows them His hands and feet...but in verse 41, it says that “they still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment.” Jesus asked for something to eat, and when the fish is given to Him, He proceeds to eat in front of them. No doubt, they didn’t join Him, as they were like studying His every move to convince themselves that this is really Jesus!

(V44) The Lord reminds them of the words that He spoke before His crucifixion, teaching them what was written in the Law, Prophets & Psalms.

Christ call His Church to be patient with unbelievers, as He has been patient with us. I thank God that I’m seeing a resurgence of discipleship within the Church. The Great Commission places equal emphasis on discipleship AND evangelism. Some of the large ministries we see are bloated, not growing. They draw crowds of spectators, but not many believers; and part of the reason for this is because the believers require a commitment that goes beyond a Sunday morning experience.

Something very important happens in V. 45. Luke 24:45 “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,”

Christ calls His Church to teach the scriptures; He will open up their minds to understand them. Never forget, this is the Lord’s Church- it is established upon Him, and sustained by Him.

And now finally, we come to the Great Commission itself- the fulness of this initiative.

Luke 24:47–48 “and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

repentance & forgiveness- 2 sides of the same coin & must be taught together. Being forgiven is diminished when you don’t know that for which you were forgiven!

Luke adds additional details about Jesus’ commands to His disciples before His ascension in His second book, the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:3–11) with emphasis on the Holy Spirit equipping them for the work ahead. The same is mentioned briefly in V. 49:

“And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.””

We are blessed to partner with the Holy Spirit to accomplish a work that would be impossible to complete with Him.

Although my obvious focus today is on God’s call for the Church- what we should do for God- I also want you to understand that these things can and should be applied to every aspect of our lives.

Imagine he benefits of applying the same principles- looking for Jesus to reveal Himself each day, growing deeper in our personal relationships with Him, providing people we share our lives with (our homes, schools, churches) with a chance to touch God through us, showing patience, teaching the scriptures, offer repentance & forgiveness through Christ, and to do so empowered by the Holy Spirit? Imagine if we were just as intentional about doing this in our homes, our marriage, our families, as we are with presenting the Gospel to perfect strangers?

The Lentin season & Holy Week present the Christian with an opportunity to do so spiritual spring cleaning; let’s take inventory, see what needs to be thrown away, and be both prayerful and purposeful in our application of God’s Word- especially the Gospel- to friend and stranger alike.

I called this message “The First Initiative” because it was the first instruction that our Lord gave to us after His work was completed. “I did my part; time to do yours.”But the truth is, I could’ve entitled it “The Only Initiative.” Through His ministry, Jesus was focused on this one thing: the rescuing of the lost. Centuries of prophecies and miracles all pointed to this. The most amazing part of all, is that God allows us to join Him in this work- the rescued assisting the Rescuer on His quest- Halleluah!!!

Closing Prayer