The Command of the King

Matthew 28:16-20

Scene 1:  Jaded Jesus

Now I don’t know where they got this picture from.

But isn’t it a classic?

Jesus, totally jaded and completely over the party season.

We can tell what he is thinking.

Yippee, meaningless commercialism.

Instead of focussing on the gift of salvation.

Empty vanity instead of life eternal.

Endless distraction instead of worship and adoration.

Superficial niceties instead of genuine engagement.

If you have ever wondered what Jesus really thinks about our modern celebration of Christmas.

I think this picture gives us some indication.

Scene 2:

Listen to this poem by Brian Winslade.  (Twas the night before Christmas 1988, from prac issue 62 summer 2010-11)

“Twas the night before Christmas and people were jaded

From hustling and bustling through malls they had waded.

They’d spent all their money and shopped till they’d dropped

But the meaning behind it seemed more and more cropped.

The joy and the laughter had gone from the season,

As media and retailers perverted the reason.

But for one group of people the light still shone through

The Hype and the commercialism they knew wasn’t true.

The jingles and trappings they chose to ignore,

For them, Christmas wasn’t something brought in a store.

Sure, the essence of Christmas is all about giving,

But God’s kind of presents - a quality of living.

For this group of people Christmas wasn’t about shopping

Or holidats and tinsel and food till your popping.

To them it was time to worship and recall

The fact that God gave them the best gift of all;

The coming of Jesus and the changes he made

In the lives of his followers and the debt he repaid.

Rather than copy others and try to compete

They resolved to become a new Christmas elite,

They shunned all the junk mail and specials unending,

Refusing to b e lured by material spending.

To all of the pressure and tension they cried, “Enough!

We want to get back to the true Christmas stuff!”

That night before Christmas these people decided

To stand up for truth that their culture derided.

They cut through commercialism and retailer bluster

With all of its hype and tension and fluster,

And paused to give thanks to the God they adored

For his mercy and grace and their lives he’d restored.

They put to one side all the presents received

The goodies that tempted and kept them deceived;

They turned their attention once more toward the Lord

To receive with both hands his heavenly reward,

The rest of their lives to Jesus surrendered,

And this Christmas became the best they remembered!

Scene 3:  It’s a bit of challenge isn’t it?

On the one hand, surrender to the culture of the day.

Or on the other, be the counter cultural example that Christ called us to be.

The same challenge applies to how we do church.

Do we make it about us, for our comfort, our convenience?

Or do we focus all our efforts on those outside the walls, as Christ intended.

Think for a moment about the disciples and the challenge they faced.

(Following From Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary on Matthew 28:16-20)

Jesus sent His followers to make disciples of all the nations (ethne,“peoples”; Matt. 28:19).

That mandate may seem obvious to us today.

After all, we live at the end of 2,000 years of Christian outreach.

Christianity now is an overwhelmingly Gentile religion subscribed to by roughly one-third of the world’s population.

And with modern technology, it appears to be a relatively simple task to expand that outreach even further.

Yet in many ways we are just like Jesus’ original disciples.

They wanted a local hero, a Messiah just for Israel, one who would follow their customs and confirm their prejudices.

So they were no doubt stunned by the scope and far-reaching implications of the global, cross-cultural vision that Jesus now presented.

He was turning out to be more than the King of the Jews; He was the international Christ, the Savior of the entire world.

Actually, Jesus had been showing them this since the beginning of His ministry.

Matthew recorded His work among the Gentiles (8:10; 15:24), and he cited Isaiah 42:1–4, that Jesus would “declare justice to the Gentiles [nations] … and [that] in His name Gentiles will trust” (Matt. 12:14–21).

Yet the disciples had a hard time believing it.

Could their Lord really be interested in “all the nations”?

They certainly did not seem to be.

It is easy to pay lip service to the idea that Jesus cares for the whole world.

But isn’t it easier to follow a Christ that fits comfortably only into our own culture?

Culture, after all, is the key.

Jesus told His Galilean followers to “make disciples,” and they did—Jewish disciples.

In verse 19 Jesus tells us to be on about making disciples of all nations.

It isn’t a request.

It is an order.

It isn’t optional if you feel like it and it suits you; it is why the church exists.

(Following From Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary on Matthew 28:16-20)

The Disciples experienced profound culture shock when the Holy Spirit brought new groups into the fellowship, including Hellenist disciples, Samaritan disciples, and eventually Gentile disciples of all kinds (Acts 6:1–7; 8:4–25; 10:1–11:18; 15:1–21).

Today the bulk of new disciples are non-white and non-Western.

Not surprisingly, they bring different cultural perspectives into the church.

So one of the greatest challenges believers will face in the coming years is the same one that the original disciples faced at the inauguration of the movement:

Not only to believe but also to accept that Jesus really is for all the nations.

God’s plan to make disciples of people throughout the world is part of His overall, long-term objective of making His name great among the nations (Mal. 1:11).

Scene 3: But how do we do that?

How do we be Jesus to our community, when all around us we see people caught up in the lie that is western hedonism and consumerism?

How do we reach people who believe that they have no need for God that somehow it will all work out in the end!

And if it doesn’t then “Oh well at least we had fun while it lasted!”

How do we share the gospel with people when it is such a scary thing to do?

When they might reject us or when we are really not sure how to talk about God anyway.

Can I suggest to each one of us here today that there are some simple practical things we can all do to seek to reclaim Christmas for Christ?

Here they are;

1   Don’t buy your gifts from the shop.

Give someone something you already own, something that has meaning and value to you rather than the present you got from aunt Betty last year and you want to get rid of.

2.  Only give the children or grandchildren one gift.

Sure indulge them on their birthday but for Jesus’ birthday get them to give stuff away to the poor and explain that Christmas isn’t about them.

It is about others.

3.  Restore broken relationships.

Christmas is a stressful and lonely time for many. 

For many of us, there are relatives and acquaintances that we have avoided all year, for one day we will be polite then we will avoid them again.

How about having a go at forgiving as Christ forgave and seek to restore that relationship.

4.  Invite a stranger to share a meal.

Toni and I took a young woman in one year.

She had nowhere to go and she was really difficult.

But we were Christ to her that year.

5.  Spend less time in the kitchen and more time with people.

Be Mary and not Martha.

It might be traditional, but you don’t need enough roast meat and trimmings to feed an Army.

We live in a warm climate, a full traditional Roast Christmas lunch will only add an extra few kilos that you don’t need anyway.

Keep it simple and spend time with people.

6.  Remember the poor.

Give someone a chicken or a goat.

Clean water or healthcare.

Go to the Baptist World Aid website

It is too late now to get the card in time for Christmas, but give that relative who has everything a plain card;

You could write these words on it.

You have everything you could ever need.

So I bought you a gift that will mean something to someone who has nothing.

This Christmas I have given you a chicken or a goat or whatever and seeing as you don’t need it I gave it to the poor and needy so that they can raise it and feed their family.

Scene 4:  This Christmas, when Jesus turns up at our place.

Will he be the Jaded Jesus, sick of another meaningless party?

Or will he be the joyful Jesus, recognised as the rightful king.

Celebrated in our hearts.

Honoured in our church.

Proudly shared with the community.

The source of our motivation to serve the poor.

Jesus has given us a command.

Make disciples of all nations; teach them to obey all my commands.

He will be with us.

Let’s make his turning up worth his while!