But I will only linger over two thi

But I will only linger over two things about the resurrection of Jesus, which correspond to Matthew 28:18 and 20. 1) The resurrection of Jesus was powerful; and 2) the resurrection of Jesus was personal.
1) The resurrection of Jesus was powerful.
This is what Jesus said in verse 18b:"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." This is what it means in the New Testament when Peter says, "[He has] been exalted to the right hand of God" (Acts 2:33); and Stephen says, as he is being stoned to death for his faith, "I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56); and Paul says, "Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1); and Hebrews says, "[Christ] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (12:2).
The right hand of God is the place of ultimate authority along with God the Father. Paul says he is there "Because He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25). The resurrection of Jesus restored Jesus to a place of triumphant all- authority over all things. And from there he works out his saving purposes in the world- with authority over politics and government and industry and business and science and education and entertainment and media and weather and stars and light and energy and life and death. His cause cannot fail. If you have all power and all authority and cannot die, your cause cannot fail.
This is a great reason for following Jesus. He cannot fail. Sin and death and hell and evil and Satan cannot defeat his purposes. He will win. That is a good reason to trust him and follow him. It is suicide to oppose him or ignore him.
But to win us over, Jesus ends his time on this earth, and Matthew ends his gospel with a very personal promise based on the resurrection.
2) The resurrection of Jesus was personal.
Matthew 28:20b, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." This is not a promise only to the eleven apostles, because the promise is "to the end of the age"- this present age of the world in which we live. While there are followers of Jesus in this age (in this world) the promise holds true for all of us- "I am with you always."
Here's the practical value of this promise. You might take the truth of Christ's authority over all things and just turn it into a theological problem. Well, if he has authority over the world, why is it in such a mess? Or:If he has authority over life and death, why did my child or wife or mother die?
But there is another way to respond to the power and authority of Jesus. If you will- and Jesus calls you to this- you can see it as the power and authority to free you from sin and fear and greed so that when you trust his promise to be with you, you are unstoppable in your love. If he is with you to the end, and if he has all authority in the universe, then you can love and serve and sacrifice, and never lose. This is the practical effect of the resurrection of Jesus when you experience it as powerful and personal.
If you trust him to be powerful for you and personally there for you, no matter what, you will be able to live your life not just for your private interests, but, say, for the 1. 5 million street children in the Philippines (Action International Ministries- www. actionintl. org), or for 16 million people in the horn of East Africa who are now threatened with starvation (Newsweek, April, 24, 2000), or for the 255 people groups in the world that no one has even planned yet to pursue with the love of the gospel of Jesus (Joshua Project- www. ad2000. org/peoples).
Trusting Jesus to Be All- Powerful and Personally with Us
If Jesus is not all- powerful and not personally with us to the end, and if we don't trust him to be that for us, we will simply ignore the needs of others and live for our own private comfort. Let me give you two examples, and invite you to trust him in this way:
World Magazine last week reported that three children were killed in Bosnia when they wandered into a minefield. One of them, an 11- year- old girl, called for help for hours before she died, but no one would go into the minefield to help her. What would you have done? What would I have done? Could it be that this is why Jesus told us that all authority is his- not so that people would create a theological problem out of it, but so that some follower of Jesus would lift his heart and say:"Jesus, all authority over these mines is yours, and you are with me to the end; if you will, you can keep me from stepping on a mine; and if you will, you can take me to heaven; but this I know, you call me to love that little girl; so trusting your power and your personal presence, I go." That is why Jesus tells us that all authority is his. This is the kind of love that will make many disciples (Matthew 28:19).
And then, as many of you know, Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards died this week in Cameroon in a car accident- Ruby in her eighties and Laura in her seventies. Ruby gave all her life in medical missions among the poor. Laura, a doctor who practiced in India for many years and then here in the Cities, was giving her retirement for the bodies and the souls of the poor in Cameroon. Both died suddenly when their car went over a cliff.
Was that a tragedy? Well, in one sense all death is tragic. But consider this.
Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards, at their age, could have been taking it easy here in retirement. Think of tens of thousands of retired people spending their lives in one aimless leisure after another- that is a tragedy. The fact that Jesus Christ took authority to make Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards valiant for love and truth among the poor and lost and diseased of Cameroon when most Americans are playing their way into eternity- that is not tragedy. And that he took them suddenly to heaven in their old age in the very moment of their love and service and sacrifice, and without long, drawn- out illnesses and without protracted and oppressive feelings of uselessness- that is not a tragedy. Rather, I say, "Give me that death, O Jesus Christ, Lord of the universe, give me that life and that ministry and that death!"
This is why Jesus came. This is why he was crucified. This is why he rose from the dead with all authority and promised to be with us to the end of the age- to create a people whose sins are forgiven, and whose hearts are full of the love of God, and who are so emboldened by the triumphant Christ, that they spend their lives with risk and sacrifice and love to help others know and enjoy the greatness of Christ forever and ever.
Is this not what you were made for? Is there not something in your own soul that witnesses to you that this is true and worthy of full acceptance?